I was asked this question today:
“Jerry, you Baptists teach ETERNAL SECURITY I’m not sure of your stand on this subject. I remember in one of our phone conversations, you said, God is gracious and merciful, but He will NOT and CANNOT condone any part of SIN. ” d.k.
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I wrote this short answer:
Eternal Security has much to do with the born-again, adoptive nature of the regenerative experience: God chose those terms as pictures of salvation. Once born into a family, your standing & fellowship may be subject to change, but not your genetic or legal relationship to your father. That is permanent and eternal.
Christ is described the place where “mercy & truth have kissed each other.” One can never operate without the other & reflect God. That is both the great truth of God’s nature, and the great key to our own Christlikeness.
Most Christians live their lives chronically unbalanced on one side or the other. Success in balancing truth & mercy (law & grace) is a dynamic life process and not a destination. It requires daily adjustment, if not often moment by moment adjustments, and nearly constant self-examination and the resulting impetus to prayer.
Jerry D. Kaifetz, Ph.D.
