At first glance, the Calvinist doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security (UES) seems very straightforward. Once you have accepted Christ's gift of salvation to you, nothing can take that gift away from you. And while this statement is a correct representation of the doctrine, it is also a woefully inadequate description of it. Many more issues come to the fore when UES construct is examined carefully. So, prior to exploring the ramifications of the doctrine, we will take the time to present a simplified set of texts used to develop and support the doctrine. Obviously, because of the limited scope of this presentation, there will be a number of texts bypassed. Those who wish to explore the doctrine at length will need to examine other reference materials.

UES begins with any of a number of simple statements which state that belief in Jesus is enough to save a person. Perhaps the most famous of these is John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (KJV) As we have explored repeatedly in this series of studies, works have no place in buying our salvation (Rom 3:20, Gal 2:16). Therefore, works, such as a continuing faith in Christ, are not required in for our ultimate salvation. This implies that we need not continue to have faith in order to enter the kingdom.

As further support for this, we find that no one can snatch us out of God's hand (John 10:28). Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39). This is taken to imply that once we are in God's hand, that's the end of the story. We will never leave the ranks of the redeemed. Another idea is taken to support this same idea. Salvation is a gift (Rom 6:23). Once God gives us eternal life, that gift cannot be returned and God will not take it back.

Having established the guarantee of salvation, certain problems need to be addressed. What happens if someone falls away from the faith? Paul points out that some have already turned away to follow Satan (1 Tim 5:15), and that there will be a wider "falling away" (2 Thess 2:3 KJV) near to the time of the end. This problem is answered by reference to various texts which indicate differing levels of reward in the kingdom. Among these are 1 Cor 3:14-15, Matt 19:30; 20:16, etc.) Those who have kept the faith and have labored mightily will be given the greatest rewards, just as the disciples were promised (Matt 19:28, cf. Luke 22:30). Those who have apostasized will be thrown into "outer darkness," which is "to be in the kingdom of God but outside the circle of men and women whose faithfulness on earth earned them a special rank or position of authority." (Charles Stanley, Eternal Security, p. 126)

One final problem is tackled by UES advocates in a slightly different way. When presented with a hypothetical question regarding a believer who apostasizes to a life of utter depravity, they fudge the statement that that person will definitely be in the kingdom. The logical result of their position is that he must be included with the saints, but to all of us that is distasteful. To avoid that conclusion, the UES proponent will typically hedge by questioning whether that person was truly saved in the first place. If they were not truly saved, then their ultimate salvation is not at issue. The most outspoken UES proponents will even say that those evil persons will die early and be taken to heaven then by God to avoid having them disgrace the church. (It's apparently OK if they disgrace heaven.)

As we explore the scriptural issues, it must be remembered that there are so many texts marshaled on both sides of the argument that we cannot cover them all. In fact, one book challenging the UES doctrine is over 800 pages long. Therefore, we will only be covering the central issues of the doctrine. As always, we will emphasize the value of clear scriptural doctrinal statements in evaluating the less clear. Context will not be ignored. At times it may seem that the study is a bit disjointed. I apologize for this appearance, but it is a consequence of exploring the various related issues which must be considered.

To begin, we must examine the bare essentials of salvation.

1. What is required for anyone to be saved? (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31)