Once Saved, Always Saved?

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." - 1 Timothy 4:1-3, NKJV 

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." - 1 Corinthians 10:12 

It is impossible to fall from a place you have not been. This means that reference is made in the above two passages to those who have been in the faith. In the Bible, there are examples of individuals who left the Christian faith. Demas forsook Apostle Paul and the faith and went back to the world. "for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia." - 2 Timothy 4:10. Ananias and Sapphira turned away from their Christian beliefs and embraced the lies of Satan and unfortunately paid the price of their sin - instant death (Acts 5:1-11)

We are admonished, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." - 1 John 2:15-17. The world continues to beckon on God's people. The epistle of John was written to believers and it is fair to say that there is always the possibility of a believer loving the world and all that is in it, and thereby returning to it. Of course, such a believer would have been in a backslidden state (for a period of time) and consequently decided to abandon the faith. 

God will never interfere with the freewill He has given mankind. At every point of our lives, we have the God-given right and freedom to exercise our freewill. Our freewill is conditioned by God to the extent that we surrender to Him. It is obvious then that the individual who is submissive and surrendered to God is one who abides in Jesus. The only way to abide in Jesus is to surrender to Him 100%. Many proponents of the 'Once Saved Always Saved' (OSAS) idea quote John 10:28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ' John 10:27-28. Well, there is nothing in this passage that suggests a believer cannot reject eternal life. In fact, the sheep make a decision to follow Jesus and as long as they continue to follow Jesus, eternal life is their portion. The characteristic of eternal life is not dependent on the recipient and it is not functional in the recipient without the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is disregarded, disobeyed and rejected, the individual forfeits the benefits of eternal life. It is completely unimaginable that someone who deliberately turns away from Jesus will continue to benefit from eternal life against his or her will. Rejecting eternal life does not make it temporary life; it just means that the one who rejects it has given up his or her rights to it. In fact saying that one is always saved in spite of what they do is saying that God is confused or He is trying to confuse His people.

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 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." (Hebrews 6:4-6) 

To assume that one's rejection of Jesus does not disqualify one from the blessings of salvation is to say that God is unfair to the unbeliever who decides to reject Jesus right from the word 'go'. Falling away from the faith has dire consequences including spiritual death. What is the difference between the individual who abandons the faith and the one who refuses to receive Jesus in the first place? Spiritually speaking, nothing. They are both spiritually dead. 

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God." (Revelation 3:1-2, NKJV)

The members of the church in Sardis were not physically dead. Most of them were dead spiritually. In verse 4 of Revelation 3, Jesus said, "Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief." (Revelation 3:3, NLT). It is clear that Jesus was reminding them of what they had received and believed at first, meaning that they had been believers before they became spiritually dead. Being spiritually dead means just that whether the individual involved is an atheist or a backslider. 

As long as we are abiding in Jesus, we are secure in His protection and victory by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me." (John 15:4, AMP). We are commanded to abide (remain) in Jesus. The word 'abide' is an action word meaning that abiding in Jesus is our responsibility. God will never force anyone to abide in Jesus and therefore the thought of God keeping someone in a relationship against his or her will is simply erroneous.

It is true that we sin. In fact we are reminded in 1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." (1 John 1:8-10, NLT)

Believers are not sinners but saints who sin. The point is that for the believer, sinning is not a lifestyle. The unbeliever unashamedly commits sin without batting an eyelid whereas the believer is convicted of sin when he or she sins and turns to Jesus in repentance (1 John 1:9). Jesus has made this possible whereby repentance of our sins ushers in a restoration of our relationship with Him. The one who falls away would have decided to reject Jesus completely, with no desire whatsoever of returning to Jesus. Why then should God keep him or her against his or her will? 

My brothers and sisters, let us not live our lives based on false hopes. God will keep those who continue to trust in Him, who continue to run the Christian race, who continue to seek Him diligently by faith and not sight, who continue to press on even when the going is tough and rough, who continue to fix their eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who continue to draw near to God so that He might draw near to them, who continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Nothing can separate us from God except ourselves and that is because God has never overridden our freewill and will never override our freewill. 

Let us remember that the Bible says some shall depart from the faith. You cannot depart from a place you have not been. Let us heed the warnings of God in the Bible. God has His part to play and we have ours although life is not a game. The hopelessness of hell is something that no one should wish his or her worst enemy. Embracing the false doctrine of 'Once Saved, Always Saved' sends a wrong message to believers and even unbelievers, and leads many to be lackadaisical about their faith. That is dangerous. 

"Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live." (Ezekiel 33:12-16, NKJV) 

 This passage is unambiguous and delivers a clear message about the mercy and justice of God. The sinner who repents and turns away from sin, receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour is saved. The one who rejects Jesus before or after salvation is condemned. As we continue to fix our eyes on Jesus, He will keep us empowered, victorious, joyful, fruitful and Heaven-bound by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lukewarmness is something that Jesus frowns upon and in addressing members of the church in Laodicea, He said, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16). Vomit is waste, good for nothing. The dog is the only creature that eats its vomit. The point is that believers must work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). We cannot save ourselves but we are required to be active in the faith after salvation. We are not to become lukewarm, lazy or lackadaisical. We must hold on tenaciously to our faith and not take our hands of the plough. That is the Word of God. Let us not take the grace of God for granted. Have a blessed day.