Many
churches today hold to the doctrine of "once saved , always saved,"
or the Calvinist version of "Perseverance of the saints." Does the Bible actually teach this doctrine,
or is this another case for Satan twisting the Scriptures to create a false
sense of security among believers? It sounds good to the average person. I'm
saved. So, now I am set for all eternity. I don't have to worry as long as I
believe in Jesus. I'm all set. We don't have to observe all those things
written about in the Bible. All we have to do is believe. Is that a fact?
You
will often hear the argument: "There's nothing we could have done to
become saved, or it would be salvation by works. Therefore, they say, there is
nothing we can do to become unsaved. We can't gain or lose our salvation based
on what we do." Many believe that if you do not believe this false
doctrine, you are teaching "another gospel." Well to begin with,
there is a great deal of error in these statements. Before we can be saved, we
have to first be willing to hear the message of the Good News. Then we have to
believe by faith that it is true. Thirdly, we have to believe that Messiah rose
from the dead. Fourth, we need to repent of (turn away from) our sins and
follow Yeshua. Fifth, we are to continue walking in our faith and mature by
continuing to apply our Creators instructions to our lives.
There
are plenty of Scriptures that teach us that after receiving the knowledge of
the truth, we can fall away from the faith and be damned as an unbeliever. The
following are just a few of these verses, but it is not my intention to give
them to you by shotgun theology. (Shotgun theology is bombarding you with so
many Scriptures in hope that one of them hits you like pellets from a shotgun.)
33 Adonai answered Moshe, “Those who have sinned against me are the ones I
will blot out of my book. ( Exodus 32:33 [CJB])
18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe
whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest
there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, 19 one who, when he hears the
words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be
safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the
sweeping away of moist and dry alike. 20 The
Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses
written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. (Deuteronomy 29:18-20 [ESV])
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous. (Psalm 69:27-28 [NKJV])
24 “On the other hand, when the righteous person turns away from his
righteousness and commits wickedness by acting in accordance with all the
disgusting practices that the wicked person does, will he live? None of the
righteous deeds he has done will be remembered; for the trespasses and sins he
has committed, he will die. (Ezekiel 18:24 [CJB])
Notice that these people are either being blotted out of the book
of life, or they will die [eternally]. They have turned away from
righteousness. In order to be blotted out of the book, don't you first have to
be written into the book? Many will say that these are so-called Old Testament verses
and are referring to the Jews. They believe they are allegorical and do not
apply to the church. All Scripture must agree with Scripture. So, what does the
so-called New Covenant have to say in this matter.
5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not
blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My
Father and before His angels. (Revelation
3:5 [NKJV])
Pay close attention to the words "he who overcomes." How
do we overcome. We know how to overcome by that is written in Revelation 12:11.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Is "once saved always saved" an integral part of the Good
News? Is this really what the Bible teaches, or is this perhaps the same lie
that Satan, had used since he deceived Havah (Eve) in the Garden of Eden when
he assured her, “You shall not surely die”? Can we really ignore God's
commandments and expect to fall upon His grace in our purposeful
rebellion? Has God somehow changed in
spite of the fact that Scripture plainly tells us that He is not like a man and
does not change.
Did the Yeshua teach that in one brief moment of faith and a quick
sinner's prayer would promise eternal salvation? I think not. By the way;
Exactly where is the "sinner's prayer" located in Scripture? Speaking to His disciples as He was sending
them out to preach the gospel, He warns them in Matthew 10:22:
22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures
to the end will be saved.
Then in John 8:31-32 we see Yeshua speaking to some of the Jews
that had believed in Him. Yeshua tells these believers:
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Notice the tiny word "if" in this passage of Scripture.
The word "if" applies a condition to their indeed being His
disciples. That condition is that they must abide in His word. In other words,
they must live His word if they are to be His disciples. The condition also
strongly suggests that "if" they do not abide in His words, they are
not His disciples.
In Col. 1:21-23 we read:
21 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— 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,
which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a
minister.
Notice, in verse 21 Sha'ul (Paul) declares one of the results of
believing in the gospel, reconciliation with God. Now also notice the first
word in verse 23. Again, the little word "if" applies a condition to
ones ultimate salvation. "If" indeed you continue in the faith. We
are required to continue in our faith, be grounded and steadfast, and not be
moved away from the hope of the Good News. It ought to become quite obvious
that there is a condition involved here, and that condition is to remain
faithful to the Good News. Also, please notice that Sha'ul makes no mention of
God holding fast in our stead. He distinctly places the responsibility of
holding fast to our faithfulness squarely upon our shoulders. Of course we do
have the Ruach haKodesh to assist us in our endeavor. We are not without help.
Let's examine a few passages of Scripture which many who believe
the doctrine of "once saved always saved" seem to miss, ignore, read,
or interpret incorrectly.
21 “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!’ (Matthew 7:21-23 [NKJV])
These people thought they were saved. Yeshua gives them a rude
awakening when He tells them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
work lawlessness." They claimed to know Him but refused to walk according
to what was written in the law (Torah). They thought they could continue in
their lawlessness because of grace. It doesn't work out well for them.
And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word,
receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in
time of testing fall away. (Luke 8:13
[ESV])
Please
note that they received the word of truth with joy, and believed it, but when
the time of testing comes, they fall away.
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you
are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according
to his deeds”: 7 eternal
life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor,
and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath. (Romans 2:5-8 [NKJV]
Pay close attention to verse 7. The eternal life is for those who
by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory. You cannot possibly be in
patient continuance, if you had not begun in the first place. But then notice
what is in store for those who are self seeking and do not obey the truth. I
don't know about you, but indignation and wrath does not sound like they are
still saved to me.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but
you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The
Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and
if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:15-17 [NKJV])
Pay close attention to what Ruach Elohim (the Spirit of God) is
saying here. These people did not receive the spirit of bondage, but the Spirit
of adoption. They are adopted into God's family, and are His children, and are
joint heirs with Messiah. Then there is that darned little word "if"
again. If we indeed suffer with Him, that we "may" be glorified
together. Notice the word "may". The word "may" is an
indefinite word. The word "if" carries with itself a condition. The
condition is this. If we indeed suffer with Him, we "will" be
glorified together with Him. However, "if" we are not willing to
suffer with Him, we "may" not be gathered together. Words mean
things.
19 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. (Romans 11:19-22 [NKJV])
The original Hebrew branches were broken off because of unbelief,
so the Gentiles might be grafted in by faith. Most people want to focus on the
goodness of God in these verses, but they shy away from the severity of God
which is just as important for us to understand. The severity is upon those who
fell, but toward you, there's that little word "if" again. If you
continue in his goodness. Otherwise you will be cut off. Remember, this is
speaking to congregations well after the resurrection of our Messiah. Yet, it
is stated that if they don't meet the conditions following the word
"if" they "will" be cut off. The word "will" is
in the definite sense. It cannot be any
plainer, but people skip over that like it isn't there because of the way they
have been taught to read Scripture according to the doctrines of their preferred
denominations. We must continue in His goodness, or we "will" be cut
off. Again, I say, you cannot continue doing anything if you had not begun
doing it in the first place.
24 Don’t you know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one
wins the prize? So then, run to win! 25 Now every athlete in training submits himself to
strict discipline, and he does it just to win a laurel wreath that will soon
wither away. But we do it to win a crown that will last forever. 26 Accordingly, I don’t run
aimlessly but straight for the finish line; I don’t shadow-box but try to make
every punch count. 27 I
treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good
News to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1Corinthians 9:24-27 [CJB])
Sha'ul is clearly speaking of discipline in these verses. Anyone
who has ever seriously trained for an athletic event understands the meaning
and purpose of strict discipline. Those who are hard on themselves are
determined to gain the prize. Those who do not discipline themselves will soon
drop out or be defeated by their competitors. In this case we are striving for
an imperishable crown. Even Sha'ul recognizes in these verses that he must
bring his own body under submission or he will miss the mark and possibly be
disqualified. If Sha'ul feared being disqualified, do you not think he understood
that all could be lost through rebellion and disobedience? Think on that.
Please take notice to the word "unless" and what follows it. Test yourselves to see whether you are living the life of trust. Many believe they are, but in fact are not.
One more although there are many more to choose from if one will take the time to ask the Ruach haKodesh to reveal them to you.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.
I have to ask a question that should be quite obvious to someone who is seeking after the truth. How can someone depart from the faith, if they have not been in the faith in the first place? They listened to deceiving spirits and doctrines of devils. Isn't that exactly what Adam and Havah did back there in the Garden of Eden? If it got them cast out of God's presence in the Garden, do you really think listening to the doctrines of devils will not matter in the kingdom to come? Who is it that get cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth?
Are We Protected From All Future Sins?
Some claim that is we are saved, we are protected from all future sins. Since we are saved by grace, we have certainty that all future sins will be forgiven. They even go as far to say that the sin of rebellion and disobedience are forgiven. Is that true? What do the Scriptures have to say in this matter?
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. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:8-9 [NKJV])
It figures. There's that pesky word "if" again.
These following verses seem to be the ultimate thorn in the side of the "once saved always saved doctrine." How do they ever get around these verses unless the word of Elohim is contradictory to itself?
Pay especially close attention to what the writer of Hebrews is saying here. These following verses are one of the reasons that some did not want to include the letter to the Hebrews into the canon of Scripture. The reason for the protest was that it was in conflict with their early beliefs. The Almighty had His way though and these passages were included in our Bibles whether men like it or not.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
We must always formulate our doctrines according to the pattern which the Almighty has laid out in the context of all of Scripture. When we depart from that pattern, we are easily set up to learn false doctrines. When we read the proof texts of those who teach the doctrine of "once saved always saved,: their arguments soon are revealed by the light of the Ruach haKodesh. I will use one more scripture to end this teaching.
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Shalom,
Barry W. Gaugler
No comments:
Post a Comment