Question:
Answer:It is important to remember that we cannot pick and choose which portions of scripture we believe. Anyone who says John 6:37 or John 6:39 can be interpreted differently than what they clearly state is not accepting what the scripture is teaching. These are the words of Jesus Christ Himself! We would also have to write off John 10:28-30. They read, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” However, I believe one of the strongest cases for eternal security is found in Hebrews chapter 6. For the sake of time I cannot go into extreme detail, but Hebrews 6:4-6 say the following. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” These verses clearly teach that a person who has changed their mind about who Jesus Christ is and have put their trust in him, cannot revert to a state in which they did not repent. So, the question is, can a person take their will and force it over what God has clearly said about eternal life? I believe the answer is no! Surely, people can be outside of the will of God or even disobey it. However, a person cannot exercise their will over what God has said about Salvation. Once you are saved you are always saved.
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemas He used the illustration of being born again. Our salvation is remarkably like our first birth. It cannot be reversed! Think about it, can you become unborn once you have already been born? No, and anyone who would seek to do so would be considered crazy! It is the same way with our new birth. Regardless of how we behave or believe, we cannot become unborn out of the family of God. John 6:37 and 39 as well as John 10:28-30 teach these points very clearly. We can become disobedient, but we cannot become lost again.