Sealed and Secure: An Unconditional Promise of Unconditional Security

ISBN-13: 9781456495398 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 110 str.

Marty Cauley

Opis

"Sealed and Secure" defends the biblical doctrine of unconditional security as it pertains to being sealed with the Holy Spirit. Unconditional security (also popularly known as eternal security) frequently is abbreviated as OSAS (once saved always saved). The affirmation of OSAS in terms of once sealed always sealed leads directly to an affirmation of OSAS in terms of once saved always saved. This defense of unconditional security is dedicated primarily to refuting the Arminian contention that remaining sealed is conditioned on a believer's subsequent perseverance in faith and faithfulness. Chapter one considers the Arminian appeal to the supposed aspectual need of persevering in faith. This opposing NOSAS (not once saved always saved) theory stipulates that a person remains sealed only as long as that person continues to believe. This NOSAS appeal to linear faith is shown to be suspect in that the principle verbs in question are aorist. More importantly, contextual, syntactical, and semantical considerations most strongly propose a punctiliar rather than linear condition for being sealed. NOSAS counter claims are examined and found to be inadequate in dealing with the explicit security conveyed by the unconditional promise. The person remains secure in his or her identification as God's purchased possession even if he or she ceases to believe. The second chapter refutes the Arminian counterclaim that even though the promise of the seal is unconditional in its immediate context, it must be understood as being conditional from the broader biblical context. According to this Arminian supposition, since some of God's promises that seem to be unconditional really are conditional, one cannot maintain that the promise of the seal may not also be conditional despite its unconditional appearance. Indeed, some Calvinists share this Arminian perspective. Thus, this chapter expands its defense by refuting both the Arminian and Calvinistic presupposition that God is mutable in His dealings with sealed believers. According to the Calvinistic theory, in order for God to be immutable in His dealings with those whom He has elected unconditionally, He must cause them to persevere in faith so that He will not have to be mutable in removing His seal from them. Thus, the promised seal really is not unconditional. This chapter responds by showing that God can make immutable promises of unconditional security. Notwithstanding his dedication to the OSAS premise, Cauley does not hesitate to show that some of his fellow advocates of OSAS have overstated their case. Some texts that have been used in defense of unconditional rewards are better understood as pertaining to conditional rewards. Thus, conditionalism is not to be ruled out offhand in interpreting such passages as long as they are understood properly as dealing with rewards in heaven rather than free entrance into heaven. The primary benefit of this book to the reader is to encourage a biblically accurate understanding of biblical promises. Conditionalists are correct that some promises that seem unconditional have been misunderstood by securitists and mistaken by those in the securitist camp as supporting unconditional security. Conditional security, on the other hand, also has erred in assuming that all promises are conditional upon subsequent faithfulness. Although errors are exposed where proponents in both the NOSAS and OSAS camps have overstated their case, an evenhanded approach still leads to the OSAS conclusion.

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