Introduction by Kirk R. MacGregor - James Clarke and Co Ltd

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Introduction Due to the prominence of the aforementioned three models throughout the past five centuries, it is little wonder that the vast majority of Western evangelicals associate eternal security with one of these. Nevertheless, these are far from the only ways Christians past or present have judged eternal security to be possible, as a plethora of views on theology proper, hermeneutics, and anthropology have produced numerous perspectives on eternal security from the biblical period onward. In an attempt to start remedying the knowledge gap, this first print anthology from Kevaughn Mattis’ online journal Testamentum Imperium features thirteen essays from an international array of scholars which bring a wide scope of scriptural, historical, and philosophical perspectives to bear on the question of eternal security. While all the contributors subscribe to the doctrine of eternal security, they do so in various ways, with a balance between adherents to the first two models (Calvin’s perseverance of the saints and the mediation between synergism and monergism) and exponents of other interpretations relatively unknown in the popular mindset. For the first time, this volume maps out the contours of a wide trajectory of eternal security from its Hebraic origins to contemporary theological developments. To accomplish this goal, the book is divided into two parts. Part One, “Biblical and Exegetical Studies,” analyzes and strengthens the canonical roots of eternal security which form the common foundation of all subsequent models of this doctrine. Part Two, “Historical and Philosophical Studies,” considers issues of theological and social history as well as philosophy of religion which pertain to eternal security. Here we examine the understudied positions on eternal security of such thinkers and schools of thought as Clement of Rome (c. 40–99), Albrecht Ritschl (1822–1889), Karl Barth (1886–1968), and process theology, and we assess the practical impact of Calvin’s preaching on predestination on the daily lives of his spiritual charges. Moreover, we philosophically delineate the permanent changes to the overall course of history and the human nature of individual believers accomplished by the dual event of Christ’s death and resurrection as well as their implications for personal salvific assurance and Christian ethics. SAMPLE xx © 2011 James Clarke and Co Ltd
Introduction PART ONE: BIBLICAL AND EXEGETICAL STUDIES In chapter one, Harold R. Holmyard III carefully draws together the exegetical threads of many Psalmic texts to argue that, while not explicitly formulated, the concept that those who belong to Yahweh will be preserved by Yahweh forever, rescuing them from even the murky prospects of the prevailing Ancient Near Eastern Sheol afterlife model, is clearly affirmed. Contra the Documentarian source dating of the origin of belief in general resurrection to the Second Temple Period, Holmyard finds provocative traces of resurrection belief in such Davidic Psalms as 16 (vv. 9–10), 17 (vv. 14–15), 37 (vv. 10–13, 28–29, 35–38), and 49 (vv. 14–15). Furthermore, Holmyard examines the implications of the Hebrew vocabulary for “forever” to demonstrate that the righteous possess a permanent hope of consciously living in the presence of God beyond the grave (e.g. 23:6; 25:3; 30:12; 41:12–13; 121:7–8). Holmyard’s panoramic treatment of the book of Psalms then turns to the eternality of God’s love toward his faithful ones (e.g. 118:1–4, 29; 136; 138:8), revealing that its unfailing nature logically entails the permanent existence of all its objects. Since the Hebrew Bible does not deal with the theological issue of persevering in the faith with the same directness as the New Testament, Holmyard employs canonical synthesis to, in light of later revelation, unpack the ramifications of Psalmic motifs and images as they pertain to salvific endurance. Here Holmyard persuasively makes the case that the Psalms proclaim a God who enables all genuinely devoted to the Shema to persevere in their convictions throughout life, through his empowerment (e.g. 27:2–6; 31:19–24), forgiveness (e.g. 25:12–18; 40:4–12), care (e.g. 22:24; 36:5–7), and protection (e.g. 17:4–5; 37:17–28; 71:20; 91). For the Psalms simultaneously bestow assurance upon those struggling to endure and expect the righteous to endure, blossoming like a palm tree or cedar which continues to bear fruit into old age and so illuminating the majesty of God. Chapter two, authored by J. Ramsey Michaels, broadly examines the prism of eternal security texts in John through the laser of an exceptional text-critical treatment of John 10:28–30, which greatly strengthens the connotations of both this foundational passage and the larger theme it represents. Reasoning from standard principles of textual criticism, Michaels conclusively establishes the impossibility that the common tautological translation of verse 29, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father’s SAMPLE xxi © 2011 James Clarke and Co Ltd
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Introduction by Kirk R. MacGregor - James Clarke and Co Ltd

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