Let’s face it. All who hold to some flavor of Calvinism know that there are key passages of scripture which are often set forth as proof of the TULIP scheme. The eighth and ninth chapter of Romans, the second chapter of Ephesians, the sixth chapter of John, for example, are staple portions of God's Word used to uphold the glorious teachings of God’s sovereignty and grace. It doesn’t take long for one who comes to some Calvinistic position to see these passages as the marquee pillars upholding this gracious scheme.
I derived much comfort from these bible texts for many years while I was among my brethren in the Primitive Baptists. I noticed how the ministers used to harp on these verses in sermons over and over again, much to the delight of the congregation. I can’t even begin to count the number of references to Matthew 1:21, Eph. 2:8, John 6:37, John 10:28 that I heard. As I come to a better understanding of the teaching of conditional time salvation, however, I came to realize that they really did not believe these very verses they so boldly preach. Having eliminated the subjective reality from the salvation scheme, a portion only of the text is believed, and not its entirety. One cannot believe in the modern scheme of time salvation and adhere to the truth, the WHOLE truth, declared by those powerful texts in the Bible.
I repeat. You cannot believe in conditional time salvation and believe in these verses at the same time!
The fact that this heresy has consumed much of the Primitives, but yet these staple verses are still being boldly proclaimed, is an example of the confusion prevailing among those who do not really know what this heresy is and what it compromises.
Let us demonstrate what we are asserting.
Matthew 1:21 reads:
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins”.
The Primitive Baptists are correct in recognizing the importance of this passage of God's Word. In a day in which many question the effectual work of Christ at the cross, it is good to trumpet forth the truth that those for whom Christ died shall in fact be saved. Unfortunately for those who espouse conditional time salvation, the text is detrimental to this doctrine. Dear reader, you will notice that the passage claims that Jesus saves his people from their sins, and not simply from hell! This is a crucial observation. To be "saved from sin" amounts to more than just going to heaven, which is all this heresy ensures. It takes into account the present life, and involves coming to a state of subjective conversion, something which conditional time salvation renders unnecessary. To be "saved from sin" does not mean simply being delivered from God's wrath on the day of judgment and living in glory forevermore. It means to be delivered from the habitual practice of sin and unbelief in this present world. In other words, the timely phase of our salvation occurs! It is not a separate and distinct salvation, but part and parcel of the progressive development of eternal salvation.
One of the worst consequences of conditional time salvation, therefore, is its portrayal of the Christ. Contained in his saving work is a guarantee ONLY of being rescued from the penalty of sin on the day of judgment, and not from the power and dominion of it in the present life! A person may experience only a positional change in regeneration and continue to live in a state of "unconversion" for the whole of his life. This is a woeful misrepresentation both of the work and person of the Son of God. It fails to recognize that the redeeming work of Christ was done not simply to populate heaven, but to "purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). Conditional time salvation only guarantees the elect shall make it to heaven with no concern whatsoever as to how they arrive. It presents Jesus as a Savior from hell, but not necessarily one from sin! And this is the kind of "Savior" that the hypothetical unconverted regenerate has.
On the other hand, to recognize that the "timely blessings" of faith, repentance, and holiness do in fact FOLLOW (i.e. conversion actually happens) the redeeming work of Christ is to speak of a Savior who truly saves his people from their sins!
John 6:37:
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
This is as well a primary verse in the doctrines of grace arsenal. Our Hardshell brethren use this text to support the true notion that none of God's elect shall perish. The question, however, which our innovators need to ask themselves here is what does it mean to "come to Christ"? A contextual view reveals that it means believing in Him. Advocates of conditional time salvation claim though that there are multiplied millions of God's elect who go to heaven having never known, or even heard of Christ Jesus! With his own words Jesus destroys such erroneous teaching. He teaches us that being brought to Christ is the definite effect of eternal election, meaning it shall take place!
This text is as much against conditional time salvation as any passage explicitly connecting the gospel with eternal salvation.
John 10:27:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”
The difficulty facing our innovators in this place is the affirmation that following Christ is the effect of regeneration. Our ultraists do not really believe these words of Christ. What is actually believed is that upon hearing the voice of Christ, the sheep may or may not follow him. According to the conditional time salvation heresy, there are so-called "regenerates" who continue in live in heathendom, unbelief, and totally reject Christ! They "heard the voice of Christ" but did not proceed to follow the one who called them! Based on the authority of Christ's teaching we know that such characters do not exist, but are a mere fabrication produced by a heresy!
The sheep hear and the sheep follow!
Eph. 2:8:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
Eph. 2:8 has always been one of the champion passages of regeneration. Though the cause of the new birth is here set forth as being ‘by grace’, it is not by a grace which fails to provide the subjective element. The rule is that sinners are saved by grace thru faith, and not at the expense of it. It is entirely sad that some have gone to such extremes on conditional time salvation that this gracious truth is now being denied.
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