Friday, October 10, 2008

"Once Saved, Always Saved" heresy refuted by Charles Finney

Right now I'm doing an essay on Charles Finney's Lectures on Revivals of Religion, it's mostly how Americans tend to anthropomorphize God into an image of themselves, etc. (You know those Canadian profs). Finney was a Baptist Preacher, Abolitionist, and the founder of Evangelicalism's greatest weapon: "The Altar Call" and anxious seat manuevers, yes this is the man who destroyed the Monergism of historic Protestantism. But I found one passage I like, he lets loose on the popular twisting of Calvin's doctrine of perseverance. This is the detestable heresy known as 'Once Saved, Always Saved'. I've found it everywhere -even Capernwray- but to throw the Mennonites a bone here, they reject it (one of their few but notable successes). I'll let Finney do the talking from here out though:

"Sanctification is obedience, and, as a progressive thing, consists in obeying God more and more perfectly. Young converts should be taught so as to understand what perseverance is. It is astonishing how people talk about perseverance. As if the doctrine of perseverance was "Once in grace, always in grace," or "Once converted, sure to go to heaven." This is not the idea of perseverance. The true idea is, that if a man is truly converted, he will continue to obey God. And as a consequence, he will surely go to heaven. But if a person gets the idea that because he is converted, therefore he will assuredly go to heaven, that man will almost assuredly go to Hell." - Charles Grandison Finney "Instructions of Young Converts in Lectures on the Revivals of Religion".

3 comments:

  1. "The true idea is, that if a man is truly converted, he will continue to obey God. And as a consequence, he will surely go to heaven."

    Yuck. Honestly I don't think Finney understood the first thing about theology. Finney betrays here that he believes obedience brings about eternal life, rather than the atonement of Jesus Christ. Finney, I believe, is a greeter at the gates of hell.

    The basis of our salvation is not that we don't sin. but "But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins."

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  2. did you mean mr. Jared Nelson, that the truly converted never sin again after he accept Jesus Christ as personal savior and Lord?

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  3. LET ME be as honest on something. I do know you are not able to lose your salvation and anyone that says you can does not know the bible is not able teach it. Because if you can lose it then you are telling me Jesus lies when he said he is able to keep me. I hve studied the bible and I know the truth is Jesus does not lose who he saved. Now having cancer I must put this outthere. If you tell me that I can lose it your not going to be responded to. The Lord saves to the end no you cannot endure to the end. No your not able to hold on to Jesus he has to hold onto you. If you can earn your way to Jesus you best get that one out of your mind and never think that Jesus is not for you to earn by being a good person ever. Your good works are as cow poop (yes its in the bible) and if you try that with Jesus you will not be saved from hell. Lukewarm people is not what John means in Rev 3 He wanrs the church to be refreshing or hot not luke warm and if you overcame and you did at the time you are saved your saved. No Jesus is not going to spit you out (he did not put you there)

    Backsliders are really not going to lose anything, God is a father and when you are his son God is not going to not be dad. He adopted you meaning that sonship is forever. I was adopted and even tho I do not speak to the parents the state said that in my money they die I get funds. So if God adopts you he keeps you foreveer. If the Holy Spirit seals you your in. Jesus is never going to back and take you out of the family that would make God a liar and he never lies.

    Lets say you got saved then you went out and killed a person because you wanted the job they had and you and his wife had a affair, well saved? DAIVD was his name and yes he is but God took his kid and he was unable to build the temple. How b out your close to the Lord and people ask about if you knew him and you just said nope. PETER How bout God you not lovcing Jesus with all your heart all your soul and all your mind every day without fail ME

    We all have done sin and all need forgiveness and IF WE ARE PART OF GODS FAMLIY BY TRUSTING JESUS AS OUR LORD AND BELIEVE HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD WE ARE SAVED. So if we do sin we have Jesus who is faith and just and if we CONFESS our sins are gone. But hold on we are fogiven for all our sin past and ones we are going to do.

    Col 2 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.1

    all are forgiven. So all means just some ? No it means they are all gone he took away all the requirements away. Your under grace not laws and your there forever and ever

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