Rating: 
Summary: A Head Scratching Read...
Review: Every now and then I catch Charles Stanley while channel surfing. He seems like a very nice, grandfatherly-type guy and as I was paging through the religion section of my local bookstore and found this book by him, my curiousity was struck and I decided to sit down and read it. I believe that Stanley's purpose was not to make a theological treatise and to aim squarely at the layman. On one level, this would make the many logical and scriptural gaffes forgivable. But since it is teaching an error to people who are by and large not as discerning as the more theologically astute, it makes the book downright dangerous. For instance, under a heading concerning the history of the doctrine, Mr. Stanley does not concern himself with the early church at all, but fast-forwards more than a millennia-and-a-half to the controversies between the Calvinists and the Arminians that ultimately lead to the Synod of Dort. The slight of hand trick makes it look like the Arminians (and consequently all Christian denomenations who teach conditional security) to be abandoning the historic Christian faith. The big problem with this is that in overlooking the first 1500 or so years of Christianity covers the fact that no one taught this doctrine of Eternal Security (or Perseverence of the Saints) during that time and virtually every leading light of Christian theology during this time either ignored it because conditional security was assumed or openly repudiated Mr. Stanley's (and the more refined Calvinist version) beliefs. One of the big sticking points for Mr. Stanley regarding the doctrine is an excessively legal understanding of the atonement. Mr. Stanley believes that Christ was punished in our stead for sins (past, present and future) and that once we are declared 'not guilty' we are always 'not guilty'. The problem is that this is purely speculative reasoning devoid of a scriptural point to prop it up (which is suprising since most people who believe this doctrine consider themselves 'Bible Christians'). Nowhere does it say that all our sins past, present and future have been forgiven forever (in fact 2 Peter 1:9 directly contradicts it). What would be the point for Jesus' intersession of us if this were true? Nowhere does it say that Jesus was punished for our sins; it does say that he suffered for our sins, but that's a big difference. If our being "born again" is the result of a legal declaration of 'not guilty' one would think that the Bible would be rife with courtroom scenes, but it is not. Instead justification, sanctification, salvation etc. are described in transformational terms and have many eschatological factors as well as present ones. These theories form the backbone for what Mr. Stanley believes and always color his reading of scriptures contrary to what he believes. To warn other Christians of their error without really proving the main prop to your beliefs is very dangerous and leaves him wide open for a thoughtful critique by any serious Christian.
That is just a sample of the various techniques Mr. Stanley uses to prove his doctrine. I really cannot recommend this work in good conscience as it distorts and misinterprets Christian Scriptures and history and might actually influence people to succomb to sinful behaviors (he believes that no sin, no matter how heinous, can seperate us from God; this is contradicted by even a cursory reading of the scriptures).
Rating:
Summary: A Head Scratching Read...
Review: Every now and then I catch Charles Stanley while channel surfing. He seems like a very nice, grandfatherly-type guy and as I was paging through the religion section of my local bookstore and found this book by him, my curiousity was struck and I decided to sit down and read it. I believe that Stanley's purpose was not to make a theological treatise and to aim squarely at the layman. On one level, this would make the many logical and scriptural gaffes forgivable. But since it is teaching an error to people who are by and large not as discerning as the more theologically astute, it makes the book downright dangerous. For instance, under a heading concerning the history of the doctrine, Mr. Stanley does not concern himself with the early church at all, but fast-forwards more than a millennia-and-a-half to the controversies between the Calvinists and the Arminians that ultimately lead to the Synod of Dort. The slight of hand trick makes it look like the Arminians (and consequently all Christian denomenations who teach conditional security) to be abandoning the historic Christian faith. The big problem with this is that in overlooking the first 1500 or so years of Christianity covers the fact that no one taught this doctrine of Eternal Security (or Perseverence of the Saints) during that time and virtually every leading light of Christian theology during this time either ignored it because conditional security was assumed or openly repudiated Mr. Stanley's (and the more refined Calvinist version) beliefs. One of the big sticking points for Mr. Stanley regarding the doctrine is an excessively legal understanding of the atonement. Mr. Stanley believes that Christ was punished in our stead for sins (past, present and future) and that once we are declared 'not guilty' we are always 'not guilty'. The problem is that this is purely speculative reasoning devoid of a scriptural point to prop it up (which is suprising since most people who believe this doctrine consider themselves 'Bible Christians'). Nowhere does it say that all our sins past, present and future have been forgiven forever (in fact 2 Peter 1:9 directly contradicts it). What would be the point for Jesus' intersession of us if this were true? Nowhere does it say that Jesus was punished for our sins; it does say that he suffered for our sins, but that's a big difference. If our being "born again" is the result of a legal declaration of 'not guilty' one would think that the Bible would be rife with courtroom scenes, but it is not. Instead justification, sanctification, salvation etc. are described in transformational terms and have many eschatological factors as well as present ones. These theories form the backbone for what Mr. Stanley believes and always color his reading of scriptures contrary to what he believes. To warn other Christians of their error without really proving the main prop to your beliefs is very dangerous and leaves him wide open for a thoughtful critique by any serious Christian.
That is just a sample of the various techniques Mr. Stanley uses to prove his doctrine. I really cannot recommend this work in good conscience as it distorts and misinterprets Christian Scriptures and history and might actually influence people to succomb to sinful behaviors (he believes that no sin, no matter how heinous, can seperate us from God; this is contradicted by even a cursory reading of the scriptures).
Rating:
Summary: Scary Biscuits!
Review: I bought and read this book because a man I was involved with had announced to me that he could die while in the very act of adultery or fornication and go straight to Heaven. He cited Mr. Stanley's book as the source material for his belief. Naturally, having been taught from my earliest days to avoid sinful behaviors and to repent if I didn't avoid them, I felt the need to explore this notion of "eternal security." The major difficulty with Mr. Stanley's well-intentioned book (What did Nanny say that the road to hell was paved with? Hmm.) is his misquoting of the Bible. Mr. Stanley keeps the words in the same order for the most part, but apparently he feels free to delete verses in whole or in part here and there and to quote out of context in order to attempt to prove his point. I teach college composition and literature, and even my freshmen know that incomplete, uncontextualized quoting is unacceptable. If Mr. Stanley's contentions are, somehow, correct, then avoiding sin and repenting of sin when one does not avoid it will (in his construct of heaven) result in one having a more glorious place therein. However, if Mr. Stanley is wrong and a singular expression of belief followed by a life of unrepentant debauchery is *not* acceptable in the eyes of the Almighty, then the price is eternal damnation. Is that a risk you're willing to take with yourself? With your children? With other loved ones? Plus, who wants to marry a guy who thinks he can fool around--and do so with impunity??? Not recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: YOUR SALVATION IS SECURE!
Review: I cannot recommend this book strongly enough for people who have doubts about their salvation, as I did. This book should help put your fears to rest and give you the peace and joy the Lord's gift of salvation is meant to bring. God bless Charles Stanley for writing this wonderful and uplifting book.
Rating:
Summary: don't doubt again
Review: I have a roommate who believes in Lordship Salvation. It seems as if he says every day "you're going to hell if you're not 100% perfect." I was really confused. I knew that I wasn't sinless, and I was far from perfect. Upon reading this book, though, I found a magnificent assurance in my salvation. (My roommate of course thought the book was all lies and evil, but that was just him.) This book completely restored my confidence in my salvation. A must read for anyone. (Especially good is the section over rewards.)
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: I have never read a better book about this type of subject. Are you eternally secure in your walk with God? Read this and find out.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning - Please read other views of eternal security!
Review: I love Dr. Stanley. Every day I listen to his radian program. I read his books and subscribe to In Touch magazine. My issue is with this one book and not with Dr. Stanley. Dr. Stanley is a two term SBC president, has dedicated his life to the pastorate and is an excellent teacher. I am grateful for all the work of the kingdom Dr. Stanley has done. That being said I wanted to offer not my own viewpoint, but what is being said in Christianity today concerning views similar to the view found in this book. In both the Divine Conspiracy and Renovation of the Heart Dallas Willard condemns the view that disconnects eternal life from our present day existence. Eternal life is -- "life that flows from the eternal" and not "entrance into heaven upon death."
Mr. Willard asks several important questions including
- can we have a relationship without fellowship?
- isn't salvation more than forgiveness?
- isn't salvation more than a legal transaction?
- isn't the view that we can accept Christ as Savior and not as Lord a modern heresy now accepted as dogma in our churches. Yet this view is choking the very life out of the western church.
- antinomianism says "obeying or not obeying the law has nothing to do with being "saved" or not. (page 213 Renovation) RC Sproul in Faith Alone condemns the view of Zane Hodges and says the Hodges view is "antinomianism with a vengeance." Charles Stanley quotes from Zane Hodges Michael Horton in Putting Amazing Back into Grace says the view that "once persons make a decision for Christ, they can go off and do they're own thing, fully confident that no matter what they do or how they live, they are safe and secure from all alarm. That simply is not biblical." In Future Grace John Piper states that those who profess to believe are not above the warnings given by Jesus to those who live in an unrepentant state of sin. The penalty is hell and eternal destruction according to John Piper and not the loss of rewards as Mr. Stanley and many dispensationalists claim. Richard Owen Roberts in his book Repentance states that "Teachers of this pernicious evil claim that the Lordship of Christ is an option, probably desirable but certainly not essential to salvation." DA Carson of Trinity Evangelical Seminary says concerning some of the views regarding salvation that Zane Hodges teaches are not to be found anywhere in classic Protestant interpretation. Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary has publicly stated that justification cannot be severed or completely separated from sanctification.
Rating:
Summary: Eternal Security With No Strings Attached?
Review: I must admit that I am not a fan of Charles Stanley. His preaching does nothing for me, his books are shallow, and he teaches a false view of grace (Jude 3-4). However, I will not bash him per se in this review. I will however take aim at his book. Dr. Stanley's tretise is that we are eternally secure based on the finished work of Christ. He goes further to teach a radical view of eternal security that many other Calvinist including John MacArthur would deny. He teaches that salvation is based on faith alone and God promises to keep us eternally. Therefore, the individual is not the focus but the focus is God's promise. God will keep all who come to Jesus for salvation (John 6:37). Even if the "believer" denies the faith, they will still go to heaven because of God's unconditional love and promise to keep us forever. For the sake of time, let me simply say that this leads to messy and cheap grace. Rather than teaching Titus 2:11-12, Stanley gives false hope to anyone who simply believed (1 John 2:24; Revelation 3:10). Dr. Stanley allows his own theology to effect his exegesis of nearly every eternal security passage. Good books to read along with this are:
MacArthur, John HARD TO BELIEVE
MacArthur, John THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS & FAITH WORKS
Shank, Robert LIFE IN THE SON & ELECT IN THE SON
Corner, Dan THE BELIEVER'S CONDITIONAL SECURITY
White, James THE SOVEREIGN GRACE OF GOD
Wiley, H. Orton THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
Rating:
Summary: Eternal Security With No Strings Attached?
Review: I must admit that I am not a fan of Charles Stanley. His preaching does nothing for me, his books are shallow, and he teaches a false view of grace (Jude 3-4). However, I will not bash him per se in this review. I will however take aim at his book. Dr. Stanley's tretise is that we are eternally secure based on the finished work of Christ. He goes further to teach a radical view of eternal security that many other Calvinist including John MacArthur would deny. He teaches that salvation is based on faith alone and God promises to keep us eternally. Therefore, the individual is not the focus but the focus is God's promise. God will keep all who come to Jesus for salvation (John 6:37). Even if the "believer" denies the faith, they will still go to heaven because of God's unconditional love and promise to keep us forever. For the sake of time, let me simply say that this leads to messy and cheap grace. Rather than teaching Titus 2:11-12, Stanley gives false hope to anyone who simply believed (1 John 2:24; Revelation 3:10). Dr. Stanley allows his own theology to effect his exegesis of nearly every eternal security passage. Good books to read along with this are:
MacArthur, John HARD TO BELIEVE
MacArthur, John THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS & FAITH WORKS
Shank, Robert LIFE IN THE SON & ELECT IN THE SON
Corner, Dan THE BELIEVER'S CONDITIONAL SECURITY
White, James THE SOVEREIGN GRACE OF GOD
Wiley, H. Orton THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
Rating:
Summary: The Best for knowing you can't lose your Salvation.
Review: I recommend this book for every Christian whom has doubts about their salvation. It's not a hope-so salvation, It's a KNOW-SO salvation !
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