Can we lose our salvation?

My friend and I were talking the other day about the sermon at his church on Sunday. The focus of the message was on the assurance of our salvation from John.

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. --John 15:16

His pastor emphasized the fact that we're chosen by God, not of our own volition, and so we'll remain in Him. My friend was a bit confused by this, particularly when read in context. The previous verses present a metaphor of us being branches on the vine of Christ and if we don't abide in Him, we'll be gathered up and burned. So, we talked a bit about some of the differences between the Calvinist and Arminian positions regarding the perseverance of the saints and eternal security.

Then, during this morning's workout, I listened to one of my favorite radio preachers, Steve Brown. His message was about the fact that the church as a whole isn't going to disappear. One of the points he touched on involved eternal security of the individual as typically presented by five-point Calvinists.

In the context of these two events, the whole debate between the Calvinists and Arminians came back to the fore of my thinking. This is one of those topics that is somewhat interesting to me, but not enough to spend a lot of time really digging into it. I certainly make no claim to know the topic really well.

Having said that, I grew up in churches heavily influenced by Wesleyan thought with its roots in Arminian teaching and the belief in the possibility of losing our salvation. This has never fully set right with me. I've done some reading on Calvinism and am not really comfortable with their position, as I understand it, either. Both have apparent extremes, each supported in part by some Bible passages, that are hard to reconcile when you look at all of scripture. My intuition is that much of the debate is due to our lack of perspective and limited understanding.

As I was mulling over these issues, it occurred to me that perhaps at least part of the problem is the way it's framed. It is typically put in the context of "can we lose our salvation or not?" I think the problem with this may be the term "lose". This carries the connotation of accidental or inadvertent failure to retain possession. Sort of an "oops, I misplaced my salvation. Now where did it go?"

I wonder what would happen to the debate if we framed it more in terms of actively rejecting Jesus rather than passively losing our salvation. I think it might make more sense to ask

Can I go to hell by actively rejecting Jesus' offer of salvation, regardless of what I previously professed?

I don't have any conclusions, just thought that was an interesting shift of perspective.

References

Some Wikipedia articles with background on the topic:

• Perseverance of the saints
• History of Calvinist-Arminian debate
• Christian soteriology

Why war against the King of Kings?

During my read through Revelation over the last year, one of the things that has never really made sense to me in this book is the mindset of those who war against God. I've always pondered, "who do they think they are?" I mean things that have never happened before in history are happening. Cataclysmic judgment is falling around them, they know He caused it, and yet they don't repent and turn to Him for salvation.^[1]

In one of the last scenes, the armies of all nations on the planet are arrayed against the King of all Kings. Up to this point, there have been all sorts of incredible signs that the end is near and they need to repent. Finally, the sky has split open and Jesus has come down from heaven.

Stop. Think about this. There is no special effects team creating this in some movie software and putting it on the screen. This is here and now reality. The One who created the universe in all its intricate detail, majestic beauty and awesome power stands in front of them. Yet they doggedly persist in rebellion. How can they? Do they not see they are doomed? And then it hit me, I'm looking at this in too limited a context. I have to back up a bit and get a bigger picture.

There's a significant part of our society that denies the spiritual. They say there is no God. They think they find naturalistic explanations for things that scripture clearly explains God caused. Within this context of discrediting anything their concept of science cannot support, the Anti-Christ and his false prophet make their appearance with demonstrable signs of supernatural power. Their abilities fill an vacuum created by society's refusal of the unearthly. With nothing to compare to, their power seems large, mighty and overwhelming. However, in reality, when compared to Jesus power, they are so insignificant as to not matter.

So, in the end, because of their prejudice, as Revelation says^[2], the Anti-Christ deceived them. They cannot see that the one they follow who they think has enormous power is a mere slave when compared to the King. They thought they were wise in denying that God created the universe. They thought in their wisdom they found natural reasons for things that, without their blinders of preconception, are obviously from the Creator. This reliance on their own understanding opened them to being deceived and played the fool and ultimately their destruction.^[3]

---

1. Revelation 6:16, Revelation 9:20, Revelation 9:21, Revelation 16:9, Revelation 16:11

2. Revelation 19:20

2. Romans 1:18-32

Plumbing tip: cold or wet?

As I prepared for bed last night, while standing at the bathroom sink, I glanced down and saw a pool of liquid in front of my toes. My first thought was a cat had decided that location was a better place than its box to do its business. However as I began cleaning it up, I realized there was more there than a feline's bladder would hold. It also didn't smell as I expected it would.

This was water coming out from under the cabinet. Uh, oh. Not good. On further investigation, I found a drip from the shutoff valve for the toilet next to the sink. Sigh. I knew what my day off would entail. I went down to the basement, shut the water off to the house, mopped up what I could, put towels under the drip to catch anything remaining in the pipes and went to bed.

This morning I picked up a new valve at the local toy store (aka Home Depot), came home and replaced the valve. After I turned on the water, I went back up to check for leaks. The tank was filling, so cold water was running through the pipes. I find it hard when doing plumbing work to feel the difference between cold and wet and so I used a trick I picked up somewhere years ago.

To find leaks, wipe a piece of tissue paper around the joints.

The fine paper will fill the small crevices at the juncture of the pipes and wick up any moisture it finds. When you look at the paper, wet spots are obvious by the color and texture differences, a sure sign of further work needed. A second check is also a good idea to make sure there aren't any slow leaks. In this case, everything was good and I could move on to my next task for the day.

What is the Gospel? (and status update)

Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening
Originally uploaded by hpebley3

My friend Mike Frye has a great blog called Shewmen and asked me to write a guest article. I chose the topic "What is the Gospel?" and it can be read here. Thanks Mike for that opportunity and the accountability to actually publish something.

Speaking of publishing something, I was fairly quiet on this blog last year. I have quite a few articles in various stages of completeness, some are about faith and some are politics. Some of the quietness came from a lack of time to do final editing. However, it was due in larger part to the fact that as I was writing them in the wake of the 2008 elections and the changes immediately thereafter, I found the tone and my heart to be moving in a direction I wasn't sure was where I wanted to go. In light of this, I backed off pressing the publish button.

I plan to revisit, and probably publish, most of them this year. With some perspective and prayer, hopefully they'll have the tone I wish them to have.

I pray everyone has a blessed 2010.

Pearl Harbor Day 2009

Zoom lights
Originally uploaded by hpebley3

A friend of mine e-mailed this to me earlier today. I liked it so much I did some research and found it was written almost 9 years ago and has circulated the internet since then. I'm surprised I've never seen it before. I thought I'd share it here; I hope you enjoy it.

A Soldier's Christmas
by Michael Marks
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

I found a little history by the author at snopes.com:

A Soldier's Christmas was the first in this series of patriotic writings, drafted on Pearl Harbor Day 2000 when in the wake of the 2000 Presidential Election our nation saw the right of US Armed Forces personnel openly questioned and debated. I felt it unconscionable that at the onset of the Christmas season, those serving to defend our nation would hear anything but our love and support. It is our challenge to stand for their rights at home while they stand for our lives and safety overseas. This poem went out and quickly spread around the world in emails, letters, magazines. I received letters from Marines in Bosnia, soldiers in Okinawa, from a submariner who xeroxed a copy for everyone on his sub. Moms wrote, dads, brothers and sisters. I have saved and cherish every letter and set out to continue writing throughout the year.

What does equality mean?

Someone recently twittered:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, until some men get cancer and their insurance doesn't cover it. -- jantzie

I wanted to respond, but didn't feel I could fit it in 140 characters, so I'm posting a paragraph or two here. This twitter comment starts with a quote from the Declaration of Independence and then adds her own ending, which I believe to be a non sequitur. Let me explain.

First, the original quote:

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. -- Declaration of Independence

In context, the equality under discussion are the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All men have the right to live life as they see fit. They have the right to go where they wish and do what they want. They have the right to pursue happiness, wealth and property. The Bill of Rights specifically enumerates some of these rights. The rights it lists in no way is intended to list all the rights. The ones it doesn't list explicitly remain with individuals. No where in these founding documents does it indicate people are to be equal in happiness, wealth or property. It only indicates they are equal in their freedom to pursue these things.

When the opening quote uses the word until, it implies that at the point that the insurance doesn't cover cancer, people are no longer equal. The problem is, in this usage, equal is an adjective with the nouns unstated. Leaving them unstated implies they are the same but in this context, they are not. The opening talks about equal rights. The closing talks about equal wealth.

So, even when people are denied insurance coverage, they are still equal to others in their right to pursue medical treatment. One person may not have the wealth required to receive the needed treatment for a cure whereas someone else might. But the guarantee of equal wealth does not exist in our system, only equal freedom to pursue that prize.

In the same way that not everyone is guaranteed the same salary, the same mansion on the hill or the same toys in the garage, not everyone is guaranteed the same health care coverage. However, in the same way that everyone is free to pursue the high paying job, the house, the toys, they are also free to pursue health care. For many varied reasons, people will achieve different levels wealth. The differences in wealth will mean there are differences in products and services that can be purchased, including health care. In and of themselves, these differences, these inequalities if you will, are not unjust. All men are still created equal and have equal rights, even if their insurance claim is denied.

Happy 4th of July!

The Red, White and Blue
Originally uploaded by hpebley3

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.
THE UNANIMOUS
DECLARATION
OF THE
THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WHEN, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands, which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's GOD entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shown, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.

HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodations of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyranny only.

HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.

HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.

HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining, in the mean Time, exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.

HE has endeavored to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone; for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.

HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.

HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the Consent of our Legislatures.

HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:

FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:

FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:

FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:

FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:

FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.

HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection, and waging War against us.

HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.

HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with Circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.

HE has constrained our Fellow-Citizens, taken Captive on the high Seas, to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

HE has excited domestic Insurrection amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes, and Conditions.

IN every Stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every Act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them, from Time to Time, of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the Rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of Right do. And for the Support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of DIVINE PROVIDENCE, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

John Hancock.

GEORGIA, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo. Walton.
NORTH-CAROLINA, Wm. Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.
SOUTH-CAROLINA, Edward Rutledge, Thos Heyward, junr. Thomas Lynch, junr. Arthur Middleton.
MARYLAND, Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos. Stone, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.
VIRGINIA, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Ths. Jefferson, Benja. Harrison, Thos. Nelson, jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.
PENNSYLVANIA, Robt. Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benja. Franklin, John Morton, Geo. Clymer, Jas. Smith, Geo. Taylor, James Wilson, Geo. Ross.
DELAWARE, Caesar Rodney, Geo. Read.
NEW-YORK, Wm. Floyd, Phil. Livingston, Frank Lewis, Lewis Morris.
NEW-JERSEY, Richd. Stockton, Jno. Witherspoon, Fras. Hopkinson, John Hart, Abra. Clark.
NEW-HAMPSHIRE, Josiah Bartlett, Wm. Whipple, Matthew Thornton.
MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, Saml. Adams, John Adams, Robt. Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.
RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE, &c. Step. Hopkins, William Ellery.
CONNECTICUT, Roger Sherman, Saml. Huntington, Wm. Williams, Oliver Wolcott.
IN CONGRESS, JANUARY 18, 1777.
ORDERED,
THAT an authenticated Copy of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCY, with the Names of the MEMBERS of CONGRESS, subscribing the same, be sent to each of the UNITED STATES, and that they be desired to have the same put on RECORD.
By Order of CONGRESS,
JOHN HANCOCK, President.
BALTIMORE, in MARYLAND: Printed by MARY KATHARINE GODDARD.