“Proponents who deny that salvation can never be lost, reason on the subject in a marvelous way. They tell us …..
That no virgin’s lamp can go out; (Matt. 25:8)
That no promising harvest be chocked with thorns; (Matt. 13:22)
That no branch in Christ can ever be cut off from fruitfulness; (John 15:6)
That no name can be blotted out of God’s book! (Rev. 3:5)
That no salt can ever lose its savor; (Mat 5:13)
That nobody can ever “receive the grace of God in vain”; (2 Cor. 6:1)
That no one can “look back” after putting his hand to the plow. (Luke 9:62)
That Nobody can “grieve the Spirit” (Eph 4:30) till He is “quenched,” (1 Thess. 5:19) nor
That Nobody, or body of believers, can ever get so lukewarm that Jesus will spew them out of His mouth. Rev 3:16
They use reams of paper to argue that …
If one ever got lost he was never found;
That if one falls, he never stood.
If one was ever cast forth, he was never in
If one ever withered, (John 15:6) he was never green.
If one draws back, (Heb 10:38) he never had anything to draw back from.
That if one ever falls into spiritual darkness, he was never enlightened;
That if you again get entangled in the pollutions of the world, (2 Pet. 2:20-22) it shows that you never escaped.
That if you put salvation away, you never had it to put away,
That if you make shipwreck of your faith, (1 Tim. 1:19-20) there was no ship of faith there.
In short they say:
If you get it, you can’t lose it: and if you lose it you never had it. May God save us from accepting a doctrine, that must be defended by such fallacious reasoning. (John Wesley)