Brother, none of what I’ve given you is Arminian, man‑centered, or works‑based; it is simply what Scripture says
Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
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Brother, Scripture never once speaks of eternal life as something that can become temporary, nor does it ever present a single example of someone being “unborn again,” because the very nature of the life God gives is eternal, not provisional; Jesus says He gives His sheep eternal life and they shall never perish, and He grounds that promise not in their performance but in the Father’s will and the Son’s grip (John 10:28–29).
To be born again is to receive a life that is not sourced in the flesh but in the Spirit (John 3:6), and the Spirit’s seal is described as a guarantee of final redemption, not a conditional stamp (Eph 1:13–14).
If eternal life could cease, it was never eternal; if new birth could be undone, it was never new; and if God’s children could become unborn, then the metaphor collapses and the promises of Christ lose their force.
Scripture presents no category of lost regeneration, no example of reversed adoption, and no warning that implies the Spirit can unseal what He has sealed — because the life God gives is His own life shared with the believer, and God does not revoke what He gives.
No, we may disagree on every other point, but your "saved by works" accusation is another strawman in the vein of "losing salvation".
The true Gospel per Scripture is clearly that election/eternal security is conditioned on non-meritorious faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord, NOT on tulipism.
God prevents snatching, but not jumping per Hebrews and other passages indicating the need for persevering faith:
There are numerous verses in the NT which indicate that it is possible for a believer intentionally or willfully to repudiate saving faith and separate him/herself from Christ (cf. Gal. 5:1 & Rev. 12:9). The classic passage that teaches the possibility of apostasy is Hebrews 6:4-6: “It is impossible for those who have… shared in the Holy Spirit… if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again.” Another verse in this vein is Gal. 5:4: “You who are trying to be justified by law… have fallen away from grace.” (The reader should also see Rom. 11:22, 1Cor. 15:2, Col. 1:22-23, 2Thes. 1:4-5, 2Tim. 2:12, Heb. 3:6&14, 10:35-36, Jam. 1:12, 2Pet. 1:10-11, 2:20, 1John 2:24-25 and Rev. 2:10.)
Brother, there is no contradiction between saying Hebrews issues real warnings to real believers and saying Scripture never presents an example of someone being “unborn again,” because Hebrews’ warnings function as means of perseverance, not descriptions of actual loss of regeneration; the writer speaks to people who have genuinely tasted, shared, and been enlightened (Heb 6:4–5), but he never says they were regenerated, sealed, or born again, and the language of “falling away” describes catastrophic covenant betrayal, not reversal of new birth. Likewise, Hebrews 10:29 says someone was “sanctified” by Christ’s blood, but the term there refers to covenant consecration, not the Spirit’s regenerating work; it is the same category as Israel being “sanctified” in the wilderness while many perished in unbelief.
So yes — the warnings are real, the danger is real, the falling away is real, and the tragedy is real, but none of that implies the Spirit unseals what He has sealed or that eternal life becomes temporary. My earlier paragraph simply states the other half of the biblical tension: the life God gives is eternal, the new birth is irreversible, and Scripture never shows a single case of someone being “unborn again.” Hebrews warns the community so that the regenerate persevere and the superficial are exposed — and that is exactly how both sets of passages harmonize without forcing the text into a system.
If the Reformers Martin Luther, John Calvin and Zwingli were to join your Church after one of their campaigns to exterminate the Anabaptists for their grave sin of Baptizing only believing adults rather than infants and for their unauthorized meetings and unsupervised Bible studies just as the Reformers did in their day.
I never said there are no 'fake Christians" (i.e., false conversions). I just do not think the author of Hebrews is addressing such people. The text indicates that he was speaking to those who had:
1) REPENTED of their sins,
2). exercised FAITH in God,
3). been BAPTIZED,
4). tasted the GIFT of God [see, John 4:10],
5). been sharers in the HOLY SPIRIT and
6). partakers of the WORD of God
I too think it is important that those who attend our Churches not merely learn ABOUT these things but actually experience them. This is much more than going through the motions.
First you say that Hebrews 6:4-6 "lists profound religious experiences" Then, you accuse the writer's Hebrew audience as interested only in outward blessings. Well, who is Hebrews talking to? You cannot have it both ways.
The text says nothing about separating true believers from a hypothetical group of (secret) unbelievers. Show us where these ideas are stated in the text.
The Arminian theology does not accept the idea of salvation by works. You are totally wrong. You are thinking about the Judaizers or Ebionites. You know, before you can debate anyone coherently you have to condescend enough to understand their beliefs
You should try to understand Arminianism before you use the word in a sentence
Ephesians 2:8: "for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God;"
You think the demonstrative pronoun THAT [is the gift of God] refers to FAITH?
However, this can be proven false by looking at the grammar of the sentence. For one, in Greek nouns and the words that refer to them (pronouns and adjectives) must agree with respect to gender. In this case THAT cannot refer to FAITH because FAITH is a feminine word while THAT is a neuter word. In Greek, nouns and the adjectives that describe them must agree with respect to gender
Second, remember those times when Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. If faith is a gift, God could not rebuke them for not having what only He can give.
You are correct. In Ephesians 2:8, the demonstrative pronoun τοῦτο (“that”) cannot grammatically refer to “faith” (πίστις) because the genders do not match.
And once you see the grammar clearly, the entire “faith is the gift” argument collapses.
I agree. Faith and Grace are both feminine words so neither could be the GIFT Paul was referring to when he said IT is the GIFT of God.
The pronoun IT is a neuter word which refers to the whole process of being saved by grace through faith [apart from meritorious works] This is the essence of the gospel of salvation which is the gift of God because the Father gave the Son to purchase it without cost.
This is the opinion of Greek scholar A. T. Robertson.
Not true, what you have given me is pure Arminian theology. I don't expect you to admit it, because no Arminian ever does. So your denial doesn't serve to exonerate you, it only affirms the obvious.
You claim that Hebrews 6:4-6 is evidence that Gods elect can fall away, but the Bible does not does not teach that a genuinely saved person can lose their salvation. Instead, the passage is a severe hypothetical warning directed at false professors within the visible church.
The individuals described as "enlightened" and "partakers of the Holy Spirit" have experienced deep exposure to Christian community, truth, and miraculous operations. However, they have only experienced external influences, and not internal regeneration.
If a truly regenerated believer could fall away, it would be "impossible to renew them again to repentance". Because other clear scriptures promise the eternal security of the believer (such as John 10:28–29), this highlights the absolute impossibility of losing true grace, serving as a wake-up call to examine one's genuine fruit.
Those whom God justifies will inevitably persevere in faith because God preserves them. The warning itself is the tool God uses to prompt true believers to persevere and to expose false believers who ultimately commit apostasy.
Hebrews 10:26–29 describes apostasy—a total, willful, and final rejection of Christ and His sacrifice after having experienced the external privileges of the covenant community. When verse 29 mentions the one who profaned the blood of the covenant "by which he was sanctified.
The person was "sanctified" outwardly by being part of the visible church and partaking in the outward benefits of the New Covenant community, much like an unregenerate Israelite was set apart under the Old Covenant, without possessing inner, saving faith.
God uses these severe biblical warnings as the actual instrument to awaken false professors and preserve true believers, keeping them from falling into final apostasy. True believers heed the warning and remain in Christ, proving their faith was genuine all along, while false believers fall away completely.
