I do believe in the eternal security of the believer, but I have trouble understanding Galatians 5:4 where Paul says, “ye are fallen from grace.” Does this verse argue against eternal security?
No. The verse does not say, “ye are fallen from salvation,” or “ye are fallen from Christ.” Later on in the letter Paul calls his readers “brethren” (Gal. 6:1) and he uses the word in the normal sense, meaning that they are “brothers and sisters in Christ.” The Galatians were confused about sanctification. False teachers led them astray regarding how we are to live the Christian life. Is it a life to be lived under religious practices and the legalistic teachings of the Judaizers? The apostle brings the issue into focus when are asks: “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). That was their problem. They were relying on the flesh and on works. Hence, Paul says, “ye are fallen from grace,” meaning that they have fallen from grace as the way of their sanctification and had gone back to keeping the law (Gal. 3:5-7). Is it possible to lose one’s salvation? It certainly is. If we are honest, we’ve probably lost it more times than we can r
