Eternal Salvation is NOT a choice

Eternal Salvation comes to those who believe that "Jesus Christ" is the messiah:

John 3:14-16

14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [e]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Belief is a state, not an action.

For example. Suppose I said, "He who has blue eyes and blond hair is of Nordic descent."  Did I chose to have blue eyes? Did I chose to have [naturally] blond hair? No. Likewise, I did not choose to believe.

How do I come to believe? I must first have Faith. 

How do I obtain faith?

It is a gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God

We cannot reject the gift and calling of God.

Romans 11:29

The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

 How do I get this gift?

This is strictly God's call. He choses who he calls, according to HIS purposes, not ours.

[Also note the phrase "for good to those who love God" does not say "for the good of those who love God." God's definition of good does not mean my safety, comfort, and happiness. Good means in accordance with His prescribed will. But that is another study.]

Romans 8:28-30 Emphasis is mine.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

So what is the point of Evangelism?



God gave us, the believing body of Christ, a task to perform in making this process happen. Our task is to preach the word and to send others to preach.

Romans 10:12-17

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

John 5:24

Truly, truly, I say to you, 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.

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

We are God's chosen instrument here on earth, chosen to glorify Him by preaching His Word, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Note that some do not heed the Word and believe. This was because they were not among the called.

Matthew 28

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Mark 16

 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. … 

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. 

Objections

Some object to this by pointing out Deuteronomy 30:19 tells us to “choose life.” But then we read in Romans 3:11 that “there is none who seeks for God”(NASB).

Romans 3, [quoting Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20]

 as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”

So we are absolutely incapable of seeking God and doing good without the initiation, intervention, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. In fact, were were dead in our sins. Dead means we could do nothing; and nothing means nothing.

Ephesians 2

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

… 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Paul also says that we were slaves to sin, which means that we must obey that master, until we are born again.

Romans 6:6-7, 12, 16, 17

6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
… 12 Therefore do not let sin (T)reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts
… 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed

John 8:34

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin

We were chosen by God, not by our actions, to do good works, which are the prescribed will of God.

Some argue that it is possible to fall or turn away from God and lose their eternal salvation.

1 Tim 4:1

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith

Heb 12:3

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

However, God has promised that salvation is a gift of eternal life. God promised eternal life to those who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart God raised Him from the dead.

Rom 10:9-11

 9 … if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 

 This is a promise from God. Can we choose to break God's promise? I think not.

God also promises that he who has faith will overcome the world and that the evil one does not touch him.

1 John 5:4 &18

 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
… 18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 

Therefore, I can only conclude that those who fall away never believed in the first place.