For a paperback book in outline form which addresses over 150 difficult verses that Arminians use against Sovereign Grace, check out: Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace: Rooting Arminianism Out of Every Verse.
For a master copy of the outline, click here:
Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace
120. Heb 5:9
A. "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" (Heb 5:9)
B. Does this verse teach that Jesus becomes the author of eternal salvation to people when they obey Him?
C. No, it doesn't. As usual, the doctrine is in the grammar.
i. The verse says that Jesus "became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."
ii. Became is past tense; obey is present tense.
iii. Therefore, the verse says that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation of a person before he obeys Him.
iv. Furthermore, obedience is a work and we are not eternally saved by works (2Ti 1:9; Tit 3:5). (See Section II,7,A on Eternal Salvation)
D. Jesus became the author of eternal salvation when he died for His people on the cross (Rom 5:8-10).
i. This happened long before we obeyed Him.
ii. When Jesus entered into the holiest after His resurrection, He did so having obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb 9:12).
iii. Jesus reconciled all of His elect to Himself through His shed blood on the cross (Col 1:20-22).
iv. Our obedience is the evidence that Jesus is the author of our eternal salvation, not the cause of it (Col 1:21,23; Rom 2:6-10).
v. God created us in Christ Jesus (Jesus is the author of our eternal salvation) unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (we obey Him) (Eph 2:10).
121. Heb 6:4-6
A. "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, 5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6) 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." (Heb 6:4-6)
i. Does this passage teach that one can lose his eternal life?
ii. No, it actually teaches that it's impossible to lose one's eternal life.
B. Verses 4-5 are describing a person who is in possession of eternal life, by the following terminology:
i. Being enlightened
a. Enlighten v. - 1. trans. To put light into, make luminous.
b. Jesus lighted His people with eternal life at His first coming (Joh 1:9 c/w Joh 1:4 c/w Joh 10:28).
ii. Tasted of the heavenly gift
a. The heavenly gift is eternal life (Rom 6:23; Rom 5:15-18; Eph 2:8; Jam 1:17-18).
b. To taste of the heavenly gift is to have the heavenly gift, just a Jesus tasted death (He actually died) for His children which God gave Him (Heb 2:9).
iii. Made partakers of the Holy Ghost
a. Partaker - 1. One who takes a part or share, a partner, participator, sharer.
b. The elect are made partakers of the Holy Ghost in regeneration (Tit 3:5; Rom 8:9-11).
c. This happens when God gives a new heart to His children and puts His Spirit within them (Eze 36:26-27).
iv. Tasted the good word of God
a. Taste v. - I. Of touch, feeling, or experience generally. 1. trans. To try, examine, or explore by touch; to feel; to handle. 3. fig. To have experience or knowledge of; to experience, feel; to have a slight experience of.
b. One must be saved eternally to receive and experience the word of God (1Co 1:18; 1Co 2:12,14; 1Th 1:4-5; 2Th 2:12-13).
v. Tasted the powers of the world to come
a. When they are quickened, the elect are raised up and seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:5-6).
b. Their conversation is in heaven (Phi 3:20).
c. Conversation - 1. The action of living or having one's being in a place or among persons. Also fig. of one's spiritual being.
d. In other words, the elect taste the powers of the world to come.
C. Verse 6 shows why it is impossible for the person in verses 4-5 who has eternal life to lose it.
i. The falling away is referring to losing one's eternal life.
a. This is the case because in the previous two verses, which is the first part of the sentence, the context is clearly eternal life (Heb 6:4-5).
b. Secondly, it is written in contrast to renewing them again (Heb 6:6).
c. The renewing again to repentance is regeneration (Tit 3:5).
ii. The new spirit which God puts in a man in regeneration cannot sin (1Jo 3:9).
iii. If it would sin, then it would die and lose it's eternal life (Rom 6:23; Jam 1:15).
iv. If one were to lose his eternal life, then Christ would have to die again (afresh) (Heb 6:6) for his sins to make it possible for him to be renewed again because regeneration (quickening) comes after having one's sins forgiven (Col 2:13).
v. This is impossible (Heb 6:4) since Christ died once for sins, never to be repeated (Heb 7:27; Heb 9:12,26,28; Heb 10:10,12,14,18).
vi. To lose one's eternal life would be to make Jesus a liar (Joh 10:27-29).
vii. To lose one's eternal life and get it back again would mean that Christ would have to be crucified afresh which would put Him to an open shame because it would show that He didn't get the job done right the first time (Heb 6:6).
D. Far from proving that a person can fall away and lose his eternal life, this passage proves that it is impossible to do so.
122. Heb 7:25
A. "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." (Heb 7:25)
i. Does this verse teach that if we come to God by Jesus then Jesus will save us?
ii. Yes, but how does one come unto God?
B. Nobody can come unto God unless God draws him to Him (Joh 6:44).
i. Draw v. - 1. a. trans. To cause (anything) to move toward oneself by the application of force; to pull.
ii. God chose to put His elect in Christ (Eph 1:4 c/w 1Co 1:30), and thereby adopt us to be His children by Him (Eph 1:5).
iii. No man comes unto Christ except it were given unto him by the Father (Joh 6:65).
C. Jesus saved His elect to the uttermost geographically.
i. Jesus saved God's elect which come out of every nation (Rev 5:9), even to the uttermost part of the earth (Act 1:8).
ii. When Jesus returns, He will gather His elect from the uttermost part of the earth (Mar 13:27).
D. Jesus saved His elect to the uttermost in time and extent.
i. Jesus saved those that the Father gave Him eternally (to the uttermost) (Joh 17:2 c/w Joh 10:28).
ii. They shall never perish because they are saved to the uttermost (Joh 10:28).
iii. The saints are preserved in Jesus Christ (Jud 1:1).
E. Jesus can save us to the uttermost because He has the everlasting priesthood of Melchisedec (Heb 6:20) in which He continueth ever with an unchangeable priesthood (Heb 7:24) as our advocate (1Jo 2:1) and intercessor (Heb 7:25).
i. Intercession n. - I. 1. The action of interceding or pleading on behalf of (rarely against) another; entreaty, solicitation, or prayer for another; mediation.
ii. Advocate n. - 1. One whose profession it is to plead the cause of any one in a court of justice; a counsellor or counsel. 2. fig. and gen. One who pleads, intercedes, or speaks for, or in behalf of, another; a pleader, intercessor, defender. b. Specially, applied to Christ as the Intercessor for sinners.
iii. Jesus is our propitiation and He pleads for our forgiveness by His blood on our behalf (1Jo 2:2).
iv. Propitiation - 1. The action or an act of propitiating; appeasement, conciliation; atonement, expiation.
F. If one comes to God by faith in Jesus Christ, he has the assurance and the evidence that Jesus has saved him to the uttermost and that he will never come into condemnation (Joh 5:24).
123. Heb 10:10
A. "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb 10:10)
B. Does this verse teach the entire human race are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ?
i. No, the "all" who are sanctified by Christ's offering are the elect.
ii. See Heb 2:9 - Section III.
124. Heb 10:26-38
A. " For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, ...36) For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise....38) Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39) But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." (Heb 10:26-38)
B. Does this passage teach that a man can lose his eternal salvation and that it is conditioned on persevering in faith until the end of his life?
C. No, see Heb 2:1-3 - Section III.
For a master copy of the outline, click here:
Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace
