Scriptures Used in Support of PS/ES and Their Proper Interpretation
Those who espouse the PS/ES view of salvation often refer to John 5:24 to support their position, “He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”6 Proponents believe this verse means once you have passed from death to life, you eternally have life. The grammatical context of this verse, however, makes clear that the word eternal is not an adverb modifying the verb, as if to say one eternally has life. Instead, it is part of a compound noun. Therefore, the life is eternal, not one’s possession of it. Also, the words hearing and believing are in the present tense, meaning continuous action.
Proponents also argue that once a person and God unite, that bond can never be broken. They appeal to John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” We cannot say, however, that this text rules out the possibility that one can choose to leave (compare John 17:12).
John 10:27,28 is also used to support PS/ES: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” To these verses we could add Romans 8:35,39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?… Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But the biblical authors are saying that external forces are incapable of separating us from God. Neither rule out the possibility that a person can exercise free will and choose to depart.
It should also be noted that the present tense in Greek denotes continuous action. This verse is literally translated, “My sheep continue in hearing my voice, and I continue to know them, and they keep on following me and I keep on giving them eternal life.” This means that our not perishing is contingent on our continuing to hear and follow Jesus, a theme that echoes throughout Scripture. Instead of supporting PS/ES, this text supports the possibility that a believer can walk away from God by refusing to continue in obedience to Christ.
Using John 15:1–11, these proponents state: “If believers have been made one with Christ and his life flows through them (John 15:1–11), nothing can conceivably nullify that connection.”7 But the entire 15th chapter shows the possibility that this connection can be broken.
The word translated abide throughout chapter 15 is meno, meaning “to remain, continue, stay.” Therefore, Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away. … If anyone does not abide [continue, stay] in me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:2,6). The next section begins with Jesus declaring, “I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling” (John 16:1). If turning away from God were not a distinct possibility, Jesus would not have addressed it at such length.
Some adherents of PS/ES point to Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6 for support, “I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” In reading verses 1–11, however, it becomes clear that what Paul was confident of was the Philippians’ desire to press on to maturity — the believer’s only real security. This is supported by Paul’s later admonition to the Philippians to “work out [their] salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12). Furthermore, after noting that even his own eternal destiny was not yet written in stone (3:12,13), and to ensure his own eternal life, Paul was pressing on to greater maturity and obedience (3:14). He exhorted the Christians at Philippi to follow his example and avoid following the examples of those whose end is destruction (3:17–19).
People sometimes appeal to Hebrews 7:25, “He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Advocates understand the word “forever” to refer to those drawing near to God for salvation. The immediate context, however, and the overarching message of the Book of Hebrews requires the phrase to refer to Jesus and the length of time He, as High Priest, is able to provide atonement that makes salvation possible (compare also verses 3,17,21,24,25; 5:6; 6:20), not to the perceived eternal security of the believer.
A favorite text of those who embrace PS/ES is 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.” Advocates use this passage to claim that those who cease to follow Christ never had experienced salvation. There are several things we need to examine in this verse.
First, the text does not explicitly state what proponents of PS/ES assert it says (that separation means their salvation was not real). John was writing after their defection and noting that their desertion was proof that they no longer belonged to the community of the redeemed. He was comparing them to those who had resisted false teaching, continued to embrace the truth, and persisted in abiding in Christ (verse 24).
Second, the contrasting responses of going out and abiding/remaining recall Jesus’ own teaching in John 15, where He described members of the body of Christ who fail to “abide,” do not continue to bear fruit, dry up, and are eventually cut off.
Third, both Testaments are replete with examples of people and groups who were, at one point, clearly in right standing with God but later repudiated His lordship (Genesis 4:3–16 [compare Jude 11]; Exodus 32:32,33; Numbers 3:2–4; 4:15–20; 16:1–33; 22:8,12,19,20,32–35; 24:1,2,13; 31:7,8; 1 Samuel 10:1–7,9–11; 13:8–15; 16:14; 31; John 6:66 [compare verse 67]; 1 Corinthians 5:1–13; 1 Timothy 1:19,20; 2 Timothy 1:15; 2:17,18; 4:10; Titus 1:12–16; Hebrews 12:15–17; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 2:6,15 [compare Acts 6:5; Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 3.29], 20).
