"The Nainimra and Scilohtac tribal organizations"
This article is an adaptation of an email I sent to one of my cousins. Perhaps you will find it interesting:
Just for the sake of argument, let's consider the hypothetical person who is a real Christian, but who eventually loses all faith in Christ, and gets to the place that they no longer are a believer. (This is not even possible, of course.)
First, you and I would both agree that a person can't be an on-fire child of God, and then lose their faith in Christ overnight. If a person does go from being a real Christian to being a complete unbeliever, then it must happen gradually. They must drift away from Christ, get cold in their relationship with him, and start concentrating their trust in things/people other than Jesus (i.e. science, philosophy, etc.).
Now, since we agree that loss of faith happens over time, the pressing question for Christians should be this: "What must I do to make sure that I never lose my faith?"
How would you answer this question? I know the answers I was taught while growing up. To make sure I stay "on fire" for Christ, I was taught to pray, read my Bible, attend church regularly, avoid sin, and pursue righteous acts. In short, I was taught that persisting in good works is the key to keep from losing my faith in Christ, and therefore losing my relationship with Christ.
Here is the main point in this discussion:
If we must do good works to "keep our faith", then all we have done is redefine "faith" to mean "faith plus works". This is true because ultimately the Arminian believes that trust in Christ alone is not enough to get us to Heaven. It is necessary, but not sufficient. To get to Heaven, we must trust in Christ, AND we must perform a long list of good works to help us "keep our faith". It leaves the Arminian in the same boat as the Catholics. Both teach that we need a lifetime of faith and a lifetime of good works to get us to Heaven. At least the Catholics come out and admit this belief more openly. The Arminians say that faith alone gets us to Heaven. But they get good works in the "back door" by saying that we have to perform good works in order to keep our faith. It is still a "faith plus works" formulation.
Consider the following illustration: There are two different tribal organizations, called the Scilohtac and the Nainimra. Each group caters to poor families in the heart of Africa. They promise to take the poor and their families to America, give them homes of their own, and give them full scholarships to college. All these benefits are "free of charge", as long as the poor people meet certain conditions. The Scilohtac organization requires that the people put their trust in the organization's leader; they must sign a document stating that they truly believe that the leader of the organization has provided these benefits for them. Also, the Scilohtac group demands that all prospective benefit recepients "shape up" and live "good lives". The Scilohtac organization has a charter, and if any of these poor people break the laws on this charter without saying "I'm sorry" afterwards, then they are disqualified for the benefits. Once the Scilotac boat leaves for America, two documents are required. A person must first present their signed document affirming their belief in the organization's leader. Then a statement must also be signed by the leader, affirming that the person in question has been obedient to the charter. If a person presents both of these documents, then they are allowed to board the ship and go to America.
The Nainimra organization claims that "belief alone" in their group's leader is sufficient for receipt of benefits. Everyone who wants to go to America simply has to sign a document stating that they truly believe that the leader of the organization has provided these benefits for them. There is no condition for following the laws on the Nainimra charter. However, the Nainimra leader keeps track of all the people, and watches to see if they obey the laws on the Nainimra charter. If they break too many of the laws, then their signed document is confiscated. Once the Nainimra boat leaves for America, the people merely have to present their signed document stating that they truly believe in the organization's leader. This document alone is all they need to board the ship. But they must have it at boarding time!
Is there really any difference between the Scilohtac and Nainimra organizations? The first group openly admits to requiring two conditions to board the ship. Both belief and lawkeeping are requirements for receipt of benefits. The second group, however, claims that "belief alone" is required. And sure enough, only one document is required for boarding the ship. But lawkeeping is just as much of a requirement! If someone has a signed document affirming their belief, the document is eventually confiscated from them if they don't keep the law. So even the Nainimra group actually demands "belief plus lawkeeping" for receipt of benefits. They just are not as open about it.
Catholics openly teach that "faith plus works" gets you to Heaven. Arminians say that "faith alone" gets you to Heaven. But before you "board the boat to Heaven", you have to do lots of good works to keep from losing your faith. What's the difference?
I believe that "whoever believes in him WILL NOT perish but WILL have EVERLASTING life". If anyone ever truly believes, and yet eventually ends up in hell, then John 3:16 is a lie. If a person denies eternal security, then they deny the sufficiency of Christ.
--- Actually, I believe in Perseverance of the Saints, rather than "eternal security". But diving deep into the topic of perseverance is beyond the scope of this little article. Do Christians *persevere* in faith before final eschatological salvation? Of course. But this perseverance is a *fruit* of the salvation Christ has provided, not a *condition* to have it. What God requires of Christians, He also causes them to keep (cf. Ezekiel 36:27).
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