Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :

NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Note: Before investing your time in reading this current series, please read its companion series entitled "OSAS: Are We Once Saved, Always Saved?" so that you have a firm understanding regarding what this present series is based upon. Even if you are familiar with the OSAS doctrine, it is still advisable that you read the aforementioned series first. Thank you.


As I point out in the series entitled "OSAS: Are We Once Saved, Always Saved?", after a careful study of God's holy Word, I arrived at the conclusion that our Salvation and Redemption through faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ cannot be lost. In my opinion, to suggest otherwise is to really imply that our personal sins are much greater than God's amazing Grace, and Jesus' Sacrifice. I don't know about you, but I for one most certainly do not accept that belief; because for one thing, it turns our God of victory into a God of defeat. To say that our Eternal Salvation is not really eternal under all conditions is to suggest that Jesus lost, and the Devil won. To understand how I arrived at my current position, please read the aforementioned series.

Despite my personal understanding, and what I believe is plainly stated in the Scriptures, there are those people who still insist that our Salvation can be lost. In other words, it is as if to say that Jesus' Sacrifice was not good enough, strong enough, righteous enough, or lasting enough, to keep us saved. Stated another way, even though the Holy Scriptures inform us that we are bought with a price, such people are in essence saying that the Price that Jesus Christ paid for us by shedding His Blood, and dying on the Cross for us, was not high enough, or sufficient enough. Consider the following set of verses:

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."


"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."


"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."


"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men."


"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."


Taking this erroneous attitude to the extreme, one could even posit that God has not kept His end of the bargain. Exactly what "bargain" am I referring to? Please consider reading the article entitled "Backsliding, Divine Chastisement and the Divine Agreement" for an explanation. In other words, while Jesus kept His part of the deal by dying for humanity's sake, if we accept the view that our Salvation can still be lost after coming to Christ, then it is as if God the Father is saying "I am sorry, Son, but your Death on the Cross did not quite do it. There are still a few loopholes. There are still a few ways in which Believers can lose their Salvation, even though they have accepted your Sacrifice as the only valid Atonement for their sins."

What a ludicrous thing to suggest. The fact of the matter is that God most certainly does not lie. He gave His word to His Son, and His word is absolute and eternal. It's the sure word of prophecy. If He states that we are eternally saved once we come to Christ, then that is what we must believe. Consider the following group of verses:

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"


"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"


"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past."


"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."


"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"


"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"


"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts . . . For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."


"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."


"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven . . . Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word . . . Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."


Thus, because God's word is so firm and eternal, we can be absolutely certain that once we repent and accept Christ's Death as Atonement for our sins, we are saved for eternity. There is nothing which can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No one -- spiritual or physical -- can pluck us out of our Father's Hand. Consider the following verses and be encouraged:

"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."


"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."


"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand."


"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."


". . . for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."


Not only are we granted Eternal Salvation, but as I likewise point out in articles such as "Are You Saved and Sealed and Healed and Filled?", the Scriptures inform us that Believers are sealed until the Day of Redemption. Exactly what is this Seal? As I explain in "A Treasure in Earthen Vessels: God's Promise of the Spirit", it is in fact the Holy Spirit. Once God the Father seals us, there is no breaking that seal. No one can break the Seal of the Spirit, which plainly declares that we belong to Him, because Jesus Christ purchased us with His own Blood; not Satan or demons, not human beings, and not the false doctrines of misguided men. Consider the following set of verses which mention the special Seal of God which all born-again Believers receive. Please note that because Jesus was sealed by His Father, we are likewise sealed through our faith in His Sacrifice:

"He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true."


"Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."


"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."


"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."


"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."


In stark contrast to the firm, sure, eternal nature of God's Word, consider now what the Scriptures have to say regarding the Devil's word, and the words of human beings. If anyone lies, deceives, and breaks their word, it is definitely us humans ourselves; and, of course, Satan. At the very least, we misunderstand certain verses, and we end up propagating a false doctrine; as in this case where some Christians claim that we can still lose our Salvation after coming to Christ. Consider the following verses:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."


"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."


"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."


"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."


"If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."


As I point out in a number of other articles, the reality of false doctrine infiltrating the Christian Church is nothing new. It has been around since the First Century, and some of the Apostles fought against such heresies quite fervently. It is for this reason that we find verses such as the following in the writings of the New Testament:

"Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."


"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"


"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein."


"As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."


"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"


"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"


As I have already plainly stated, I am convinced by the Holy Scriptures that once we come to Christ, we cannot possibly lose our Salvation, and then somehow hope to get it back. If this erroneous doctrine was really true as these misguided individuals propose, we would be constantly living in a state of uncertainty and fear. "Am I still saved today? Oh no; have I done something today and lost my Salvation? What do I need to do in order to get it back? Is God angry with me today?" One would go absolutely crazy living this way. This would certainly not be the peace of mind, heart and spirit that the Old Testament Prophets, Jesus and the Apostles all promised us in the following set of verses:

"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."


"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."


"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."


"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."


"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"


"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."


"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."


"For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"


"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."


"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."


As I have explained so many times before, and expounded upon in so many of my articles, if we are living in this constant state of fear and uncertainty regarding our Salvation, then it is really because we are depending upon ourselves, our own supposed "good works" and our own sense of self-righteousness to keep ourselves saved. This is obviously an absurd notion to entertain; because if we did not save ourselves to begin with, then neither can we keep ourselves saved no matter what we do. I have been down this road many times before in my writings, but allow me to share a few verses with you which support my position:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."


"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


If you are interested in delving deeper into the topic of Grace versus works, then please consider reading articles such as "Free From the Fear of Death: Law and Works vs Grace", "Dead to the Law: God's Laws Written on Our Hearts" and "Striving For Perfection: Are You a Sinless Saint?".

Looking at this issue from another perspective, a drowning man usually cannot save himself. He needs someone else to pull him out of the water. In this case, Jesus Christ is our only life preserver, and the Captain of our Salvation, who pulls us out of the water, and onto the Rock, which, of course, is Himself, as we see by the following verses:

"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation [meaning Jesus] perfect through sufferings."


"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."


"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."


"The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."


"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? . . . And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."


"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock [Jesus referring to Himself] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."


"And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"


"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."


"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."


"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed [that is disapproved, rejected, repudiated] indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."


"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces . . . And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure"


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.