Once Saved Always Saved? Implications of the doctrine of “once-saved-always-saved”: 1. All former believers (Hebrews 3:12), including many atheists, remain saved, forgiven, or justified. Thus, some unbelievers will be in heaven. 2. One can have “an evil heart of unbelief” and “depart from the living God” and still remain justified and safe before God. Heb.3:12 3. One can remain a partaker of Christ even though they do not “hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast to the end”. Heb.3:14 4. Even though one “hardens the heart” (Heb.3:15) they will remain justified. 5. One can be saved, then crucify Jesus afresh, and still remain justified. Heb.6:4-6 6. One can “draw back to perdition” and God will still have pleasure in us because we are still justified. Heb.10:38-39 7. One can escape the wrath of God even though we now “refuse Him” and “turn away from Him”. Heb.12:25 8. One can “fall from grace” yet still remain justified. Gal.5:4 9. One can “deny the faith and become worse than an infidel” (1 Tim.5:8), yet still remain justified. 10. One WILL inherit the kingdom of God even though they practice all manner of unrighteousness (1 Cor.6:8-10). 11. One’s name CANNOT be “blotted out of the book of Life” (Rev.3:5) regardless of what we do or fail to do. 12. One will be saved REGARDLESS of whether he “keeps in memory what Paul preached” (1 Cor.15:1-2). 13. Simon the former sorcerer will be saved or “remain justified” even if he does not repent and pray for forgiveness and even if he remains “in the bond of iniquity”(Acts 8:22f). 14. One can have “worse punishment” awaiting them than death under Moses’ law, and still “remain justified” and safe with God (Heb.10:26-29). 15. One will receive the “crown of life” REGARDLESS of whether or not they “are faithful until death” (Rev.2:10). 16. One will “remain justified” regardless of whether or not they “ABIDE in Christ” (Jno.15). Hebrews Written To Saved (Justified) People The original recipients of the Hebrew epistle were: 1. Partakers of the heavenly calling. Heb.3:1 2. People who made Christ their “confession”. 3:1 3. Part of Christ’s “house”. 3:6 4. People who had “confidence”. 3:6 5. People who had “the rejoicing of hope”. 3:6 6. People who could lose all of that by not “holding fast”. 3:6 7. People who could “depart from the living God”. 3:12 (which implies that they were now WITH God in relationship). 8. People who “have believed” (4:3 9. People who had a Great High Priest (4:14; 8:1), yet had to “hold fast”(condition) our confession. 10. People who at one time had become born again so as to become “babes” in this confession (5:12). 11. People who had “full assurance of hope” and needed to show the same diligence “until the end”(condition). 6:11 12. In former days were “enlightened”. 10:32 13. People who had been persecuted for their faith and their motivation for enduring that persecution was because “you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven” (10:34) if they did not “draw back to perdition”. 14. People who had had Jesus as the “author of their faith” (12:2). 15. People who had been “striving against sin” (12:4) 16. People who were “chastened as sons”(12:5-6). Therefore, they were born into God’s family. 17. People who were “ruled over” by men who “spoke the word of God to them”. 13:7 Thus, we have all the elements of a justified people addressed in this book. They had been “sanctified”(Heb.10:29), and most people admit that you cannot be sanctified without being justified. Therefore, this book is written to people who had definitely been justified by the blood of Christ. Now notice what CAN happen to these justified people. Do They Automatically “Remain Justified”? 1. We must give the more earnest heed (condition) to the things we have heard lest we drift away (2:1). If we drift away…how will we escape? (Most “once-saved-always-saved” preachers say we escape in that one moment of a look of faith, and drifting away will not create anything we will need to worry about escaping). 2. How will we (we justified people) escape if we neglect (condition) so great salvation? (2:3). The mere “neglect” of our justification-salvation can result in our inability to escape the just reward of our transgressions. This passage shows that there is no automatic remaining justified. There is more danger to neglecting and drifting away than the danger experienced in the drift away from the Mosaic law. This passage shows that continued exercise of faith is essential to escaping the just reward of our transgressions. If we neglect or drift away, we do not “remain justified”. 3. We are His house (a justified and saved people) IF (condition) we “hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of hope firm to the end”(3:6). Can a person “remain justified” and not be in Christ’s house? To remain in Christ’s house, there is a condition. We have to “hold fast”, “give the more earnest heed to things we have heard”, and be careful not to “drift away”. If the “once-saved-always-saved” preacher says that we automatically remain in Christ’s house regardless of whether we “hold fast”, then he is denying the word of God. If he says that all justified people “remain justified” automatically, then he has to say that some people will go to heaven even without remaining in Christ’s house. Either horn of the dilemma puts them in conflict with the word of God. 4. Willful sin can cause sanctified-justified people to have to expect “worse punishment” for trampling underfoot the Son of God. (Heb.10:26-29). Avoiding willful sin is a condition to avoiding “worse punishment”. We have set forth just some of the proof that there are conditions for remaining in a justified condition before God. We have to believe and continue to exercise our faith in Jesus Christ. Once a believer is justified, there are conditions to remain justified. God bless us to maintain honesty, integrity, and love for each other’s souls, with a desire that we can all know the truth and be set free from the bond of iniquity. Let us “continue in His goodness” (Rom.11:22f) lest we be cut off. Assurance is in believing and obeying the Lord. We must be careful of having a false assurance that some maintain even as they are disobeying the Lord. “You will not surely die” was Satan’s false doctrine from the beginning. He still convinces people that they will not be cut off even as they disobey the Lord. It is deception. Do not be deceived (1 Cor.6:8f). -Terry W. Benton
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 03:12:08 +0000
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