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The Berean Inquirer

Many, today -- and historically -- have completely misinterpreted this parable, either ignoring the precise statements found within it, or else reading into those statements ideas that cannot legitimately be aduced from them.  Again, the traditions of men says that the virgins represent two kinds of church-goers:   1. those who have been born again by the Spirit of God; and 2. those who merely make a profession of having been born again.  While there are no doubt many who do pretend to have eternal life who do not, the question before us, is, Does the parable itself support the notion that this problem is its concern?  Let us examine the Parable of the Ten Virgins carefully, and we shall see.

Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

The first thing one should notice, here, is that Jesus does not say that the kingdom of heaven will be compared to five virgins, or that it will be comparable to five prudent virgins.  He says that the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, all of which actually went out to meet the bridegroom.  All ten were virgins; that is, all ten shared the same essential spiritual characteristic.  It was not merely that five looked like virgins, and five really were virgins; the Lord does not say that.  All ten were virgins; all ten were intrinsically the same, in that they had all kept themselves set apart (i.e., sanctified) in celibacy.  All ten were of the same spiritual sort.

The second thing that should be observed, here, is that Jesus is not comparing the present state of His kingdom to ten virgins; rather, He says that the Kingdom will be comparable to ten virgins -- not that it is already comparable to ten virgins.  The time of this comparison is not now, but when the Bridegroom comes to celebrate His marriage to the bride.  The kingdom to which Jesus refers is the kingdom of God in the time of the fulfillment; it is the time of the wedding feast, when at last He will eat the Passover, again (Luke 22:15-16).

And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.

Five of the virgins who our Lord says will be comparable to the kingdom of heaven are prudent women.  But, alas, five of the virgins to whom He says the kingdom will be comparable are foolish.  Unfortunately, some would deny the obvious import of our Lord's words, employing their cherished principle, that, not everything in the parables can be made to have a correlation.¹  But, it seems to me, that, if He did not wish to convey that the Kingdom would be analogous to both wise and foolish virgins, it would have been a simple matter for Jesus to have said, "The kingdom of heaven will be comparable to five foolish virgins, who, along with five foolish virgins, went out to meet the bridegroom . . ."  But this is manifestly not what He said.  Shall we, then, accuse the Master of imprecise language?  Shall we accuse the Holy Spirit of poorly superintending the writing of the gospel account?

They All Had Oil

This is not to say that the foolish virgins had no oil in their lamps at all, rather, only that they did not take an extra supply of oil with them in case their lamps should begin to go out.  Notice, the Lord clearly implies that the lamps of the foolish virgins did burn (v. 8), which means they did have some oil.  So, the foolish virgins went out with lamps that, undoubtedly, were no different from the lamps the prudent carried; lamps that were burning oil of the same nature as that which was in the lamps of the prudent virgins.  The light that the foolish virgins' lamps gave was no different than the light that shown forth from the lamps of the prudent virgins, and they saw with those lamps the same things the wise virgins saw with their lamps.  The only thing different, here, is that the foolish virgins did not take an extra supply of oil with them.

The traditions of men tells us:

As Christians we profess to attend upon Christ, to honour him, also to be waiting for his coming.  Sincere Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish ones.  Those are the truly wise or foolish that are so [i.e., likewise] in the affairs of their souls.  Many have a lamp of profession in their hands, but have not, in their hearts, sound knowledge and settled resolution, which are needed to carry them through the services and trials of the present state.  Their hearts are not stored with holy dispositions, by the new-creating Spirit of God.²

To suggest that the foolish virgins represent those who have a lamp only in their hand, and not in their heart, and that the prudent virgins represent those who have both a lamp in their hand and a lamp in their heart, is clearly reading into the parable. The Lord said nothing about the prudent virgins having two lamps! Indeed, He said nothing about the manner in which the foolish and prudent virgins respectively carried their lamps, either. It may be true enough, that the foolish virgins represent hypocrites; but the the inference should not be received that, if hypocrites, they represent lost souls on their way to hell. For if they are hypocrites, it is because they pretend to be faithful when they are not, not that they pretend to have eternal life -- for upon close inspection, it appears that they do.

Nor is it that the foolish virgins were lacking in "sound knowledge and settled resolution," for they knew as well as the wise virgins the approximate time of the bridegroom's arrival. Just as the wise virgins had done, the foolish virgins went out in the night to meet the bridegroom. While it is true the foolish virgins did not have sufficient resolution to stay awake until the time when the bridegroom approached, neither did the wise virgins! And, just as the wise virgins, the foolish virgins woke when the signal was given for his approach (vv. 6-7). Most importantly, the foolish virgins knew precisely where the wedding banquet would take place (v. 11). Likewise, the foolish virgins were certainly resolved enough to join the bridegroom for the festivities of His wedding feat; for, when their lamps began to go out, they emplored the wise virgins for the oil they knew they would need (v. 8). Furthermore, failing to obtain oil from the wise virgins (v. 9), they went to purchase it from those who sold it (v. 10). But their resolve is most clearly seen in that they finally returned to the banquet hall and sought admission to the feast (v. 11).

But what woman goes to a wedding that is not personally and honestly disposed to be there?  We are told by our Lord that if we would ask of Him, he would give us living water, that whoever drinks of this water will never thirst again, and that this water will become a fountain within him, springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).  Thus, it is not that these foolish virgins hearts were not "stored with holy dispositions, by the new-creating Spirit of God (that certainly is not apparent from the parable, anyway); rather, it was merely that, having been given this holy disposition, they did not behave in full accordance with it.

Let us not think that the oil, in this parable, signifies spiritual life; it cannot.  For life from God is obtained through faith in Christ -- by asking Jesus for "living water" (John 4:10). The five foolish virgins obviously have faith, for they are looking for the appearing of the bridegroom as much as the wise virgins.  Once one has drunk of the water that Jesus gives, it is promised that he "will never thirst."  Indeed, once a man has received the "living water" that our Lord gives to those who believe in Him, it is guaranteed that it will "becomes in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14).  Thus, the oil cannot represent spiritual life, since, if they had enough of it to light their lamps (v. 8), the foolish virgins had enough to spring up into everlasting life within themselves.

but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.

The prudent virgins apparently had thought it best to prepare, in case the bridegroom should be delayed in coming.  And, indeed, in the parable we find that the bridegroom himself does delay his arrival.  Now, whatever this oil represents, it is something which, apparently, one may have an extra supply of, and, unless we are to accuse the wise virgins of ignorance and foolishness, also, it is something which one may obtain more of (v. 9), and that by means of some merit or exchange.

The Kingdom of Heaven is Future

Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.

Once again, it is not just the five foolish virgins who became drowsy and began to sleep; rather, all ten virgins -- both the foolish and the prudent -- became drowsy and began to sleep.  If it is true, as some men believe, that salvation guarantees that all who have "true"³ faith will persevere in holiness until the end of life, here we see that it does not guarantee that any shall be able to stay awake when at last the Master is preparing to return.

But at midnight there was a shout, "Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him."

The bridegroom, of course, is Christ.  Here we are informed that there will be a signal when the Bridegroom is about to come; the previous chapter of Matthew's gospel (24) is largely about that signal.  This signal has not yet come.  There are those who say it did come, and that Christ Himself came within the generation of the earliest disciples (and sadly, there was a time when I used to be one who affirmed this theory); but, in the face of this parable, the idea that Christ has already returned is manifestly absurd.  If the signal has already come, and that nearly 2000 years ago, then the vast majority of the virgins, both wise and foolish, have died without ever hearing the signal. Likewise, if the Bridegroom has already come, then no virgin since has to be concerned with being watchful, since all virgins who come to the feast, after it has begun, will not be allowed in.

Again, if the signal was made nearly 2000 years ago, it was made before most of the virgins were even born, and, consequently, before they went out to meet the Bridegroom.  This eliminates, for the vast majority of the virgins, whether wise or foolish, the period in which they fall asleep!  And since, in such a scheme, it must be past the time of sleeping, then both the wise and foolish virgins of our day have the light of day by which to see, or else the wise virgins, as well as the foolish, must continually be seeking to obtain oil to fill their lamps in the same endless dark of night.

They All Made Preparations

First we should notice that all ten virgins heard the shout.  That is, they all had adequate sensibilities to realize that, at last, the bridegroom was about to come.  The analogy is that all who love the Lord and look forward to His appearing, whether wise or foolish, will be awakened by the signal that He is, finally, about to return.  This is not necessarily to say that all believers will awake, for that would be to presume that all believers look forward to His return; but it is doubtful that all believers do.

But notice, especially, that all ten of the virgins rose, and that all ten trimmed their lamps -- both the prudent and the foolish.  All ten had some delight in the anticipation of the coming bridegroom.  All ten saw the need to have light for their paths.  Both the foolish and the prudent virgins wanted to see the bridegroom, and to share in his joy.  But notice, also, it was "then," at the time of the shout, that the virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  There is only one time in which the shout is given -- at midnight -- and there is only one time in which the virgins trim their lamps. If that time is now, it is not in the future; and if it is in the future, it is not now. The time, now, is for staying awake and watching.

The foolish said to the prudent, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out."

Now here we see that the foolish virgins' lamps did, indeed, burn.   But, apparently, the flames of their lamps had begun to flicker and wane.  Again, the traditions of men, which so often are taught as the doctrines of God, suggest, "Those that take up short of true grace, will certainly find the want of it one time or other.  An outward profession may light a man along this world, but the damps of the valley of the shadow of death will put out such a light."⁴  But will an outward profession of anything light a man's path on a dark night?  Is there anything besides the Holy Spirit which is able to shed spiritual light?  Surely this tradition misses the fact that only real light can light a man's path.  One either has light to see by, or he does not.  Further, while it is possible to frustrate the Holy Spirit, that the light He provides may be extinguished by the "damps," no one but the redeemed ever receives the Holy Spirit.  Nevertheless, it was not the "damps," that extinguished the lamps of the foolish; rather, it was that they did not think to take along with them and extra supply of the same oil that was now running low in their lamps.

The foolish virgins had the same light that the prudent virgins had; our Lord does not distinguish between the light of the two groups of virgins.  Now, whether or not it is true that every part of a parable does not have an exact correspondence to spiritual realities, as some insist, it is certainly true that we do not have a right to inject meanings into a parable that are not directly expressed by the parable itself.  There is no suggestion that the lamps of the foolish virgins were not real lamps, or that the oil that was within them was not real oil, or that the flames that gave forth light and which began to go out were not real flames producing real light.  Nor is there any suggestion that, prior to the foolish virgins' lamps beginning to go out, one could not see by the light that shown from them as well as that which shown from the prudent virgin's lamps.

What the Oil is and What it is Not?

It is my conviction that the oil symbolizes the Spirit and/or His gifts, here.  If this is the case, then we see that both the foolish and the prudent virgins had the Holy Spirit and/or His gifts, in the first place.  However, the Spirit or His manifestation (viz., His gifts, spec. His illumination) had begun to wane in the lamps foolish virgins.  The prudent virgins sent them away to buy more oil from those who sell it.  If, then, the oil being bought is representative of the Holy Spirit and/or His gifts, the purchase of it is representative of the spiritual means by which one must employ if he is to obtain a greater portion of the Spirit within himself.  However, once the signal is given that our Lord is near, it will be too late -- by any means -- to obtain more of the Spirit in time to join the wedding party.

Now, if grace were the issue, it would not be necessary for the foolish virgins to go away to "buy" it, and it would be foolish of the wise virgins to suggest that they could buy it.  The word grace means "unmerited favor"; in this case, God's unmerited favor.  There is no purchasing, no bargaining, no working, no trading to get this gift.  It is a gift; it is grace.  It is free for the taking to whoever believes.  As Joseph Dillow points out, in every instance in the New Testament where we find "salvation" being represented as something to be earned or merited, it is always a salvation that is not yet possessed.⁵  But, as Dillow also notes, the New Testament speaks of a salvation that can be had here and now, and it is always represented as being obtained by grace through faith alone.⁶  And the Lord has assured us, that eternal life may be had now by faith alone:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My words and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. -- John 5:24

...I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die... -- John 11:25-26

While we may loose out on the salvation or eternal life that is to come (the inheritance or reward that is held out to us for our obedience and good works), we can no more cease to be the children of our heavenly Father than we can cease to be the children of our earthly parents.  Progenesis is irrevocable!  And, if we are not children of the Father now, then we cannot rightfully pray as Christ taught that we should pray (Matt. 6:9-13).

Likewise, once we have received by faith the promise that we shall never taste death (John 5:24 & 11:25-26), it is impossible for us to die.  This is not a gift that can be discarded, nor is it a gift that can be neglected to the point where it becomes useless.  Our faith may become useless and die, if we do not exercise it doing in good works (James 2:26), but the fulfillment of the promise that we shall never die, obtained by that faith, never deteriorates or ceases to exist.

Again, likewise, once we have received the promise, through faith in Christ, that we shall not come into judgment (John 5:24), we may rest assured that, regardless of what failures may occur in our lives as saints of God, we shall never come into the judgment of which our Lord speaks.  Certainly, there are judgments that the believer will face, regardless of how sanctified or fruitless he may be; it was not Jesus' intention to say that those who trust in Him would never face any judgment of any kind, but only that we would not face the judgment (i.e., the judgment of those who are perishing).

Thus, tradition has lied most cruelly to us, however sincere it may have been intended, when it has said:

And while the poor alarmed soul addresses itself, upon a sick-bed, to repentance and prayer, in awful confusion, death comes, judgment comes, the work is undone, and the poor sinner is undone for ever.  This comes of having oil to buy when we should burn it, grace to get when we should use it.  Those, and those only, shall go to heaven hereafter, that are made ready for heaven here.⁷

Further, to say that the foolish virgin's lack of oil represents "grace to get when we should use it" is tantamount to saying, God's grace goes only so far! It is to say, that while grace is unmerited, it's continuance upon us is not. But if its continuance is not unmerited, then God's mercy has ceased to be by grace! The apostle Paul speaks very clearly to this, when he says, "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work" (Rom. 11:6).

What it Means to be Shut Out of the Feast

The door that is shut in Jesus' parable is not the door to the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus' parable is not a likening of the kingdom of heaven to a banquet hall, to which, after the door is shut, no further admission will be made.  Rather, the likeness that He uses to illustrate the kingdom of heaven is ten virgins, five of which are prudent, and five of which are foolish.  The ten virgins represent those who, in the kingdom of heaven, will enter in with Christ to the wedding feast He has prepared for His bride, as well as those saints who will be shut out of the wedding feast; the wedding feast and the kingdom of God are not synonymous.  The door that is shut is a door that is within the vast estate of the kingdom of heaven; it is the door to the banquet hall.

The wedding feast is that great feast, which every pious Jew anticipated enjoying with his forefathers in the consummation.  It is that feast to which the Passover pointed, which our Lord said He would not eat again until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God (Luke 22:15-16).  It is that time to which our Lord referred, when He said:

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew -- 8:11f.

These virgins do not signify people in hell.  They are not complaining of being tortured, and they are not asking for some sort of mercy.  Indeed, we are not even told that the foolish virgins were unable to obtain more oil for their lamps; the natural assumption would be that they did not return to the banquet hall until they in fact had obtained more oil for their lamps with which to see by; but it was too late.  It would be absurd to suppose that the foolish virgins would go in search of oil for their lamps at such a time as they did, if their lack of light didn't make it absolutely necessary; much more to suppose that they would have been able to find the place of the wedding feast without having procured more oil.

So, what do the foolish virgins represent? The foolish virgins represent the "sons of the kingdom" (Matt. 8:11); they are cast out into the outer darkness, not out of the kingdom.  The significance of this is that they do not sit down at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they do not share in the feast of the Lord and His bride.  The foolish virgins miss out on what they now realize is the most glorious moment in history. As will be many sons of the kingdom, in that future estate, the foolish virgins are no doubt astonished and completely devastated that they are not permitted this joy.

It does not appear that the place of the five foolish virgins is materially different the place they were, already, when they were with the five wise virgins: outside the place of the wedding banquet, in the outer darkness.  However, the outer darkness, while essentially the same as it was before the wedding feast had begun, now takes on a new significance to the foolish virgins.  Anyone who has ever fallen asleep while waiting for an important event, only to wake after the whole affair was over, has, perhaps, just an inkling of what many saints will feel and realize when they find themselves locked out of the wedding feast of the Lamb.  The feast is a one-time event, and it has started, and the virgins have been decisively locked out of it.

The new significance of the outer darkness, though far more profound than anything to which we might compare it, is like the outer darkness of any lavish, one-time, late night event to which one is barred because of tardiness.  If you can imagine being the best man, or the maid of honor, to your dearest earthly friend, and then being locked out of the wedding because you had arrived a few minutes too late, you may begin, perhaps, to understand the horror and poignant regret that will be felt by foolish saints who are kept out of the wedding banquet.  If you can imagine being late to your best friend's wedding because you had delayed getting your tuxedo or gown, and were kept out for the few moments you took, at the end, to obtain it, then you can begin to taste the unfathomably desperate and abject remorse of those who will be kept outside of the banquet feast in the kingdom of God.

Here is a biblical illustration of the matter.  Esau sold his birthright and forfeited the inheritance of the blessing (Heb 12:16-17).  He did not, however, cease to be his father's child, and he tearfully sought repentance from his father, for having instead given the blessing to Isaac.  But it was too late.  As with many saints, Esau had lightly esteemed his birthright, and, as the foolish virgins at the banquet hall, he came for his inheritance when it was too late -- when it had been given to others.

As with many who are children of their heavenly Father, when Esau finally saw the inestimable value of the things he could have had, it was just too late.  He was still Jacob's son, but the power, glory, and honor, to which he had a right -- if only he had proved himself worthy -- was forfeited and given to another.  Yet, he did receive a blessing, of sorts (Heb. 11:20), and so will those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who foolishly forfeit their birthright and the promised inheritance.

Finally, it is axiomatic that a thing cannot be both what it is and what it is not at the same time and place.  For example, a rose cannot be both red and yellow in the same place and time.  Thus, the place where the ten virgins were waiting to meet the Lord, prior to the five foolish virgins going to buy more oil, cannot be at once and the same time the place where they would meet the Lord and accompany Him to the banquet and also be hell. To my knowledge, no serious student of the Scriptures proposes that the present geographical place of living saints becomes the domain of hell, or that hell reaches right up to the gates of heaven.

The Significance of Not Being Recognized

It is not likely that the groom would literally not have recognized his own wedding attendants, the virginal friends of his and his bride's families.  Rather, it makes more sense to see him as "refusing to recognize" them; perhaps out of indignation that they did not adequately prepare themselves to be at the banquet on time. There is no insincerety, here; for it is a different kind of "knowing" that is spoken of, than mere awareness or familiarity with individuals.  Paul that tells us that, not only will we not be recognized by Christ, if we (i.e., Paul and all of us who have received eternal life) deny Him, but that "He will also deny us" (2 Tim 2:12).  Yes, even though we do not come into the judgment of those who are perishing, He will deny us if we, by our words or faithless living, deny Him.  But, lest there should be any mistake, Paul assures us that, even "if we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

Again, to use the illustration of Jacob's faithfulness in blessing his two sons (Heb. 11:20), Esau came to receive the blessing of the first born from his father; but his father had already "recognized" Isaac as his first-born, and now refused to give to Esau what he had granted to Isaac, or to renounce the blessing that he had already given to him (Gen. 27:1-40).  So it is with the virgins; the five prudent virgins met the bridegroom first, and were rewarded with the honor his recognition and, by their faithfulness, merited entrance into the wedding feast (a symbol of the inheritance of the blessing).  But the foolish virgins, as Esau coming to receive the blessing from Jacob, came too late; the bridegroom refused to recognize them or to grant to them what had been granted to those who had come earlier.

The Moral of the Story

Here we are warned that we should be careful, not even to begin to sleep, and that we should do whatever is necessary to have a sufficient supply of oil should the Lord delay His return.  It is not enough to have eternal life, and to not go to hell; in order to inherit the kingdom -- to not just live there, but to actually reign with Christ -- we must not only have been saved by grace, but we must be found worthy by acts of faithfulness.

Now if, as many believe, God's grace assures that the redeemed will assuredly persevere in righteousness and good works till the end of life or the return of Christ⁸, then this commandment makes no sense.  If it is guaranteed that all who are saved will persevere in obedience and good works, then there is no need to warn them to do so.  If such a warning is merely the means to motivate saints, the means by which the "guarantee" is accomplished, then it appears that it is not a sincere warning and puts deceit -- even if well-intentioned -- on the lips of the Lord.

Most assuredly our Lord's words, here, are a sincere warning to His disciples, and Christians are gravely mistaken when they fail to take seriously the possibility of being locked out of the wedding feast.  The foolish virgins, doubtlessly thought that there was no way they would be shut out (since they no doubt felt a kinship to the bride and/or groom)-- but to their amazement, the bridegroom would not open the door for them.  No doubt there will be many who are confident of the Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints who will be locked out of the wedding feast, too, all because they did not take such warnings seriously, foolishly thinking that, because they were saved, they would certainly be seated at the banquet table.

We may not comprehend even a fraction of what it means to be granted to sit at the banquet table, or to reign with Christ, but the Scriptures assure us that we will experience profound regret if we neglect to pursue these things.  Let us not get careless about keeping our lamps trimmed and well supplied with oil; let us not grow weary in doing good.  Let us who are the children of God pursue the inheritance that is promised to all who remain faithful to Christ.

1.   In interpreting parables, it seems to me that the maxim should be that, everything that can be made to have a spiritual correlary should. However, such correlaries should never be in conflict with the the clear intent of the whole of the parable.

2.   Matthew Henry

3.   In the New Testament, the only faith which is not deemed to be true faith is faith that does not have as its object the Lord Jesus Christ.  But those who speak of true faith vs. false faith, who propose -- as John MacArthur, Jr. does -- such nonsensical "conundrums" as, "How can a person know that his or her faith is real?" seem to think that a person's trust in Christ for salvation could, possibly, be a "false" faith, if, ultimately, they fail to persevere in godliness to the end of life.  Obviously, this is as absurd as saying that a person could have a "false" faith in an airplane's ability to fly, or that one could have a "false" faith in a political leader to reduce taxation.

 The only thing that makes one's faith false, is if the person or object of faith is not worthy or dependable -- if the person or object is unable or unwilling to do what we trust it to do -- if the person or object does not fulfill what has been promised. If a man believes in Jesus Christ, and goes to hell despite the promises of Christ that in so doing he will never taste death (John 11:25-26) and will not come into the judgment of those who are perishing (John 5:24), then his faith is false; but, if Christ is trustworthy, then, regardless of how wicked a life a man might subsequently live -- if he has ever trusted in Him -- his faith is true. Anyone who has trusted in the person of Christ has eternal life and will not come into judgment. Jesus Himself asks, "Do you believe this?" (John 11:26). Citation from John MacArthur, The Gospel According to the Apostles, Word Publishing (Nashville), 1993, p. 22.

4.   Matthew Henry

5.   The Reign of the Servant Kings:  A Study of Eternal Security and the Final Significance of Man, Schoettle Publishing Co. (Hayesville, North Carolina), 1992, p. 140. Dillow writes, "Whenever eternal life is viewed as a reward in the New Testament, it is presented as something to be acquired in the future."

6.   Ibid. "But when it is presented as a gift, it is something acquired in the present. No one can receive it as a reward, i.e., experience it to a more abundant degree, until he has received eternal life freely as a gift to begin with."

7.   Matthew Henry

8.   John MacArthur, Jr. (same work cited in #2) cites the Westminster Confession of faith, as saying, "They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved." While this is true, as far as its wording goes, it is often taken to mean that believers will never totally or finally cease to pursue a life-style that demonstrates the reality of the grace that has been bestowed. This, unfortunately, is not true.

Just as the purchase of a horse does not guarantee that the horse will not go back to its old master, so the effectual purchase of a soul does not guarantee that it will not go back to serving the devil. Sadly, many Christians do not seem to realize that the privileges of the firstborn -- the birthright -- may be forfeited through failure to live as mature sons and as responsible stewards of their present estate. Worse, as Esau, many, through the deceitfulness of riches and the cares and pleasures of the world, have ceased to value it (which is to despise it). Such will not cease to be their father's children, any more than Esau ceased to be Jacob's child.

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