Dr. Dongsu Kim recently published a valuable (and very large!) book entitled . Coming in at almost 1,000 pages, this is the most thorough treatment I have ever encountered of New Testament passages dealing with the question of whether a true Christian is eternally secure (perseverance), along with what happens when a professing believer deliberately turns away from Christ (apostasy). Kim graciously agreed to answer some questions for me.

Berding: Thank you for being willing to do this interview with me. Can you start by telling me why you decided to write this book?

Kim: More than two decades ago, I wrote my Ph.D dissertation on John’s concept of apostasy in his narratives of Peter and Judas. I argued that John deliberately contrasts the two figures, admonishing believers to follow the model of Peter’s perseverance, rather than Judas’ apostasy, to secure eschatological salvation. After writing that, I continued to be curious about how other New Testament writers dealt with the subject of perseverance and apostasy, and so continued to study.

Along the way, I encountered Dr. B.J. Oropeza’s on apostasy in the New Testament. In three volumes, he argues that the New Testament writers are not united in their understanding of apostasy because they lack unity in their Christology due to their different social and cultural contexts. Oropeza’s view is nothing less than a serious challenge to the biblical doctrine of Scripture as the inspired Word of God. After reading Oropeza’s disturbing take on this topic, I decided to examine his thesis by investigating all the passages in the New Testament relative to the subject of perseverance and apostasy, resulting in a challenge to his position.

Berding: What are the findings from your study regarding the subject of perseverance and apostasy in the New Testament?

Kim: My study affirms that the New Testament writers uniformly believe and communicate the same view on perseverance and apostasy. God’s elect cannot apostatize because God preserves their salvation by the work of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, true apostates are un-regenerates from the start and impossible to be restored. The unity found in the New Testament on the concept of perseverance and apostasy derives from Jesus’ teaching about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Later writers of the New Testament write about the sin of apostasy against the backdrop of Jesus’ teaching as they address their specific pastoral needs in their respective historical circumstances.

The central element in the sin of apostasy is the willful denial of Jesus being the Son of God. This concept of apostasy is based on a uniform Christology that the New Testament writers consistently maintain. All of the New Testament authors are aligned in pr