The Facts and Myths of Once Saved, Always Saved

 One of the biggest arguments amongst different factions of the church is about the question of whether a man is saved once and forever, or whether a man can lose his salvation or not.  This issue has been preached in certain churches and amongst many for generations.  Before we go into the facts about once saved always saved, let us talk about some of the myths.

One myth is that once you repent and ask Christ to be Lord and Savior of your life that you are automatically covered from that point forward in your life.  Let’s look at Galatians 5:13 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  And also Romans 6:12-13, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”  There are many other scriptures like these that tell us that we cannot live on in the flesh after we come to God.  In Romans 8: 12-14 the apostle Paul states, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Holy Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”  The question is, did you receive the Holy Spirit when turned to Christ?  In Romans 8:9-11, “…Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  As Paul states in Romans 6:2-4, “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  All these scriptures point to the cross and taking the cross daily after submitting to God.  There is never a time when “scripture” or God allows us to walk in sin- declaring that we are still saved, or in fellowship with God.  Hebrews 10:26-31, “ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.  Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.  And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  The word of God plainly tells us that if we do not continue in the ways of the Lord, we can fall away.  That doesn’t necessarily mean if you backslide or fall away you can’t return to God.  It doesn’t mean if you fall away or are a prodigal at the moment you’ve lost your salvation.  God will have mercy on whomever He will have mercy, and compassion on whomever He will have compassion.  Mercy triumphs over judgment.  It does mean that if you have fallen away or are backslidden at the moment, that if you do not repent then there is no excuse for your sin and you will face judgment.  How shall we neglect so great a salvation?  Christ preached repentance- turning from sin.  He is not asking you to fold up and just be a dull robot.  God wants you to place your place and trust in His Son Jesus because Christ is our tool to get to a greater understanding and deeper revelation of God the Father.  He is our mediator and brings us into contact with the Creator and Heavenly Father.  John 3:16, “ For God so loved the world that gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  God the Father desires fellowship with His creation, especially man, since we are created in His image.  There is one key to a relationship with God- believing in His Son Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the One whom He sent.”  Belief is totally committing your trust to Christ.  So where are you today?  Does Christ have all your heart?  Does He have all your trust?  When is the last time you came into God’s holy presence?  Christ died to take us into the Holy of holies, into His Father’s presence.  How much time do you spend there?  Are we not called to seek Him diligently in a time that He may be found?  He says, “ Behold, now is the acceptable time; today is the day of salvation.”  If you are living with a guilty conscience, and you are not in fellowship with God the Father through Christ Jesus, but you have committed your life to God before- you need to repent now!  Here are some scriptures to explain why.  Romans 11:20-   “Because of unbelief they (the nation of Israel) were broken off, and you (gentiles or any believer) stand by faith.  Do no be haughty, but fear.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.  Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness.  Otherwise you also will be cut off.  And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”  Once again Hebrews 6:4-8, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have became 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 take yourself out of God’s hands or Way), to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.  For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.”  John 15:1-5, Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean (ready to bear more fruit) because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit (joy, peace, love, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control); for without Me you can do nothing.

Are you abiding in Christ?  Are you bearing good fruit?  If you are abiding in Christ, you will bear good fruit.  If you are living in resistance to His perfect will you are not going to bear good fruit.  Jesus said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or the tree bad and its fruit bad.  Every tree that  does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  Once again, by scripture, we see that 1: repentance leads to a life “in Christ”

2: living in the flesh can cause us to lose our salvation if we don’t repent

3: once forgiven, doesn’t mean we are covered and we can do as we wish

4:  God intends to fellowship with us

5: does not mean, “once converted, always saved”

 

Now we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  But if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  It doesn’t mean that we are perfect and don’t make mistakes if we live or abide in Christ.  It just means that we depend on Christ as our Savior to wash us and cleanse us and renew us daily as we walk with Him.  You might say, “well, I pray and ask forgiveness for my sins.”  The Lord still wants you to do your part to turn from them.  Ask, and you shall receive.

 

Now let us deal with the truth about once saved, always saved.  Jesus said, “Blessed is he who endures till the end, for he shall be saved.”  Salvation is a process that begins with conversion.  The truth is we are not saved until the day God finishes His work in our lives (Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith), when we are taken from this life to the next.  In Hebrews 10:38-39 the bible says that, “now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.  But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”  The word saving indicates that salvation is a process.  In the Greek dictionary, saving means the act of purchasing or acquiring- which means we must walk in constant fellowship with our Savior Jesus Christ.  There is so much scripture that deals with this issue.  I wish that I could bring everything to the table that I knew about the subject.  But, the most important thing is the condition of your heart right now.  The most important thing is not what you did in the past, but what you are doing right now.  God knows your heart.  And maybe He is calling you back to fellowship with Him through His Son.  It is important to stay in fellowship with Christ, and it is important to obey Him.  Do not resist Him.  God will not strive with you forever.  He is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all come to repentance and knowledge of the Truth.  He loves you.  He gave His life as a ransom for you.  That means He took the penalty for your sin on Himself.  He became poor so that you may become rich.  He gave up His throne in Heaven for a moment to be condemned and murdered for you.  And He will give you His Holy Spirit if you ask Him.  Asking for the Holy Spirit is a simple prayer- all you have to do is wait until God provides Him.  There is no gimmick!  Seek His face, and turn to Christ- He will heal you!  Don’t wait till it is too late!  You are not guaranteed the next breath!  Obey the call of God, and times of refreshing will come upon you!  Be blessed, in Jesus’ name, amen.