Every Church Denomination has within itself different views on specific doctrines. Free Will Baptist are really just Baptist with one charactorizing doctrine that sets them apart from other Baptist Denominations. Free Will Baptist believe that it is possible for a christian to turn from thier faith and commit apostasy. While most Regular, Southern and Independant Baptist believe that once a person is saved they are always saved no matter what they do. Even in these Baptist Churchs, that would call themselves Calvanistic, there is a wide range of thought and doctrine concerning the teachings on salvation.

I recently ran into a problem with false doctrine in my church. I knew that this problem existed but had never encountered it face to face. But it seems the widely held view in my new church, is that a Christian that lives in sin will go to hell if they die in that sinful condition. So being a believer in the Free Will Baptist Doctrine on Soteriology, I wanted to put this little study together.

The two opposing views are stated here.

A. The Christian that backslides, "lives in sin", can repent of their sins and be restored, but if they die in their backslidden condition they will go to hell. This apart from committing apostasy.

B. The Christian that backslides, "lives in sin," is in constant danger of hardening their heart through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-14.) and in so doing can commit apostasy to which there is no possibility of return (Hebrews 6:4-6.) But if before the backslider commits apostasy, i.e.; "turns from their faith in Christ," they should repent of their sins, they can return to fellowship with the Lord and His Church.

These two differing veiws are in contrast one to the other and only one of the statements can be true. Problems I see with the first statement, statement A.

1. This says a Christian can go to hell. Not possible, nowhere in the scripture can we get even a hint that the Christian can go to hell. If this Christian can go to hell then it is because they have passed over into apostasy, Scripture is clear that the apostate cannot repent and be restored. This belief creates a new category for people that can go to hell, 1) The lost that has never trusted Christ for salvation, 2) The apostate that has turned from trusing in Christ, 3) The Christian that lives in sin. Only the first 2 categories can be found in Scripture.

2. If the statement is true and a Christian can go to hell, it violates Scripture in that it dictates that there is condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, obviously violating such marvelous passages as (Romans 8:1). There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

3. Creates a Faith + Works salvation. If a Christian can forfeit salvation because of sinful living before committing apostacy, then they have forfeited salvation based on works and not based on faith. Obviously a christian that maintains good works rather than evil works will go to heaven. Our salvation is not based on works but rather on placing our faith in Christ Jesus, and faith alone will save you.

4. Opens the door for even greater error. We see that many take this false teaching a step further and believe that if a Christian dies with unrepented sin, lets say you swore and then had a heart attack, they also go to hell. Sounds much like statement A. In fact it is a very small step to go from Statement A to arriving at the belief that dieing with any sin can send the Christian to hell. Once again, very much a works salvation belief. (Eph 2:8-9). For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

5. Creates the doctrine that a person can move back and forth from in the kingdom and out of the kingdom, in Christ and out of Christ. If backsliding takes a person out of Christ "salvation," and repenting brings them back in Christ, then how many times can a person move between "in Christ and out of Christ?" How many times can a person be saved and lost?

This leads also to a catorgorizing of sins, This sin is worst than that sin and can send you to hell, If you live in Fornication you will go to hell, if you live with anger twords someone you are safe. There is no grey area in the word of God, we are either in Christ or out of Christ, Heaven bound or Hell bound.

I cannot find any problems concerning Scripture or our Free Will Baptist Statement of Faith in regard to Statement B. Our Free Will Baptist Treatise along with the teaching of our Free Will Baptist Colleges stands in complete agreement with Statement B.

I am not saying a Christian can live in sin with no penalty. I do believe that there is a loss of fellowship with God when we grieve the Holy Spirit which can result in losing the blessings of God and suffering a loss of rewards in Heaven at the judgement. Also some sin carries its own punishment that a person can suffer throughout the rest of their lives. But anything less than committing apostacy still delivers the Christian, though living in sin and a broken state of fellowship with God, to Heaven. Maybe this doesn't preach well, but it is the truth of scripture. A person is "in Christ" through faith, and the person "in Christ" through faith, is "IN Christ" even when they sin. Now (Hebrews 3:12-14). makes it very clear that sin is deceitful and that it will harden a person's heart to the end that the heart is evil and can depart from the living God. That is why we are called to exhort one another daily. This exhortation is to remain faithful and not to fall into sin.

Free Will Baptist Treatise: Perseverance - We believe that there are strong grounds to hope that the saved will persevere unto the end and be saved because of the power of divine grace pledged for their support. We believe that any saved person who has sinned (whether we call him a backslider or sinner), but has a desire to repent, may do so and be restored to God's favor and fellowship. Since man, however, continues to have free choice, it is possible because of temptations and the weakness of human flesh for him to fall into the practice of sin and to make shipwreck of his faith and be lost. Taken from the treatise of Free Will Baptist.

Free Will Baptist believe the Scripture warns of the possibility of making shipwreck of the faith. In other words, a person who was genuinely saved can degenerate into a sinful condition rejecting his faith in Christ. We do not teach a person is saved one minute and lost the next. There is no returning from this shipwreck of one's faith because there is no other sacrifice for sin other than the Lord Jesus Christ. We teach the assurance of salvation, that is, knowing for sure one is saved. God has given man the choice, he is a free moral agent to decide by his own free will, but God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

I agree with statement B, and hold statement A to be error and extra biblical, relying on mans reasoning to further its propagation. Lets give ourselves over to God and His Scripture, forsaking man's doctrines and reasonings, searching the scriptures diligently and relaying on God and His Spirit to lead us and guide us into His truth. This takes laying aside our presumptions and sometimes the teachings we were raised with.

And may the Spirit of God lead us into His understanding and bless us with all knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus our Lord!