On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. Here is a comment on that page by a woman named Sally in favor of “eternal security” followed by Ben’s answer:
Comment:
John 5:24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
Once we have believed, we have eternal life – not WILL have, but already have. It is ours. We cannot lose it or it would not be eternal.
Answer:
The text does not say “once we have believed”; the text says “believes,” which is almost always in the present tense in John, denoting continuing action. So as we continue to believe, we continue to be joined to Christ and share in His life. Eternal life is eternal because it resides in Him. There is no eternal life outside of Christ. Our sharing in His life is contingent on possessing Christ through faith,
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has [presently] the Son has [presently] the life [that is in Him alone]. He who does not have the Son of God [presently] does not have [presently] the life [which is in Him alone].”
1 John 5:11-12
Addendum:
Sally appealed to 10 different passages in favor of “eternal security” in one post, and we are devoting one post to each passage to share Ben’s concise, compelling replies. At the end of his reply to Sally responding to all her comments, Ben made some final comments that we are including in each of these posts that gives one of Ben’s answers:
Personally, it is not a big deal for me if you want to hold to eternal security, so long as that belief does not cause you to take your faith and relationship with Christ less seriously. I am only addressing your comments because I want you to see why such verses are not very convincing to those who reject eternal security, especially in light of the numerous warnings in Scripture to remain, continue, and endure, etc. If God causes our faith to endure irresistibly, then it would be nonsense for God to also call on His people to remain, continue, endure, etc. It would be like telling someone hooked to a respirator to “keep breathing.”
I would love to believe that God will never let believers fall away. Who wouldn’t want to believe that? The only reason I reject it is because I am convinced the Bible does not teach it.
