Arminianism (Nazarene)
Truth overview: Arminianism is a very broad belief system that has been around for centuries. Its tenets are many and its followers are diverse and found in many different denominations (e.g. Nazarene, freewill Methodist, Pentecostal, freewill Baptist). The largest fault of Arminianism is its abominable teaching that salvation is something which can be lost.
LIE: "Salvation (i.e. a home in heaven) is something that can be lost"
Once you have everlasting life... you have everlasting life. John 5:24 tells us that whoever believes "hath" (present tense) everlasting life. If you have something that is everlasting, how can you lose it?
John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins once. If you believe this then you are sealed in Christ forever.
John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
Eph. 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise"
Eph. 4:30 "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
The Bible tells us in I John 5:13 that salvation is something believers can know they have. If salvation is something that comes and goes as sins are committed, as the Arminian suggests, it would be impossible to have any confidence about your eternal destination.
I John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
The Bible also talks about salvation as a second birth. According to John chapter 3 you are born once from your mothers womb, and born again when you trust Christ as your savior. The very fact that Jesus uses the analogy of being born again runs contrary to Arminian doctrine. Being born physically is something that cannot be undone, just as being born again spiritually is something that cannot be undone. The following verse show this principle expound on how it is God that maintains a Christian's salvation -- not the Christian himself!
John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Heb. 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
Jude 1:24 "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,"
Heb. 7:25-27 "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself."
When you trust Christ, the Bible says that an incorruptible inheritance is reserved for you in heaven.
I Pet. 1:4 "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,"
Rom. 8:33-39 "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Perhaps the question could be asked, "if nobody can lose salvation, how come we see so many Bible-believing church goers fall into sin and stop following the Bible?" The answer to this question is that such "believers" were never saved in the first place.
I John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
Matt. 7:20-23 "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Does this mean that a person who is saved does not sin at all? No, Christians sin all the time yet the Bible never says a person can lose their salvation because of it -- the sin of a saved person only harms that person's relationship with their savior.
I John 1:5-10 "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"
In summary, we can learn the following from the above verses: (1) Once you get saved you are always saved. (2) A person who falls from the "faith" and into a continual lifestyle of gross sin should be labeled as someone who was never saved in the first place, instead of someone who lost their salvation. (3) Although it does not affect salvation, sin ruins a Christian's relationship with God.
Above all, to believe that by doing bad works salvation is lost is to believe that works are a part of salvation -- which is completely contrary to what the Bible teaches from cover to cover.
Eph. 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
What about Hebrews 10?
What Romans 9 is for the Calvinist, Hebrews 10 is for the Arminian. The easy answer for both crowds is to rightly divide the word of truth and compare scripture with scripture. The Arminian will point to Hebrews 10:29 as proof that someone can lose their salvation. When you read it in context, however, one can clearly see that this is related to the "Promised Land" principle that is presented throughout the book of Hebrews. The Children of Israel were right on the cusp of entering into the Promise Land, but alas the 10 faithless spies convinced the people to turn back. This is what Hebrews 10 is teaching. God has separated someone to work on their heart, they are ever-nearing salvation, yet they lack faith and at the last second decide not to believe.
- Heb. 10:29 "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
The word sanctified in this verse simply means set apart. And we see in II Thessalonians 2 that it takes both God separating someone to work on their heart plus individual belief for salvation to occur. When salvation occurs, as it says throughout scripture, it is a permanent thing, and this is even taught in Hebrews 10 itself.
II Thess. 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth"
Heb. 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."