II) “Decisions for Christ”.  In your tape exposing Billy Graham you criticized the idea of “decisions for Christ” (if I remember correctly), but I don’t think you explained your comment much.  What is wrong with the idea that an evangelist preaches and people make decisions for Christ (Phillip in the Acts, for example)?  Have I misunderstood?

Thanks for any feedback you’re willing to give on my questions.  My goal is not to argue or criticize but to learn, because I am quite new to these doctrines.

Country unknown (by email)

(Our Reply)

Thank you for your email….  Unfortunately I am not able to go into a very lengthy reply by email, as the issues you raised have been answered in my writings and sermons, which are readily available, and time does not permit me to give detailed answers by email.  However, I hope that the following will be of help to you as you seek to understand these things.

The Perseverance of the Saints is a lovely and vital doctrine of the faith, stated over and over again in the Bible.  You are correct in understanding that this doctrine means that one who is truly saved will not and indeed cannot fall away from the faith and be lost again.  Once a man is in Christ, he is in Him forever.  Once a child of darkness becomes a child of light, he never again becomes a child of darkness.  Once out of the devil’s kingdom, the devil is never again able to claim him as his own.

You asked why it can’t be that he was predestinated to believe and then to fall away.  This is nowhere taught in Holy Scripture, including not in the verses you mentioned, which I will get to in a moment.  A man, being in Satan’s kingdom, is predestinated to be born again, becoming a child of God; and then at some point to lose his salvation and again become a child of the devil?  This cannot be.  The Lord, having snatched a soul from sin and Satan, does not relinquish him again.

You mentioned Ezek. 18:21-24.  This refers to those who are outwardly righteous, who then fall into sin and die in their sins.  It is not referring to those who have been justified and sanctified.  It refers to those who have previously led externally righteous lives, at least in their own sight and even in the sight of others; yet they trust in their own righteousness, and commit iniquity (see Ezek. 33:13).  The same persons are described in 2 Pet. 2:20,21.  It is not thus referring to those who have Christ’s righteousness imputed to them.

1 Kings 11:4 is the next verse you mentioned.  Solomon was indeed a regenerated and converted man, as is clear from such passages as 2 Pet. 1:21 and other Scriptures.  But in his old age he fell into sin, led astray by his wives.  He backslid, in other words.  He did not however apostatize – he did not fall away completely and lose his salvation.  That is a different matter entirely.

The Bible has on record the sins of a number of the Lord’s saints: Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, Samson, Jonah, Peter, etc.  None of these men were lost, they were all beloved of the Lord, but for a time they fell into sin.  All believers can and do sin; but no true believer lives in sin, walks in sin as a normal course of life, and no believer loses his salvation.

You mentioned Matt. 13:20,21.  In the parable of the Sower, only the fourth type of seed represents the true believer.  The other three do not.  In these verses, the Lord speaks of those (and there are many) who when they first hear the Word, receive it joyfully.  Ah, but there is the problem, for in truth the good news first brings sadness and conviction of sin to the heart, and joy only after repentance.  They have no root, they are not “rooted and grounded” in Christ, and so, although for a while they live outwardly as Christians, and perhaps fool true Christians for a time, they are in fact not true believers, and by and by they fall away.  They fall away from the faith they professed, but which they never possessed truly in their hearts.

Then comes 1 Cor. 9:27.  Paul did not believe that he could perhaps be cast away eternally, for that is impossible.  But he could certainly be rejected by men, cast away by them.  He did not want to do anything that would cause men to blame his ministry, and reject his message; he wanted his life to be above reproach before men.  Besides, even if we took it to mean his own fears about his salvation, all this would show is that he, like all believers at times, sought to make sure of his salvation.  It does not prove that he could truly be lost, only that he himself took great care to make his calling and election sure, 2 Pet. 1:10.

As for Heb. 10:26-29: this is a portion of Scripture which I have covered in depth in my sermons.  The bottom line is that this passage is about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit – the unpardonable sin – which no true Christian can commit.