Conditional Eternal Security or Conditional Salvation Security

Dustin,

My heart goes out to you and I promise you that I will be in prayer for you. I am familiar with two Pentecostal bodies that teach the oneness doctrine. One of them is the United Pentecostal Church; the other is the Apostolic Faith Church. They both teach that if you are not baptized in the name of Jesus and speak in tongues as a result, you are not saved. This false doctrine was concocted by ignorant and foolish men in the early 1900’s in the United States. The largest, by far, of the Pentecostal bodies in the United States and world-wide are the Assemblies of God, and they are a Trinitarian denomination that teaches justification by grace through faith just like Baptist churches do. But they also teach that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is distinct from and usually subsequent to salvation and that the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is always speaking in tongues. The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church is made up of believers with a zeal for missions, especially foreign missions, and many of their pastors believe in a Baptism in the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation and that the gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in other tongues, are in operation today in many churches, but they deny that the initial evidence is always speaking in other tongues.

I was saved in an Assembly of God Church and I haves studied their beliefs in great detail although I now seldom visit one of their churches. I did, however, attend an Assembly of God Sunday evening service this past Sunday. A great deal of emphasis was being placed on prayer for world-wide revival and revival in their local assembly. The pastor’s message focused on personal holiness through faith in the work of Christ on the cross, and after the message the leadership of the church spent two hours praying for the members of the church individually, laying hands upon them and ministering to them words of encouragement. Many of the persons were slain in the Spirit and I am sure that many Baptists would have been radically freaked out if they had witnessed this Sunday night service. But what struck me more than anything else was that after the formal part of the service was over, very many children were sitting up on the platform and on the floor in front of the platform and the little kids were quietly climbing all over the big kids and the smiles on the kids’ faces was from ear to ear as they loved and played with one another. Mean while, the parents were worshiping God on various musical instruments and praying for one another. The love of Jesus Christ was manifest and it was abundantly clear that this congregation was not just a congregation, but a genuine family that deeply loved Jesus and deeply loved one another. I firmly believe that their belief that the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is always speaking in other tongues is an erroneous belief, but I am more than willing to overlook that doctrine and recognize that where it really counts they have their act together.

Some years ago I was the senior pastor of an inner-city church and my associate pastors belonged to several different denominations with widely diverse beliefs, but we all loved Jesus and we all believed in the core teaching of the Christian faith and we not only got along just fine, but God used us as a team to win many into his kingdom and to disciple them and teach them and see them go on to full-time Christ service in several different denominations. God cares a whole lot more that you have clean hands and a pure heart than He does about the details of your peripheral doctrines.

Jesus loves you more than you could possibly begin to comprehend or imagine, and He promises to never leave you nor forsake you—so have no fear! You are one of His and He loves you and He is working in your life. Pray everyday as honestly and earnestly as you can for God to teach you his truths and to protect you from doctrinal error and He will not let you down. He loves you and he will bless your life. Take God at His word and enjoy the life in Christ that He has so graciously given to you because of the love for you in His heart!

 

I think I understand where you are coming from, as I have had and still have some concerns such as yours. I used to believe in OSAS, as it was what I was taught at church (Baptist) and the Christian schools I attended. After much studying of both the conditional and unconditional view, I came to the conclusion that a Christian does has to remain faithful to Christ lest he may fall and become lost again. I still have questions that I am still searching for and praying about. As for the possibility of me being wrong about my view on the security of the believer, the position I am taking seems to be the safest. For example, say that I am wrong and OSAS is the correct doctrine. When I get to heaven I will find out that I was eternally secure and just did not know it. However, if I am correct about needing to keep the faith in Christ, then there could be some people that because they thought they were eternally secure, they stopped following Jesus and fell away and thus were lost and unforntunately found out too late.

An example of a subject I am studying now is baptism. I have believed that baptism is not a requirment for salvation; that it is a command a believer is supposed to follow after salvation and is a profession of faith. However, I have read some arguemnts put forth that baptism is a requirement to be saved, and the arguments were such that I am now trying to see which is the correct view. I will be looking on this forum to see if this is being discussed.

I know what you mean about there being a lot of different interpretations of the Scriptures, and, at times, it can make one feel overwhelmed. Just keep praying that God will show you the truth and continue to search the Scriptures. God knows that you are seeking the truth and will show it to you.

 

I agree Helen. The premise of the question is flawed. If a man's salvation rests in his free-will choice, nobody could ever be saved.

Interesting observation on my point is how many folks will hold on to the free will choice of man before they are saved and trust a lost person to make the right decision for Christ. However, once they become Christians, they seem to become Calvinists who don't believe in free will decisions to accept and reject Christ. Seems a bit backwards to me.

Joseph Botwinick