Perseverance of the Saints: Kevaughn Mattis - The Modified Calvinist Eternal Security Teaching: A Sinner's Haven?

I am posting this as food for thought.  Although I might not agree with any modification of the five points of Calvinism, the arguments put forward in favor of the doctrine of eternal security or the perseverance and preservation of God's elect saints are worthy of your consideration.  Take this section for example:

I find it difficult to believe at times that so many Christians determine whether the doctrine of eternal security is true or not based on the lives of those of who believe in it. Logically, this kind of thinking finds accordance with the notion that the pervasiveness of evil in the world attests to the falsehood of theism.[4] The conditional security believer would more than likely defend the idea of theism by attributing the prevalence of evil to man's freedom of will.[5] However, the problem of how a God who foreknew all the evil that would occur as a result of free will and yet allow it would still exist. In the presence of evil, doesn't it seem a bit irresponsible for a sovereign and all powerful God to have yielded His control over human actions simply in order for them to truly express themselves as they see fit in relation to God and their fellowmen? Usually, if not always, conditional security believers do not think this way. It follows therefore that if they do not see free-will in itself as a license to sin, neither should they see the doctrine of eternal security in this light. As a matter of fact, in light of their "free-will" theology, eternal security can even be seen as a state of affairs that promotes free-will: The fact that one believes that he cannot lose his salvation means that he will act in a way that expresses his heart's truest desire. He may either live a life of godliness in heart-felt love for Christ or live in unrighteousness, in deep passion for self.

It is for this reason that some proponents of eternal security question the sincerity of worship under a system of conditional security. Is the conditional security believer saying that having a secure relationship with God afforded by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ is unable to motivate one to holiness? Is he saying that he needs to be threatened with hellfire in order to truly worship God? A more critical question would be, "Would they abuse the doctrine of eternal security if they believed in it?" If the answer to that question is yes, how can their worship under the system of conditional security be sincere?  If the answer is no, then they are admitting that eternal security is not adversative to godliness.

Click here to read Kevaughn Mattis' complete article:  


Kevaughn Mattis - The Modified Calvinist Eternal Security Teaching: A Sinner's Haven?