To learn how Hunt's ministry is misinforming others about
my debate challenge, click here for an example
To hear a mini-debate between Dave Hunt and Dan Corner, click here
The most exhaustive refutation
to the teaching of eternal
security ever written.
801 shocking pages.
Dear Dave:
As a person who is very acquainted with your ministry, let me begin by stating that over
the years your ministry, as a whole, has been a great blessing to many people, including myself.
You have given solid Biblical reasons as to why cults, and the like, are spreading spiritual poison
through their teachings. For this you need to be commended.
However, your adherence to and defense of the unscriptural teaching of eternal
security (also known by some as "the perseverance of the saints" or "once saved always
saved" [OSAS]) is more than just disheartening to me, for certainly multitudes are being
misled by such to their own spiritual destruction! In contrast to the earliest days of your
ministry, you are now openly defending this teaching as sound doctrine in your newsletters and
you have included it in your newest book, In Defense Of The Faith.
All along you infer that you yourself are a "berean" (meaning one who closely scrutinizes
the Scriptures to make sure of the proper interpretation), but you continue to teach this "license
for immorality" (Jude 3,4), which began in Eden with Satan's original lie. A "license for
immorality" (taught under the banner of grace) is, indeed, a perfect way to describe this teaching!
This doctrine that you and others defend promotes this by saying that a person, though presently
immoral, is still saved if he was ever saved! There is no way to know how much immorality,
even resulting in divorce (which God hates), has occurred because of this teaching! The
same can be said about suicide and crime! How the thrice holy God must hate this teaching
that you and others teach as sound doctrine.
People who buy into the lie of eternal security are no longer concerned about entering the
Kingdom of God, for they have been deceived into thinking they can't miss it. Consequently,
they walk in little or no fear of God, who can destroy both our bodies and souls in Hell (Mt.
10:28; Lk. 12:4,5). Paul, who taught we are saved by grace and not by works (Eph. 2:8,9), also
taught we were to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).
Furthermore, he wrote to Christians and informed them:
Note: Paul taught Christians are either in arrogance or this healthy fear regarding their
security in Christ! Sadly, it must be stated that the teaching of eternal security directly
opposes this "fear" and therefore, promotes the arrogance of which this true grace teacher
warned!
Scripture has more than one citing of the godly who have fallen into grievous sin, even to
the point of no recovery! We can all rejoice that David repented of his sexual immorality and
murder, but there is no evidence in Scripture that Solomon ever did of his idolatry! So Solomon
not only fell into idolatry, but NEVER came back to God afterwards. See Rev. 21:8 for the
destination of all unrepentant idolaters, which includes Solomon!
Furthermore, the Apostle Judas Iscariot, hand-picked by Jesus, was sent forth to
preach and was given special power to cast out demons (Mk. 3:14,15), later became a
traitor (Lk. 6:16), committed suicide (Mt. 27:5) and went to Hell (Mk. 14:21; Jn. 17:12). In
other words, Judas held the highest office in the church (1 Cor. 12:28), yet afterwards
perished. There was no eternal security for him, so why would there be any for us? To say
the Apostle Judas Iscariot was never saved to begin with is borderline blasphemy, for that
would mean Jesus hand-picked a child of the devil to preach His gospel, heal the sick and
be God's representative!
Others "shipwrecked" their faith (1 Tim. 1:19,20), had their faith destroyed by certain
false teaching (2 Tim. 2:18) and "believed for a while" before they fell away (Lk. 8:13). All of
this shows the intensity of our spiritual warfare, something that is also dangerously de-emphasized by all eternal security teachers, including yourself.
Similar to other teachers who have changed the grace of God into a license for immorality,
you too have misused John 10:28 to support OSAS. John 10:27 describes those who will never
perish, as referred to in verses 28 and 29, that is, they "follow" (continuous tense in the Greek)
Jesus. The condition, as cited by the Lord, is to continuously follow Him, which is never
mentioned by the eternal security proponents--for obvious reasons! To properly understand
verses 28 and 29, verse 27 must be carefully considered!
More overtly you promote this "license for immorality" by saying the unnamed,
sexually immoral man of 1 Cor. 5 was saved:
If one would unbiasedly read the context of 1 Cor. 5 and consider other related Scriptures,
he should notice the following about that sexually immoral person:
(1) Paul refers to the same man in 1 Cor. 5:13 as "wicked." This is the same Greek word
found in Mt. 13:49, while verse 50 reveals the eternal destiny of such:
So the same word used to describe the people who will be thrown into the fiery
furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, is also used to describe that
sexually immoral man that you say didn't lose his salvation! Wow!
(2) In the very next chapter, Paul rebukes the Corinthian congregation with the following
question and declaration, which is still most relevant in our day:
From this passage it should be clear that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be sexually immoral and
a Christian at the same point in time, according to true grace teaching! Hence, the unnamed,
sexually immoral man of 1 Cor. 5 is, again, shown to be unsaved when he was in unrepentant,
sexual sin!
(3) Paul directed the Corinthian congregation as to how to proceed with handling this
problem of a person who calls himself a brother but was sexually immoral. He made a clear
distinction between that type of person and those who are followers of Christ:
Besides refuting your interpretation, this passage is also a devastating blow to those who
teach like Charles Stanley, Zane Hodges, Charles Ryrie, Robert Thieme, Bob George, Tony
Evans, etc. that is, a "carnal" Christian is one who is acting just like the darkened, spiritually
dead, enemies of God who are under Satan's control. The Apostle John comments on this type of
person:
Furthermore, the Corinthians were not to associate with anyone who was sexually
immoral, greedy, a drunkard, etc. so they themselves could not have been doing these things
as "carnal Christians"! Therefore, we know a carnal Christian doesn't do these things, but has
merely envy, strife and division (1 Cor. 3:3, NKJV).
On the other hand, there are many clear Scriptures that refute the serpent's lie that you are
unknowingly contending for, such as Mt. 10:22, 33; Lk. 8:13; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11; 21:8;
etc.
Regarding Mt. 10:22, you have twisted and distorted this clear and powerful passage
out of context to give an answer in conformity with eternal security:
The clear context of Matthew chapter 10 reveals that Jesus was sending the disciples forth
to preach, verses 5-8. Among other related obstacles they would face, He centers in on them
being hated for being His disciples. That whole verse under examination says:
Again, that verse reveals that the disciples would be hated because of the Christ they
represent, but would have to endure that certain hatred to be saved, that is, to actually enter
the Kingdom of God! Mt. 10:22 has absolutely nothing to do with the nation of Israel during the
time of the return of Christ, as the context of the chapter clearly reveals! True bereans will
verify this fact for themselves and change accordingly!
In conclusion, from all of this and much more that could be said, you are distorting the
Scriptures, like the other eternal security teachers, to the destruction of eternal souls for whom
Jesus died.
I openly challenge you to a public debate on the believer's security. This would be
one of the best ways to reveal that eternal security is not a Bible teaching at all, even though
Scriptures, used out of context or unrelated, are often cited for support. This teaching, that you
defend as part of the Christian faith, is not only a lie but has changed the holy image of
Christianity by stating that people previously saved can afterwards be openly sexually
immoral, drunkards, greedy, etc. and still remain saved!
A very severe warning was issued by the Lord not to be the cause of another ["little
ones"] to sin (Lk. 17:1-3a). This teaching you defend has, undoubtedly, led to such over the
centuries. Even worse, there is no way to know how many will go to Hell in the end as a result of
this doctrine. Remember, after Eve heard the first message on OSAS she immediately
sinned! In light of all the aforementioned, you and others who have been teaching this horrible
doctrine should immediately renounce it while you still have time. Then you should begin to
vigorously expose and refute it out of obedience to Scripture (Eph. 5:11; Jude 3,4).
Trusting in Jesus 100% For My Salvation,". . . you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare
the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and
sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you
continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist
in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again" (Rom 11:20-23).
"The man who had 'his father's wife'--a terrible sin--didn't lose his salvation
thereby. . . ." (The Berean Call, July 1996, p. 3, emphasis ours).
"This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked
from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth."
"Do you not know that the wicked will NOT inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes
nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9,10).
"I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--not at all
meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or
idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you
that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually
immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such
a man do not even eat" (1 Cor. 5:9-11).
"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who
says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not
in him" (1 Jn. 2:3,4).
" 'He that endures to the end shall be saved' refers to those who have survived the Jew's
worst holocaust (which is yet to come under Antichrist) and are alive when Christ returns
to rescue Israel in the midst of Armageddon" (In Defense Of The Faith, p. 330).
"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be
saved" (Mt. 10:22).
Dan Corner
The true plan of salvation is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). The Lord Jesus taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Mt. 7:13,14, NKJV). Many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unware of in our day because of the false teaching of eternal security. According to true grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).
If a saved person sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death, so DO NOT BE DECEIVED (James 1:14-16). For more information regarding the believer's security, see our what's new page. Our 801 page book, The Believer's Conditional Security, is the most exhaustive and comprehensive refutation to eternal security ever written. It will not be refuted!
Because of the teaching of once saved always saved, grace has been taught as a license for immorality for so long, and without challenge, that when Scripture is quoted, such as 1 Cor. 6:9,10 or Rev. 21:8, it is disregarded, and the giver of God's Word is falsely accused of teaching legalism, bondage, works, etc. This reflects how truly dark are the days in which we live! The ACID TEST question to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality as condemned by Jude 3,4 is: Does true grace allow the sexually immoral in heaven? If their answer is "YES," avoid it like the AIDS virus! To sit under this teaching influence could mean that your soul and the souls of your loved ones will be eternally damned as a result. To support and promote such a ministry and teaching is to share in its wicked work (2 Jn. 9-11). This includes your financial donations! Flee from such a ministry or congregation and encourage others to do the same before it's eternally too late.
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