Problem With Eternal Security Is Problem With Gospel

John 6:47-50, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.”

If you have a problem with eternal security, you have a problem with the Gospel. I thank God that I am on the right side of truth. There is much debate in the churches today regarding how to be saved. As an independent fundamentalist Baptist preacher, and moreover a born-again Christian, I am particularly concerning about my own Baptist camp. Tragically, the Devil has crept many tares (unsaved people) into the churches, bringing in a counterfeit gospel of turning from sins and Lordship Salvation to receive God's free gift. Something is wrong with most of our churches; they are sick, they are compromised, they are complicit, they are indifferent and they are dying. 

In our text passage Jesus said that He is the “BREAD OF LIFE.” Whosoever eats the bread come down from Heaven will never die. I love that! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Nowhere in the inspired King James Bible are we taught that we must live a certain way to get to Heaven. When should a person KNOW that they have eternal life? At one point in your Christian life can a person KNOW that they are saved. Dear reader, you should KNOW IMMEDIATELY when you get saved, that you have eternal security. It is very important that you understand dear friend, that eternal security and eternal life are not two separate teachings in the Bible, they are one and the SAME doctrine! When you accept Christ you have eternal life. The moment you have the Son, you are saved forever! The Son and eternal life are THE SAME. You cannot have the Son without having eternal life!!! To have the Son is to have eternal life!!! You can and should KNOW that you have the guarantee (the PROMISE) of eternal life immediately upon accepting Jesus as your Savior!

I am heartbroken as I hear popular and trusted preachers corrupt the Gospel. Case in point is Dr. Steve Pettit (president of Bob Jones University since 2014), who denies the doctrine of eternal security. On January 26, 2020 at BJU, he told 2,700 students:

“You can't just speak about getting saved, and you accepted Christ, and then that's it! There is a justification; There is a sanctification; There's ultimately a glorification, and though there are three parts, they are all part of the whole, and you cannot separate them. In order for you to qualify for the award, you have to get into the race, you have to stay in the race, and you have to finish the race. If you want to win, you have to run to the end; and winning in the Christian life is everything, because if you lose—if you don't finish—you lose everything—you lose your SOUL. And so, the Christian race is the life of faith that begins, is run, and is finished when we cross over into Heaven!” —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 11:34)

Dr. Pettit is a false prophet, who teaches that you CANNOT KNOW you are 100% saved, until you finish the race when you get to Heaven. There are no Biblical requirements or stipulations on how you have to live to get to Heaven, otherwise salvation cannot be by God's grace! Mr. Pettit further heretically states: 

“So when we talk about 'The Race,' what are we talking about? We're talking about beginning and salvation, and then running the race through pursuing holiness and ministry, and service to others. But then let me say, that number three: This race HAS TO be faithfully run to the finish! You HAVE TO finish. Salvation is not just a past reality—“I GOT SAVED,” but is a future destiny! The race is not completed until you cross the finish line at death. What is this race—it is the race as we are running as we are headed toward Heaven.” —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 10:27)

That is a corrupt plan of salvation, which superficially professes the simplicity that is in Christ by faith alone, but then perverts the Gospel by requiring discipleship in order to be saved. Salvation must be by grace and by grace alone!!! God's grace is UNMERITED. If you cannot say, “I HAVE IT,” then you don't understand or posses it! You and I do not understand that God does not see the way we see. It sounds logical that we should have to be willing to turn from our sins to be saved, but that is not how God sees it. We cannot save ourselves. Eternal life is the free gift of God, and there are no obligations, conditions or stipulations. Simply receive His gift by faith, by placing your childlike trust (reliance) in the risen Savior's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins. It's that easy and simple!

Beware of anyone who questions or denies the Bible doctrine of eternal security. 

“Being saved is not something that you perform, it is something that He performs.” —Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, a great quote from the awesome sermon, “Raised For Our Justification”