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What are You Saved from?

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Born Again – Verses Salvation

Few issues contribute to more disunity in the body of Christ than an ages old debate over eternal security. Some say “once saved always saved” while others make the case for Christians being able to lose their salvation. The former crowd points to verses like John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” The same would be said for the verses Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life and Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
 

Can We Fall From Grace?

Those that believe in what John Wesley called “backsliding” to the point of returning to a lost condition refer to verses like Hebrews 6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” 2 Peter 1:10 seems to indicate the possibility of a fall with the words “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:” This sounds like the writer is saying it takes diligence on the part of Christians to avoid a fall from grace much like is referred to in Gal 5:4 “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”
 

Which Side Is Right?

Each side of the argument has ample scriptural evidence to support their view point and this begs the question about which group is right. I believe that both sides are correct about what they espouse and both sides are wrong for not accepting the belief of the other camp. It is time for the church to come to agreement and settle this dispute.
 

Is This A Strange Paradox?

The issue concerns confusion over what it means to be born again as differentiated from being saved. Many if not most Christians do not know the difference if they are aware of one at all. In fact the dissimilitude is substantial.
 

Written by, Wes Arnold, PMT Elder

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Show Notes

 
 

Old Testament

 

David’s Psalms

Psalm 9:16,17
“The LORD is known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
 
Psalm 55:15
“Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.”
 
Psalm 86:13
“For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”
 

Solomon’s Wisdom

Proverbs 7:26, 27
“For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.”
 
Proverbs 15:11
“Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die.”
“Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.”
“A scoffer does not love one who corrects him,
Nor will he go to the wise.”
 
Proverbs 1:12
“Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down to the Pit;”
 

Major Prophets

Isaiah 14:9
“Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations.”
 
Ezekiel 31:14b, 15a
‘For they have all been delivered to death, to the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’
“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘In the day when it went down to hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it.”
 
Isaiah 38:18
For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

 
 

When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in ancient Alexandria around 200 BC, the word “Hades” (the Greek underworld) was substituted for Sheol. This is reflected in the New Testament where Hades is both the underworld of the dead and the personification of the evil it represents.
Sheol – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheol”

 
 

New Testament

 

The Gospels

Matthew 10:27, 28
“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
 
Luke 12:4, 5
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
 
Matthew 16:18
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
 

Letters to the Church

James 3:6
“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”
 
2 Peter 2:3, 4
“By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does[a] not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;”
 
Acts 2:27
“For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”
 
Revelation 1:18
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
 
 

There are three words translated “Hell” in the New Testament, Hades and Tartarus, which are Greek, and Gehenna, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew words Gee and Hinnom, meaning “the valley of Hinnom.”

1. HADES. This word occurs eleven times, and is rendered “grave” once, and “hell” ten times.

The Biblical Doctrine of Hell – Auburn University

 
 

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