Brethren,
This piece may seem like a fairy tale if you have spent the majority of your religious life listening to and digesting modern western Christian doctrine.
What is one of the foundational teachings of the American Gospel that is exported all over God’s earth?
Once saved always saved.
How is it postulated?
Here is the main passage by Jesus Christ the purveyors of this stance use.
John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand…”
This passage is absolutely true, praise God! But…and a big but…what does a sober, serious soldier of the cross who is seeking God and His Word do with all the multitude of conflicting passages?
Can a believer remove themselves from Christ’s hand? If so, how does this transpire? What can the Word of God teach us?
95 out of 100 walked out mad
To even question, or directly teach against, the “once-saved-always-saved” (OSAS) is certainly to not only raise eyebrows and voices, but if persisted will get one put out of the “synagogue,” the modern western church.
Once when preaching to about a hundred people in central Tennessee in the early 2000’s, I began to quote the Scriptures in this area at the end of my message. A full ninety five of the hundred souls walked out before I was finished. They were really mad. Some of the women were crying outside.
About fifteen or so interrupted me with some yelling at the top of their lungs. Several even marched right up to the front where I stood shocked, and with bulging veins and beet red faces had their fingers violently pointing to a verse in their open Bibles.
But we must always remember this following fact: The more popular, the less truth. And OSAS is very popular in the west. Extremely so.
As an aside, the early Acts type believers and church fathers never taught the OSAS doctrine. This is a verifiable fact. Why did they indeed believe this? They walked with Jesus Christ. They read and taught the Word as described by the apostles. This is not rocket science, dear one.
The Word speaks to us today
Let us now delve into the Word and see exactly what we can discern from it.
First, we see a direct contradiction of OSAS by the apostle Paul to his beloved son in the faith, our brother Timothy. In order to “fall away” one has to be positioned and secure, no?
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away (apostate) from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…
What is the underlying Greek word that may shed some more light?
That Greek word is aphistêmi, meaning to lead away, to depart from. The list of English Words and Number of Times Used is voluminous: abstain (1), depart (1), departed (1), deserted (1), drew away (1), fall away (2), falls away (1), leave (1), left (2), let go (1), stay away (1), withdrew (1).
Here’s just a sample of the passages utilizing this Greek word.
Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Luke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away…”
Luke 13:27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’
Acts 12:10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
Acts 19:9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
2 Corinthians 12:8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Any cursory glance will show direct references to not just departing or leaving something, but actual apostasy: Luke 8.13 (they believe for a while) and Hebrews 3.12.
Often looking at the regular Greek word without the letter “a” (meaning ‘no’) will reveal valuable clews we need in our discovery. Like a-theist (no God) we see how this works. Let’s take a look…
That Greek word is phistêmi, meaning to make to stand, to stand. The list of English Words and Number of Times Used is even more voluminous, and we’ve highlighted some of the more descriptive words: brought (1), bystanders (1), bystanders (1), came (1), came to a halt (1), come (1), confirmed (2), establish (3), fixed (1), hold (1), lying (1), make…stand (2), placed (1), put (1), put forward (2), set (4), stand (27), stand firm (4), standing (53), standing firm (1), stands (6), stood (27), stood still (1), stood upright (1), stop (1), stopped (5), taking his stand (1), weighed (1).
If this alone doesn’t send a shudder down your spine, you may want to check your pulse, saint…
We’ve written extensively on being approved or disapproved by God based on the works of a believer. He who endures to the end will be completely and finally saved. Paul clearly states we were saved (past; Eph. 2.8), are being saved (present; 2 Cor. 2.15), and will be saved (future; Rom. 5.9-10, 13.11).
Also, the Lord Himself speaks about being erased from the book of life in His Revelation, chapter 3, when warning the few remaining saints in Sardis. The chilling description sounds a lot like modern America and the western church.
The Old Testament speaks to this too
This doctrine of erasure from the Book of Life begins long ago. The Almighty calls it a blot. First, we see He plans to utterly destroy the polluted DNA Nephilim giant infested mankind (Genesis 6.4).
Genesis 6:7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
In another illustration after the Flood God’s servant Moses pleads for wicked Israel. But God has His mind made up. Both Israel and its leaders obviously already know about the Book of Life and being blotted out.
Exodus 32:32-33 “But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book…”
Now, Moses is recounting God’s wrathful and furious anger with the nation when Moses comes down from Sinai with the new Law.
Deuteronomy 9:14 ‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’
I think we all get the idea.
Not to be outdone, King David records in song his imprecatory (cursing) anger to add iniquity to the heinous sins of the nations. And prays-sings to have them blotted out of the Book of Life.
Psalm 69:27-28 Add iniquity to their iniquity, And may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous.
The New Covenant record
There are literally dozens and dozens of passages that deal with both warnings and threats of being lost after being saved. Here’s just a very brief sample of some not mentioned above. We begin with the apostle Paul’s warning of his own salvation.
1 Corinthians 9:27 but I (Paul) discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (reprobate, adokimos).
Luke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away…”
Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked (out) with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity…”
John 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
2 Peter 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
Hebrews 6:4-6 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
Hebrews 10:26-31 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification (holiness) without which no one will see the Lord.
Revelation 3:5 ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I (Jesus) will confess his name before My Father and before His angels…”
Objections and answers
Over the years, we’ve heard various objections to our preaching against OSAS. There’s only a few since there’s nothing new under the sun.
First, we’ve already mentioned the main one that a believer in spiritual no-man’s land can drift too far and remove themselves from the hand, the protection, of Jesus.
Second, we encounter the objection that we’re “sealed” until the day of redemption. These passages below are used in an attempt to counter the Bible’s complete teaching.
Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise…
Ephesians 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
It’s true when first saved a new believer is sealed. Notice the Spirit does the sealing.
But…
This wonderful Holy Spirit is a pledge only, a down payment. The Greek word for sealed is arrabôn which is actually a real estate term, an earnest (like earnest money), a part payment in advance for security. Note this is not like a real estate “closing,” but a beginning of the contract, the covenant.
What about the pledge, you may ask.
Ephesians 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
But is this pledge breakable? Can it be negated?
Remember in our other writings we rightly state that only one covenant is unbreakable: the one God made with Abraham. God ratified it with Himself.
God has Abraham gather the sacrifice and prepare it (Genesis 15:9-10). God puts him in a deep sleep during the day, and he’s terrorized in his sleep (v. 11).
And then…
Genesis 15:17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces.
Every other covenant-contract is breakable. And in the Word, human beings are the ones who break them by their continued disobedience. God never breaks them.
You must remember, beloved, that God divorced Israel and remarried the Israel of God.
Jeremiah 3:8a “And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce…”
Galatians 6:16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Now then, it’s crystal clear that the Holy Spirit can be finally quenched by practiced sin. Quenching means to extinguish, to put out. Completely done.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit…
King David, after he repented of his heinous sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah her husband, pleads with God not to take the Spirit from him.
Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Third and lastly, many point to Pauls’ words in 2 Timothy. We take the needed liberty to amplify the passage for complete understanding in its own context.
2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful (to deny us), for He cannot deny Himself (His Word).
The false teachers of today – the accumulated ear ticklers
How much vital false doctrine does a person need to preach-teach before they are labeled a false teacher? Especially since God has sent His prophets to them to bring correction and try to prevent the blood of their flock on their heads?
When I was first saved in the late 80’s, the Lord sovereignly sent John MacArthur to me in tape form as I listened to hundreds of his messages. After a few years I saw his refusal to search together in the areas where he was clearly wrong.
Earlier I met him at a conference and thanked him for his work in my life, then we briefly corresponded. But when I sent a letter reproving him for falsely teaching that the Book of Hebrews was to unsaved Jews and wanting to discuss this, he never responded back.
Years ago a brother came all the way from Australia at God’s leading to rebuke John about his recent Strange Fire conference. John was attributing the works of the Spirit to Satan! This is the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. John’s “flock” scoffed at this brother.
Many other big names, like Charles Stanley, teach OSAS. They usually use the passage from 1 John to justify their heresy if one walks away.
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
Others, like five point hyper-Calvinists, use the same passage. Brother John Wesley, a fierce defender of the true Word, made this proclamation long ago in the 18th century.
Calvinists, who deny that salvation can ever be lost, reason on the subject in a marvelous way. They tell us, that no virgin’s lamp can go out; no promising harvest be choked with thorns; no branch in Christ can ever be cut off from unfruitfulness; no pardon can ever be forfeited, and no name blotted out of God’s book!
They insist that no salt can ever lose its savor; nobody can ever “receive the grace of God in vain”; “bury his talents”; “neglect such great salvation”; trifle away “a day of grace”; “look back” after putting his hand to the gospel plow. Nobody can “grieve the Spirit” till He is “quenched,” and strives no more, nor “deny the Lord that bought them”; nor “bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
Nobody, or body of believers, can ever get so lukewarm that Jesus will spew them out of His mouth. They use reams of paper to argue that if one ever got lost he was never found. John 17:12; that if one falls, he never stood. Rom. 11:16-22 and Heb. 6:4-6; if one was ever “cast forth,” he was never in, and “if one ever withered,” he was never green.
John 15:1-6; and that “if any man draws back,” it proves that he never had anything to draw back from. Heb. 10:38,39; that if one ever “falls away into spiritual darkness,” he was never enlightened. Heb 6:4-6; that if you “again get entangled in the pollutions of the world,” it shows that you never escaped. 2 Pet 2:20; that if you “put salvation away” you never had it to put away, and if you make shipwreck of faith, there was no ship of faith there!!
In short they say: If you get it, you can’t lose it; and if you lose it you never had it. May God save us from accepting a doctrine that must be defended by such fallacious reasoning!
Amen…
One has to work really hard at making God’s Word stand on its head to say something it doesn’t. But it’s done all the time. All the time. To their destruction.
One big name preacher that we know who rightly teaches you can fall away and apostate is John Bevere. His excellent audio story, Affabel, details this with the judgment of the character called Faint Heart. Craig Keener the renowned modern scholar also alludes to this in his outstanding commentary on the book of Revelation.
Templeton, left, with Graham, right, in the 50’s
Three apostate men who were once believers in Christ
Do you know those who have been Holy Spirit filled only to fall away from the faith? I do…and wish I didn’t. Two of the three below were the best of friends and brothers in the Lord with me.
First, Charles Templeton was a famous American evangelist in the 1950’s. His bag man in the crusades was a young man named Billy Graham. Templeton was the headliner until he began to drift away and tried to get Graham to follow. Templeton eventually renounced the Christian faith and wrote the book Farewell To God.
Templeton preaching & as old man with Farewell To God book
Graham himself when he took over from Templeton never preached the real gospel, said he hated preaching on hell, and was a warmonger with every American President that would welcome him. Even the pagans saw his gross hypocrisy with one writing a revealing book called Prince of War.
The reason you hear nothing of Templeton and his apostasy or Graham and his terrible compromise is because the so-called church refuses to reveal its dirty laundry. The same is true dealing with the antisemitism and drunkenness that was characteristic of the miserable later life of big gun Martin Luther.
Second, Jim was as close a friend and brother as one could have. At one time he was my very best friend I ever had in my life. We talked daily for years. We cried together during our tribulations. He was at the court hearing when I was awarded custody of my children from their dysfunctional mother.
Slowly, he pulled away and would not return my calls. I could tell something was not right all along, but just dismissed it. Eventually I got the call from a mutual friend that Jim had committed suicide. He left behind two grown children and a second trophy wife. I was devastated, leaning against the washer in my finished garage where I had my home office as I took the call about his sudden death.
Jim had embezzled over a $1,000,000 in his Christian financial counseling ministry. At one time he had helped me personally and many others. But his new chosen lifestyle with his new wife demanded too much money beyond his ability to make it legitimately.
At his wake, I stood at his open casket with a pit in my stomach. My body trembled trying to make sense of it all. His new wife tried to gush that he “was with Jesus.” She even had a picture of Welcome Home propped up on his chest. I kid you not. I almost threw up.
Both on the way out and way home were one of the times I heard clearly from the Holy Spirit. The following were His chilling words describing Jim.
Thief. Liar. Deceiver.
Third, Sam was the assistant leader of a popular men’s business ministry where I was a table leader. Only a few years in the Lord, I was growing exponentially so he took me under his wing. Sam placed me in various leadership roles and empathized with my incredulity at the American gospel that was being preached from this major ministry.
Eventually, I could take no more of this defamation of the Lord’s character and openly admonished the main leader of the ministry in a leaders meeting one Saturday morning. He was an extremely powerful businessman and popular Christian author. He changed the subject. No other colleagues at the meeting stepped up. I left the ministry two weeks later.
Years later at another Christian conference I unexpectedly ran into Sam’s wife who was with another man. Turned out it was her new husband. She and I knew each other well over the years when I spent time with Sam. She recounted in exasperation the fact that Sam turned more and more self-centered, found a girlfriend, moved out of the marital home, and eventually filed for divorce. They had several grown children. Essentially, he had disavowed the faith, quit the men’s ministry, and left the church.
His former wife told me Sam was working at a small business south of town. After some basic research, I found his name and number and called. My heart was racing as my mobile phone rang. The number was out of service.
I distinctly remember feeling disjointed and lonely that day. How could this happen I inwardly cried. The comfort of God poured out in my heart, but the pain was there. The loss was real. First Jim, and now Sam. I prayed that my heart would not close up to new relationships that God might bring.
Where the worm never dies and fire never quenched
The chilling consequences of disobedience & staying sober
One of the most cryptic passages in the New Testament deals with Father God sending a delusion to fool people.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
What kind of a God would do this? The God who Is. Not The New Trinity led by the baby manger Jesus.
A serious and sober modern Christian must be a student of the Word, he must know Bible interpretation, the hermeneutics. His eternal destiny hangs in the balance. You may not employ Interpretation By Exception and misrepresent God’s character by using His Holy Bible. God forbid.
Rightly dividing the Word is crucial to being approved unto God. It’s a verifiable fact that the New Testament record is mostly corrective and instructive: don’t do that, but do this and you will live.
We must be cognizant of the Almighty’s requirements as our King.
1 Peter 1:14-17 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth…
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification (holiness) without which no one will see the Lord.
We can see now why Paul wrote these last two passages.
Colossians 1:28-29 We proclaim (not “share”) Him, admonishing (shaping the will with warning) every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete (perfectly mature) in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
We could go on and on about this. And on and on. But that’s for another day. We leave you with our image of how one can walk worthy…or apostate from the faith.
Many have to work hard at both believing and promoting the OSAS heresy by distorting and contriving the Word of our Lord. And they do a thorough job at perverting His Name. Many are caused to stumble as a result.
Let’s us never be those who do the same. Maranatha.
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See Dan Corner’s book on The Believer’s Conditional Security.
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Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,
Marc
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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!
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You may view our Archives here: RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD – ARCHIVES; Complete Archives. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org
Keener (popular commentator, i.e. IVP Bible Background Commentary, over 500,000 copies) on Revelation 3.5, from the NIV Application Commentary on Revelation:
t Demas, Paul’s fellow church planting apostle, who was earlier mentioned before the last chilling update on his life in 2 Timothy? He ended up loving the world of Satan…the king and kingdom of the evil one.
