DOWNPLAYING SIN

 

“Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53)

Over 2000 years ago, three men hung on crosses, side by side, just outside of Jerusalem.  Two of the men were crucified for crimes they committed, mainly theft (Matthew  27:38), and One was crucified for claiming to be the Son of God (Matthew 26:63-65; Mark 14:61-64).  This man was Jesus Christ.  But because of jealousy, the Jewish leaders had worked the crowd into a frenzy and demanded the crucifixion of this innocent man.  So crucify Him they did.  And while He was on the cross, the unbelieving crowd was taunting Him:

 “And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself!  If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’” (Matthew 27:39-40)

Even the Jewish leaders chimed in:

“In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying:

‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself.  He is the king of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.’” (Matthew 27:41-42)

But He didn’t come down from the cross.  And it’s a good thing He didn’t.  It was all in God’s plan.  He proved He was the Son of God by staying on the cross (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) and later rising from the dead (Matthew 28:5-7).  The truth is He needed to stay on Calvary’s cross so that He would endure the full penalty for man’s sins (Hebrews 7:24-25).  If He didn’t pay the full price, He would have never risen from the dead, and all mankind would be lost forever in an eternal lake of fire.  Thank God for what He endured!

But let’s take a look behind the scenes.  Matthew 26:53 above tells us that Jesus could have called twelve legions of angels to stop all this.  So, how many angels would have been sent?  We don’t really know exactly, because a legion doesn’t seem to have been a precise number, perhaps somewhere between three thousand and six thousand.  Anyway, there were certainly thousands and thousands of angels at the Savior’s disposal.  All He had to do to get out of this predicament was to simply say the word... and His Father would have stopped this nightmare.

Matthew 18:10 tells us that angels are watching over the little ones and that these angels continually behold the face of God.  If something is about to happen to these little ones that’s not in the will of God, He will send an angel… and the perpetrator is in deep trouble. 

Remember that in the Old Testament a single angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35).   Remember also that two angels utterly destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their surrounding areas with fire and brimstone (Genesis 19:24-25).  These cities are still in ruins today, so much so that we can hardly tell exactly where they were located. 

And once again, angels were involved when Jesus was on the cross… one word from Him and the Father would have dispatched an incredible barrage of destruction that the world had never seen upon these evil men.

Their destruction would be greater than a nuclear bomb – Jerusalem would not just be leveled to the ground – it would simply be a smoldering crater left on the landscape.

No doubt, these angels were anxiously waiting for a single command from God, the Father, to take vengeance on these violators.  Perhaps they were perplexed that the Father was even allowing things to go this far.  They knew that Jesus was absolutely innocent.  Why was God not stopping this?  They could hardly bear watching the Son of God suffer so greatly at the hands of pagan soldiers and evil religious hypocrites.  The angels were probably saying, “They cannot, they MUST NOT get away with this high crime!”  How could these evil men escape the wrath of God?  Over and over, the angels were seeing the truth of Jeremiah 17:9 play out in this scenario:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (KJV)

Those evil men never understood the magnitude of what they were doing.  That’s why Jesus said, “…Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).  These horrible sinners didn’t fully realize Who they were attacking and mocking.  No doubt, the angels were saying, “One word from You, Father, and their destruction will be swift!  Send us to take vengeance, because they fully and perfectly deserve the wrath to come.” 

But the angels waited… and waited… until the Savior of the world was dead.  But as hard as it was to comprehend, they knew that the Father knew exactly what He was doing.  He saved the world through this hateful attack on His Son.

Conclusion

But before you start thinking, “Those dirty sinners…”, and you criticize them for the horrible evil they did, know that every single one of us (past, present and future) was the cause of His suffering that day.  How could I say such a thing?  Because we all sin (Romans 3:23) and when we do, we partake of the guilt of that event.  When we sin, we are giving our approval of what happened on Calvary.  We share the blame.  WE ALL killed Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, not just them!  We break the law daily and James 2:10 says that breaking only one part of the law means breaking the whole law.  Again, we are just as guilty!

We must never trivialize sin, any sin.  Telling “little white lies” to get out of trouble is not a trivial offense, because the Bible says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).  Looking with lust at someone (who you are not legally married to) is the same as adultery (Matthew 5:27-28) and simply hating your neighbor is akin to murder (Matthew 5:21-22).  Breaking the Commandments of God should not be taken lightly.  Jesus said, “No one is good [i.e., morally excellent] except God alone” (Mark 10:17).  That’s why we can only be saved by grace, through faith – not by our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). 

I would suggest to my Christian friends to find a picture of Jesus on the cross, one that is quite gory, because crucifixion is indeed a gory event.  And carry this picture around with you.  So when you are witnessing to an unbeliever or a lukewarm “Christian” who downplays his sin, just point to the picture and say, “If your sin is no big deal, then why did THIS have to happen?”

Yes, He experienced incredible suffering for even our “little” and “insignificant” sins.  Don’t try to say that He was brutally beaten with a cat-o-nine-tails and mercilessly crucified only for the sins of people like Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein… but not YOURS.  Because you… and I… are part of the sin problem, too.  Don’t justify your sins, or call them mere “mistakes.”  See them for what they really are.  They are a slap in the face of the Most High God.  Your casual sins are saying, “I don’t really care about what happened on that cross.  No big deal.”

May the Living God and Creator of all grant us repentance for our downplaying of our sins, and may He let us see the true magnitude and offensiveness of them.

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON “BLACK LIVES MATTER”

 

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement that started as a response to the death of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, who was killed by Hispanic neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman in Florida, back in 2012.

Zimmerman was later acquitted of a second degree murder charge, causing a backlash of protests.  The phrase “black lives matter” became a rallying cry in that community and it grew from there.

Since then, there were several different incidents of blacks who had confrontations with police and were killed, causing the BLM slogan to be fixed in the public eye.

The focus of the slogan then shifted to protest police brutality by white officers against black citizens.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

As a slogan, “black lives matter” is absolutely true.  Black lives certainly do matter.  There is intrinsic value in all humans, since we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).  Blacks should not be thought of as less than any other people group.  As human beings, we should all be treated equally.  But the flip-side to that equality is personal behavior and accountability.  As persons, we are all equal, but common sense dictates that one should be evaluated by his actions, his individual behavior.  If an individual behaves well, he should be acknowledged and/or rewarded.  If the individual does not behave well, then he must be corrected.  Parents are primarily responsible for properly directing their children into adulthood.  If the parents fail to discipline a child, the authorities will be forced to do the correcting later on.  This goes for any and every people group. 

When Police Stop You

The reason I bring this up is because some of the confrontations with the police that BLM advocates like to point to are highly questionable.  In some cases, the individuals involved with the police were not cooperative or were downright disrespectful, even violent.   But just because a person’s life “matters,” doesn’t entitle him to misbehave.

No matter what color you are, bad things tend to happen when you fail to cooperate with the police (no matter the officer’s race).  I’m not saying that the cop is always right or that the individual is always wrong.  I’m saying that things almost always turn out better (for both parties) if the policeman is shown respect and cooperation.  That’s not an unreasonable request.  If you feel that the officer overstepped his boundaries, you can always take it to court.  That’s better than getting tazed or shot for resisting arrest any day.

Behavior also matters, and using generic or vague slogans like “black lives matter” to justify criminal behavior (as they sometimes do) is wrong.  ALL lives matter, but all lives should act responsibly, as well.

Racism in the Police Force?

Many blacks feel that there is racism in most of the American police force and also in our laws, and that they (blacks) are being singled out for harassment.  For the record, I believe that racism does exist in America, but I believe that it is found in individuals and not built into the laws of our country.  I believe that most police officers are good people and that they just want to do their job and go home to their families at the end of the day.  But I strongly disagree that racism is rampant in the American police force or that America’s white officers set out each day with an agenda to harass black people.  I don’t think anyone can bring forth actual evidence for that.  And I don’t believe that there is “systematic racism” in government organizations throughout the country, since our society tries so hard to be politically correct.  It seems that many in the BLM movement are blinded by raw emotion and tend to promote knee-jerk reactions when certain confrontations happen, before all the facts are known.

What has followed from that blind rage is, in many cases, rioting, mindless vandalism of local businesses (which have had absolutely nothing to do with the original problem), and the hurting and killing of innocent people.  But lashing out in anger at the wrong people helps no one.

If a cop of any color hurts or kills a person of a different color for no valid reason, then be angry at him, not all people of his color, because THAT ITSELF is racism.     

No matter the race of the victim or the perpetrator, rather than let our emotions flare, let’s give the authorities (if possible, an unbiased and independent group) enough time to sort out what actually happened.  Then proper legal action can be taken, if necessary.  Let’s not be afraid of the truth.  If a white police officer committed a crime, then let him be tried by the law and punished accordingly.  If a black “victim” was a criminal or was in the act of committing a crime and his resistance caused the problem, then he cannot blame anyone else for his bad decision.  Whatever happened, the truth is the truth.  Instead of immediately lashing out with claims of racism, give the authorities time to figure it out. 

We need to realize that there are cases of black cops killing white people and there are cases of white cops killing black people, but BLM seems to ignore the former but loudly proclaim the latter.  If it can be proven that the confrontation was indeed caused by racism, then the officer should be exposed for that.  But to scream “Racism!” before you know the facts only causes more problems for everyone. 

There were even shrill cries to “defund the police” during some of these riots.  But does any sane person really want this?  Is their hatred so deep that they would desire this kind of suicidal legislation?  Black lives are in far more danger without the police than with them present.  Ironically, I heard of one particular “defund the police” rally that requested the services of the police as protection during the rally!  Hypocrisy at its finest.

Living Up to Their Name?

Saving black lives is indeed a worthy cause.  But if protecting black lives is really BLM’s purpose, then shouldn’t they be more concerned about black on black violence?  I don’t see much effort by BLM to remedy that, in spite of its supposed deep concern for protecting black lives.  Now, to be fair, there is also a high incidence of white on white violence, as well.  But for a movement that seems to be on a massive crusade to fix problems and to promote the protection of black Americans, their lack of concern in this area makes their motive suspect.

Also, abortions in the black community are the highest of all people groups in America.  Since BLM likes to protest so much, why are they not protesting abortion clinics or Planned Parenthood, which is where the vast majority of blacks, BY FAR, are getting killed?  Innocent black babies have been getting brutally slaughtered by the millions in America, but very little, if anything, is being done by BLM to stop it.  In fact, they seem to encourage it.

So, don’t tell me that black lives really matter to you if you’re supporting abortion or if you’re ignoring black on black violence.

Where’s Dad?

Furthermore, if the organization that calls itself Black Lives Matter really believed in its name, it would support fatherhood.  One of the biggest problems in the black community is children growing up without a father.

I disagree with former president Barack Obama on many things.  But I totally agree with him on the following quotes about fatherhood in his 2008 Father’s Day speech:

“But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes.  They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men.  And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”

“You and I know how true this is in the African-American community.  We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled – doubled – since we were children.  We know the statistics – that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.  They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves.  And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.”

See here:

https://www.politico.com/story/2008/06/text-of-obamas-fatherhood-speech-011094

Single parenthood does sometimes happen and it isn’t always avoidable.  There are many well-adjusted single parent families out there, but if any society is going to flourish, there must be a strong presence of the traditional family unit, i.e., a family with one (male) father and one (female) mother, living together and lovingly caring for their children (for whom they are responsible). 

The New and Improved “Family”

But on the official Black Lives Matter website, we see that one of their goals is to:

“…disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.” 

Notice that in their stated goal, the words “parents” and “mothers” are specifically mentioned.  But “fathers” is not.  It seems to be designed that way.

The traditional family unit has provided stability and has stood the test of time in America (and in most other parts of the world). 

And by the way, haven’t we heard this “It takes a village” nonsense before?  This was Hillary Clinton’s idea of an American “family.”  But these missing fathers in the black community seem to not even be able (or willing) to handle their own normal family responsibilities, how would they ever handle the responsibilities of a “village”?

And yes, this is Marxist language.  Marxism is the basis upon which Communism is built.  Socialism and Communism are what follow this type of “family.”  This is where your children ultimately belong to the state and everyone ends up oppressed by a dictatorship!

And speaking of Marxism, Co-founder and Strategic Advisor of Black Lives Matter, Patrice Khan-Cullors, admits in a video that she and Co-founder Alicia Garza are “trained Marxists”:

https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/blm-co-founder-describes-herself-as-trained-marxist/

This should disturb all Americans.

So, how are black lives supposed to flourish under the BLM guidelines?  The very thing that caused the great majority of the problems in the black community in the first place (i.e., the disruption of the family) is what BLM is striving for!

The Truth About BLM

BLM seems to assume that all those that are, or were, stopped by the police and got hurt or died, were purely victims, specifically victims of racism.

Could it be that some of them were not so innocent as BLM makes them out to be?

According to the evidence, some were indeed less than innocent.  But will BLM retract their false allegations?  Will they admit their deception?  Not according to this very interesting article by an independent research and analysis organization:

https://www.brightworkresearch.com/criticalthinking/2019/11/why-the-claims-by-black-lives-matter-on-police-shootings-are-false/

Here are just a few quotes from the above article concerning Black Lives Matter:

“Repeated observations of Black Lives Matter representatives makes it seem that BLM has a strong need to misstate the statistics.”

“Black Lives Matter is a professional grievance organization that only cares about one race, and only if members of that race are murdered by members of just one other race.”

“Legitimate organizations do not jump to conclusions and make false claims and then refuse to retract these claims once they are proven to be incorrect.”

“Black Lives Matter is creating the impression they are true through only publicizing killings of black individuals or through selectively reporting data points (i.e., staying silent when blacks murder blacks, or when an officer kills a person who is not black, etc.).  In most cases, Black Lives Matter disseminates false information to the public about those cases.  When this information is eventually debunked, Black Lives Matter does not issue retractions – so their followers think incorrect information – that is, changes the narrative of the incident is true.”

“Black Lives Matter provides a constant stream of false information to the public.  Their incorrect information is promoting riots, like the nationwide riots that have occurred in response to the George Floyd killing.  As with the protests/riots in Missouri in response to Michael Brown, the participants are using the meme “Hands Up… Don’t Shoot,” which never happened in the Michael Brown case.  Because Black Lives Matter did not issue a retraction, the protesters still think this occurred.”

According to another article concerning BLM, this writer says:

“Let’s set the record straight: Black Lives Matter is part of the Democrat establishment’s extreme left wing.  They are a political tool used to manipulate black Americans, compelling them to vote Liberal… They think they can use the death of a few black people to whip up black Americans into a frenzy… they turn black Americans against their neighbors and do nothing as innocent lives are lost.”

It also described BLM as “a domestic terrorist organization that relies on threats and violence to achieve its goals.”

See here:

https://spartalive.com/stories/the-black-lives-matter2-grand-deception-is-real,35722

Racism and Guilt

There are many whites (and others) who have joined the ranks of the BLM movement, thinking it is a worthy organization.  But some have suggested that many whites join out of guilt.  There does seem to be much guilt-inducing rhetoric by BLM members.

But no one needs to apologize for being white (or Hispanic, or Asian, etc.), as some have actually done.  But on the other hand, there are also many blacks who see through the hype and deception of BLM.

Again, BLM is fostering in its members a chronic “victim of racism” mentality, where they find a white racist under every rock and behind every bush.  Apparently, these racists have also infiltrated the ranks of every police department and government institution in America.  Emotion abounds, but evidence of this “systemic racism” throughout America is non-existent.  If you notice, when BLM members are presented with any kind of evidence, the chanting and screams begin and they almost always try to drown out those who are presenting rational arguments and real evidence.  By the way, this is one way you can tell someone is losing an argument – when the yelling and chanting start.  Apparently, BLM members don’t always want to know the truth, but they are known to make ridiculous demands upon political leaders and American institutions.  The hate, rage and hype continue and one of their main goals seems to be to capture the mainstream media’s attention.

Another Cause of Deception

And speaking of the media, they are also a major problem for this country.  Concerning chaos and misinformation, there are few as guilty as the mainstream media in America.  The media doesn’t seem to be able to say anything negative about Black Lives Matter.  They have the resources to check out the facts of a story, but they either ignore the facts, or they choose not to verify the facts.  As long as they can get a story and keep up their ratings, they will run with it.  The media is not seeking to remedy the problems, but participates in BLM’s deception by holding hands with them to further a political agenda.

Conclusion

Ok, so what is the answer to all this fighting, misinformation, destruction and chaos?  There is no real secular solution to this scenario.  But there is a spiritual one - get rid of the hatred in the heart, whether it is found in blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics or whoever.  And how do we do that?  The answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Someone once said about racism, “It’s not a ‘skin’ problem, it’s a sin problem.  As I said in the beginning, we are ALL created in God’s image.  We know that from Scripture.  We also know that every one of us were born with a sin nature (Romans 7:14), with a natural tendency to lie, to steal, to cheat, hate, fornicate, covet, etc.  And, if we are honest with ourselves, we must confess to failing God at many points in our lives, i.e., we broke His Law.  Whether it was long ago or very recently, we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standard (Romans 3:23). 

And the only way to get rid of the hatred or racism in your heart… is to get a new heart.  I’m not just talking about going up to the front of the church and “make a decision for Christ.”  It is far more than that.  It is recognizing your own spiritual bankruptcy, your pride, your unclean thoughts before God, your utter inability to get to Heaven by your own good deeds.  It is a total surrender to Him.  This applies to even the best of us.  The prophet Jeremiah said that the human heart is “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9)!    

When we recognize our sin and the multitude of times we offended God, then we can receive forgiveness.  We sinned, and just as in a court system, a penalty must be paid for your crime.  But when we offend a holy and majestic being like God, we can never pay the fine required. 

But all is not lost.  The Son of God (Jesus Christ) humbled Himself and came down to earth and became a human being to live a perfect life, and then die a horrendous death on the cross in order to pay for our sin debt.  This debt payment is a free gift to anyone who wants it.  All we need to do to receive that forgiveness and make it to Heaven is to repent of our sins (i.e., turn away from them in disgust) and trust in His suffering on that cross.  Surrender to His will and He will give you a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).  I know, because I, too, have offended God and lived my earlier years in rebellion.  I deserved eternal punishment.  But while I was yet living in sin, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8).  I am not the same person anymore.

Please turn to Jesus Christ and then pray for all members of the Black Lives Matter movement.  That’s the only way true peace (internal and external) will come about.

Yes, black lives matter, and yes, all lives matter – but eternal life matters the most.  The gospel is simple, the gospel is clear.  There are only two places to go.  You have a choice to make.  Where will you be for eternity?

SOME THOUGHTS ON “ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED” (Part 3)

This is the third and final part of this series on the topic of “Once Saved, Always Saved,” also known as “Unconditional Eternal Security.”  Parts 1 and 2 can be found here:

https://theresurrectionstillspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/08/some-thoughts-on-once-saved-always.html

https://theresurrectionstillspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/09/some-thoughts-on-once-saved-always.html

Old Testament

We’ve covered some New Testament verses in Part 1 and Part 2, demonstrating that OSAS is not biblical, so now let’s address a few Old Testament passages on this topic, as well.  Throughout Scripture, the responsibility of the individual to maintain his relationship with God is a common theme when God is dealing with His people:

Ezekiel 18:

21 - “But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

22 – All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.

23 – Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord, rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?

24 – But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live?  All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.” [NASV]

Ezekiel 33:13:

“When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die.” [NASV]

Both of these passages remind me of the parable of the unrighteous servant (Matthew 18:21-35) who was forgiven an impossible debt, yet, when he forgot how his master had forgiven him and sinned against his fellow slave, his former debt was re-instated against him.

So we find this same principle in both the Old Testament and New Testament:  It is possible for a man who is righteous to turn away from God.   

What about the example of King Saul?  Was he not saved and then fell away?  In 1 Samuel 10:6, the prophet Samuel tells Saul that God’s Spirit would come upon him and that he will become “another man,” i.e., a different person.   Also, 1 Samuel 10:9 says that God changed Saul’s heart.  In other words, he was saved, he became a godly man.  And for a short time, he had the fruit of humility and obedience in his life to confirm his salvation.

But later on, Saul disobeys God (1 Samuel 13:1-13; 15:1-11), he became extremely jealous of David (1 Samuel 18:8-9) and chased him with hatred, murder, and rebellion in his heart (1 Samuel 23:7-27), was demon-possessed at times (1 Samuel 16:14, 23; 19:9-10), he consulted a witch (1 Samuel 28:7-24), and finally committed suicide (1 Samuel 31:1-4).  It was a gradual, but complete loss of salvation.

One would have to be blind to miss the fact that Saul was saved at one point in his life, but later fell away and defected from the faith.  We see that OSAS was not a fact in the Old Testament, and that Saul was a perfect example of that.

New Testament Examples

Ok, so what about examples in the New Testament of some, actually called by name, who had fallen away from grace and lost their salvation? 

The apostle Paul mentions Hymenaeas and Alexander, whom he had turned over to Satan, because they had “made shipwreck” of their faith. (1 Timothy 1:20)

He also mentions Hymenaeas and Philetus, who were teaching false doctrine and had “strayed concerning the truth,” and were “overthrowing the faith of some.” (2 Timothy 2:16-18)

Paul also said that Demas “has forsaken me” and has “loved this present world.” (2 Timothy 4:9-10)

Things were not looking well for these former Christians.

What About Judas?

Ok, now what about the most famous (or infamous) of all traitors?  Judas Iscariot, though he was an apostle, was called a devil (John 6:70-71) and the son of perdition (John 17:12).  Jesus, from the beginning, knew what Judas would do, but according to John 6:71, Judas “was later to betray Jesus.” [BSB] 

But was Judas ever saved?

Matthew 28:18-19 – According to over 20 Bible versions, in the Great Commission, Jesus said to go out and make disciples of all nations.  Therefore, a disciple is not just someone who professes, or is a wanna-be Christian, he is a true follower.

Our OSAS and Calvinist friends would agree that Jesus said to make disciples of all nations.  I think we all would admit that disciples are saved.

Luke 14:26-27 – Jesus helped to define what a disciple is.  The disciple must put Jesus above his mother, father, wife, children, etc., and he must bear his cross and follow Jesus.  No wanna-be followers here!  If Judas was a disciple at any point in his life, he was a true believer at that point.

According to Scripture, one would have to admit that Judas Iscariot was called a disciple (as well as an apostle), therefore saved (Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:13-15).  Luke 6:16 says he BECAME a traitor.  He was not one at first.  Jesus knew from the beginning what would happen, but it does not say that Judas WAS a traitor from the beginning.  He operated under the same Spirit as the other apostles when doing miracles.  But sadly, he eventually went from disciple, to apostle, to traitor and apostate.

John also mentions other (unnamed) disciples – “Many of Jesus’ disciples turned away from Him and no longer followed Him.” (John 6:59-61, 66)  They were disciples who apostatized just as Judas did. 

This certainly disproves “Once Saved, Always Saved.”

Verb Tenses

An important consideration that we haven’t looked at yet is to note that the grammar, itself, in these New Testament eternal security passages points away from the interpretations of our OSAS friends.  The verb tenses in the very contexts of some of these verses we studied indicate continual action, or continual faith.  This is an important truth that is missed by many of our English Bible translations.  For example:

John 5:24 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth [present tense, is hearing] My word, and believeth [is believing] on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

The Greek is actually saying that he that continually hears and continually believes in Jesus has everlasting life.

John 6:35 – “He that believeth [present tense, is believing] on Me shall never thirst.”

Again, it is a continual believing.

John 6:40 – “For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks [present participle, is looking] to the Son and believes [is believing] in Him shall have eternal life.”

Our life in Jesus is an ongoing belief.  If we stay with Him and continue with Him, THEN we will be saved.

I am providing a link to an article written by Steve Witzki of the Society of Evangelical Arminians, quoting literally dozens of scholars who acknowledge the use of these present tense verbs, including men like A. T. Robertson, Daniel Wallace, Gerald Hawthorne, Richard Lenski, B. F. Westcott, Robert Mounce, Julius Mantey, Kenneth Wuest, Dale Moody, and well-respected and highly influential Calvinist scholar James White, to name just a few.

All of these men acknowledge that, even in the eternal security verses, many of these verbs are in the present tense, indicating continual action.  Therefore, verifying what I’ve been saying in this series all along, i.e., that a believer must stay in Christ, lest he lose his right standing with God.

Here is the link:

http://evangelicalarminians.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Saving-Faith-is-the-Attitude-of-a-Life-Scholarly-Evidence.pdf

“It Can’t Be Eternal”

Another argument from our OSAS friends goes like this:  “It can’t be eternal life if we can lose it – if we are able to lose it, it would be called ‘temporary life.’”

Those who say this are simply playing word games.  I have a question for them – was this gift of eternal life “eternal” before you received it?  Of course it was.  The “eternal-ness” of eternal life is not dependent on who has it or what we do with it.  Those who fall away are not changing eternal life into temporary life – they are actually swapping eternal life for eternal death!  So this gift of life itself is eternal, but not necessarily our possession of it.  Our possession of it can never change its nature.  It is eternal whether we get it or reject it.  So there is no substance to this “it can’t be eternal” argument.

 Four Types of People

Personally, concerning salvation and one’s destiny, I believe that there are four basic types of people:

   1) The person who, though he heard the gospel, is not interested in it and never will accept Jesus Christ.  He is self-centered and never concerned about spiritual things.  He ends up lost in Hell.

          2) The person who comes to the edge of Christianity and may actually be interested in this lifestyle and its blessings.  He joins a church, calls himself a “Christian,” he seems to “fit in” with true believers for a time and may even be excited about this new life.  But what he experiences is a false conversion.  He’s not in it for the long haul.  Difficulties arise, maybe even a little persecution and he leaves it all behind.  It may have looked like it, but he was never truly saved.  This accounts for a large number of “Christians” today.  He, also, ends up in Hell.

    3) The person who gets saved and is a genuine believer.  He serves God faithfully, witnesses to others about Christ and even bears some fruit.  But eventually, something happens.  Perhaps a death in the family or some other tragic circumstance.  He blames God and maintains a certain amount of resentment.  After all, he’s thinking, “God could have prevented this tragedy.”  The resentment grows and grows until it is unmanageable…  Or maybe a divorce, loss of a high-paying job, or some other highly stressful situation comes about…  Perhaps it’s just a particular sin that he just can’t seem to let go…  It could be that he gets caught up in worldly pleasures that seem to overtake him, but he likes them too much to let go of them…  Or maybe he has nagging questions over something in the Bible that he just can’t understand.  He believes the Bible, but there seem to be some contradictions.  He starts to wonder if it really is the Word of God, after all.  He thinks, “Can I really trust God?”  Over time, his heart is gradually hardened and his love for God gets colder and colder.  It gets to the point where he doesn’t even care about the things of God anymore.  And it doesn’t even bother him that he doesn’t care.  He is so far from God.  Dangerously far.  He is now an apostate.  He had tasted of the heavenly gift and he had been a partaker of the Holy Spirit.  He is now a traitor to the God who was so gracious to him, and a deserter of Him who was his only hope.  He would have been better off if he’d never been saved at all.  In essence, he is saying that Jesus Christ is not sufficient to help him and that He is not worthy to be served.  That man is now subjecting Jesus Christ to an open shame (Hebrews 6:4-6).  This one too, ends up in Hell.

   4)  And finally, there is the person who gets saved, consistently produces the fruit of the Spirit, and serves God with all his heart, never looking back.  Although he is imperfect, this man heeds the warnings in Scripture about falling away and he maintains his faith, he continues in the faith.  His life is a surrendering to God and he continues trusting in the work and suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.  He knows that the penalty for his (and everyone else’s) sins was paid there in full.  He is not trusting in his good works to be saved.  This is the one who makes it to Heaven.  He will enjoy the gift of eternal life.  And by the way, this is the only one for whom “Once Saved, Always Saved” is actually true.

You may have noticed that this list is roughly parallel to the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-8).  Now, I am not being dogmatic about the parallel between the two, but the list above does line up with real life and with the Scriptures.

People only get saved once.  You don’t get saved, lose your salvation, get saved again, lose it, etc., etc.  Losing your salvation (or rather, walking away from God) is not an overnight thing.  It is something that happens gradually, sometimes almost unnoticed.

Who Is a True Christian?

OSAS says that if a person falls away, he was never truly saved to begin with.  If that’s true, then how could anyone ever really know who is saved or not?  How do you know that your favorite teacher or pastor will not apostatize right before his death, “proving” that he was lost all along?  If OSAS is true, then on what basis can a pastor choose a faithful elder or deacon for his church (1 Timothy 3)?  Or how can a man choose a Christian wife to avoid being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14) if he can’t really tell if she is saved?

Nobody but God knows the heart of anyone with absolute certainty, but we can have sufficient confidence about someone’s spiritual status.  Otherwise, Jesus saying that we can “know them by their fruits” would be meaningless (Matthew 7:15-20). 

So, if someone claims to be a Christian and the fruit that he consistently bears is good fruit (especially when no one is looking), then it is possible, even likely, that he is saved at this point.  But if he later falls away and becomes an atheist, it does not necessarily mean that he was never saved.

   

Practical Implications

What are the practical implications of “Once Saved, Always Saved”?  What harm could possibly come from believing this doctrine?

Many will say that it is a license to sin.  They’ll say that when someone believes in OSAS, that person will say, “I am now saved, so I can live like I want to, sin as much as I want and never have to worry about falling away!  I am guaranteed Heaven, no matter what!”

Well, that’s not likely going to happen with someone who is truly saved, and our OSAS brothers and sisters are right to object to this argument...  Yet, there is a grain of truth in the “license to sin” mentality.  Complacency is often an all-too-real issue in the OSAS camp.  It can end up being a false security.  Remember, we are human beings and we do all have the sin nature.  And we do have a constant battle with temptation in one area or another.  The danger is that the time will come, perhaps when you may be at your weakest point, when the devil will put the idea in your head, “Hey, come on, you are eternally secure!  And this is just a little sin.  It’s no big deal.  You’re not going to lose your salvation over this!”  And maybe you give in.  Just this time.  Or maybe, a few more times.  And this process will slowly continue over a period of time, little by little, until you find yourself neck-deep in some sin.  At this point, you can either repent and get forgiveness and get back on track with God, or you can take the easier route and continue in that sin.  You can go on to become an apostate.  After all, “It’s no big deal,” right? 

    

Thankfully, many will not give in to this, but you will encounter this “license to sin” temptation somewhere down the line.  And it will become very attractive to many.  That’s just the way sin works.

Conclusion

Let us say firmly and in love that we see our OSAS brothers and sisters as exactly that… brothers and sisters, fellow Christians.  And I believe that it does neither side any good to be flippant in answering the objections of the other side.

We want to emphasize something once more.  Those of us who do not hold to “Once Saved, Always Saved” do NOT believe that one can “continue in the Lord” by trusting in his works.  It is not works that brought us salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10), and it is not works that keeps us saved (Galatians 3:3).  It is an attitude of continually trusting in the Savior’s work on the cross.

For the record, saying that OSAS is not true or biblical is NOT the same thing as saying that God has somehow failed to keep them when someone (who was once saved) has fallen away.  There is never failure on God’s part. 

My friends, apostasy is a reality, a very serious one, finalizing one’s eternity.  Apostasy is normally a long and gradual process.  It is difficult for a true Christian to fall away, but still possible.  God is gracious, and He will not give up easily on anyone (2 Peter 3:9), but neither will He force anyone to serve Him if that person insists on pulling away from Him.

SOME THOUGHTS ON “ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED” (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series, we shared some Scripture passages that our “Once Saved, Always Saved” (OSAS) friends use to promote their viewpoint.  Then after each passage, we made some brief comments about the verses quoted.  You can find Part 1 here:

http://theresurrectionstillspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/08/some-thoughts-on-once-saved-always.html

Apostasy

The eternal security verses they use are indeed true and relevant, but their interpretation must be balanced by all the warning verses.

The Bible also speaks of those who have been saved, but can lose, have lost, or are in danger of losing, their salvation.  The Scriptures speak of the possibility of apostasy (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) and the very definition of apostasy tells us that one can indeed lose his safe position in Christ.  Otherwise, what would an apostate apostatize from?

 

The Greek word for apostasy (“apostasia” - Strong’s #646) means a defection from truth, apostasy, falling away, or forsaking.  This word is very closely related to the Greek word for divorcement (“apostasion” – Strong’s #647).  A man would not approach a strange woman and tell her that he wants a divorce.  She would simply say, “But we were never married!”  To be un-joined, you must have been joined in the first place.  In the same way, apostasy indicates that the person who fell away from Christ was actually at one time joined with Christ beforehand.

I contend that Christians do have eternal security, but it is conditional, i.e., it ultimately depends, not upon our works, but on whether we continue in our faith and keep on trusting Jesus and His work on the cross (Galatians 3:3).  Our OSAS brethren will often think that we are trusting in our works to remain in Christ.  But no one should do that.  They’ll say that salvation is all of God’s work and not our own.  That’s true, but God Himself, in His Holy Scriptures, tells us in very clear terms that the ultimate destiny of the believer IS conditional on his staying with Him, and continuing in the faith, as we will soon see.  God has given us many warnings in the Bible concerning the fate of believers and the possibility of falling away. 

If / Then

In God’s Word, we have many “if / then” passages about salvation – passages that say if you do “X”, then “Y” happens.  For example:

John 8:31 – “So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘IF you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.’” [BSB]

John 15:5-6 - “I am the vine and you are the branches.  The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit… IF anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers.  Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.” [BSB]

If we (believers) are the branches, who are “in Him,” and if a particular branch is thrown away and burned, then how is this not a former believer ending up in Hell?

 

Our OSAS friends like to quote passages about eternal security from John 6 and John 10 (see Part 1), but they rarely mention the two warning passages above, which are given to us by the same apostle John, in the same gospel.  There is a balance.

Romans 11:21-22 - “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, IF thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” [KJV]

Again, it is speaking of “good” branches (who bear fruit and don’t fall away), and “bad” branches (former believers) who must endure the severity of God.  Yes, we are grafted into Christ (Romans 11:17), but we can be UN-grafted (cut off), as well. 

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 - “…brethren, I declare unto you the gospel… by which also ye are saved, IF you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” [KJV]

One must continuously believe the gospel message, or his once-valid faith will become ineffective.

Colossians 1:21-23 - “Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds, but now He has reconciled you… IF indeed you continue in your faith…” [BSB]

2 Timothy 2:12 - “IF we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us.”  [NASV]

Hebrews 3:6 - “… And we are His house, IF we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.”  [BSB]

Hebrews 3:12-14 - “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God… lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” [KJV]

1 John 2:24 (“…IF what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” [KJV]

These are only some of the many “if / then” verses.  There are many more passages that warn believers of losing salvation…. 

More Warning Passages

Take heed, fellow believers:

1 Corinthians 10:11-12 - “…Now these things happened to them as examples… as warnings for us… So the one [the believer] who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.” [BSB]

1 Thessalonians 3:5 – “For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.”

Paul was anxious to know the status of the faith of the believers in Thessalonica and was concerned as to whether his labor there (getting them saved) had been in vain.  He sent someone to find out about them, to “know their faith.”  But why would he do that if a person is “Once Saved, Always Saved”?

1 Timothy 1:19 - “…some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” [NASV]

1 Timothy 4:1 - “…some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils…” [KJV]

1 Timothy 4:16 – “… Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” [KJV]

Notice that the apostle Paul is telling a pastor (Timothy) to take heed concerning himself and his teaching.  His admonition to Timothy was to not only save his hearers (with the gospel), but to also save himself by his continuing in the faith.  Surely, Timothy was a believer, but Paul knew that even a pastor could lose his salvation.

1 Timothy 5:14-15 - “… younger women… For some are already turned aside after Satan.” [KJV]

1 Timothy 6:10 - “…they have erred from the faith [KJV] – “… wandered away from the faith.” [NASV]

1 Timothy 6:21 - “…gone astray from the faith” [NASV] – “departed from the faith.” [CSB]

2 Timothy 2:18 - “…have erred” [KJV] – “…have departed from the truth” [NIV] – “…have gone astray” [NASV] – “…have abandoned the truth.” [ISV]

Hebrews 10:26  - “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27-But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

 28- He that despised Moses’ Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29- Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”  [KJV] 

First of all, know that the author is speaking to Christians / believers in this passage.  If you go back and check, you’ll find that before we even get to 10:26, he is addressing the “brethren” in 10:19, and speaks of their “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”  Can the unsaved do this?  Notice the “us” having the “full assurance of faith” in 10:22, “having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  Does this sound like he’s talking to the lost?  Notice in 10:23 the “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith…,” the “Let us consider…” in 10:24, and the “assembling of ourselves” in 10:25. 

Getting to our text, note the “we” in v. 26… this includes the author and his readers!  Again, notice also in v. 29, that this person had been sanctified by the New Covenant.  Who does this describe?  There is no question that the author of Hebrews is directing these warnings to believers, Christians!

And the penalty is judgment and fiery indignation which will “devour” (consume) its target without mercy.  For this sin, there is no more sacrifice or forgiveness.  No one can deny that this is a former believer rejecting Jesus Christ and ending up in Hell (a “much sorer punishment”), which again proves that he does not merely “lose rewards.”

James 5:19-20 - “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” [BSB]

Again, clearly, this verse above is not just talking about a loss of rewards, but a loss of one’s soul.  And again, James was talking to fellow believers, “My brothers…”

2 Peter 1:10 – “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure…”  [KJV]

Again, notice that Peter is speaking to the brethren (i.e., believers) and he tells them to make their calling and election sure.  But why?  Why say this if they are already guaranteed salvation?

2 Peter 2:15 - “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray” [KJV]

2 Peter 2:20 - “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”

21 – “For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”

22 – “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” [KJV] 

Here, Peter is warning his readers of people who have come into the church, causing many to stumble.  Notice that they had at one time escaped the pollutions of the world and had become untangled from them through knowing Jesus.  In other words, they were saved at one point.  But if they have become entangled again with the pollutions of the world, and fell away as to be overcome by them, it will be worse for them than if they had never got saved to start with!  Wow!  If someone never gets saved, he ends up in Hell.  But in this case, something even worse than that would happen (i.e., they went to an even worse place within Hell) all because they had been saved, but willingly fell into sin, became hardened, fell away and eventually betrayed the One who so graciously saved them.  By the way, once again, this is absolute proof that they did NOT merely lose rewards.  They lost their soul.

 

Why such a harsh penalty?  Because it is the betrayal of the only One who could have helped them.  Isn’t this fitting that this would apply to someone who had indeed been a Christian / believer, knew Jesus intimately, AND THEN REJECTED the person and work of Jesus Christ?  According to Peter, it is better to never have been saved at all (meriting Hell), than to be saved and fall away from God (meriting a worse place in Hell).  The commentator Matthew Henry says concerning this passage that a state of apostasy is worse than a state of ignorance!

2 Peter 3:17 - “…be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.” [NIV]

Notice in the verse above that the believer’s position is considered secure unless he is carried away by error.

Revelation 3:16 – Concerning the lukewarm state of the church of Laodicea, Jesus says, “…I will spue thee out of My mouth.” [KJV]

This is God threatening to utterly reject those who had been believers, but grew lukewarm in their faith.  Instead of growing in their faith, they were weakening.

Some have left their first love (Jesus), as these next two verses indicate:

1 Timothy 5:12 - “Having damnation [or condemnation, judgment], because they have cast off their first faith.” [KJV]

Revelation 2:5 - Concerning the church of Ephesus, because they left their first love, Jesus says, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen… or else I… will remove thy candlestick out of its place.” [KJV]

They were in danger of entering darkness when they were supposed to be the light of the world.

Scripture also speaks of God blotting one’s name out of the Book of Life:

Revelation 3:5 – Concerning the church of Sardis, Jesus says, “And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life.”

Only believers have their names written in the Book of Life.  If God says that He won’t blot someone’s name out of the Book of Life because of their faithfulness, then there is the possibility that they CAN be blotted out, if unfaithful, as some indeed were.

Galatians 1:6 - “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him…” [KJV] – “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him…” [NASV]

Galatians 5:4 - “You have been severed from Christ… you have fallen from grace.” [NASV]

“Severed from Christ…”  This sounds really permanent!  If a man has his arm severed from his body, can anyone say that it was never really part of his body in the first place?  The “he was never really saved” argument doesn’t work here.  And speaking of that…

“They Were Never Really Saved to Begin With”

When anyone who confesses Christ appears to have “fallen away,” our OSAS friends insist that this person was “never saved to begin with.” 

There are indeed many who have “flirted” with Christianity and toyed with the idea of becoming a Christian.  They have made half-hearted commitments and possibly even made some sort of confession, but never intended to give their all.  They may have been at the threshold of Christianity, but they never entered in and surrendered to Christ or made a true commitment to Him, and they end up leaving.  These are false conversions.  Our OSAS friends can rightly say that these people may have had an interest in Christ, but were never truly saved.  These situations do happen.  But as we have shown, this doesn’t apply to everyone who leaves. 

I find it disturbing to often hear an accuser flippantly saying that a particular believer who fell away from the faith was never saved to start with, a person whom he had never even known.   This accusation is quite unfair, unless the one who fell away showed evidence beforehand that he was not saved.  Otherwise, the accuser is merely reading back into his life a condition that he is presupposing.  In other words, he is simply speculating, because there is no biblical evidence that every single person who turns away from God was never a believer to begin with.  

If the “never saved to begin with” argument is true for everyone who falls away, then Paul was wrong.  Apparently, those who were “cut off” from the olive tree were never really grafted into the tree in the first place, right? (Romans 11:17)  If everyone who falls away was never saved, then Jesus must have also been wrong about His parable!  Since the unmerciful slave’s huge debt was reinstated, he must have never really been forgiven of his debt to start with, was he? (Matthew 18:21-35)  Not only that, Peter must have been wrong when he wrote in his epistle that certain people who had escaped the pollutions of the world through salvation had actually stayed entangled in those pollutions after all (2 Peter 2:20).  Of course, I am purposely being ridiculous by showing the logical absurdity of this faulty idea of “one was never saved to begin with” for everyone that falls away.  It doesn’t hold water.

Excuses

It is impossible to ignore the multitude of passages in Scripture that negate the idea of “Once Saved, Always Saved.”  And we haven’t even addressed the Old Testament!  These passages are warning believers that they can indeed lose their salvation by turning away from God by continuing in willful sin.

So what do our OSAS friends say about these warning passages? 

The issue of these multiple warnings in Scripture is a real problem for our OSAS brothers and sisters.  I have heard well-educated and highly influential scholars use some very weak arguments when trying to compensate for these warnings.

 

They will often say that these warning verses are simply talking about the loss of rewards rather than the loss of salvation.  But that is demonstrably false as we have shown.  The context is clear that these particular passages are speaking of losing salvation itself (i.e., losing one’s soul). 

Some say that these warnings were not addressed to believers only, but to mixed crowds.  Therefore, the warnings don’t apply to the Christians there.  But if a pastor warns his congregation to avoid killing, stealing and idolatry, is he speaking only to those who may be doing these things?  No, he is speaking to all of them, the warnings are for the whole church, e.g., “lest there be in any of you [believers included] an evil heart of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:12-13).  The authors of these warning passages, in speaking to their audience, repeatedly use terminology like “brethren,” “holy brethren,” “in Me [Jesus],” “partakers of the Holy Ghost,” “tasted of the heavenly gift,” “share in the heavenly calling,” “grafted in,” “enlightened,” members of “His house,” “escaped the corruption of the world,” having had a “secure position,” “reconciled,” “sanctified,” etc.  It is unmistakable to whom they are referring.  With this in mind, if you want to say that these warnings are only for the lost, the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that.  You can’t just casually assume that these are only to the lost, just because it doesn’t fit your theology.  So, this “speaking only to the lost” argument does not work. 

 

Some say that these warnings are just for discipline and chastisement purposes, not for the believers’ damnation.  But there are too many warnings that include language about damnation, hellfire, and the loss of souls to make that conclusion. 

Some have said that the warnings were simply to identify apostates or to cause church members to examine themselves.  But if OSAS is true then there is no such thing as an apostate, anyway – they didn’t fall away, they just stayed away.  But that’s not the definition of an apostate.  Concerning the need for members to examine themselves, I would ask why?  The very fact that believers must daily examine themselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) proves that OSAS can’t be true.  You shouldn’t need to examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith if you can’t lose your salvation. 

  

One very well known Calvinist scholar said that these warnings are simply stressing the things that God wants, what He expects from us, that’s all.  But this is really not an answer and it leaves a lot unexplained.  So what happens if these warnings are ignored?  Does he automatically assume that there would be no consequences?  Is he saying that these obvious warnings are not really warnings at all?  This same scholar also says that these warnings are merely DE-scriptive and not PRE-scriptive.  That is, they are simply describing how a Christian will act – not prescribing what a Christian needs to do to be ultimately saved.  But on what basis does he say this?  His “eternal security verses” are not stand alone passages; they need to be balanced with other verses, because there are far more “warning verses” that imply or directly teach the opposite of his understanding of the eternal security verses.  The “if / then” context implies that they are indeed prescriptive – they are telling us how to ultimately be saved.  All the warnings are like Jesus’ “endure to the end” statement (Matthew 24:13).  They are not saying, “All believers will endure to the end.”  Rather, all the warning verses are saying, “IF you endure to the end, you will be saved.”  Again, they are prescriptive.  But this scholar is trying to simply dismiss all the warnings that disturb his view.

I even heard one OSAS proponent say that these biblical warnings are like a parent raising his hand to his child when the child is about to do something wrong, but the parent is never really intending to strike him, as parents often “fake it.”  It was just a tactic to scare the child.  So, are we to believe that God is only bluffing with these warnings in Holy Scripture?  That God is issuing an empty threat?  I’m sorry, but we have no Scriptural reason to think that God doesn’t follow through with His promises or His threats.  I think this just shows the desperation of some OSAS believers and their inability to explain these warning passages.  Again, it is the “elephant in the room” that few of them want to really deal with.  So these arguments end up being nothing but excuses.

Conclusion

Those of us who don’t believe in OSAS are easily able to reconcile the “eternal security” passages with the “warning” passages.  Our view is simple – we do indeed believe in the eternal security of the believer, as long as we persist in our salvation, by faith.  According to Galatians 3:3, we are saved by faith, and we continue in faith.  I want to stress again that our remaining in Christ is not about trusting in our works, but simply continuing to trust the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

But Calvinists and the OSAS crowd seem to have a very hard time trying to reconcile the “warning” passages with their “security” passages without either hairsplitting, re-defining terms, or developing silly, unbiblical, or unnecessarily complicated arguments in the process.  They seem to be ignoring the balance in Scripture.  Many of them have forsaken the simplicity of God’s Word, instead of letting it speak for itself.  We think that this is a good example of what happens when one strays from the plain meaning of Scripture and tries to inject his pet theories into it.  Many don’t take into account the whole of Scripture.  About the best they can do is to claim that it is a “paradox” or a “mystery.” 

There are many more warning passages we could quote, but I don’t want to be redundant.  In Part 3, we will be sharing some of the more practical aspects of the effects of OSAS.