| South Bumby Church of Christ |
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Are Those Who Are Once Saved, Always Saved? |
Copyright (c) 1986, Robert F. Harkrider
Many sincere religious people believe that once a sinner has
been redeemed by Christ, it is impossible for him to so sin as to
fall from the grace of God and be eternally lost. Anyone who
accepts Calvinism can understand why "once saved, always saved"
is a necessary conclusion to the doctrines of Total Depravity.
Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, and Irresistible
Grace. If salvation comes solely by God's election, then it is
necessary to conclude that the same individual who is helpless to
save himself would also be helpless to refuse God's election and
so live as to be lost.
However, many religionists who espouse the doctrine of "once
saved, always saved" do not believe the basic premise of
Calvinism which claims man does not have the ability to choose
good or evil. These religionists agree that God is no respecter
of persons and has given man a free will, yet they hold to the
doctrine of perseverance which has roots in a system of theology
that denies the truth of God's plan of election. At least the
purist Calvinist is more consistent than they!
I. PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS EXPLAINED BY CALVINISTS
A. God's Elect Are Not Only Given Faith But Are Kept In
Faith.
"The elect are not only redeemed by Christ and renewed by
the Spirit: they are also KEPT in faith by the almighty
power of God. All those who are spiritually united to
Christ through regeneration are eternally secure in Him.
Nothing can separate them from the eternal and
unchangeable love of God. They have been predestined unto
eternal glory and are therefore assured of heaven. "(THE
FIVE POINTS OF CALVINISM, by Steele & Thomas, Presbyterian
and Reformed Publishing Co., p. 56>
B. Those Who Profess Faith And Then Fall Away Were Never In
Grace.
"The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not
maintain that all who PROFESS the Christian faith are
certain of heaven. It is SAINTS—those who are set apart by
the Spirit—who PERSEVERE to the end. It is BELIEVERS —
those who are given true, living faith in Christ—who are
SECURE and safe in Him. Many who profess to believe fall
away, but they do not fall from grace for they were never
in grace. True believers do fall into temptations. and
they do commit grievous sins, but these sins do not cause
them to lose their salvation or separate them from
Christ." (IBID.)
II. THE BIBLE DOES TEACH THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER.
A. Our Disagreement Is Not Over Whether God Is Able To Do
What He Promised.
1. Rom. 8:35-39 — Apostasy would not be due to any failure
on God's part.
2. 1 Peter 1:5 — Apostasy would not be caused by a lack of
God's power
3. John 10:27-29 — No one can pluck the saved out of God's
hand.
B. The Question Of Disagreement Is, "Can A Believer Choose To
Quit Obeying God And Thereby Cease Believing?"
1. The Calvinist denies man's ability to make such a
choice, but his conclusions make God a respecter of
persons and denigrates man's will to the level of a
robot, Rom. 2:11; Acts 10:34-35.
2. Man is a free moral agent who can choose to believe or
to reject, and so long as he lives in the flesh man can
change his spiritual condition and eternal destiny, cf.
Ezekiel 18:20-24.
III. SAVING FAITH IS NOT THE ACT OF A MOMENT BUT THE ATTITUDE OF
A LIFE.
A. It Is Possible For One To Believe Only Temporarily.
1. Jesus illustrated this fact in the parable of the
sower, Luke 8:11-15
2. He warned about branches which would be cut off, John
15:1-6
3. The scriptures exhort "brethren" to guard against
"departing" with a heart of "unbelief," Heb. 3:12-14
a. A parallel is made with the Israelites who perished
in the wilderness because of "unbelief,"
Heb. 3:15-19. (They were not atheists, but they
chose to quit obeying God!)
b. We too can have the "promise" and still "come short
of it," Heb. 4:1.
c. We must continue in obedient faith lest we fall like
the Israelites, Heb. 4:11.
B. One Must Keep On Believing To Continue In Grace And
Eternal Life.
1. Saving faith is the kind which will "keep" the word and
"bring forth fruit with patience" (i.e. steadfastness,
endurance, perseverance), Luke 8:15. This is in contrast
to those who "for a while believe" (v. 13).
2. Those who "continue" (i.e. retain and observe His word)
shall be saved, 1 Tim. 4:16. This is in contrast to
those who "depart from the faith" (v. 1).
3. There are two possible courses open to the disciple:
a. He can "continue in the faith," Col 1:21-23;
2 Tim 3:13-15.
b. Or he can "draw back," Heb. 10:38; Luke 12:37-40.
4. One born of God cannot keep on practicing sin; instead,
he will live a life of practicing righteousness,
1 John 3:7-10. (See NASV)
a. "Doth not commit sin" (KJV}, v. 9, certainly does
not mean "cannot commit a sin" for this would
contradict John's own statements, 1 John 1:8-2:2
b. "The present active infinitive "hamartanein" can
only mean 'and he cannot go on sinning.'" (A. T.
Robertson, Word Pictures In The New Testament,
Vol. Vl, p. 223)
c. He will no longer "serve sin" (v. 6) or let sin
"reign in his mortal body" (v. 12), but he "liveth
unto God" (v. 10), cf. Rom. 6:1-14.
IV. EXAMPLES AND WARNINGS OF FALLING FROM GRACE
A. N.T. Examples Of Believers Who Fell Away
1. Simon, Acts 8:5-24
a. Simon "believed" and was baptized, v. 13. (How could
one deny he was in a saved condition?)
b. He sought to purchase the gift of imparting the Holy
Spirit, vv. 18-20.
c. He was in the "gall of bitterness" and "bond of
iniquity," v. 23. (Who would deny he was then in a
lost condition?)
d. He was told to "repent" and "pray" for forgiveness
v. 22. (He was not told to be baptized again because
he was already a child of God. However, he was as a
child who had lost his inheritance, and therefore he
needed to seek forgiveness of his heavenly Father,
cf. 1 John 1:7-10; James 5:16)
2. Those who are justified by the Law of Moses, Gal. 5:3-4
3. Hymenaeus and Alexander, I Tim. 1:19-20
4. Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:1-10
5. Those whose faith is "overthrown," 2 Tim. 2:16-18
(IMPORTANT OBSERVATION: It is true that some may fall away
who were never sincerely committed as believers. They may
have followed for family or social reasons instead of
conviction, cf. 1 John 2:19. But the examples listed above
do not fall into this category. It is quite a sobering and
serious indictment to say that all who have fallen away
were "pretenders." The advocates of once saved, always
saved need to find a better quibble than this!)
B. N.T. Warnings Against Falling Away
1. 1 Cor. 9:27 — Paul buffeted his body lest he become a
"castaway."
2. 1 Cor. 10:12 — "Take heed lest ye fall."
3. Heb. 6:4-6 — Some develop such hardened consciences
that it becomes impossible to renew them to repentance!
Notice:
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THEY WERE ONCE SAVED |
} THEY FELL AWAY |
4. Heb. 10:26-31 — Sorer punishment than physical death
awaits those who turn away from the truth. Notice:
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THEY WERE ONCE SAVED
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} |
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5. 2 Peter 2:20-22 — The latter end is worse than the
first. Notice:
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THEY WERE ONCE SAVED
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} |
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6. James 5:19-20 — Faithful Christians should seek to
restore a brother who has erred from the truth because
when he is converted, his soul is saved from spiritual
death.
V. IF A BELIEVER "HATH EVERLASTING LIFE," HOW CAN IT BE TAKEN
AWAY?
A. Eternal Life Is Possessed Only In The form Of A Promise
For The Future.
1. 1 John 2:24-25 — "This is the promise that He hath
promised us...."
2. Titus 1:2 — "In hope of eternal life which God ...
promised...."
3. Romans 8:24 — "Hope that is seen is not hope...."
4. Mark 10:29-30 — "... in the world to come, eternal
life."
B. Like Any Promise With Conditions, Our Destiny Can Be
Changed.
l. Unbelievers have the promise of being lost.
a. "He that believeth not is condemned already,"
John 3:18.
b. The "wrath of God abideth on him," John 3:36.
2. Can those who have the promise of being "condemned
already change their destiny? Certainly! (cf.
Ezek. 18:20-24)
a. Unbelievers have the free moral agency to choose to
believe!
b. Consistency forces us to conclude that believers
likewise have the free moral agency to quit obeying
God and thereby become unbelievers!
3. The conditions governing the promise of everlasting
life is a continuation of hearing and believing (present
tense), John 5:24; 1 John 5:11-13.
a. If one remains a believer, he has passed out of
death into life (as of this moment of speaking).
b. The Greek tense used in John 5:24 does not affirm a
state of irrevocable permanency. One can cease
hearing and believing and thereby pass back from
life into condemnation (cf. Heb. 3:12).
4. Eternal life is not the consequence of a moment's act
of faith sometime in the past, but it is our promised
possession based on the condition of a present living
faith.
CONCLUSION: As we conclude our studies in Calvinism, consider
this illustration to help understand bow man can act with a free
will of choice and still serve under the reign of our sovereign
God. A famous department store advertises its plan for giving
away $1,000. A certificate appears in the newspaper stating that
on the following Monday they would sound a trumpet at a
particular moment of the management's choosing, and all who were
in the store who also possessed a copy of the certificate would
be given $1,000. The certificate would serve as the store's
assurance (earnest) this plan would be fulfilled.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
1. Having "heard" their offer, would you go? Having "believed"
would you take the certificate with you and obey all the
instructions? (cf. Eph. 1:13)
2. Would the $1,000 be earned by meritorious "works"? Or be given
by "grace"? (cf. Eph. 2:8-10)
3. Was the plan chosen? Or were specific individuals "elected,"
"predestinated," or "chosen" by the management? In other words,
did the individuals who collected the money receive it because
they were specifically chosen before the conditions were
advertised, or were they "the elect" who received the reward
because they complied with the conditions (plan) which had been
"chosen"? (cf., Eph. 1:3-14)
4. Would you have any right to claim the $1,000 if you did not
follow the instructions? Even if you believed (mentally agreed
with) the advertisement? (cf. Mark 16:16: John 12:42-43)
5. What if you went to the store with the certificate in hand but
left before the trumpet sounded? Could you still claim the
$1,000? (cf. Heb. 3:12-14)
The obvious answers to these questions should help us in
understanding God's scheme of redemption. He is sovereign. By
grace He extends salvation to all men. Just as the store's
conditions of reward were predetermined and could not be altered
by the public; likewise God has chosen the plan of salvation
through Christ. However, God allows man to be a free moral agent,
and whether we are saved or lost will be determined by our
response of faith.