The bible says that in the last days that many people shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. One major false teaching that is very deadly in the body of Christ is the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved. St. John 3:16-17 says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." The death of Jesus Christ saved the entire world over 2000 years ago when he was crucified on the cross and raised from the dead (John 3:17, John 1:29, John 4:42, John 12:47). However, this does not mean that every person on earth is saved, for then no one would go to hell. Rev 20:14-21:1 says that "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So someone must pay for his or her sins. Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So how can God save the world and everyone in the world not be saved? This may seem like a contradiction, but the Word of God says that we must believe that He has sent His Son to be crucified as a sacrifice for our sins, and that He has been risen from the dead (John 3:17). We must obey His Word (John 14:15, Romans 6:17, Philippians 2:12). We must repent from sin (Matthew 4:17, Mark 6:12) and we must not continue in sin (1 Peter 1:15, 1 Peter 4:1, Hebrews 10:2, Colossians 3:5). We must be born again (John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23). We must have our minds renewed (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23). Once you are born again into the kingdom of God with the Lord, if you don't hold on to your salvation you can you still be lost? There are numerous references in God's Word to believers or born again saved people, members of the church) being lost. The Apostle Paul states that it was possible for him to still be a cast away (1 Corinthians 9:27). It is stated that there will be believers who fall away because of temptation (Luke 8:13, 2 Peter 2:22) The bible also states that in the last days that there will be a great falling away or apostasy in the Church (II Thessalonians 2:3). We are even told in the bible that we can get to a point with God that, if we should turn or fall away, there remains no repentance left for us (Hebrews 6:4-6).
Jesus Himself even says that those who do not stay committed to Him will be cast from His Body (spewed out of His mouth) (Revelation 3:15-16) and that He can blot your name out of the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5). How do you know those who are saved? Jesus says that you will know them by their fruit. Why isn't our salvation eternally secured the moment we accept Jesus, as some would teach? Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we are entering into a covenant relationship with Him. In Scripture we see God's promises for those who enter into this covenant as well as what He expects from man in order to uphold our part of the covenant. The key here is that it takes two to make and keep a covenant. Our salvation is not all on God (as we have seen above, there are conditions we have to meet) neither is it all on us (He gave His Son, He forgives when we repent...). Although God is faithful to always meet His part of the covenant, man is not always faithful. When we disregard our part of the covenant we have made with God, the covenant has been broken. In the Old Testament we a picture of how God handles those who break His covenants. First, He patiently gives time for repentance. He sends prophets with a word of warning for the people to turn back to Him. Then, if there is no repentance, He sends forth judgment. It is the same with us. God extends grace to us to give us time to be conformed into the image of His Son, so that we may be spared His wrath. You can see in the Old Testament that when Israel was in rebellion against God, he referred to them as adulterers. He uses the same terminology when referring to rebellious members of the church in the New Testament. In the New Testament, we see an important revelation from God about how he views covenants. He indicates that a covenant between a man and wife is to be honored (Matthew 19:8); however He also says that one can freely walk away from this agreement when adultery is present (Matthew 5:32). When we turn from God through disobedience and rebellion, He considers us adulterers. At that time we have chosen to break the covenant, thereby absolving God from His part of the covenant. Thankfully, due to God's grace and mercy, He does not immediately cast us away from Him in these times. However, if we refuse to repent and change, we place our very salvation in
jeopardy.
Finally, we will leave you with the following Scripture from Hebrews 10:26-29: "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. "Once Saved Always Saved is a doctrine of devils because it contradicts God's word. It is a dangerous teaching because it falsely gives people the impression that they can continue to sin because their salvation is secure and they can never be lost. It creates a group of people who claim the name of Jesus, but do not go through the necessary steps to be cleansed and made into manifested Sons of God. Ezek 3:20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. |
