The famous rock band told us, "Don't stop believing!"
If what many believe about salvation is true, Journey is right to give us these instructions. Let me explain. I've been chatting with a new friend online about the nature of salvation. In the conversation, I asked them this question:
If someone believes in Jesus for salvation but then later deliberately commits murder and dies in a police shootout right after the murder, without confessing/repenting of the sin of murder, are they saved or unsaved?
My friend responded: "According to John 3:18, I think they are saved if they still believe."
Honestly, that's a better answer than I expected, as I haven't known this friend very long. However, I wanted to clarify a point and responded with this:
John 3:18 says, "He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
The "condemnation" here refers to the state of not having eternal life (verses 16-18). So if someone doesn't have eternal life, they are condemned. If someone has eternal life, they are not condemned.
"Condemned already" means that the state of condemnation is removed at the moment of belief, never to return. Otherwise, the word "already" doesn't work. Condemnation is a continuous state until the person believes. If it could be lost and then gained again, it wouldn't make sense to say they were "condemned already." The only way "condemned already" makes sense is if condemnation is no longer possible once someone believes.
Secondly, the verse clarifies that it's talking about "never believers," not people who once believed and then stopped. It does this with the phrase, "because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten..." This indicates a person who has never believed in Jesus for salvation. So, the verse does not address what happens if someone stops believing, only what happens if a person never believed in Jesus.
I want to admit, there is no verse in John that explicitly says, "a person keeps eternal life even if they stop believing." But there are plenty of verses that say believers are saved, no matter what happens. We know from scripture that one of the sad things that can happen is that people sometimes stop believing (Luke 8:13, 1 Timothy 4:1). Nonetheless, Jesus says no one can snatch them out of His hand (John 10:28). There is no mention of disbelief being an exception to this promise.
Building on this conclusion, John 3:36, 5:24, and 6:47 show that the person "HAS" eternal life when they believe.
If it is eternal life that a person HAS when they believe, how long will it last? Eternally!
If they could lose it, was it eternal life? No. So it must last forever as soon as you get it.
So, a person who believes in Jesus at any point in their life, HAS eternal life that lasts forever and can't be lost.
So according to John 3:18 and others, I think they are saved once they've believed and continue to be saved even if they stop believing.
To me, this is one of the greatest expressions of the maximum grace that a generous God could offer: irrevocable eternal life. While Journey was right that we should not "stop believing," it's wrong to think that belief-stoppage equals salvation lossage.
I consider myself a free grace proponent, but I am not sure yet about this Once Saved Always Saved idea.
In this article you use
'has eternal life'
as
'has received eternal life already forever and cannot be replaced'. But then you read
'is condemned already'
as
'is [eternally] condemned, UNTIL they believe then the [eternal] condemnation is replaced'.
Do you see how you are inconsistent with the application of the 'eternal' part for each state of being? When it comes to eternal condemnation, that is a present status that can be at any moment replaced by eternal life? However, eternal life is a present status that cannot ever be replaced by eternal condemnation?
I am open to your position, but this specific defense just doesn't cut it. I hope you can present a better defense!