Glossary¶
Terms are defined as this casebook uses them, with notes where the wider theological world uses them differently.
Abiding. The sustained, relational continuance in Christ described in John 15:1-11. It is not a mystical elite experience or a mere feeling; it is a life of faith, love, obedience, prayer, and community, sustained by the word and the Spirit. The Greek verb is menō ("remain, stay, dwell").
Antinomianism. The view that the moral law is not binding on Christians, or that grace makes obedience unnecessary. The casebook rejects it. The charge is sometimes made against OSAS; sometimes it is fair, sometimes it is not.
Apostasy. A settled abandonment of Christ, the gospel, or the faith. It is distinguished from a single sin, a doubt, a season of depression, or a failure to be perfect. The Greek noun is apostasia ("falling away, defection"); the verb aphistēmi ("to stand away from, depart").
Arminianism. The theological tradition shaped by Jacob Arminius and the Remonstrants, emphasizing conditional election, universal atonement, resistible grace, and conditional perseverance. It is not identical to the casebook's position (the casebook is not Arminian on every point), but it shares the conviction that grace can be resisted and that believers can fall away.
Assurance. The confidence that one is in Christ and will be saved. The casebook distinguishes the ground of assurance (Christ's work and promise), the evidence of assurance (the Spirit's fruit, witness, and the marks of new birth), and the posture of assurance (humble, watchful trust).
Backsliding. A decline in faith, obedience, and fellowship from which a person may return. It is not necessarily apostasy. The difference is the direction of the life and the presence of repentance.
Born again. See New birth.
Carnal Christian. A term from mid-twentieth-century dispensational theology (especially Lewis Sperry Chafer) for a genuinely saved person who lives in prolonged disobedience, with the "spiritual" life treated as a second-level option. The casebook treats this synthesis as exegetically unstable and pastorally dangerous, while distinguishing it from classical Reformed perseverance.
Conditional security. The view that salvation is secure in Christ for those who remain in Christ, and that a genuine believer can cease to remain and be cut off. The casebook's position. It is not the same as "salvation by works," because continuing faith is the means of receiving, not the price of earning.
Conversion. The turning of a person to God in repentance and faith. In Reformed theology, conversion is the fruit of effectual calling and regeneration; in Arminian theology, it is the response of a graciously enabled will. The casebook does not settle the order of salvation, but it insists that conversion is a real turning, not a mere decision.
Election. God's gracious choice of a people for himself in Christ. The casebook affirms election (Eph 1:4-5; 1 Pet 1:1-2) but does not accept the inference that the elect are kept apart from continuing faith. The debates about the extent and conditionality of election are treated in the proof-text section.
Eternal security. The popular doctrine that a genuinely saved person cannot lose salvation, regardless of subsequent faith, repentance, or obedience. It is broader and often less careful than classical Reformed perseverance. The casebook distinguishes the two.
Eternal life. The life of the age to come, which is God's own life, possessed now by faith in Christ (John 3:36; 5:24; 1 John 5:11-13). Its eternity describes the quality and source of the life; it does not by itself answer the question of whether a person can cease to participate in it.
Evangelical. Broadly, the movement that affirms the authority of Scripture, the centrality of the cross, the necessity of conversion, and the reality of the new birth. The casebook is written from within this tradition, though it criticizes one of its popular doctrines.
Free Grace theology. A family of views (associated with Chafer, Hodges, Ryrie, and others) that distinguishes salvation from discipleship and grounds assurance in the promise of eternal life apart from works, repentance, or perseverance. Some Free Grace teachers deny that apostasy forfeits salvation; others distinguish carnal believers from apostates. The family is broad.
Glorification. The final transformation of the believer into the likeness of Christ at his return (Rom 8:30; 1 Cor 15:49-53; 1 John 3:2). It is future, not already complete; the "already" of union with Christ does not cancel the "not yet."
Grace. God's unmerited favor, given in Christ and applied by the Spirit. Grace is not a license to sin (Titus 2:11-14); it is the power that teaches, enables, and preserves.
Justification. God's once-for-all declaration that a sinner is righteous in Christ, received by faith alone (Rom 3:21-26; 4:1-8; 5:1). It is not a process, and it is not earned by works. The casebook affirms justification by faith alone; the question is whether a person can cease to be in the Christ in whom he was justified.
Lordship salvation. The view (associated especially with John MacArthur) that saving faith includes submission to Christ's lordship and that a profession without fruit is not saving faith. The casebook is closer to this than to Free Grace, but it does not make fruit the ground of justification.
Means of grace. The ordinary channels through which God gives grace and keeps his people: the Word, prayer, the sacraments, the community of faith, and the warnings of Scripture. The casebook insists that God's keeping is through means, not apart from them.
Mortal sin. In Catholic theology, a sin that destroys sanctifying grace and, if unrepented, excludes from salvation. The casebook does not adopt the Catholic sacramental framework, but it shares the conviction that serious, settled sin can jeopardize final salvation.
New birth (regeneration). The divine act by which God gives a new heart, a new Spirit, and a new life (John 3:3-8; Ezek 36:26-27; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:3, 23). The casebook affirms its reality and its evidence; it denies that the new birth guarantees perseverance apart from continuing faith.
OSAS. "Once saved, always saved." An umbrella term for several positions: classical Reformed perseverance, popular eternal security, Free Grace theology, and the carnal-Christian synthesis. The casebook names which strand it is addressing.
Perseverance of the saints. The Reformed doctrine that the elect will certainly persevere in faith and holiness to the end, because God preserves them through means. It is not identical to the popular claim that a past decision guarantees salvation regardless of the present life.
Preservation. The idea that God keeps his people safe. In classical Reformed theology, preservation is through perseverance; in popular OSAS, preservation is often treated as independent of perseverance. The casebook argues for preservation through perseverance.
Regeneration. See New birth.
Remonstrance (1610). The five-point protest of the followers of Arminius against the Reformed doctrine of predestination. Its fifth article affirms that true believers can fall away through negligence and must be restored by grace. The Synod of Dort (1618-19) rejected it.
Repentance. A change of mind and direction, turning from sin to God (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 2 Cor 7:10). It is a gift and a command, not a work that earns forgiveness. Godly grief produces repentance; worldly grief produces death.
Sanctification. The process by which the Spirit conforms the believer to Christ (1 Thess 4:3; Gal 5:16-25; Phil 2:12-13). It is distinct from justification but inseparable from it. The casebook treats perseverance as the continuation of sanctification, not as a separate wage.
Sealing of the Spirit. God's mark of ownership and the Spirit's guarantee of the inheritance (Eph 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22; Eph 4:30). The seal is real assurance, not a license; the same Spirit can be grieved and quenched.
Security. The state of being safe in Christ. The casebook distinguishes conditional security (secure in Christ while abiding) from unconditional security (secure regardless of abiding).
Sin unto death. The "sin that leads to death" in 1 John 5:16-17. Interpretations vary: a particular grievous sin, apostasy, or a sin that results in physical death. The casebook treats it as a serious category that rules out the idea that all sin is equally harmless.
Union with Christ. The believer's real, living, reciprocal relationship with Christ, described in John 15 under the image of the vine and the branches, and in Paul as being "in Christ." The casebook's central claim is that this union is relational and can be abandoned, not merely legal and irrevocable.
Westminster Confession (1646). The Reformed confession whose chapter 17 teaches the perseverance of the saints. The casebook quotes it as the classical statement of the doctrine, not as the popular slogan.
Works-righteousness. The attempt to be justified by one's own works rather than by faith in Christ. The casebook rejects it. It also rejects the false dilemma that says any condition of continuing faith is works-righteousness.