In the days of the early Christians (the first three centuries), there was a religious group who strongly disputed the Congregation's ("Church's") stance on salvation and works. This religious group taught
- that man is totally depraved,
- that we are saved solely by grace,
- that works play no role in our salvation, and
- that we cannot forfeit our salvation once we obtain it.
This religious group was labeled as heretics by the early Christians.
You might be thinking, "This group of 'heretics' were the real Christians while these 'orthodox' Christians were really heretics." However, such a conclusion is impossible. Who was this religious group, you ask?
The Gnostics!
If you think the Gnostics were "true Christians," observe what the apostle John said about them: "Many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist" (2 John 7).
If our Evangelical doctrine of salvation is true, we are faced with the uncomfortable reality that this doctrine was first taught by "deceivers and antichrists" before it was taught by Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and others.
Ponder that point promptly.
Scholars have noted that "Calvinism" (a.k.a. "TULIP" or "The Doctrines of Grace") has risen up in popularity four times over the past 500 years. Every single time, it always dies back down. Why do you suppose that is? Well, either God ordained it to be such, or else the system just does not hold any water theologically and/or logically. When Christians actually hold Scripture as their authority rather than what some preacher has told them to believe (or what is dictated in their creeds, confessions, catechisms, constitutions, statements of faith, or systems of theology), they inevitably come to a conclusion that is opposed to these beliefs.
Calvinists teach that those who are predestined to salvation cannot be lost but will continue by God's power to a blessed end. However, Scripture teaches otherwise (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-29; Ps. 51:11) with God urging His people not to continue in sin but to live in repentance and faith (Rom. 6:1-4). Let us see what Scripture and the early Christians (A.D. 90-300) have to say:
"and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you." 2 Chronicles 15:2
"Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 51:11
"And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, 'The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.'" Ezekiel 33:12
"You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." Matthew 10:22
"But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."" Luke 9:62
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:1-4
"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?" Romans 11:17-24
"by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:2
"But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them;" Ephesians 5:3-7
"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister." Colossians 1:21-23
"If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;" 2 Timothy 2:12
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins," Hebrews 10:26
"My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." James 5:19-20
"Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;" 2 Peter 1:10
"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."" 2 Peter 2:20-22 (see also Matthew 24:13; Luke 17:31-32; John 8:31-32; 15:1, 6; Galatians 6:9; James 1:12; Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:36)
"We ought therefore, brethren carefully to inquire concerning our salvation. Otherwise, the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, may hurl us forth from our life." —Barnabas
"The whole past time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources of danger. . . . . Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called, we fall asleep in our sins. For then, the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, will thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. . . . And you should pay attention to this all the more, my brothers, when you reflect on and see that even after such great signs and wonders had been performed in Israel, they were still abandoned. Let us beware lest we be found to be, as it is written, the "many who are called," but not the "few who are chosen."" —Barnabas
"[WRITTEN TO CHRISTIANS:] Since all things are seen and heard [by God], let us fear Him and forsake those wicked works that proceed from evil desires. By doing that, through His mercy, we may be protected from the judgments to come. For where can any of us flee from His mighty hand?" —Clement of Rome
"Let us therefore repent with the whole heart, so that none of us perish by the way." —Second Clement
"For the Lord has sworn by His glory, in regard to His elect, that if any one of them sin after a certain day which ha seen fixed, he will not be saved. For the repentance of the righteous has limits. Filled up are the days of repentance to all the saints. But to the unbeliever, repentance will be possible even to the last day. . . . For the Lord has sworn by His Son, that those who denied their Lord have abandoned their life in despair." —Hermas
"There is but one repentance to the servants of God." —Hermas
"If you do not guard yourself against [anger], you and your house will lose all hope of salvation." —Hermas
"Put away doubting from you, and do not hesitate to ask of the Lord, saying to yourself, "How can I ask of the Lord and receive from Him, seeing I have sinned so much against Him?" Do not reason with yourself in this manner. Instead, with all your heart turn to the Lord, and ask of Him without doubting. For then you will know the multitude of His tender mercies and that He will never leave you, but will fulfill the request of your soul. For He is not like men, who remember evils done against them." —Hermas
"The apostates and traitors of the congregation have blasphemed the Lord in their sins. Moreover, they have been ashamed of the name of the Lord by which they were called. These persons, therefore, at the end were lost unto God." —Hermas
"I hold further, that those of you who have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back for some reason to the legal dispensation [i.e., the Mosaic Law], and have denied that this man is Christ, and have not repented before death—you will by no means be saved." —Justin Martyr
"These men of old time, . . . for whom the Son of God had not yet suffered, when they committed any sin and served fleshly lusts, were rendered objects of great disgrace. Accordingly, what will the men of the present day suffer, who have despised the Lord's coming, and have become the slaves of their own lusts? Truly, the death of the Lord brought healing and remission of sins to the former. However, Christ will not die again on behalf of those who now commit sin. For death will no more have dominion over Him. . . . We should not, therefore, as that elder remarks, be puffed up, nor be severe upon those of olden times. Rather, we should fear ourselves, least perchance, after [we have come to] the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but are shut out from His kingdom. And for that reason, Paul said, "For if [God] spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest He also not spare you."" —Irenaeus
"It was not to those who are on the outside that he said these things, but to us—lest we should be cast forth from the kingdom of God, by doing any such thing." —Irenaeus
"Knowing that what preserves his life, namely, obedience to God, is good, he may diligently keep it with all earnestness." —Irenaeus
"Those who do not obey Him, being disinherited by Him, have ceased to be His sons." —Irenaeus
"God's greatest gift is self-restraint. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you," as having judged you worthy according to the true election. Thus, then, while we attempt piously to advance, we will have put on us the mild yoke of the Lord from faith to faith, one charioteer driving each of us onward to salvation." —Clement of Alexandria
"He who hopes for everlasting rest knows also that the entrance to it is toilsome and narrow. So let him who has once received the Gospel not turn back, like Lot's wife, as is said—even in the very hour in which he has come to the knowledge of salvation. And let him not go back either to his former life (which adheres to the things of sense) or to heresies." —Clement of Alexandria
"It is neither the faith, nor the love, nor the hope, nor the endurance of one day; rather, "he that endures to the end will be saved." —Clement of Alexandria
"God gives forgiveness of past sins. However, as to future sins, each one procures this for himself. He does this by repenting, by condemning the past deeds, and by begging the Father to blot them out. For only the Father is the one who is able to undo what is done. . . . So even in the case of one who has done the greatest good deeds in his life, but at the end has run headlong into wickedness, all his former pains are profitless to him. For at the climax of the drama, he has given up his part." —Clement of Alexandria
"No one is a Christian but he who perseveres even to the end." —Tertullian
"The world returned to sin . . . and so it is destined to fire. So is the man who after baptism renews his sins." —Tertullian
"We ought indeed to walk so holily, and with so entire substantiality of faith, as to be confident and secure in regard of our own conscience, desiring that it may abide in us to the end. Yet, we should not presume [that it will]. For he who presumes, feels less apprehension. He who feels less apprehension, takes less precaution. He who takes less precaution, runs more risk. Fear is the foundation of salvation. Presumption is an impediment to fear. . . . More useful, then, is it to apprehend that we may possibly fail, than to presume that we cannot. For apprehending will lead us to fear, fear to caution, and caution to salvation. On the other hand, if we presume, there will be neither fear nor caution to save us." —Tertullian
"[The Valentinians claim] that since they are already naturalized in the brotherly bond of the spiritual state, they will obtain a certain salvation—one which is on all accounts their due." —Tertullian
"Some thing that God is under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what He has promised [to give]. So they turn His liberality into His slavery. . . . For do not many afterwards fall out of [grace]? Is not this gift taken away from many? These, no doubt, are they who, . . . after approaching to the faith of repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin." Tertullian
"God had foreseen . . . that faith—even after baptism—would be endangered. He saw that most persons—after obtaining salvation—would be lost again, by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for their torches." —Tertullian
"Hoodwinking multitudes, [Marcus, the heretic] deceived many persons of this description who had become his disciples. He taught them that they were prone, no doubt, to sin. However, he said that they were beyond the reach of danger because they belonged to the perfect Power. . . . Subsequent to baptism, these [heretics] promise another, which they call Redemption. And by this, they wickedly subvert those who remain with them in expectation of redemption. As if persons, after they had once been baptized, could again obtain remission." —Hippolyus
"A man may possess an acquired righteousness, from which it is possible for him to fall away." —Origen
"Certain ones of those [heretics] who hold different opinions misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of salvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot be lost." —Origen
"The same reply must be given to them with respect to the statement of the apostle. . . . On whom does He have mercy? . . . He has it on those who are capable of incurring destruction if they did not receive mercy. They will obtain mercy in order that they may not incur that destruction of which they are capable. That way, they will remain in the condition of those who are saved." —Origen
"He who has not denied himself, but denied Christ, will experience the saying, "I also will deny him."" —Origen
"Being a believing man, if you seek to live as the Gentiles do, the joys of the world remove you from the grace of Christ." —Commodianus
"Let fear be the keeper of innocence, so that the Lord, who of His mercy has flowed into our hearts in the accesso of celestial grace, may be kept by righteous submissiveness in the home of a grateful mind. Otherwise, the assurance we have gained may beget carelessness, and so the old enemy will creep upon us again." —Cyprian
"There remains more than what is yet seen to be accomplished. For it is written, "Praise not any man before his death." And again, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life." And the Lord also says, "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved."" —Cyprian
"You are still in the world. you are still in the battlefield. You daily fight for your lives. So you must be careful, that . . . what you have begun to be with such a blessed commencement will be consummated in you. It is a small thing to have first received something. It is a greater thing to be able to keep what you have attained. Faith itself and the saving birth do not make alive by merely being received. Rather, they must be preserved. it is not the actual attainment, but the perfecting, that keeps a man for God. The Lord taught this in His instruction when He said, "Look! You have been made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." . . . Solomon, Saul, and many others were able to keep the grace given to them so long as they walked in the Lord's ways. However, when the discipline of the Lord was forsaken by them, grace also forsook them." —Cyprian
I ask . . . that you will grieve with me at the [spiritual] death of my sister. For in this time of devastation, she has fallen from Christ." —Cyprian
"He who wills that no one should perish, desires that sinners should repent, and by repentance, should return again to life." —Cyprian
"They should not think that the way of life or of salvation is still open to them if they have refused to obey watchmen. For in Deuteronomy, the Lord God says, "And the man that will do presumptuously and will not listen to the priest or judge, . . . that man will die." —Cyprian
"[ADDRESSED TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS:] Endeavour that the undisciplined ones should not be consumed and perish. As much as you can, by your salutary counsels, you should rule the brotherhood and take counsel of each one with a view to this salvation. Straight and narrow is the way through which we enter into life." —Cyprian
"It is clear that the evil is driven out in baptism by the faith of the believer. But he returns if the faith should afterwards fail." —Cyprian
"Although they forsake the fountain of life, the [heretics] promise the grace of living and saving water. . . . Begotten of treachery, they lose the grace of faith." —Cyprian
"Whoever that confessor is, he is not greater, better, or dearer to God than Solomon. Solomon retained the grace that he had received from the Lord, as long as he walked in God's ways. However, after he forsook the Lord's way, he also lost the Lord's grace. For that reason it is written, "Hold fast that which you have, lest another take your crown." Assuredly, the Lord would not threaten that the crown of righteousness might be taken away if it were not that the crown must depart when righteousness departs. . . . "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved." So whatever comes before the end is a step by which we ascend to the summit of salvation. It is not the finish, where the full result of the ascent is already gained." —Cyprian
"To anyone who is born and dies, is there not a necessity at some time . . . to suffer the loss of his estate? Only let not Christ be forsaken, so that the loss of salvation and of an eternal home would be feared." —Cyprian
"We pray that this sanctification may abide in us. For our Lord and Judge warns the man who was healed and quickened by Him to sin no more—lest a worse thing happen to him. So we make this supplication in our constant prayers, . . . that the sanctification and quickening that is received from the grace of God may be preserved by His protection." —Cyprian
"There is need of continual prayer and supplication so that we do not fall away from the heavenly kingdom, as the Jews fell away, to whom this promise had first been given." —Cyprian
"The quarrelsome and disunited . . . will not be able to escape the crime of brotherly dissension. For it is written, "He who hates his brother is a murderer." And no murderer attains to the kingdom of heaven. Nor does he live with God. A person cannot be with Christ if he had rather be an imitator of Judas than of Christ. How great is the sin that cannot even be washed away by a baptism of blood!" —Cyprian
"What a wonderful providence, how great the mercy, that by a plan of salvation it is provided for that more abundant care should be taken for preserving a man after he is already redeemed. . . . Nor would the infirmity and weakness of human frailty have any resource, unless the divine mercy, coming once more in aid, should open some way of securing salvation, by pointing out works of justice and mercy. So, by almsgiving, we may wash away whatever foulness we subsequently contract." —Cyprian
"You are afraid that perhaps your estate might fail if you begin to act generously from it. Do you not know, miserable man, that while you are worrying that your family property may fail, life itself and salvation are failing!" —Cyprian
"He says, "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved." And again He says, "If you continue in my word, you will truly be my disciples" [John 8:31-32]. . . . So there needs to be patience in order that hope and faith may attain their result." —Cyprian
"Let us press onward and labour, watching with our whole heart. Let us be steadfast with all endurance; let us keep the Lord's commandments. Thereby, when that day of anger and vengeance comes, we may not be punished with the ungodly and the sinners. Rather, we may be honoured with the righteous and with those who fear God." —Cyprian
"Those who are snatched from the jaws of the devil and delivered from the snares of this world, should not return to the world again, lest they should lose the advantage of their leaving it in the first place. . . . The Lord admonishes us of this in His Gospel. He taught that we should not return again to the devil and to the world. For we have renounced them and have escaped from them. He says, "No man looking back after putting his hand to the plough is fit for the kingdom of God." And again, "Let him that is in the field not return back. Remember Lot's wife." . . . So we must press on and persevere in faith and virtue. We must complete the heavenly and spiritual grace so that we may attain to the palm and the crown. In the book of Chronicles it says, "The Lord is with you so long as you also are with him; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." Also in Ezekiel: "The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in whatever day that he may transgress." Furthermore, in the Gospel, the Lord speaks and says: "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved." And again, "If you will abide in my word, you will be my disciples indeed.""—Cyprian
"In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire" [Matt. 3:10]. . . . Even a baptized person loses the grace that he has attained, unless he remains innocent. In the Gospel according to John: "Look, you are made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing happens to you" [John 5:14]. Also, in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God abides in you? If anyone violates the temple of God, God will destroy Him" [1 Cor. 3:16-17]. Of this same thing in the Chronicles: "God is with you, while you are with Him. If you forsake Him, he will forsake you" [2 Chron. 15:2]." —Cyprian
"He put a seal upon him, for it is concealed as to who belong to the side of the devil and who to the side of Christ. For we do not know out of those who seem to stand whether they will fall or not. And of those who are down, it is uncertain whether they might rise." —Victorinus