THE
PERSEVERANCE AND PRESERVATION OF THE SAVED
T.P. Simmons
The
perseverance and preservation of the saved are twin Bible doctrines. God has
joined them inseparably in His infallible Word. Let no man put them asunder.
Some have erred in presenting
the preservation (safety, security) of the saved as if it were independent of
perseverance. Such a presentation tends toward antinomianism.
It also tends to represent salvation as physical or mechanical, rather moral
and spiritual accomplishment. It furnishes the Arminian with ammunition. It
teaches only a half truth. It is not calculated to make saints as considerate as they ought to be walk.
Inspired writers avoided this extreme and its dire results by combining both
the human and divine phases of salvation. They taught that salvation
is of the Lord from beginning to end. But they also taught that God saves men,
not by mechanical law, nor irrespective of their response to Him; but in full
harmony with their nature as voluntary creatures, by requiring them to obey His
will and working in them in such a way as to move their will and elicit their
cooperation with Him as He fits them for His presence. Thus He is glorified in
them in both time and eternity. Thereby grace is prevented
from being a cloak of lasciviousness.
The framers of the New
Hampshire Declaration of faith were wise and happy indeed in their statement on
this matter, which is as follows:
"We believe that such only are real believers as
endure to the end; that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand
mark that distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special
Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation."
The
statement of the Philadelphia Confession of Faith is also eminently worthy of
note: "Those whom God hath accepted in the beloved, effectually called and
sanctified by His Spirit, and given the precious faith of His elect, can
neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace . . .but shall
certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved . . ."
Note that both of these
statements emphasize perseverance as well as preservation. We are in perfect
harmony with these historic statements of Baptist and Bible faith; and while in
our elaboration of the subject we shall have occasion to discuss things not
mentioned in these statements, we shall not be required in stating our convictions freely and fully to say anything contrary to them.
1.
PERSEVERANCE REQUIRED
We believe God in His Word
puts upon believers the responsibility of persevering in faith
and righteousness. We cite the following passages in proof of this:
"If ye continue in my
word, then are ye any disciples indeed" (John 8:31).
"Abide in me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me . . If a man abide not in me,
he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them, and cast
them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:4, 6).
". . . continue ye in my
love" (John 15:9).
"Who, when he came, and
had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of
heart they would cleave unto the Lord" (Acts 11:23).
"Confirming the souls of
the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and
that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts
14:22).
"Thou wilt say then, The branches
were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they
were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also
spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them
which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his
goodness; otherwise thou shalt be cut off" (Rom. 11:19-22).
". . .
he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (Matt. 10:22),
"...the gospel . . . by
which ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain" (1 Cor. 15:2). To believe in vain is to have
only intellectual faith.
"And you, that were
sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he
reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded
and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel . . ."
(Col. 1:21-23).
"Let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering (for he is faithful that promised);
... For if we sin wilfully (sin as the law of our lives, live under the power
of sin) after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no
more sacrifice for sin" (Heb. 10:23, 26).
"Follow peace with all
men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently
lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness spring- ing
up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" (Heb. 12:14,15).
"To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise
of God!' (Rev. 2: 7).
"He that overcometh shall
not be death" (Rev. 2:11).
Many and
varied are the attempts that are made to explain away the evident meaning of
these passages, but all such attempts are futile. They defy all impractical
theorists, an advocates of preservation as a coldly abstract logical deduction,
in teaching that none will reach the final abode of God's saints except those
who abide in Christ, cleave unto the lord, continue in the faith and the
goodness of God, endure to the end, keep in memory the
gospel, follow holiness, and overcome. This we believe as strongly as did
Arminius or any of his followers; for it is the indisputable truth.
II.
PERSEVERANCE ASSURED
But this does not mean that
any whom God saves will be lost.
Nay, verily; the Scripture is
just as emphatic in declaring that all true believers all the regenerated, will
persevere.
Note the following passages:
"For whatsoever is born
of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith" (I John 5:4).
"No one who is a child of
God is habitually guilty of sin A God-given germ of life remains in him and he
cannot habitually sin" (I John 3:9-Weymouth's translation).*
If escape from the second
death, and the privilege of eating of the tree of life are for overcomers,
then these things are for all whom God regenerates. A regenerated person cannot
sin as "the law of his life, as the ideal tendency of his being; does not
belong to the sin sphere" (Sawtelle). Thus a regenerated person cannot go
back into sin, but is certain to persevere to the end; because God's seed ("the
divine principle of life" --Vincent) perpetually abides in him.
This does not mean that the
child of God cannot back- slide temporarily and fall into much sin; but it does
mean that he will not again live permanently in sin. David and Peter are
instances in point here.
III. PERSEVERANCE ACCOMPLISHED
Perseverance is brought about
by the power of God. This is a part of the work of salvation, and 'salvation is
of the lord' (Jonah 2:9).
It is here
that our discussion of perseverance merges with preservation. Cod's children
persevere because He preserves them. Lees note how God does this:
1. By His Spirit.
*For detailed exposition of
this passage see refutation of theory of sinless perfection in this life in chapter
on Sanctification. Please turn to it.
Further, A. T. Robertson says:
"The present active infinitive hamartanein can only mean 'and he cannot go
on sinning'" (Word Pictures).
"And because ye are sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, cuing, Abba,
Father" (Gal. 4:6). The Spirit in our hearts keeps us in fellowship with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
"But
the fruit of the Spirit is . . . faith" (Gal. 5:22)
"... in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased Possession,
unto the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:13,14).
"... he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil
1:6). This good work is sanctification begun in regeneration. God begins it and
will finish it. He does this through the working of His Spirit.
". .
. it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
God not only, through the
spirit, maintains our faith but he also works in us to cause us to obey His
will.
2. Through His Word
It is for this reason that He
gave the commands and warnings already noted. Other portions of the Word
especially adapted to eliciting the saints' perseverance in holy living are as follows:
"Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
"Let
not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the
lusts thereof" (Rom. 6-12).
"For if ye live after the
flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13).
". . .deliver such a one unto
Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day
of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:5). If God let us alone and did not, in His
own ways, subdue the flesh, then the spirit would not be saved. In other words,
we should be lost.
"Walk in the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh . . . And they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16,24,25).
". .
. work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). This was addressed to saved people, and is an
exhortation to voluntarily cooperate with God in saving us.
". . . if by any means I
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that
I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus"
(Phil. 3:11,12).
"For the grace of God
that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present evil world . . ." (Titus 2:11,12).
"But wilt thou know, 0
vain man, that faith without works is dead" (Jas. 2:20).
"And
besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue . . . knowledge .
. . temperance . . . patience . . . godliness . . . brotherly kindness . . .
charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But
he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten that he was once purged from his old sins [the
apostle argues here from one's own profession]. Wherefore the rather, brethren,
give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall. . ." (11 Pet. 1:5-10).
"He that saith I know
him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth
is not in him" (I John 2:4).
"If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him" (I John 2:15).
"And every man that hath
this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3). That is, the man on with the hope of likeness with
Christ in the resurrection will carry on, as God works in him, a process of
purification, fighting, fighting back against the motions of sin in his
body.
"Whosoever hateth his
brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal
life abiding in him" (I John 4:15).
That these commands and
warnings do not imply an absolute possibility of believers falling away from
Christ is proved by a parallel case. In Acts 27.22-24 we have account of God's
revelation to Paul enroute to Rome. We read:
"And now I exhort you to
be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but
of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and
whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and,
Io, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee."
But a little later, when the
storm had grown worse, and the shipmen were about to desert the ship, we read:
"Paul said to the
centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 27:31).
Was it actually possible that
any on the ship would be lost? He who says so, blasphemes God; for he says that
it is possible for God to lie. God said there should be no loss of any man's
life. This had to prove true, because it was the word of the God
who cannot lie. But Paul told the centurion and the soldiers that this could be
fulfilled only by the shipmen staying in the ship. AND THEY STAYED. God used
that warning to accomplish His predetermined will.
So it is with warnings about
losing our faith. They do not imply an actual possibility of
it, for God that cannot lie has declared that He will glorify all He justifies.
These warnings are God's objective means of accomplishing the very thing He has
determined. From a human standpoint, falling away from Christ is possible, but
God, will not permit it. He uses His Word to elicit our voluntary perseverance.
Thus He deals with us as personal beings, and not as machines or inanimate
objects.
3. Through the Intercessory
Work of Christ.
In addition to all the means
already mentioned, God also preserves and keeps us through the intercessory
work of our great High Priest. While here on earth, He praye2:
"Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as
we are" (John 17:11).
And now
"he is able to save them to the uttermost (to the last one, absolutely,
completely), that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). God always hears Jesus when He prays
(John 11:41, 42).
4. On the Basis of Christ's
Atoning Work.
Note the following passages:
"Blessed are they whose
iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom
the Lord will not impute sin" (Rom. 4:7,8).
"Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:4).
"Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is
he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us" (Rom. 8:33,34).
"Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us . . ." (Gal. 3:13).
"There is therefore now
no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1).
These
passages require little comment. They teach very clearly that Christ fully
satisfied the law for us and that the law, therefore, now has no power to
condemn us. We are under it no longer with respect to our standing before God.
Christ took our place on the cross. We now take His place in our standing
before God, "that we may have bold- ness in the day of judgment: because
as he is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17).
5. Under the New Covenant.
Having passed from under law, we
are now under grace and the new covenant (Heb. 8:6-12;
10:16-22; Jer. 32:40), in which God says, "I will put my laws into their
mind, and write them in their hearts; ... their sins and iniquities will I
remember no more" and "I will not turn away from them, to do them
good; but will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from
me."
6. Through
His Dealing With Us As His Children.
"But when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the
world" (I Cor. 11:32).
"For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth" (Heb. 12:6).
This means that, although God
does not deal with the believer under the law, does not mete out legal
punishment to him; yet He does not let him go on in sin. He chastens
him as a son, and thus preserves him that he should not come under the
condemnation of the world.
7. In Execution of His Eternal Purpose.
"For
whom he did foreknow, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren: and whom he
foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified;
and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Rom. 8:29,30).
We do not
need here to enter into a discussion of the ground of our election, since we
have done that in a previous chapter. No matter what that was, the above
passage unmistakably informs us that those whom God saves He knew beforehand,
even in eternity, because He was infinite in knowledge in the beginning. Then
all that He knew as His own, as those whom He would save, He foreordained,
called, justified, and glorified in His purpose. That is,
He determined that they should be called, justified, and glorified. Thus all He
justifies He will glorify. That obliges Him to maintain their faith, for there
can be no justification without faith.
Because of God's eternal
purpose we have the following guarantees of our perseverance
and preservation.
"Kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I
Pet. 1:15).
". . .
we are more than conqueror through him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37).
"We (the saved) are not
of them draw back unto perdition, but of the saving of the soul" (Heb.
10:39'
"For
the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved
forever . . . (Psa. 37:28).
"Whosoever drinketh (the
Gr. means 'once for all'- Robertson) of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst (never need to be saved again); but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up
into everlasting life" (John 4:14).
"For the gifts and
calling of God are not repented of" (Rom. 11:29). This means that He never
changes His mind and takes back the gift of salvation or revokes the calling that brings us to Him. Note Rom. 8:30 and 2 Tim 1:9
for meaning of calling.
". . . after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest
of our inheritance until the redemption of God's own possession, unto the
praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:13,14). This sealing is nothing less than the
abiding and inseparable presence of the Spirit in the heart
of the believer, by which the believer is constrained to persevere in faith and
righteousness.
"For by one offering he
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). All the
saved are sanctified in the sense of this passage. It means that they have an eternally perfect standing before God on the basis of
Christ's death. This means that Christ suffered for all our sins up to the very
end of our lives. God, having laid them on His Son, cannot now punish us for
them.
"... him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out" John 6:37).
"And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God; to them who are the called
according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). Since all things work for our good,
nothing can bring about our condemnation.
"My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish" (I John 10:27,28). These are
all positive statements. There are no ifs in the passage.
IV.
OPPOSING ARGUMENTS ANSWERED
The following passages and
cases may be cited as disproving what we have said about perseverance and preservation:
1. I
Cor. 3:12-15.
Some may urge this passage
against our position as to the perseverance of the saints, taking it to teach
that a believer can
so live as to have no reward
in Heaven. This passage teaches no such thing. The case is
hypothetical. It shows what would take place if a believer should so live as to
lose all reward. It does not affirm that this will be true of any believer. And
in the light of 1 John 5:4 and 3:9, as well as other passages, we are not
justified in concluding that such can be true.
Some people will argue that a
saved person can lose his salvation because of certain ones known to them who,
they believe, were saved and then went back into sin permanently, even sinking
lower in sin than they had ever been. Our reply to this argument
is: "Let God he found true, though every man he found a liar (Rom.
3:4-translation by A. T. Robertson). God has said that all that are born of Him
overcome the world. I John 5:4. He has said that those who are born again
cannot "go on sinning" (I John 3:9). He has said they cannot perish
and that nothing can separate them from His love. John 10:27,28; Rom. 8:35-39.
Shall we believe God or man?
All such cases as are now
being considered are decisively disposed of by Heb. 3:14, which reads:
"For we are become (Gr. perfect tense, should be 'have become'-Robertson)
partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end." If we don't, it proves that we were not
made partakers of Christ, were not saved, in the beginning.
3.
FALLEN ANGELS AND ADAM
Certain
angels and Adam fell from their righteous estate and were involved in
condemnation, but this does not prove that the saved today can do likewise. Note
these contrasts between fallen angels and Adam on the one hand and those saved
through Christ on the other hand:
(1) Angels
and Adam fell under law, but the saved are under grace. Rom. 6:14.
(2) God had not elected and
predestinated them to stand, but He has elected and predestinated the saved to
ultimate glorification. Rom. 8:29,30.
(3) God
had not said that either angels or Adam would overcome the world, but He has
said this of the saved. I John 5:4.
(4) Neither angels nor Adam
had promises that they would be kept and that they would not perish, but the
saved have such promises. I Pet. 1:5; John 10:28.
(5) Neither angels nor Adam
were sealed by the Holy Spirit, but believers are. Eph. 1:13,14; 4:25.
(6) Neither stood on the basis
of Christ's atoning death.
4.
THE JEWS
The Jews fell as a nation and
not as individuals. They fell under law and not under grace. They fell from
national privileges and not from salvation. Hence their case, like
that of angels and Adam, proves nothing concerning the matter under
consideration.
5.
MOSES
Deut.
42:48-52. Because of sin, Moses was not permitted to enter Canaan, but that he
did not lose his salvation is proved by his appearance on the mount of
transfiguration with Elijah and Christ. Matt. 17.3.
6.
KING SAUL
We must interpret Scripture by
Scripture to get the truth. In the light of New Testament teaching that every
regenerated soul will overcome the world as a result of God's preservation we
must deny that Saul was ever saved, though it is said of him that "God
gave him another heart" (I Sam. 10:9). Scripture binds us to understand from this that God gave him only new intentions and
impulses; not a new heart in the sense of regeneration.
7.
DAVID
Psa.
51.11,12. In this passage David prayed, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from
me." This was due to the fact that the Holy Spirit, under the old
dispensation, did not abide constantly in believers. His presence was a special
favor of God and could be lost by sin. But since Pentecost the Holy Spirit has
dwelt permanently in every saved heart, and, by means of His presence and work,
the believer, as we have noted, is sealed until the day of
redemption. Thus now He remains. For further discussion, see Chapter 9. It is
well, before passing to note that David did not pray for a restoration of
salvation, but only of the joy of salvation. This may be lost, and is lost when
any coldness or sin temporarily disturbs the believer's fellowship with God.
This passage is easily
explained by Ezek. 33:13, which reads: "When I say to the righteous man,
that he shall surely live: IF HE TRUST IN HIS OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS and commit
iniquity," etc. The passage under consideration speaks
of the doom of the man who is righteous as to his own works and turns there from.
This passage has nothing to do with the man to whom God has imputed
righteousness without works. Rom. 4:6-8. The death threatened is death in the
Babylonian siege that was to come. All the way through Ezekiel God promises to
save the obedient, but to destroy the wicked in this siege.
9.
MATT. 12:43-45
The going out of the unclean
spirit here does not represent conversion, since the house from which he went
was left empty. The heart is not left empty in conversion, but
is occupied by the Holy Spirit; by whom we are sealed, sealed against the
return of sin, until the day of redemption. Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13,14.
We have here in general a
picture of human reformation, but in particular it is a description of Jews.
They had formerly abandoned the evil spirit of idolatry, but now
had become worse than ever through their rejection of their Messiah.
10.
11 PET. 2.20-22
It is not said of these false
teachers that they were ever saved. If they had been, they would
not have turned back. I John 5:4; 3:9. They bad escaped "the pollutions of
the world" through reformation. They are likened to a hog or a dog. A
saved person is neither a hog nor a dog, but a sheep; and Christ said of His
sheep: "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me" (John 10:27).
Since all the regenerate
overcome the world, those represented in these verses (parable of the sower)
must be regarded as having only intellectual faith. An intellectual faith may
work a great change in the life, and there may seem to be real indication
of conversion; but after a while, under difficulty and trial, it fails. There
are multitudes of cases of this kind today.
12.
JOHN 15:2
The
branches in this parable must be thought of as grafted branches, for none are
in Christ by nature. Some branches are grafted properly, so that they have
life-giving and sustaining connection with the vine. Others are grafted
improperly, and do not have such connection with the vine as to continue to
grow permanently and to bear fruit. It is thus with disciples. The branches
here are all who profess faith in Christ. Some of these
branches are grafted to Christ with real heart faith. They live and bear fruit.
Others are grafted with only intellectual faith, as those indicated in Matt.
13:20,21. They do not endure, and bear no acceptable fruit. They are the ones
that are pruned away. All true branches remain, as we have indicated.
This passage is equivalent to
Phil. 3:8-14. In both passages Paul recognizes that the only final proof of
one's salvation is perseverance in faith and righteous living to the end, as we
have emphasized. Paul knew that unless he proved his salvation by overcoming the world, he would be proved to have believed in
vain and to be a reprobate. This is all these passages indicate. They are
perfectly in harmony with the teaching of this chapter.
14.
HEB. 6:4-6
It is the opinion of the
author that this passage describes believers, saved people. The principal reason
for this conviction is the statement that if there are any who fall away it is
impossible "to renew them AGAIN unto repentance." The Greek for
"renew" is a form of the word found in Titus 3:5, where we read of
"the renewing of the Holy Spirit." This seems to
mean that the ones alluded to had been once renewed by the Holy Spirit unto
repentance, or, in other words, had been regenerated.
But the passage is only
hypothetical. It does not say that a saved person can fall away;
it only says that if he should, he could not be saved again. And this is not
believed by the advocates of the doctrine of apostasy. They believe that a man
can lose his salvation and get it back again. Sometimes in Scriptures issues
are considered wholly apart from other issues. This seems to be the case here.
The author confines his attention to the one issue of what would be the state
of a man if he did fall.
15.
REV. 8:5
This passage does not mean
that some may have their names in the book of life and, because
of unfaithfulness, have them blotted out. It is simply an assurance to
believers that no matter what they must go through with, their continued faith
and perseverance is an assurance that they will receive all the blessings of
salvation. It is an assurance. that Christ will not forsake them.
We must interpret this passage
in the light of all the declarations and promises of God's Word respecting
believers. In the light of this fact, this passage can be taken as applying
only to those who merely profess to be saved. Such ones must be considered as addressed on the basis of their own profession,
as is often the case in the Bible. We have noticed that no overcomer will have
his name blotted out of the book of life. Rev. 3:5. Then since all that are
born of God will overcome (I John 5:4), none of them can suffer the loss here
indicated.
The
difficulty in the book in the thought of a man losing his part of life when he
never did have such a part, as is true with mere professors, is explained by a
comparison of Matt. 13:12 and Luke 8:18. These passages are parallel. In the
first we read: ". . . whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away
even that he hath." Is this not impossible? But note the second passage:
". . . whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken
even that which he THINETH HE HATH (R. V.)." So it is with the loss
referred to in this passage.