It's an interesting word ... "ambivalent." We somehow think of it as almost the same as apathetic, but they're actually closer to opposites. Apathy is the absence of feeling. Ambivalence is having feelings ... in both directions. The root is "ambi" meaning "both" (as in "ambidextrous" or "ambiguous") coupled with Latin's "valentia" from which we get our word, "valiant." It refers to being strong. Thus ... being strong ... in both directions. So, "apathetic" is "I don't care which way we go" and "ambivalent" is "I am drawn strongly in both directions." The word describes my feelings on the question, "Can we lose our salvation?" I come down firmly on "Yes ... and no."
I'm not aligned with either side. One side likes to take the Scriptures that say, "Watch out! You could lose it!" and toss them aside in favor of the ones that say, "Nope! Can't happen!" The other side reverses that. Me? I ... agree ... in a sense ... with both. I encountered this view in 2001 when I read a book entitled The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance Assurance. Written by two big names in Christian theology--Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Caneday--it presented a third alternative. They agreed that there are Scriptures that warn that salvation can be lost ... and that it can't. Then, they put them together. The position is that it is possible to lose one's salvation, but ... God is faithful and won't let it happen. They go on to say that the warnings are part of God's method of preventing it. I had the good fortune to have conversations with Ardel Caneday while it was being written as well as after I read it. I got to pick the author's brains, so to speak. In short, they argued that Scripture warns of lost salvation in order to prevent believers from going that way. How? Jesus said He holds His own in His hand (John 10:27-29). Paul said, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Php 1:6). Jude wrote that God "is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy" (Jude 1:24). So God does it. And God doesn't fail. How does He do it? He does it by His power and work in us. He does it by causing us to walk right. God promised, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances" (Eze 36:26-27). The author of Hebrews says that God will "equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever" (Heb 13:20-21). Paul wrote that we work out our salvation by means of God working in us "to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Php 2:12-13).
The position is rightly termed not simply "the perseverance of the saints" but, "the perseverance of God for the saints." God grants repentance (2 Tim 2:25; Acts 11:18) and faith (Eph 2:8-9; Php 1:29; John 6:44, 65) and a new heart (Deut 30:6; Jer 31:33; 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 4:22-24). He saves us by sustaining us, not by our effort or ability, but His (Rom 8:13-14; Gal 5:16; Eph 3:16; Col 1:11; 1 Thess 5:23-24). He trains us to renounce ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12). And His work in us is reflected in a new life that doesn't fall away even if it might have been going in that direction (e.g., James 5:19-20). So ... yes, I believe that salvation can be lost ... but ... by God's divine intervention in the life of every single believer to change hearts and lives, it never is.
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Another “big name in Christian theology”--R.C. Sproul--wrote about this dilemma in What Is Reformed Theology? Understanding the Basics. In the chapter on God’s Preservation of the Saints (which is a helpful rephrasing of “perseverance of the saints,” as we have discussed in the past), Sproul writes about “The Problem of Hebrews” (referring to Heb. 6:4-6), which he argues is a warning of something that will not actually happen, due to God’s work to that end.
Sproul writes, “The issue here must be settled by allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, not by setting one portion of Scripture against another. If the rest of Scripture is clear regarding perseverance (and I believe it is), then we must interpret what is ambiguous here by what is unambiguous elsewhere. The implicit must always be interpreted by the explicit, the unclear by the clear. The author of Hebrews nowhere states that a true believer does in fact do what he is warning believers not to do.” [emphasis added]
I think that this section (which closed out the book) is very much in line with your post. I agree with you that an ambivalent position--without being “double-minded”--is valid. “I, a true believer in Christ, can lose my salvation, but I won’t.” What is possible is also not possible--"inconceivable,” in fact. (Yes, The Princess Bride was on TV just the other day.)
I am mindful that one’s view on the issue of “can one lose his/her salvation?” is impacted by one’s understanding and acceptance (or misunderstanding and rejection) of the doctrines of grace and Soteriology--specifically the proper understanding of conversion and regeneration. If one holds to “decisional regeneration,” then it would be valid to believe, “I chose to become a Christian, assuring my salvation, and I can likewise decide to reverse that choice [or willfully engage in behaviors that I know will forfeit my hope of salvation].” However, if one understands that God changes the heart to receive Christ and brings the new birth and every step of sanctification through to glorification as part of His irrefutable work, then one sees how “undoing” that salvation from God is not possible. I know that many people look at the scriptures that you included in your post based on their “Reformed” vs. “anti-Calvinistic” positions. To my mind, only one view can be correct, while the alternate position entails much faulty interpretation and application.
It is a tough way of saying it because at first blush it certainly sounds contradictory. If I were an Arminian, the ability to lose my salvation must be an option because I was the one that caused my salvation in the first place. But the Calvinist position says that if it were up to me, I'd lose it 5 seconds after gaining it, but I don't need to be worried about my losing my salvation because it is God who produces salvation in me, not me producing my salvation. The warning in Hebrews about crucifying Christ again is a very real warning about something God wouldn't allow in His elect because He is unable to re-incarnate His Son to do it all over again. I learned recently that one of Calvin's chief goals in his preaching was to encourage assurance. And we can have that assurance, not because of our faithfulness, but because of His.
“I learned recently that one of Calvin's chief goals in his preaching was to encourage assurance.”
That strikes me as a very appropriate teaching for a Reformer to stress, as it corrects one of the most devastating doctrines of Roman Catholicism--that no one can be sure they are saved, as it depends very much upon one’s “state of grace” at the point of their death (as a former Boy Scout leader, I might phrase it, “how up-to-date on your merit badges work are you?”).
The chapter of the book I mentioned above clarifies the grounds for assurance of salvation that the elect can hold with confidence--all based on God’s work, and not ours. As you point out, we might fail, but God doesn’t. As Sproul says, “We persevere because we are preserved by God.” He also suggests “this ditty”: “If we have it, we never lose it. If we lose it, we never had it.”
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