Eternal Security Is A Lie From Hell

They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.’ ~ Jeremiah 23:17

The second greatest lie from Satan is that if you ever have been forgiven by God, nothing you can do will ever cause you to lose that forgiveness. This teaching is commonly known as Eternal Security or Once Saved Always Saved

This is the master lie of Satan, which started in Genesis, continues to Revelation, and will continue until Jesus returns.

What is the lie of Eternal Security teachers? Can we be saved without continued obedience? Is the wages of sin death after we are saved?

1.1 Eternal Security Is The Great Lie Of Satan And His Workers

Genesis 3:2&4 ~ And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

In the very beginning, Adam and Eve were in a beautiful relationship with God. Satan worked to influence Eve and cause here to think that because of her standing with God she would surely not die when she sinned.
Sin did cause both Adam and Eve, who were then children of God, to die and the only reason they died is because they allowed themselves to be deceived by the lie of Eternal Security.
Truly there is nothing new under the sun. Satan has been using the same lie ever since but just repackages it in different forms.

1 John 3:8 ~ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil but what were the works of the Devil?
According to this passage, the work of the devil are to cause you to sin and therefore be of him. How can he cause those who are saved to sin other than deceiving them into believing that they are saved even if they commit sin.

1 John 3:10 ~ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

John had to fight hard against this teaching of eternal security and ensure that the Disciples knew that only those who lived righteous lives were the children of God and would receive an inheritance.

1 John 3:8 ~ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

All those who follow after Satan teach his lie of Eternal Security in some form or another.

Jeremiah 23:17 ~ They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

Jeremiah characterizes the false teachers as those who tell saved people that they will not lose their salvation even if they follow their own lustful desires.

1.2 Salvation Is Only Given To Those Who Repent And Obey God

Matthew 7:21 ~ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Jesus said that the only people who will be saved and inherit the Kingdom of God will be those who do the will of his Father.
Salvation will not be given to those who return to disobedience and do not live faithful obedient lives to God.

Isaiah 55:7 ~ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

If repentance and forsaking sin are required to be saved are they not required to remain saved?
God’s mercy is only for those who remain pure from sin.

Ezekiel 18:21 ~ But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Only those who turn from all their sins and stay turned can expect to live eternally and not experience the second death.

Hebrews 5:9 ~ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

Jesus is only the savior of people that presently obey him. If we turn from obedience then he would be the author of salvation for those who disobey him and this Word would be nullified.

Acts 5:32 ~ And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Only those who have the Holy Spirit belong to God [Romans 8:9] and only those who obey God and continue in obedience are given and will be able to keep his Holy Spirit.

Mark 11:25-26 ~ And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Jesus said that it is an impossibility to be in a state where you are not forgiving others and yet you yourself are forgiven.
This shows us that salvation is absolutely conditioned upon our present state of righteousness. We must have a heart of love and forgiveness or we cannot be saved regardless of any past experience we may have had.

Revelation 22:14 ~ Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Because of our sins we were barred from the tree of life and could therefore not experience eternal life.
The final teachings of the Holy Scriptures in Revelation are that only those who keep Gods commandments will regain access to this tree of life and be saved from death!

1.3 Saved People Have Been Lost And Many More Will Perish

We have many examples general and specific of people who were saved and yet lost their salvation and perished.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6&11 ~ Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Paul went to great lengths in this passage to prove that the people God destroyed in the Old Testament were in the same spiritual position as the church. He explains that these had been baptized into the body of Christ and ate the spiritual food of life and were themselves followers of Christ. These were born again people!
Paul went to such great lengths to prove these people were saved because he wanted us to realize that the same thing that happened to these rebellious people can also happen to us!
Multitudes of people were destroyed by God in the wilderness because of their sins after salvation.
The admonition is to fear God and not to think that just because you are currently standing that you cannot fall. We must not lust after evil things because even though you were once saved God can now choose to destroy you with the wicked.

Romans 11:20-22 ~ Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Paul here refers to multitudes of Jews who were previously saved but ended up lost because when the message of Christ came they rejected him.
These people were said to have been branches in the tree of salvation but were afterwards broken off that tree.
The warning is that if God did not spare these saved people we also must fear that we will not be spared either unless we continue living holy lives. Otherwise we will be cut off from God and perish as they.

John 6:66 ~ From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Many people who actually fulfilled the extreme requirements to become a disciple of Jesus did not persevere but fell away and later chose to not walk with Jesus. These surely did not experience salvation.

1 Timothy 4:1 ~ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.

Paul tells us that many people in the last days before Christ comes will be seduced by evil teachings and leave the true faith.
One cannot leave the truth unless he was first part of it and here we are expressly warned that not only has this happened but it will also continue to happen.

Nehemiah 13:26 & 2 Kingss 11:3-4 ~ Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods.

The most horrifying example in the scriptures of one who lost their salvation and died in sin and wickedness is that of the great King Solomon.
Who was ever greater than Solomon? He was said to be greatly loved by God and the wisest man that ever lived other than Christ yet look how far he fell into sin and how far he strayed from God!
In Solomon’s later years he chose not to listen to God’s warning about marrying unbelieving women and these women turned his heart from God to serve other Gods. He died in this state of sin.
Nehemiah says this is a strong example for us to fear that our hearts also can easily be turned from God and we can be lost if we are not diligent to stay faithful to God in all things.

1 Timothy 1:19 ~ Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

In the New Testament we have Hymenaeus and Alexander who Paul says made a shipwreck of their faith.
These men must have had a salvation ship to begin with in order for that ship to be wrecked.
These men were handed over to Satan in hopes that they would repent and be saved [1 Corinthians 5:5].

1.4 The Wages Of Sin Is Death Before & After Salvation

The great lie is that somehow the wages of sin used to be death but now that you have had an experience with God, sin’s wages are no longer death but rather a continuance in life. This is contrary to all that the Bible teaches.

Exodus 32:32-33 ~ Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

Many falsely teach that once a persons name is in the book of life they can never be lost and that name can never be blotted out.
Here it is clearly seen that certain people will have their names blotted out of the book of life and God shows exactly who it will be that will have their names blotted out.
It is not just those who commit horrendous crimes, but it is all those who choose to turn from righteousness and sin against him that will have their names blotted out of the book of life and perish.

Ezekiel 18:4 ~ Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

The message of God through Ezekiel the prophet was not to unbelievers but to the people of God.
The message was that those who sin will die. The wages of sin is death for God’s people!

Ezekiel 18:24 ~ But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

God wanted to make very clear what he meant when he said the soul that sins will die so he gave an illustration of how this would happen.
God asks a question saying ‘if a righteous saved person choses to turn from that righteous way of life and commit sin can that person live or still experience salvation?’
If ever the question of eternal security was asked in the Bible it is here. It is clearly asked ‘what happens to a saved man when he chooses to go back into sin?’
The answer is that none of his past experiences of salvation will be remembered by God but in his sin he will die and be lost. Oh, let us not listen to the lies but always fear God, continue in righteousness, and be saved!

Romans 6:16 ~ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

This same truth is presented in the New Testament when Paul said that if you choose to submit to fleshly desires you will surely die.
Paul is acting as though this should be a commonly known truth because the Disciples should have read Ezekiel. He reconfirms that it is only those who live obedient lives that will experience righteousness and life.

Romans 8:13 ~ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Paul repeats this again to make it very clear. If we, saved Disciples of Jesus, choose to commit the desires of our flesh, we will die and be eternally lost.
Only those who through the Spirit of God in their lives put to death and keep in death all evil deeds will be saved and have eternal life.

Hebrews 10:26-27 ~ For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

The sacrifice that Jesus made to atone for sins is only good as long as we continue obedient holy lives.
The moment we choose to go back to sin and ungodliness the sacrifice for sins disappears and we will surely pay for all our sins on judgment day with torment and the second death.

1 Corinthians 6:8-10 ~ Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Oh, do not be deceived by lawless false teachers. We are emphatically told that those who choose to sin and commit unrighteous deeds will not inherit God’s Kingdom!
There will be no fornicators, thieves, drunkards, liars, etc. in the Kingdom. These people will perish in hell [Revelations 21:8].

James 5:19-20 ~ Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

When someone turns from the truth and once again becomes a sinner, they enter a state where their soul will surely die the second death unless they are converted and turned from that sin.
That multitude of sins will not be hidden or forgiven unless that person once again repents and turns from his sin back to God and righteousness.

Ezekiel 33:13 ~ When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Sadly the true righteous Disciples of God who live and preach the truth are often told that they are trusting in their own righteousness. Thankfully we are here shown exactly what the scriptures mean by the phrase trusting in your own righteousness.
According to the Bible, trusting in your own righteousness is believing that because of some righteous act you have done in the past you are now unable to lose your right standing with God. That because of a past experience you can now commit sin and not die. This is basically the teaching of eternal security and what it means to trust in your own righteousness.
The consequences for believing this teaching and committing sin is that your salvation will be forgotten by God and you will perish.

Ezekiel 33:18-20 ~ When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

Everyone loves a story about a man who lived a wicked rebellious life and on his death bed cries out to God in repentance, all his sins are not counted against him, and he receives life? Yes it is the truth and expresses the great mercy of God towards a repentant sinner regardless of where he is in his life.
However, God says that as wonderful as that is, there is also a flip-side to this coin. Just like a wicked man can turn from his wickedness and be saved, so also a righteous man can have lived a righteous holy life and on his deathbed choose to turn to sin. If this is the case then the Bible says that all his righteous works will no longer be remembered but for his sin he will die.
Israel spoke against God saying that this was not fair but God rebuked them saying that truly his was were equal and fair! Any man who rationally considers the truth presented here will see that it really is completely fair and God’s ways are equal!

Amos 9:10 ~ All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

Amos sums up Eternal Security for us very well. He teaches us that there are those who are termed Gods people and yet they will still perish. Who are these people?
It is those who believe the lie of Eternal Security teachers and think that even though they have turned back to sin and become sinners again, Gods judgment will not overtake them or prevent them from inheriting his Kingdom. It does not get much clearer.

1.5 We Must Persevere In A Holy Life In Order To Be Saved

Revelation 3:4-5 ~ Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

As if God’s statement to Moses was not enough to show us that saved peoples names can be blotted out of the book of life Jesus here also teaches us that those who do not overcome will have their names blotted out of the book of life! Do not trust men and smooth talk, trust the Word of God!
Only those who overcome this world by walking with Christ and keeping their garments unspotted by the sin of the world will be saved.

John 15:10 ~ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Jesus said that the only reason he continued being loved by the Father was that he continued in an obedient life to the Father.
He said that if we also want to remain in his love that we must continue to keep his commandments.

Matthew 13:21&10:22 ~ Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Jesus said that many, after they have preached the word, will experience persecution and because of that persecution will leave the faith and be lost.
He taught that only those, who being hated by all men, still endured to the end in holiness, would be saved in the judgement.

1 Corinthians 9:27 ~ But I keep under [hupopiazo: beat black and blue], my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Paul had a very clear understanding of what Jesus had taught and what it would take to make it to the Kingdom of God.
He had a very healthy fear that even though he had preached the truth to multitudes of people he himself could end up lost as a castaway from Christ.
For this purpose, he beat his body into submission constantly to remain in a state of righteousness and inherit the Kingdom!

James 1:12 ~ Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Only those who live holy lives and do not give in to temptation will receive the crown of life and inherit the Kingdom.
The promise of eternal life is only for those who prove their love to Jesus by continually resisting temptation and living pure.

Hebrews 3:13-14 ~ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

We are to constantly exhort each other because we will only be saved if we hold firmly to Christ unto the end. There is no hope for us if we do not continue what we started to the end.

Hebrews 10:38-39 ~ Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [apoleia: utter destruction] ; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

A person cannot draw back from something they never experienced. If a saved man draws back from a righteous life they will surely experience utter destruction.
Only those who continue living a life of fruitful faith will experience the salvation of their souls!

John 15:2&6 ~ Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Jesus warned us that a Disciple needed to continue living a fruitful life in Christ by faith in order to be saved.
He said that if a Disciple chose to no longer abide in Jesus that he would be as a barren branch that is no longer useful and therefore is cast into the fire and burned.

2 Peter 2:20-21&3:17 ~ For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.

Those who have been saved from all the wicked pollutions of the world through the saving knowledge of Christ can still end up entangled in and overcome by sin.
We are warned that this is very possible for all Disciples and that if this were to happen we would not only be lost but our judgment would be worse than those who never knew the truth.
This is the exact opposite of Eternal Security. Rather than never being able to be lost we can actually enter into a state which is worse than if we had never known the truth.

Deuteronomy 29:18-19 ~ Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God… And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

There will be many who when they hear this message will still bless themselves in their hearts and say to themselves the message of eternal security ‘Even though I walk after my own sinful desires I will have salvation and peace!’
Hear the solemn warning of God to these people. The Lord will not spare them but rather in great anger will send horrible curses upon them and ultimately blot out their names from under heaven!