“If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from myself” (John 7:17).

Truth is a funny thing: If you want it, you tend to find it.  If you don’t believe it exists, you never come across it.

A generation ago, Professor Allan Bloom wrote a bestseller called “The Closing of the American Mind” in which he said a growing percentage of young Americans considers the mark of the modern man to be an open mind.

By “open mind” they mean an intellect that tolerates everything and considers truth to be relative, that takes no hard and fast positions, and gives  all positions equal footing. To them, a “closed mind” ranks as the epitome of ignorance and backwardness.

Students enter the university, said Dr. Bloom, “just knowing” that maturity requires that they jettison all those “prejudices” and outdated restrictions from their parents’ repressed generation.  Those wishing to take a strong stand for (insert your favorite value here) patriotism, Americanism, the Bible, the Ten Commandments, or the church are old-fashioned and still bound in chains of ignorance.

In the years since Professor Bloom’s book topped the bestsellers’ lists, nothing has happened to change this sad state. To far too many young Americans, to be educated and sophisticated is to reject hard and fast notions of truth and to welcome relativity in every discipline.

Such is the philosophy of a large section of the up-and-coming generations.

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Those who follow this blog–thank you for your endurance!–will recall that a few months ago, we posted several assurances of the eternality (is that a word?) of our salvation.  We mentioned two or three of the strongest affirmations of Scripture that one’s salvation, once given by the Lord Jesus Christ, is forever secure.

To our surprise, some protested.

I should not have been surprised. After all, I was raised in a church of the Arminian persuasion that teaches (officially at least) one can be saved multiple times. As a teen, I recall my mother mentioning some in our large family who were Southern Baptist–“missionary Baptists” she called them–who believed in the doctrine familiarly known as “once saved, always saved.”  Mom would say, “They believe you can go out tonight and get drunk and still be saved tomorrow.” Which is true, of course. We do believe that, although that’s not our favorite way to express it. Smiley face, please. (And most definitely not something we encourage. But a person’s salvation has to be stronger than Jack Daniels or we are all in big trouble!)

To be fair, I never once heard a pastor of our home church teach that people may lose their salvation.  The pastors have always seemed certain of our security in Christ.

Anyway, long story short, since some protested and insisted that one can lose his salvation in direct contradiction to the sayings of our Lord, the subject will not leave me alone.  I’d like to return to it, if I may.  (As President Reagan once said, “I paid for this microphone.”  It’s my blog, so I can choose any subject I please. Please smile.)

So you will know, I’m not angry and not even arguing.  (I am a lover, not a fighter.)  Just trying to get at the truth of this most vital doctrine.

It matters a great deal.

Some random thoughts on this subject….

ONE.

Those who believe in the possibility of losing their salvation will quote scriptures which they say we must answer, such as those which speak of “falling from grace” and “making shipwreck.”

I get that, but they are missing something.

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