QUESTION: Can a child of God sin so as to be eternally lost? The doctrine of “once saved, always saved” has been a source of comfort to many. Though it is known by many names—“once in grace, always in grace,” “perseverance of the saints.” etc.—the basic premise is that once an individual has been saved from his past sins through the blood of Christ, there is nothing that one can then do to lose his salvation. We are told that those who claim to be Christians but who live out of harmony with the word of God were never truly converted to the Lord, and as such are not children of God. Is it the case that the Christian can do nothing to lose his salvation? What would Jesus say? In his explanation of the parable of the tares, Jesus said, “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42). Notice that a separation is coming. This separation is not simply going to be a division of those in the world versus those in the church. There will also be a separation of the faithful and the unfaithful in the kingdom! The kingdom and the church are one and the same (Matthew 16:18-19). In this parable, Jesus is teaching that there will be even some among the children of the kingdom who will be cast into eternal torment. Those in the kingdom are Christians, children of God, the saved (see Acts 2:47). Logic would dictate that if one can be cast out of the kingdom, then he first had to be in the kingdom! The argument that these were not really Christians or children of God will not hold up to logical reasoning. The sad reality is that there are far too many warnings in Scripture given to children of God about the danger of falling away for one to claim that such is not possible (see Galatians 5:4)! Do you have a question that you would like for us to consider together, or a comment regarding what has been written? If so, please email us at [email protected], or write to us at the Sixth Avenue Church of Christ, 1501 Sixth Avenue, Jasper, Alabama, 35501.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 20:56:23 +0000
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