Once saved always saved? What the Bible Actually Says

Once saved always saved (OSAS) adherents have a big problem—complacency. It’s the feeling that sinning, even serious sinning, is not a thing to be worried a lot about. True, I may lose fellowship with God, and I may lose some rewards in heaven—but I will still go to heaven, which is THE big thing I get to keep--because God in His Word has promised, that once I was saved, I’m always saved. I can always patch things up with Him. No sinning that I do will keep me from heaven. Doesn’t that seem like a definition of complacency? This complacency rubs off on witness and warning too. Let’s say someone is “saved” at an evangelical church, then later re-enters a life of sin--never to re-exit, except for a few fleeting days. The OSAS person would conclude, at the end, “That person was never saved to begin with.” The problem is, he probably never told this conclusion to the person in trouble. They didn’t want to appear judgmental, and he could still “turn around” his life. What they did tell him, when he was first saved, was that he was a child of God forever. Probably more than once he heard that from fellow-rejoicing OSASers. Then, when he re-entered a life of sin, they told him that he shouldn’t do that, as a child of God. It was only when he died, or permanently outside of their influence, that they expressed the sad conclusion, “He was never saved to begin with.” The problem with that chain of events (which happens probably too frequently) is that the person in trouble never received a serious warning that his behavior pretty much showed that he was still hell-bound. All he ever heard from his well-meaning OSAS friends was, he was heaven-bound, and then later that he shouldn’t be wallowing in sin. But hearing only one side of this story, he could easily be deceived. He could think that he was OK, he just needed to get his life back on track; but he doesn’t have the motivation to do so—which is easy to understand, since he thought he was still bound for heaven (he remembered a few nice things he did for people lately, so it would be easy for him to think that). If we do statements to him that are this one-sided, they will, because they encourage the deception, make us guilty when Jesus confronts us at the bema seat judgment. The complacency I mentioned in the first paragraph toward our own sin, we allow to rub off on how we treat others—not paying enough attention if they are in serious spiritual trouble. Thus, OSAS makes people “lose their whistle,” and is a poor warning device. I should be frank with you: My purpose here is to prove that OSAS is wrong. Of course, we can’t conclude a doctrine is wrong simply because “in some area it doesn’t work good;” that could be said about any religious doctrine. To prove a doctrine is wrong, you need Scripture. So let’s get to it. CHINKS IN THEIR ARMOR Let’s go over some favorite OSAS verses, their “proof texts”—and explain how they don’t quite say what some people think. Then we’ll look at the other side of this argument, at other verses, which clearly say what a lot of people don’t want to hear. 1. Jude 24: Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, And to present you fultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy Because God is able to keep us from falling, does that mean we could never fall, as OSASers declare? Don’t make the phrase about how He is “able to keep you from falling” say more than it can. Consider Isaiah 26:3, which says: You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You But are we always in perfect peace? No, because our behavior betrays us; sometimes we aren’t thinking about God. So God has the capability (“is able”) to “keep us” in perfect peace (or to keep us from falling); but His success is dependent on our behavior! The simple fact is, we can reject God, fail to think about God, and fall on our own. Along those lines, what does it say only 3 verses earlier, Jude 21? Keep yourselves in God's love…to bring you to eternal life. Thus, keeping includes something for us to do—or fail to do. I conclude that you cannot argue that “keeping” is all God’s responsibility. Some people fall when trials come. Take a look at I Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. The Greek word for “depart from” is “apostasia” which means apostasy from the faith. In Acts 21:21, the same Greek word is translated “forsake.” Now I maintain that it’s impossible to depart from or forsake something unless you were attached to it in the first place. And it is impossible to apostasize unless you were a believer in the first place. What does Hebrews 10:38-39 say to this? Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.39But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Vine’s Expository Dictionary says about the Greek for “draw back,” it’s “shrink back into unbelief.” The result of that is “perdition,” from Greek “apoleia,” a spiritual ruin. Perdition is hell. Again, you don’t draw back from something unless you were with it at first. Some people fall because they gain power and are not ready for it; they fill up with pride. Consider I Timothy 3:1,6: If a man desires the position of a bishop…not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. The Greek word for “novice” is a new convert, per Vine’s dictionary. So he was saved. But he could, with pride, fall into “the same condemnation as the devil.” The word “condemnation,” in Greek, is “verdict, resulting from an investigation.” It’s a final judgment. So he clearly has moved from being saved to being unsaved and bound for hell. 2. I Corinthians 5:1-5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. OSAS adherents love to cite “that his spirit may be saved” in verse 5 to prove that this man has in the past been eternally saved, and even his adultery will not unsave him. My response is, don’t make the word “may” say more than it does. How do you think this man is saved now when verse 13 says: Expel the wicked man from among you. The same Greek word for “wicked” is used in Jesus’ quote in Matthew 13:49-50: This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The word “wicked” is clearly an adjective for an unsaved person, which is what this adulterer is now. When Paul says, “..deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,” he is saying, “Don’t pat one another on the back for your toleration; don’t sweet talk him about “saved people don’t do that.” Just expel him. I know, without even being there, that he is unsaved—just based on the fact that he is an adulterer.” Paul is saying, flat out, Saved people don’t commit adultery. (I will have more to say on this later). And what about the phrase, “may be saved?” It doesn’t say “may remain saved,” does it—which would back OSASers claim? It’s really “maybe he’ll get saved.” He could be like the prodigal son (Luke 15), who saw the misery of his life under Satan’s control; he turned around, and then got saved. So perhaps, in I Corinthians, allowing Satan to have his way with him for awhile may wake him up (or it may not)—he might turn around and get saved before he dies (or he might not). At least he won’t have any well-meaning Christians around him, deceiving him by “assuring” him and not speaking clearly about his unsaved behavior! John 10:27-29:My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. Clearly “my sheep” are the beneficiary of this gracious treatment. But what are the characteristics to be one of His sheep? Belief? Getting born again? No, that’s not what Jesus said. What He did say was, you have to hear His voice, and you have to follow Him. And those verbs (hear, follow) are expressed in present, continuous tense—which means, if you’re not hearing or not following, then you can’t say you’ll “never perish.” That’s what the verses said. They are conditional on our behavior, not unconditional. 4. John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Here again, the word “believes” is in present, continuous tense. You must continue believing to have everlasting life. It’s not just a “one time I went forward, so I’m saved forever” deal. And the word “believes” is more than just “yes, I believe in my head that Jesus died for me and that’s all I have to show of our relationship.” Vine’s, an excellent expository dictionary of Greek words, says about the word believe, “to trust…reliance upon, not mere credence.” If it’s real belief, our hearts will be moved to action. Do we really contemplate the hell that our sins truly deserve; and then, in gratitude for deliverance, repeatedly ask Him what He wants us to do as His servants, how to keep from sinning, and to build treasures in heaven? Do we regularly seek a real relationship with our Father? I John really delves a lot into the real meaning of “believe.” Here’s just one example, I John 3:23-24a: And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him. But what happens to those who don’t abide in Him? John 15:6 has the answer: If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. You would have to go through a lot of mental gyrations to “prove” that that verse isn’t speaking of hell. It is, folks. I conclude that the commandment to love one another and abide in Him are necessary and wrapped up with the word “believe.” Since loving and abiding are not automatic, and require effort, real belief is thus conditional on our behavior, not unconditional. 5. Hebrews 13:5: Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” This verse quotes from Deuteronomy 31:6 (part of Moses’ final words to the children of Israel): ….do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God… will not leave you nor forsake you. But then for context you need to peek 11 verses ahead. In Deut 31:16-17a, God gives His last words to Moses, warning him of Israel’s apostasy. It’s a hard word for Moses, and with much warning for us: And the LORD said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land…. and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. Read that again: God forsook them! Because they forsook Him. Now you can try to wriggle out of the clear meaning of these words by citing “dispensationalism:” “Well, He was a God of Law in the Old Testament; thank God for His dispensation of grace now.” But God is not a God of change. As James 1:17 says, Every good gift and every perfect gift …comes down from the Father… with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. We do not have two Gods in the Bible. The Old Testament, don’t forget, is profitable for reproof, for correction in righteousness (II Tim 3:16), and we can learn a lot about Him in the Old Testament—and won’t have to unlearn them when we study the New! The point is this: The God who forsook His people in those days because they forsook Him, will do the same again now. The truth is: He will never leave you nor forsake you—if you abide in Him. God help us to do so—but we have free will, and can forsake Him. Further Word along this line is II Chronicles 15:2: Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded… and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. Seems clear, does it not? Now another thing you might cite is “the great promises to Israel,” whereby God will do miraculous things for Israel in the End times, and those people will be redeemed, so God “never forsook them”—so evidently you think God didn’t mean what he said in Deuteronomy or II Chronicles. But the national promise to Israel is different than the promise to individuals. In the End times, those Jews will see Jesus as God, accept Him and are redeemed. But in Exodus those Jews who rejected the spies’ good report rejected God’s promise, and died unbelieving in the desert. God didn’t change; some Jewish responses did. Other “nation vs individual” verses that are abused are Romans 11:28-29: Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. OSASers love to select the words “election,” “gift” and “irrevocable,” giving themselves complacent assurance, but failing to place them in context. The fact is, the whole chapter 11 is about how God will gift the nation of Israel in His plan for the future. Speaking of taking words out of context, yet another abused Scripture is Hebrews 10:12,14: But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,… 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. This is not about assurance for the believer; this Word is for the Hebrews, about how Jesus is our High Priest, comparing His offering His body as a sacrifice once for sin being sufficient for atonement, vs. priests in the Old Testament offering sacrifices annually that don’t take away sin. And please don’t assume that “those who are being sanctified” is all up to God. See #13 below. 6. Colossians 2:13: And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses OSAS adherents cite this verse that God forgives us of all sins, past and future, when we accept Jesus. But the verse does not specifically refer to future trespasses, and Paul is talking about a past event (“has made alive”), their point of initial salvation. For an interesting comparison, take a look at II Pet 1:9: But if anyone does not have them (speaking of fruits), he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins I think if Peter knew that he could cover future sins in this theological statement, he would’ve mentioned them—but he doesn’t. Another enlightening verse is I John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. John is writing this to people who are believers already, so it doesn’t make sense that we need to keep on confessing our sins to obtain forgiveness—if we’re already forgiven from future sins. John evidently believes we’re not initially saved from future sins, so we need to continue confessing them to continue being forgiven. So I conclude the “all trespasses” in Col 2:13 is more likely referring to all trespasses up to the point of initial salvation—which was Paul’s subject matter. Not future sins. 7. I Pet. 1:3-4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who… has begotten us again…, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you OSAS adherents will cite our inheritance, as a child of the King, that will never fade away. But this great passage of Scripture doesn’t say that we cannot annul the inheritance by disbelief or unrepentant gross sin. Consider what Jesus said in Matthew 10:33: But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. Definitely wrapped up in the word “disown” is losing one’s inheritance. So it is possible. While I’m on this subject, I need to bring up another verse that’s misinterpreted by OSAS folks. It’s II Timothy 2:13: If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. This is quoted often by OSAS teachers; their interpretation of God being “faithful” here is that He will accept our faithlessness and save us anyway. Their problem again is context. Take a look at the previous verse, II Timothy 2:12: If we deny Him, He also will deny us. Whoa, that says the opposite of what OSASers think 2:13 says. So, let’s do what you seldom see teachers do—reconcile 2:12b and 2:13. First, you have to see how awful a sin being “faithless” is; it is not coincidentally connected to 2:12’s “denying” Christ. God many times calls faithlessness spiritual adultery. The Jews strayed into idol-worship, took their faith and worship away from God, and were called adulterers. Now before you say, “we don’t do idols in modern society,” you need to expand the meaning of “idol.” It’s anything that we place without including our God in our time throughout the day. So if we spend all that time at work and not think about bringing God into that experience (such as making sure Jesus’ related commands are maintained); then spend a lot of time collecting, cooking, and eating food without seriously giving thanks; then socializing with friends without raising His name (or thinking about how to do so); or raising our kids without teaching them constantly about God—then I conclude that work, eating, friends, and kids all become idols. We’ve simply substituted modern idols for the ancient wood and stone. God should be a part of our life, like breathing—and it’s faithless to only worship Him on Sundays. We’re just as guilty of substituting God out of our life as the Jews did. Where’s the “abiding in Christ” in modern society? Have we watered down the meaning of “abiding?” The second thing you do to reconcile these two verses in II Timothy is: Expand the definition of God’s being “faithful.” We assume that faithfulness is always positive. Not so. Check out Deuteronomy 7:9,10: Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. God is faithful by carrying out His promised curses on the unsaved, as well as loving the saved. If that’s hard to accept, it’s probably because we haven’t thought much about hell. We’re talking about fiery torment, continual pain, continual thirst, no contact with others (read Luke 16:19ff on these). And forever and ever…for eternity. Why not just for 50 years, or 100 years? Why not probation? Why not a second chance, or purgatory? Answer: God HATES sin—and ultimately His hate will be faithful to His promise and carried out on the sinner. Look at the evidence of His anger in the Deuteronomy verse above: God will repay him “to his face.” Now that’s a God with a grudge. A whole new meaning on II Timothy 2:13, is it not. If we are faithless to God, He will be faithful to carry out His promise, that the curse of our sin remains on us. 8. II Timothy 1:12: … Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. OSAS adherents claim that Jesus will do the work in guarding our salvation, so we are safe. But then why does Paul urge Timothy, two verses later, Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. There certainly is a job we need to do to keep on guarding our salvation—and that’s again my point. Our behavior is involved. Another verse on this is Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Doesn’t that suggest that our unwavering behavior is what’s needed to obtain God’s fulfillment of His faithful promise to bring us to heaven? I think so. A job for us to do. That’s what the verse says. 9. Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ The OSAS adherent says, “This is the way it is with all unbelievers; Jesus never knew them; it wasn’t that He knew them, then didn’t know them.” My response is, first of all, you can’t universalize this “never” to all unbelievers; Jesus only says, “Many will say to Me.” Secondly, study Luke 15:11ff, the prodigal son: He was a son of his loving father to begin with, right? Then he became prodigal, walked away, and didn’t abide with his father any more. Then he sees the light, returns to his father, confesses his sin, and returns to good graces. You see where I’m going? For more proof, look at verse 24: for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So think…he was his son before, then he was dead (that’s the word used), then he was alive again. He was home at first, then became lost, then was found. Seems pretty clear here—he lost his salvation, then regained it. What additional valuable things do we learn in this parable? (1) We assume the father protected the son under his care (as illustrated in John 10:28), but the son had the free will to depart of his own volition. (2) The father’s great love for his son (enough to forgive him freely after his wild life, when he repented) did not prevent the son from becoming lost. What Jesus is clearly saying is, God the Father allows free will on this, even to the point of loss of life. Finally, look again at Matthew 7:21, where those who are heaven-bound must “do the will of My Father.” That too says continuing salvation is contingent on behavior, which the prodigal didn’t do for awhile—and was unsaved for awhile. 10. I Corinthians 1:8: who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ OSAS adherents maintain that God’s confirming us to the end, and our blamelessness, are without conditions. So once saved, always saved. My response is, you must consider contexts of Scripture (remember #5 above). What about Paul’s words in the same letter, in I Corinthians 15:2? by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain Seems that being saved has a condition attached to it, “if you hold fast” to the Word. There’s the word “IF” again. “Holding fast” is sort of a variation of “abiding,” is it not? See our comment in #4 above on that. And a warning of losing one’s salvation is wrapped up in the phrase, “believed in vain.” The Greek word for “believed” is the same true belief as elsewhere, but how did it then become to no advantage (“in vain”)? Only by losing one’s salvation can it become in vain. Another verse on the necessity of our “holding on:” I Timothy 6:12 says, Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Laying hold on eternal life is an aggressive action to keep what you really want; it’s a behavior, not just belief in the head; and look how it also involves “fighting the good fight.” Did you know the true Gospel includes belief + holding fast? In I Corinthians 15:1-2, we find: Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. Along these lines, consider the parable of the sower, focusing on seed landing on “rocky places” in Matthew 13:5-6: Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Now a simple question is simply, “Did the seed remain dead, or did it come to life?” Obviously it came to life (It “sprang up;” dead things don’t do that). Then the question is, “Did it lose this life? The answer is obviously yes; “they withered”—couldn’t take “the heat.” You wither only when you are cut off from the Vine. (John 15:6). They were alive in the faith until trials came. Then they apparently left faith—and lost their life in Him—and withered. You must hold on during tribulations to keep salvation. It’s conditional. That’s what the verses are saying. While we’re on the sower, consider Jesus’ explanation of the seed landing on rocky ground (Matthew 13:20-21). He says the recipient immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. The Greek word “receives” is in many Scriptures used for people as a litmus for being saved—if you don’t “receive” His word, you’re unsaved, if you do, you’re saved (see John 3:11, 12:48). The problem is, some after that are unable to endure to the end. He moves from being saved (receiving the Word) to unsaved. This is further proved by the phrase “endures only for a while;” that’s an oft-repeated warning of ensuing spiritual death by Christ (Matthew 10:22 and 24:13, to cite just a couple of examples). 11. I Corinthians 11:29-32: For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world OSAS adherents say, since God will always discipline His children to bring them back (and would even kill them if necessary), that will guarantee our salvation. But does this say that God’s discipline always brings someone back? No, it doesn’t. Consider Jeremiah 32:33: They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. Now if you argue again that those are Old Testament verses and not relevant to today, let me just ask you New Testament believers: Do any of you have kids that sadly didn’t respond to discipline? Do any of you have a child that, despite prayers, is unsaved? Then really, the same story is true of New and Old; some people are too stiff-necked to listen to instruction or discipline. Let’s not make these verses say what they don’t say. You would now argue, “Well, once a child, always a child; parents won’t disown a child.” I have comments on that later. 12. Hebrews 6:4-6: For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. OSAS adherents say, “If you truly think the person here could be losing his salvation, what about the fact that he can never get it back? Are you saying God is this way? Doesn’t that sound like a God who is too unforgiving for that argument to be true?” To that I respond by taking Scripture again in context. Remember my comments above on the prodigal son; he got his salvation back. Let us check out the interesting case of Peter. In Luke 22:32, Jesus has informed him that he will be tested by Satan, and says to him: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. This is a strange sentence, that Jesus would pray that his faith wouldn’t fail, then says “when you are converted”—suggesting a future need for Peter to be saved, so evidently his faith did fail. (You certainly can’t assume Peter was never saved until he’s converted at Jesus’ resurrection.) The word “converted” is a genuine salvation Greek word, used as such in James 5:20: Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. So what we conclude is, Jesus is urging him to hold onto his faith—He didn’t want to just tell him flat out that he will fail; but Jesus knows of his denial, and failure—and re-committing his life to Christ, getting converted again. How else could you interpret this, with the word “when you are converted” to a person already saved, in there? Before we go on, many of you can’t get your head around the idea that what I’m implying is, Jesus’ prayer is not being answered. Am I suggesting Jesus lacks almighty power in His prayer? No, the argument is answered another way. Consider II Peter 3:9: The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. God has patience, it says, and is “not willing” that any should perish; God’s fervent desire is that all would be saved. But the fact is, most people perish; so is God a failure? Does He lack power? Like Jesus, God’s desire doesn’t get answered like He wants. God simply limits His power by granting us free will. It’s the same way with Jesus. So what do we say about the “no way of getting it back” of Hebrews 6:4-6? The history on this particular Scripture is interesting: At that time, if a saved Jew wanted to abandon the faith and be a Jew again, the synagogue would make him confess publicly that Christ was a criminal—thus, He was operating under Satan. Attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit, especially for those who were a living witness of His works, was probably an unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31-32). Proof of this idea is in the dark words of Hebrews 10:29, speaking about where some of these people were going: Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? Thank God, such a phrase doesn’t get said about all those under threat of becoming unsaved. So, this Hebrews example was a special narrow case, not universal. 13. I Thessalonians 5:23-24: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it 14. Hebrews 10:14: For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. OSAS adherents read “sanctify you completely,” “preserved blameless,” “will do it,” and “perfected forever,” and presume these are jobs up to God only. But one of the problems in that assumption is the 3-letter word “may.” May is not a certainty. It’s not “you can be assured that.” So that doesn’t sound like “God only.” You also must consider, in context, “those who are being sanctified.” A list of things they (or we) should do for sanctification is in the verses immediately prior to #13 above, I Thessalonians 5:11-22: Therefore comfort each other and edify one another… recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love... Be at peace among yourselves…warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. I counted 19 verbs for us to do for sanctification! Yes, works for us to do! Let us similarly remember that Ephesians 2:8 and 9—goes along with verse 10: For by grace you have been saved through faith… 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (takes effort on our part), which God prepared beforehand that we should walk (takes effort on our part) in them. Further proof on how we can’t lay back and shift all this effort to God is found when we look at many Scriptures, especially by Paul, on how the saints should be ready to do battle with Satan and his minions. We’re not just talking about losing a few crowns in heaven, or losing fellowship with God. No, that’s not a powerful enough motivator. We’re talking about battling to preserve our place in The Big One, heaven itself—versus hell. In Philippians 2:25 and II Timothy 2:3,4 the saints are soldiers. In Acts 20:24 and I Corinthians 9:24, saints are called runners in a marathon. In Matthew 20:1ff, we’re workers in a vineyard. In Ephesians 6:12, we’re wrestlers against the forces of darkness. In Acts 4:29, we’re slaves of God. All have to do with keeping our eternity on the line. And here’s one to memorize from Hebrews 12:3-4: For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. This says, we must endure suffering because Jesus suffered. But let’s not have our sin be the cause of our suffering. Let us resist sin to bloodshed if necessary, so that if we suffer, it is because we cleaved to the noble cause of standing up with Christ. We cannot assume Jesus was just “stoic” and had no “real” temptation, so how can we handle suffering like He did? Let us remember, He was fully Man (and fully God). Let us never forget the extremes of pain that He knew was coming, and how He sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane—which physicians tell us is only possible in supreme agony. How can we, in the face of that Example, in the face of many Scriptures telling us to fight sin with all we have, continue to believe that sanctification is all up to God! Such a belief, spread for deception, will erode people’s desire (and need!) to work at eradicating sin. Lastly, in this section, consider what Paul says about losing his salvation--hard to believe? How can anybody have any assurance if Paul didn’t? Well, read I Corinthians 9:27: But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. The word “disqualified” comes from the Greek “adokimos,” which is properly translated, per Vine’s Dictionary, as “rejected; not standing the test.” The test is salvation. The same Greek word appears twice in Romans 1:28; I’ve underlined the phrases that translate the word: And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. What we get is, since man rejected God, God had to reject them; man is then reprobate, and worthy of hell. Paul uses the same word about himself, and he knows its meaning. He is disciplining his body (actually, the Greek word says he is beating, or buffeting his body, to bring it into servitude—he is actively suppressing its desires so as to be more open to the Spirit). He does this because he doesn’t want to become rejected by God. So, folks, if Paul is striving for holiness, if he fears God this way, if he wants to abide in Christ every day, shouldn’t we? Of course we should. He knows what he might lose if he doesn’t. Do we? Another insightful verse section on Paul’s lack of presumption is Philippians 3:10-14: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain (doesn’t sound very self-assured) to the resurrection from the dead.12 Not that I have already attained (again! Is this guy worried, or what?), or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold (everything is “maybe”—did he have a paranoia about God?) of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (where’s the “we’ve got it already”?); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Despite my so-called humor, you hopefully get my point. Now I ask you, what would we give to be like Paul? (Or would we decline that opportunity?) I suspect his striving, his humility, his lack of presumption, lack of assurance, his fear, if I may use the term, leads to God’s blessing his accomplishments all the more. Or, if we don’t have those attributes worthy in God’s sight, how can we expect to stay in His favor or do great things for Him? On a related aside, I’m not sure many people are helped by the repeated calls to disparage “performance-oriented Gospels and churches.” Hey, that’s what Paul was. 15. II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new OSAS adherents will argue that once we are a new creation, like a baby again, we can’t morph back to be old again. But that argument, based on “natural example” without Scriptural backing, doesn’t wash. Here’s my proof: Being “new” is not only good for the spirit, it is a requirement for the heart; we need a change of mind in attitudes and change in behaviors, and this is called repentance. As Paul says in his gospel message to King Agrippa (Acts 26:20): we “should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” The first gospel message out of Jesus’ mouth (Mark 1:15) was “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Repentance is defined in Unger’s Bible Dictionary as “bound up with faith and inseparable from it…a thorough change in the hearts of men from sin and toward God.” Thus, this is not a once-in-my life deal, but it’s continual. So we conclude again that this shows a behavior condition in continuing salvation. And that introduces the possibility of failure on our part. 16. Romans 4:6-8: just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 “ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.” OSAS adherents maintain that the non-imputation (or non-charging) of sin is automatic and continuous, so we don’t have to worry about sins any more. But Paul, only two chapters later, spends a lot of time debunking that. In Romans 6:6-13, he insists that the purpose of salvation is that “the body of sin might be done away with.” He asserts that we have “been freed from sin.” Through the Spirit that He gives us, we can “present yourselves to God…and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” and not to “present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.” Avoiding sin is thus the essence of worship! Not only should we be continually presenting ourselves to God for holiness, as the phrase “present yourselves” suggests, that burden is initially upon us. My point is this: unlike what OSAS espouses, God’s purpose was to free us from sinning, not giving us freedom to sin and not worry about it. 17. I Corinthians 3:13b-15: …the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire OSAS adherents maintain that this says that even if all works are burned, yet you can be saved. So faith is the only thing that counts. If this is saying that all works are burned and we are still saved, then it disagrees with James 2:14, which says, What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? The answer is No; such is not real faith. The truth is, deeds will follow faith. Jesus makes such an important distinction too, in John 5:28-9: …the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. Those who say “Jesus can’t be teaching a gospel that mentions works,” need to consider repeated verses like this; I found no less than 17 times in the book of Matthew alone where Jesus speaks like this (list attached). When He was asked about eternity, where you’d expect Him to say it hinges on “faith” or “belief,” He says “works.” Now keep in mind, I’m not saying that we present works to get saved; I’m saying that a saved person must have works, or else he might consider that he’s unsaved. Jesus mentions works as a warning to check if our faith is real, since it’s so easy to deceive ourselves. Consider Romans 2:7: …eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. The same idea is there too. I conclude that when you read I Cor. 3:15, it cannot say he only had one work his whole life, and it’s burned, but he is still saved. That goes against other Scripture as we have seen. The verses are really saying, God is weighing each work.; and works done to please men will not get a heavenly reward. So they will burn. Even if the bad works are burned, that doesn’t take away from your salvation if you still have good works to back your faith. 18. Romans 8:35, 38-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. OSAS adherents say nothing can separate us from the love of God, so His love is unconditional. Well, these are great verses, but I don’t notice “sins” on the list that can’t separate us. When you read Isaiah 59:2, you get a different view: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. Will they eternally separate us from God? Scripture has lists of certain sins that do that, without repentance (see our negative promise section below). 19. Colossians 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight OSAS adherents report that God is doing all the reconciling through Jesus to present us holy, blameless, and above reproach. Well, first of all, they forget the next verse completing the sentence, verse 23: if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard. There’s that important “if” that depends on our continuing in the faith, and not moving away from the hope of the gospel. This can be connected to another verse that should be taken in context, II Peter 3:14: Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless. Certainly if no effort is required on our part to be without spot and blameless, why are we urged to “be diligent” to be found there? It just seems that over and over, Jesus has done His part to give it, and we are to do our part to keep it. Consider Luke 13:24: Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. The Greek word for “strive,” agonizomai, is the word from which we get “agonize.” Have you agonized to maintain your faith? Now compare that to Matthew 7:14: Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it This is not just God doing the work! It sometimes takes agonizing effort on our part! Now let’s conclude with one more verse from our original study: Colossians 1:24—which is even more controversial: I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church Now let me say, first, that this is not saying that Jesus’ sufferings lacked in providing us atonement to His Father for our sins. But a little study on the Greek for “fill up” (antanapleroo) was interesting. The word suggests doing what we need to do “in our turn,” or doing it “corresponding to” another. This is not about atoning for sin. Here’s the meaning: Jesus was afflicted by His enemies. Now we, His body, will do our part in the same role—suffering at the hands of His enemies. If , then, suffering is a necessary part of the gospel, and if Jesus did His part, then we must do our part so that nothing is lacking in the presentation of the gospel today, as there was nothing lacking when He was on the earth. Let us not allow belief in “eternal security” to lead us into laziness or shrinking away from taking a stand and suffering as a result. There are other favorite phrases OSAS adherents say, that are not based on a particular Scripture but are worth commenting on. One is: “eternal life is eternal. If you could lose it, it isn’t eternal life.” To that I argue, “eternal life will always remain eternal, but who possesses it can change.” After all, eternal life existed before you ever “got on board.” And it will continue to exist if you happen to “get off the track.” So eternal life can’t change, but your possession of it can change. OSAS adherents also like to say, “Scripture promises “eternal salvation;” so I’m eternally secure.” But the only place that the phrase “eternal salvation” is used is Hebrews 5:9, where it says: And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. There it is again, we must obey (and that is also in the continuous present tense) for eternal salvation. Another favorite OSAS argument is “once a son, always a son; a child cannot be unborn.” Thus they argue that once you’re a child of God (Gal 3:26), you will always be a child of God. But this is “reasoning from the natural to the spiritual” again, which is dangerous, as we proved before. My response is, you are probably aware that an unsaved person (which is how we all start out) is a son of the devil. That’s proven in Matthew 13:38 and John 8:44. If then, “once a son, always a son,” then we’re stuck being a child of the devil forever! That’s how their logic follows, is it not? But, praise God, we can change parentage—and, sadly, we can change it back. OSAS believers also have a specific belief about the “seal of the Holy Spirit;” that it can’t be broken. But look at II Timothy 2:19 (NIV): Nevertheless, God's solid foundation (in context, His true servants) stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” If the seal can’t be broken, why is there a warning to “turn away from wickedness?” Maybe if we ignore the warning, and resume a wicked life, we have broken the seal, and are no longer saved, that’s why. Why attach a warning when there is no danger? Many OSASers are Calvinists, and believe that our “perseverance” to the end is solely up to God, so it’s a guaranteed deal that once we’ve expressed faith, we’ll make it. But think with me a minute: If perseverance is solely up to God, no one would ever fall away because God doesn’t want any to perish (II Peter 3:9: The Lord is not…. willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance). But as we’ve already read, many do fall away (I Tim. 4:1). Plus, many wander from the faith, I Timothy 6:10: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. And check Matthew 24:10: At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. And read carefully I Corinthians 8:10-11, where a weaker brother (thus, a saved person) has his faith destroyed by someone doing something that is offensive to his conscience: For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? The word “perish” there is the same Greek word that we quoted in II Peter 3:9; it has eternal ramifications. Many people, for various reasons, do not persevere to the end, to their ultimate grief. Many OSASers are Calvinists in another way: They are “elected” by God, which to them means that even before they were born, God selected them to be saved. His irresistible grace, through His Spirit, wooed only His elected people into the fold. And since there was nothing they did by works to get in, there’s nothing they can do, even by “bad works,” to get out. Now the huge question is: Is “election” correctly defined by Calvin? The reason I’m questioning this is, it forces us to consider something really bad: what about the people that God doesn’t elect? According to this system, His Spirit only woos the elect, there is nothing the “non-elect” can do to get in (since every person is totally depraved, we can only recognize salvation by the wooing of His Spirit). We conclude that, according to Calvinism, some people are therefore guaranteed for hell! Sorry, but I’d rather believes II Peter 3:9. I conclude that since a capricious God results from this definition of election, it must be wrong—but a lot of people are taking too much confidence in his definition of the word “elected.” Consider then II Peter 1:5-10: But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble Note that the context of the word “election” and “sure” is not a God-guarantee; it requires diligence to make your calling sure. And note that perseverance is a character trait that we need to develop. Yep, takes work. OSAS adherents also insist that love for what Jesus has done is the only acceptable motive for living a holy life. Therefore they believe their opposition is teaching people to live in fear of losing salvation. To which I answer, “fear can be a godly motive.” Let me cite some verses: · In Matthew 10:28 it says: And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Note that Him (that’s capitalized in Scripture) who able to destroy is God; we are encouraged to fear Him before sinning. · Proverbs 9:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. · Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction · Psalm 111:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. · Genesis 20:11: And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife · Genesis 22:12: And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” · Genesis 31:42: Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night · Exodus 1:17: But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. Well, after the first four most recognized verses on the subject, I just gave space for Genesis and one passage from Exodus, since there are so many; but you should get the message: The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (two gifts of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:8) they are generated by this fear. The fear of God can keep you out of hell. Abraham wanted to see people fear God, so they wouldn’t kill his wife. God tests Abraham, wanting him to have the fear of God. With such fear, Abraham would obey God even if it meant killing his promised son Isaac—thus proving his godliness, that he believed in a resurrection for his son. God is given the name “the Fear of Isaac” in respect. (Are not all names for God good? And the midwives, thank God, feared God more than they did the Pharaoh, who could kill them for disobedience. Thus, many good things come out of fearing God. And please, let us not weaken the real meaning of fear by suggesting “the word fear really means awe”? Now, why do I think that’s a weak definition? Because we don’t really know what “awe” means! Many people, quite frankly, didn’t grow up with love enough to grasp the meaning of love—but they know enough about fear to be impressed with certain verses, and do the right thing and not sin. They will learn love over time, as God’s faithfulness to their clean living shows. (And that’s not saying fear is only for those stunted in personal growth. Abraham is proof of that, above). If “fear” sounds too oppressive, not characteristic of a God of love, consider this: sin is much worse in the eyes of a holy, perfect God than we can ever imagine. It’s like God has pure white around Him, and is sorely grieved by one spot of gray. We have grown up in sin, so we have grown up in an environment of all kinds of gray. Gray doesn’t bother us; we get used to it, we can live with it. But God wants us to work against that “normality,” even to behavior that might seem extreme. For instance, what does Jesus suggest about how far we should go to rid ourselves of sin? In Matthew 5:29-30 it says: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. That’s pretty extreme! I’m not saying we should lop off limbs, but we should get the message about how evil will take our life if we’re willing to abide it. God means business about getting rid of sin! Fear has a place in such a system. GOD’S NEGATIVE PROMISES Now let’s spend some time on verses that people don’t like to linger on, what has been called “God’s negative promises.” God, being holy, has a limit to His forgiveness for those who treat sin lightly. There are some sins that He says, flat out, will keep you out of heaven if you don’t repent of them. This definitely contradicts OSAS beliefs. I’m afraid that, since America is so wealthy, we have developed a lukewarm attitude about sin, amounting to complacency. Let us soberly consider these Scriptures. When you try to place them contextually in your belief system, the tendency is to strip them of their real meaning. Consider seriously stripping some of your belief system instead. We’ll start with Paul speaking to Gentiles who are happy that Jews were set aside, allowing them into salvation: 1. Romans 11:19-22 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off Note Paul is urging people to feel anything but eternally secure in their salvation; they were to soberly consider that God could cut them off unless they continued abiding in His goodness. Please don’t try to take away the power of these verses. Readers, this is NOT a special case for that culture or time period; it is NOT “just the words of Paul,” but the words of God for all. 2. Mark 11:26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. Now I realize that it would be hard to believe we could be sent to hell just because we don’t forgive, but—why take a chance, in the face of this plain Scripture? Plus, consider this: there are eight other Scriptures which say the same thing (Matthew 6:12, 14, 15, 18:35, Mark 11:25, 26, Luke 6:37, and 11:4). And there was a parable that went along with it, too (Matthew 18:23-34). 3. James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment This is along the lines of Mark 11:26 (just above) about not being forgiven unless we forgive. If we show no mercy, God has promised that He will show no mercy to us—and that speaks of denial of heaven because, as you know, entrance to heaven is totally dependent on grace, which is based on the mercy of God. 4. Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. The Greek for the word “corruption,” in Galatians 6:8, Vine’s says, is “being antithetic (or opposite) to eternal life.” Verse 8, in fact, contrasts “corruption” and “everlasting life.” Thus it promises hell to such a person whose life behavior is of the flesh, not abiding in God. The warning that God will not be mocked, is again emphasizing His holiness more than we care to admit—and His negative promise more than we want to acknowledge. 5. Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. A big issue is, can a Christian who commits adultery remain saved? Careful reading the above verses leads you to an unmistakable “no” answer. Based on the phrase “will not inherit the kingdom,” he loses his salvation—unless he sincerely repents, to regain the salvation he lost. And thinking about “repentance,” it seems to me that if a guy begs off, claiming he has a “sexual addiction disease,” and has committed adultery, and many other times thought about it, and what he would like to do with women around him; and tells God he’s sorry after his adultery—but does nothing about agonizing over his offense, nothing about distancing him from the stimulants that got him going down the wrong path, nothing about his mind becoming a toilet to God’s eyes—he needs to sincerely study God’s meaning of “repentance” If he is not changing, it is likely he’s not repenting. So he might be deceiving himself into hell. There are some really nasty sins in this list, like sorcery—but there are some listed as serious that people don’t think enough about: “selfish ambitions,” “contentions,” and “envy” are on the list too. Many people not only do these things, but popularize them. We need to focus on each of these categories, asking God “Have I done that?” Be open to His Spirit; and do everything you can to banish them from your behavior. There is nothing wrong with a regular period of introspection, asking God to reveal to us our heart. I’m not saying that we should be a broody, sad, and melancholic people. But nothing gives our soul more dynamism than knowing our spirit is clean and right before God. Remember Psalm 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me David, a man after God’s own heart, believed in this. See Psalm 4:4. Note, by the way, that these verses (in items #4 and #5) are in the book of Galatians. The theme of Galatians is: Living by Grace, not Legalism. Yet in these verses he seems to espouse legalism. How can this be? Well, the only answer is, you’ve got your definition of “legalism” wrong! Without getting into the subject too much, let me just say, legalism is wrongly defined as “the constraints of the moral law.” Abandoning legalism does not mean abandoning obedience to the moral law. A parent saying, “I will not teach my kids the 10 commandments because that’s legalism” is wrongly defining the term. It reminds me of so many people who misinterpret I Corinthians 6:12, which says: All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Therefore many young people reading that who conclude that sex before marriage, as long as it’s infrequent, is OK—since they’re not “under the power” of it (or so they think!). But if they would only read 3 verses back, I Corinthians 6:9-10: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. These young people have completely deceived themselves about the phrase “All things are lawful,” when in context the whole section is a warning against sexual immorality (especially if you include I Cor. 6: 13-20 in your reading). Paul is essentially saying, “yes, you have freedom on food. But before you think you have the same freedom on another “bodily function,” sex (that’s all you think it is, a bodily function) please consider two rules: (1) What expediency, or profit (the proper translation of the Greek word for “lawful”), do you see from it? And (2) Is the item in question under self-control? His answers are, (1) There is no profit, since your body is the Lord’s, and “is not for sexual immorality” (6:13); and (2) When it comes to unmarried sex, loss of self-control is a given; the operative word is “flee” (v.18). We should all remember, in this regard, Galatians 5:13: For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh… I would also suggest we carefully read the list of sins in verses 9 and 10 (again especially what people consider “light” sins, in this case “covetous”) and again ask ourselves, “have I done that?” If the Spirit reveals that you have, then repent, for assurance of salvation. Keep reminding yourselves: God is saying here, that these sins are worthy of hell unless we sincerely repent. You might say, God would want me to be assured of my salvation; he wouldn’t want me worried and in doubt. These are man’s thoughts, and God’s thoughts are higher than that. Why He does what He does isn’t all explained; we need to take it on faith. Check out the interesting mixture of assurance/non-assurance in these verses: I John 2:3,4: Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. And what are the commandments Jesus meant? Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Another good verse on assurance is in I John 3:10: In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. There you have it, folks. If you’re nervous about your status, then learn how to do those commandments, learn how to abide in Christ! The Holy Spirit will speak to you about your relationship to God the Father. Jude 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Titus 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Galatians 6:8-9 the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up Luke 18:30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life. II Peter 1:5-11, in part …giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,… 6 you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted,… 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent… for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What am I trying to say with the underlined phrases? Simply this: OSAS adherents think they’ve already got it, they’re locked in right now, their claim is already sealed. BUT while they quote one verse that says they have it now, other verses (like those above) says you don’t have it until the end. The only way to solve this conundrum is to believe you can have it now, but you can lose it unless you endure to the end keeping it. Sort of takes away from assurance, and security, all those nice complacent things we want to have. Matthew 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And what am I saying with these underlined phrases? See the explanation of #6. 8. II Peter 3:3-17, in part: First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come…. 4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised?…. 11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God ….15Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him…. 17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position Peter is warning them not to be carried away by scoffers and lawless men giving false ideas that would actually make them “fall from your secure position.” Let’s not make “secure” say more than it can; it’s clear here that you can still fall. To the question, where does salvation come from? From the altar one day? No—from holiness, godliness and patience. Doing those things “means salvation.” 9. John 5:28-29 ..for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. When you read this, you have to conclude that God is not dividing humanity on Judgment day based solely on “head beliefs.” This says He divides man based on the works man will do as a result of his faith. Again, see my Matthew list, for more on this. As Matthew 12:33 says, …a tree is known by its fruit. Ephesians 5:5-6 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. “Immoral” is “fornicator” in plain old English. “Impure” is “unclean,” and we don’t mean hygienically. Note that people who fornicate and greedy people are “idolaters,” thus confirming my modern definition of that above. And we are not to be deceived by people who tell us that these things won’t make us unacceptable to God, giving us empty words like that. 11. II Peter 2:20-21: For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. This is a saved person becoming unsaved. The Greek word for “knowledge”, per Vine’s dictionary, “perfectly unites the subject with the object.” That kind of intimacy can only happen at salvation. The word “entangled” should remind you of the sower’s seeds (Matthew 13:7) that fell among thorns, which sprang up and choked them. Now ask yourself—did the thorns choke the seeds? A ludicrous idea; the thorns choked a plant, which means life happened, then it was lost, since the choking results in death. The only way the “latter end is worse than the beginning,” the only way that it “would have been better not to have known the way of righteousness”—is for this person to become unsaved after having been saved. The truth is, becoming saved, then unsaved, hardens the heart, so it’s harder to be saved again. That’s worse than the unsaved prospect hearing the real Gospel for the first time. For our last verses of study, let’s talk about “fear” and “hate.” I realize we talked about fear in #19 above, but here’s a few added discussion verses: Hebrews 12:14: Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: Proverbs 8:13: The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate Jude 4, 12: For certain men have crept in unnoticed… ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. If we love God, and want to see Him in heaven, we have to have holiness. Obviously the right attitude for holiness is hating evil. But in order to hate evil, it is necessary to have the fear of God. Note the negative confirmation of that idea: apostates do not have fear of God. Not having such fear, they feel free to practice lewdness and deny God. We clearly see that if we don’t fear God, we won’t hate evil enough. By God telling us here that we need fear, it also implies that a love of God is not inhibited by a fear of God. If we love God, we won’t sin thoughtlessly. Instead, we will, in advance, coldly study the devastating effects of what would happen with a particular sin on our lives; what it does to our relationships, including our relationship to God. (If we have coveted our time together with Him, and experienced the good feelings and the reward of doing His will, we will want to keep that no matter what). We also want to think about how killing the sin-desire defeats Satan, our real enemy--who arrogantly assumes he can beat us every time. Then we pro-actively avoid anything in our lives that might stimulate that sin. If your sin is sexual, you would be willing to cut off cable channels, most movies, some old friends, eliminate (or block) the computer, possibly quit a job, stop seeing certain couples, not attend certain places to eat, go to the beach hardly at all. Extreme, right? But you haven’t even lopped off a limb (per Matthew 5:29-30). How much do you hate sin? We need to learn, over time, to hate sin. Look at the devastating effects of adultery in Proverbs 7:21-23: With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him. 22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 23 Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life. If we read (and memorize) that verse enough til’ we really believe it, till it really sinks in, (“cost his life” could be eternal life), we will hate the sin even more. If we see how it ruins the lives of those around us, we learn to hate the sin more yet. We vow over and over after such examples never to participate in it; we daily dedicate our bodies to the Lord. We discipline our thought life, too; why make our mind a toilet for God to look at? By hating evil we show God we are loyal and want to be pure like Him; we want to hate sin like Him; we just want to be like Him. Remember what Hebrews 12:14 says: Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Speaking of being like the Lord, you know how He describes Himself? We all like to think it would be how He is a God of love. Well, as He shows Moses Himself in Exodus 34:6-7, He describes Himself thusly: And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation That last phrase (and God always seems to make something controversial the last phrase, perhaps to make it stick in our mind better) makes Him look like the God of Grudges, doesn’t it? (He repeats the threat in Exodus 20:5). Is that what He wants us to remember Him by? Well, yes, and by explanation, I just use one word—“holy.” That’s what God is. His big issue in His loving heart is, how does He keep people from sinning (and ruining their lives)? Here’s an answer He came up with: He knows that everybody wants to protect their children from life’s hard knocks; what better fear motivator to right living than to threaten people that if you sin, God will carry out its punishment on your children, and your children’s children. As I said before—that’s what the verse is saying. Now people, if you don’t like seeing God this way, then you haven’t been hearing what this paper is trying to say. Yes, God is love. I don’t have to give you any verses on that; you hear them many Sundays. But you probably don’t hear that God hates some people, do you? So it says in Psalm 11:5: The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. None of this “hates the sin and loves the sinner” here. What I’m trying to say is, if we don’t get a balanced view of God, we’ll develop a fatal case of complacency. Read this last set of verses below (where complacency about sin is taken as lukewarmness.) from Revelation 3:14-19: These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. May God sink this deep in our hearts. We need to be zealous and hate sin, repenting from it—not just once, but regularly through our lives. For our eternity’s sake!