Never Means, “NEVER.”

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him SHALL NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life.”

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This is one of the most well-known and beloved verse in the entire Bible.  Even little kids in Sunday school are able to memorize it!  It is a very clear, precise, and definitive statement.  No fuzzy edges; no grey areas.

It plainly says, “WHOSOEVER“…..no qualification….. “believes in Jesus, SHALL NOT PERISH”;…..In other words, suffer eternal punishment in hell…..”but have EVERLASTING LIFE”:…..a life in heaven with Jesus that NEVER ends.

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You would think it can’t get any clearer than that, right? Think again. 😳

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I apologize in advance for the lengthy discussion that follows.  But this topic has far too many sincere believers confused about whether or not they can lose their salvation. 🤯 It is so important to understand this truth in order to have that blessed assurance our Father wants us to have. Toward that end, I have discussed the topic as fully as possible here.  There are also links to other articles that may also prove helpful which you may choose to explore as well.

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Iron-Clad Guarantee.

The opening verse is an iron-clad guarantee…..or at least it should be.  So why is it, given such a clear, precise, and unqualified statement…..spoken by Jesus Himself, mind you…..do you hear sermons that cause you to doubt your ETERNAL salvation?

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Don’t feel too bad, though.  I used to be just as confused until I learned the truth. Please understand that I am not trying to insult anyone here.  I simply want to open up the scriptures and point out what they clearly say so that you can have that blessed assurance Jesus wants you to have.

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Unbelieving Believers?

My question to pastors who preach this is, “If you teach on this VERY CLEAR, VERY PRECISE statement, then have the audacity to inform your people they can lose their salvation by committing some great sin, how can you preach about ETERNAL life?  YOU OBVIOUSLY DON’T BELIEVE IN IT.” 🤯

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English Lesson.

Ok class, let’s have a little English lesson.  What is the meaning of “Eternal?”

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Eternal – (e·ter·nal): adjective.  Definition: Lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning.

Synonyms:  everlasting, never-ending, endless, perpetual, undying, immortal, abiding, permanent, enduring, infinite, boundless, timeless…you get the picture.

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Does ANYTHING in that definition even hint or imply that there is an end of any kind?  Any kind at all??…..for ANY reason?  The answer should be obvious.

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But, if you still think there’s something a believer can do to lose his or her salvation in any way, shape, or form, then what  you believe in is NOT ETERNAL life by definition.  If it is anything less than everlasting, never-ending, endless, perpetual, undying, immortal, abiding, permanent, enduring, infinite, boundles, or timeless, it is TEMPORARY.  So, if God says you have eternal life, but you say you can lose it, someone is in error here;…..and  I assure you, IT ISN’T GOD.     

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Eternally Secure.

As if this statement in English isn’t clear enough, the Greek is even more definitive. God says that the believer “Shall not perish,” meaning “shall not go to hell when they die.”  The phrase, “Shall not” comes from two Greek words:  “Ou & mé.”  “Ou-mé” is a double negative which, in Greek, strengthens the denial.  You “shall not, never, by NO means” perish.  Couple this verse with the ones below SPOKEN BY JESUS from John 10 and you have an iron-clad guarantee from BOTH FATHER AND SON to reassure all of us wishy washy ones that we are eternally secure.

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Double Assurance.

John 10:27-30

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE, and they shall NEVER PERISH; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and NO ONE IS ABLE TO SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY FATHER’S HAND. I and My Father are One.”

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Are you included in the “Anyone?”  YES.  Church, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done.  If you are truly born again, NO ONE…including you…can snatch you out of either Jesus’ or the Father’s hands.  You can’t even jump out by committing some grievous sin. (not that you would want to! 🤦‍♀️)

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Pastoral Confusion.

Many preachers, I think, have gotten confused by a few obscure passages, like those of Hebrews 6 and 10.  By misinterpreting and misapplying them they have cast doubt on what should be a very clear, uncomplicated issue.

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What has caused the confusion?  Not rightly dividing the word of God.  These passages taken out of context have been mistakenly use for this false narrative.  THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS because it inadvertently puts believers back under condemnation and guilt, things that are hazardous to both physical and spiritual health.

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The Matter Of Hebrews 6 & 10.

The most important thing you need to do in discerning the proper context of any passage to determine TO WHOM a passage is written.  You see, though all scripture is of benefit FOR us, not all of it is written TO us.  Hebrews, as the name of the book implies, was written TO the Hebrews, not TO the Church, though we can certainly learn from it.

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Sining Willfully.

At the time of the writing of the book of Hebrew, many Jewish people had come to faith in Christ.  Others, however, were still sitting on the fence.  Though they believed Jesus might be the Messiah, they never actually put their faith in Him as their Savior.  Paul wrote to the Jewish Church about this issue.  Since all sin is willful, he must have been referring to something in particular.  He was!

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At  that time, these non-believing Jewish people would go to Bible study with their saved friends, even worshipped with them.  But they weren’t sure that Jesus was really THE ONLY WAY.  So, they thought they’d hedge their bets by going back to the temple to offer bulls and goats, just in case.  Paul referred to this practice as “Sining willfully.”  

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Here’s the problem: Jesus is THE FINAL SACRIFICE.  Bulls and goats are no longer acceptable to God to atone for sins.  This fact caused his mention of the “fearful expectation of judgment” because nothing and no one else could now atone for their sins.  They needed to accept Jesus as their once-for-all sacrifice, not go running to the Tabernacle to offer lesser blood sacrifices just in case.

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To know all that yet still go to the temple was SINING WILLFULLY.  It wasn’t some vague reference to something you can do to lose your salvation.  In doing this evil act, they were valuing Jesus blood as lesser than that of bulls and goats. They were literally trampling underfoot His precious blood.  😭 God was not pleased.

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By the way, this cannot happen today because, since the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, there hasn’t been any place to offer temple sacrifices.  We’re safe!

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(For an in depth study on how to rightly divide, please follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2021/05/28/part-1-of-16-introduction-to-rightly-dividing-the-word-of-god/)

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Basic Misunderstanding.

My next question is, “What sin do you think could someone commit that would cause them to lose their salvation?”  I guarantee you that whatever sin or sins you come up with betrays a basic misunderstanding of forgiveness. What sin could possibly NOT BE CLEANSED by the perfect, sinless, precious blood of the perfect, precious, SINLESS Lamb of God?  Church, IT DOESN’T EXIST!  

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Paul never mentioned any sin that is unforgivable.  Not even once.  Believe me, if there were such a thing, he certainly should have said something.  It would have been irresponsible not to tell us.  HE DID NOT.

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The First Adam And The Last Adam.

Here’s the deal:  There is no good deed or righteous act you could do that would have un-done what the first Adam did in the fall.  You were born under the curse and that was that. Yet some assert, supposedly, that one terrible sin can un-do what Jesus, the last Adam, the PERFECT, PRECIOUS, SINLESS LAMB OF GOD ALMIGHTY did.  Something is very wrong with this picture!  

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This erroneous doctrine has the same effect as the “Sining willfully,” that Hebrews mentions.  Both are making the precious, sinless blood of Jesus OF LESSER VALUE that the blood of bulls and goats, once again TRAMPLING HIS BLOOD UNDERFOOT!  😳

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None of us intentionally wants to do that, I’m sure.   The only difference between us and those 1st century doubters is that sin of unbelief, like every other sin, is covered for the believer.  You need have no fear of judgment from God.

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The Unpardonable Sin?

Then some will bring up something called, “The Unpardonable Sin,” stating that this can send the believer to hell.  They then go on to cite the passage in Matthew 12.  Yes, Jesus actually said those things and, yes, it does exist.  But, again, not rightly dividing God’s word is occurring once again.  This passage is being taken out of context.

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NEWS FLASH:  Believers CANNOT be guilty of the “unpardonable sin.”, which is Unbelief.  Believers, by definition, are NOT UNbelievers.

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For more on that topic, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/the-un-pardonable-sin/

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Out Of Context.

Are you sensing a pattern here?  There seems to have been a whole lot of this “taking-out-of-context” thing going on all down through Church history.  The devil is behind it, of course.  But why?  Because he wants to steal from us and/or kill and destroy us. DON’T LISTEN TO HIM.  The next time you hear a message or read something in a book that even hints you can lose your salvation, FLUSH IT.  IT’S A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL.

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You Are Completely Clean.

You see, just because someone is standing up there preaching, even if he or she is a PhD, it may not all be the word of God.  The part that calls your salvation into question is not true.  Pray for that pastor that he…or she…may some day come to understand true forgiveness.  That person very likely has his or her own doubts. Jesus doesn’t want them to have doubts.  He wants them to be at peace.

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Perfect Tense Forgiveness.

Church, Jesus finished the work.  He CLEANSED YOUR ENTIRE LIFE; yes, even your future.  That is a “Perfect tense understanding of forgiveness.”  What do I mean by that?

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Remember Simon, the Pharisee, who invited Jesus to his house?  He did it just so he could observe Him up close in order to find fault, not because he wanted to learn anything.  He had what I like to call a “Present tense” understanding.  In his story, Jesus teaches about the difference between Present and Perfect tense forgiveness.  It is discussed in further detail in the article below if you would like to follow the link provided:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2022/12/05/no-one-is-forgiven-little/

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The good new is God SO LOVED the world…SO loved YOU…that He gave His only begotten Son…..JESUS…..that WHOSOEVER believes in Him SHALL NOT (Ou-mé) PERISH, but have everlasting life!       

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AMEN, AMEN!