Dr. Couch, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum points out that in some contexts, the
word "eternal" may not mean "forever," such as the service of a slave
to his master (Exod. 21:6), the Levitical priesthood (28:43), or the
sacrificial system (29:28). How then do we know that the spiritual life
is "eternal life"?
ANSWER:
Interpreting by context makes all the difference in Bible interpretation
and hermeneutics. The best way to understand this about salvation is
that its "eternality" is open-ended with no hints of it stopping in the
context. Also, we are given the righteousness of Christ to our account,
and you can not "unrighteous" His righteousness! If one does a study of
the word eternal in reference to salvation, this becomes a dead issue!
All those who want to argue for loss of salvation do so, not on the
issue of the word "eternal," but from the standpoint that they do not
understand the doctrine of total justification by faith. If they
understood that, they would not believe that one can lose salvation.
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
