Index To Section 8A.. A Question of Salvation       >         Guarantees?

Sadly the Calvinistic bent and clear bias of the NIV and several other popular translations is made nowhere more clear than their rendering of the following three verses (All Emphasis Added) See Section on Calvinism

Why do I say that? Simply because ...

The Words Guarantee and Deposit Do NOT Exist In the Original Greek
Something we cannot afford to forget is that it is only the original writings that were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to accurately determine or understand what the author is trying to convey unless we strictly adhere to the words he used and the meaning of those words in the original language.

 The Preface to the Revised Edition of Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (YLT) sums it up perfectly. (Emphasis Added)

The following Translation of the New Testament is based upon the belief that every word of the original is "God-breathed," as the Apostle Paul says in his Second Epistle to Timothy, chapter 3.16. . . . This inspiration extends only to the original text, as it came from the pens of the writers, not to any translations ever made by man, however aged, venerable, or good; and only in so far as any of these adhere to the original – neither adding to nor omitting from it one particle – are they of any real value, for, to the extent that they vary from the original, the doctrine of verbal inspiration is lost, so far as that version is concerned.

If a translation gives a present tense when the original gives a past, or a past when it has a present; a perfect for a future, or a future for a perfect; an a for a the, or a the for an a; an imperative for a subjunctive, or a subjunctive for an imperative; a verb for a noun, or a noun for a verb, it is clear that verbal inspiration is as much overlooked as if it had no existence. THE WORD OF GOD IS MADE VOID BY THE TRADITIONS OF MEN. [Young's Literal Translation. https://www.bible-researcher.com/young.html]

The Greek word arrhabon rendered deposit or guarantee in the above examples comes from the Hebrew word erabon - "a pawn (given as security) - a pledge" and is so defined by Strong's Hebrew and Greek Lexicon. Pledge and 'earnest money' and the same thing - part of the purchase money or property given in advance as security for the rest. 

Although erabon only occurred three times in the Old Testament, note how it was used

And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge (erabon), till thou send it? And he said, What pledge (erabon) shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge (erabon ) from the woman's hand: but he found her not. (Genesis 38:17-18, 20)  [https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6162.htm]

Not recognizing her as his daughter in law because she had covered her face, Judah turned to a woman thought was a harlot and asked her is he could 'come in to her'.  When she asked what he would give her he said he would send her a young goat from his flock.  However, she then asked if he would give her a pledge (his signet, cord, and staff) until he sent the goat.

In other words she wanted a something given in advance as security that he would send the goat.

The fact that the word earnest may have come into being until centuries later, does not mean that the principal did not exist. Pledges in no way implied a "guarantee". They were deposits of good faith

To Sum Up
In accordance with their preexisting belief in eternal security the translators decided that arrhabon means deposit when it actually means pledge or earnest

And to make it worse they went even further not only translating arrhabon into deposit, but adding the word guarantee (See the NIV version of all three verses). This was obviously done to convey the translator's preconceived doctrinal belief that the Holy Spirit will never leave a believer and a believer can never be lost.

Unknowingly, countless people have relied on these translations, believing that Scripture actually speaks of a guarantee when, in fact, it does no such thing. There is a world of difference between guarantee and earnest. (Below)

Young's Literal Translation renders these verses very differently, as does the ASV and the original King James.

So What's The Difference?

Earnest
The dictionary defines earnest as..

a) a thing intended or regarded as a sign or promise of what is to come: any token of something to follow; pledge; assurance.

It is never used as a guarantee of what is to come, but as evidence of the genuineness and capability of whoever gave the token.

Earnest money deposits are involved in almost every real estate transaction. Earnest money, or good faith deposit, is a sum of money you put down to demonstrate your seriousness about buying a home. 

A check for a comparatively small amount of money is included when putting in an offer to buy a house. This check or "earnest money deposit" is designed to impress upon the seller that the buyer "earnestly" intends to purchase the property. It is good faith money, given to show serious intent to complete the transaction, If the prospective buyer changes his mind about the transaction he must be willing to forfeit the earnest money. However if the seller has in some way misrepresented the agreement or the item up for sale  or fails to complete his end of the bargain, the earnest money can be returned to the buyer voiding the agreement.

Deposit:
Although the word deposit is not used in the original Greek we need to examine it anyway because the NIV uses it in all three verses. The dictionary defines deposit as

a) a sum of money placed (in a bank?) usually to gain interest.

b) a sum payable as a first installment on the purchase of something or as a pledge for a contract, the balance being payable later:

c) a returnable sum payable on the hire or rental of something, to cover any possible loss or damage.

While both definitions do seem to have one meaning in common inasmuch as they can both be used to bind an agreement, using the word deposit tends to conveys the impression of a sum payable as a first installment on the purchase of something. This completely misses the significance of the word earnest which is not the first installment but given as a token to bind an agreement and regarded as a sign or promise of what is to come. Earnest money is good faith money.

In any case, neither a deposit nor earnest money provides a guarantee that the transaction will go through. Depending on the circumstances either one can be forfeited or returned. Thus to emphasize that the believer can never be lost is probably why the NIV inserts the word guarantee into all three verses.

Sealed
While all three verses in question tell us that the Holy Spirit is the earnest only two mention being "sealed" by God.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed (Gk. sphragizo) in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14 NASB)

who also sealed (Gk. sphragizo us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (2 Corinthians 1:22 NASB)

Sphragizo is defined by Strong's Hebrew and Greek Lexicon as to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively);

Seals were used in ancient times to establish ownership and to verify that a document or other container had not been opened. It is used very similarly today as a mark of approval or authority (a legal document is validated by the seal of the State)..

We seal a letter by gluing the envelope. A notary puts his seal on a document to attest to the fact that the party or parties involved actually gave the testimony indicated and/or that the signatures are valid. When the tomb of Jesus was sealed (Matthew 27:66), it was so the body could not easily be removed.

In all cases the seal is not meant to be broken but can be. A sealed letter is not meant to be opened before it gets to its destination, but it can be. When a notary puts his seal on an agreement, the agreement is not supposed to be broken, but it can be.  The seal on Jesus' tomb did not last long. Similarly...

...When Abraham received "the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the righteousness of faith which he had" (Romans 4:11) God was attesting to the fact that Abraham and his descendants who kept the ritual properly, and obeyed the law would be His special people. It did NOT signify that they could not break His covenant, be disobedient and be cut off from the blessings promised. Surely no person who reads the history of Israel could logically conclude otherwise. (1)

However, Calvinists take the passages that mention the sealing of believers to mean that the believer is "sealed and secured" by God … and can never be lost - He or she is eternally secure. This is completely at odds with the definition of the word earnest.

Both Ephesians 1:13-14 and 2 Corinthians 1:22 say the Holy Spirit was given as a pledge which means God's Spirit is given to believers to show them that God has every intention of keeping His end of the bargain. However, the "seal" in no way implies that we cannot break the agreement in which case God's earnest can and will be forfeited.

The Scriptures also warn that God gives the holy Spirit to all who obey Him (Acts 5:32) which implies that only those that obey Him are given the Holy Spirit.

Quenching The Spirit
1 Thessalonians 5:19 says "do not quench (Gk. sbennumi) the Spirit". The Greek word sbennumi was used only a total of eight time in the New Testament always in terms of extinguishing a flame.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. (Matthew 25:8)

A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory (Matthew 12:20)

where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  (Mark 9:44, 46,48)

withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. (Hebrews 11:34)

If the Holy Spirit is quenched or extinguished from a believer it is absolutely impossible for
Him to continue to abide in that person.

When Does God Demand Return Of His Ernest
Whether the earnest evolves into a completion of the agreement depends not on God who is perfectly capable of upholding His end of the bargain, but on us who often do not follow through with our part.  As shown by countless Scriptures … only those that stand firm until the end will see the fulfillment or finalization of the agreement that was represented by the earnest. Scripture is replete with warnings about the consequences of falling from Grace by not persevering in the faith.

We fail to keep our part of the bargain with God when we are disobedient to Jesus' commands. Although He has every right to demand (take back) his earnest of the Holy Spirit, thankfully He is patient with us not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

When we sin and repent immediately God forgives and purifies - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

However we cannot presume upon His patience. We cannot sin with impunity and then rely on confessing our sins to be forgiven. The Apostle John warned, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him" (1 John 3:6). In any case we are only forgiven if we are truly repentant. See Repentance The Missing Message

See Eternal Life: Personal Possession or Promise?

End Notes

 [01]  T. Pierce Brown. Sealed by the Spirit. http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Brown/T/Pierce/1923/sealed.htmll

Index To Articles on Eternal Security

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