IF YOU ARE BORN AGAIN AND YOU THINK YOU CAN GO ON SINNING, YOU COULD NOT BE ANYMORE WRONG!!! It is not once saved always saved... ONCE SAVED - ALWAYS SAVED? THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER JOHN 10:28, 29 Jesus said And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Fathers hand. JOHN 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. PHILIPPIANS 1:6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ: You gave your heart to Jesus. You honestly desired to be changed, to have a new heart, to be righteous from the inside out. You were baptized in the name of Jesus - and the name of His Father, and the name of the Spirit. You are now part of the body of Christ, His church, His bride. Your name is written in Heaven, in the Book of Life. No one, not even Satan himself, can take you away from your Savior. Youre safe. Youre secure forever. Right? Well, yes - and no. Its easy to see that as long as you want a relationship with Him, Christ your Savior will allow nothing to sever that relationship. But what happens if you should turn your back on Christ and go back to a life of willful sin without regard for God or fellow man? Does God ever have grounds for divorce?? GOD IS ULTIMATELY CONCERNED WITH OUR FREE WILL. God created Adam and Eve in His own image. Man was given free will. Without free will there can be no love, for love by definition must be freely given. Men are not androids, programmed to act within narrow defined parameters. To God, this freedom of choice was so important that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son rather than create man without this freedom. The Father knew of course, that one day Lucifer, His highest creation, would rebel against Him never to return. He knew that Adam and Eve would choose to doubt His love, and to disobey His command never to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He knew that only a portion of their descendants would finally be reconciled. He knew what it would take to win them back. And yet He created beings with the freedom to choose. WILL WE LOVE AND TRUST HIM, OR NOT? Obedience is an outward sign, a result of our trust relationship with God. If we love and trust our Father, we will obey Him because we believe that He knows what is best for us. When we disobey God, we are really saying, I dont believe you, I think you are keeping something good from me. This is the rationale that Satan used at the tree in the garden. Being saved is not just a legal manipulation. Being saved means that we have come to trust God completely. We have entered a relationship which allows God to make changes in our thoughts, desires, and actions. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED? Im saved, He says. I will live forever. Someday I will live in a beautiful city with streets made of gold. Yes, that can all be true. He can live forever in a beautiful place. But there is much more to salvation. We are saved from sin - not just from death and unpleasantness. We are saved from the selfishness within our own hearts. Christ Himself through His Spirit comes to live in us. We live mind to mind with our Savior. Through us He pours out His gentleness, His kindness, His patience, His unselfishness, His power, and His truth - His love. We enter into a living, dynamic relationship with a living being - our Lord. Some people very much want to live forever in Heaven, but they are not so concerned with real day to day righteousness. They want the rewards but not necessarily the relationship. Yet it is the relationship which leads to the final reward. We cannot have one without the other. CAN A MAN CHOOSE TO LEAVE GOD? HEBREWS 3:12-14 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; Theres that word again - unbelief. What did Jesus say, If you believe. The above text suggests that one can believe in Christ, and then be deceived into unbelief. The Israelites who died in the wilderness, could not enter into the promised land because of unbelief. Their disobedience was proof of their disbelief. If we believe, we will obey. If we refuse to obey, it is because we do not truly believe in the rightness of God. MATTHEW 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 1 JOHN 1:7 But if we walk in the light .... the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. ROMANS 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 1 JOHN 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. The words IF, HOLD, WALK, CONTINUE, ABIDE, REMAIN, all suggest an ongoing relationship, rather than a one time decision. The word if stresses an ongoing choice between options. 2 TIMOTHY 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]. If we deny [him], he also will deny us: JOHN 15:3-6 Now you are clean (saved) through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me....If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. Here clearly are those believers who are saved. They have been forgiven of their sins. They are clean. Yet Christ tells them that they will be cut off the tree like a withered branch, and cast into the fire, unless they continue to abide in Him. Again notice the words SUFFER, AND ABIDE are commands to continue. Again the word if suggests alternatives, and free will. 1 CORINTHIANS 9:27 Paul himself said, . . . lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (rejected) If anyone was in a saved condition, it was Paul. The apostle to the Gentiles - stoned, imprisoned, whipped, shipwrecked, all for the cause of Christ. Yet here Paul says there is a chance that even He could be castaway, if He does not continue to abide in Christ, and thereby keep His commandments. ROMANS 11:17-22 Paul speaking to a Gentile convert says, ...some of the branches be broken off, and thou... wert grafted in...Boast not agaist the branches...For if God spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest He also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. First please notice that some, not all, of the natural branches (biological descendants of Abraham) were cut off because of unbelief. God has not broken His covenant with Israel. His covenant with Abraham continues to this day for any Jew who comes to believe in Christ. Paul here tells the Gentile convert that He has been grafted into the tree (the true Israel - the believing descendants of Abraham). He has become part of the church. He is blessed of God. He is saved. His name has been written in Heaven. Yet just like the unbelieving Jews, he can and will be cut off if he does not continue in the faith. SOME WILL DEPART 1 TIMOTHY 4:1 ...some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits 1 TIMOTHY 5:15 For some have already turned aside after Satan. REVELATION 2:4 (Speaking to the church of Ephesus) ...because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent 2 PETER 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2 PETER 1:9-10 Peter tells the brethren to give all diligence to their growth in knowledge and virtue, But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. (He lacks faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity.) Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Peter here seems to be saying that if one does not give diligence or attention to Christian growth, he could stumble and fall away and thereby loose his election or entrance into the everlasting kingdom of Christ. In other words - he could loose his salvation. HEBREWS 10:26 For if we sin (are sinning or continue to sin) willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. This verse describes exactly the condition of the callous individual who believes that he has been saved and therefore cannot ever be lost. He goes on sinning without even trying to stop, all the while believing that he is in a saved condition. There is nothing that God can do for this person, because he does not sense his need. EZEKIEL 33:13 When I say to the righteous, [that] he shall surely live (eternally); if he trusts to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it (the second death). Here is the man who believes that his salvation is a fact, which nothing can alter. He has been righteous and will receive his reward. Because he believes that his reward is certain, he becomes careless. He does not feel his need of continued heavenly support. He does not stay close to Christ or pray for victory. And what happens? He commits iniquity - of course. The text is clear - he will die in his iniquity, with his sin unforgiven. THE MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES REVELATION 1:1 - 3:22 John the apostle was given a message for each of seven churches. Each message was given by Christ Himself. Each message gives a command, and each message gives a promise of reward for those who follow the command. To Ephesus, the message is given by the One that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (Rev. 2:1, 1:13,20). The command is given: ...repent and do the first works... (Rev. 2:5). The promise: TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH, will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). The implied message would be that whomever does NOT overcome, will NOT eat of the tree of life. To Smyrna, the message is given by the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; (Rev. 2:8). The command is given: ...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Rev. 2:10). The additional statement is made: HE THAT OVERCOMETH shall not be hurt of the second death (Rev. 2:11). The implication - that the one who is NOT faithful, and does NOT overcome, will NOT receive the crown of life, and will die the second death. The second death is the lake of fire (Rev. 20:6,14). Remember that these messages were not given to unbelievers. They were given to the churches. To Sardis, the message is given by he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars (Rev. 1:16,20). The command: Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: (Rev. 3:2). And the promise: Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy. HE THAT OVERCOMETH, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels (Rev. 3:4-5). If Christ does not confess the name of a sinner before His Father, that sinner will be lost. His name will be blotted from the Book of Life, and he will die the second death (Rev. 20:15). No one will enter the New Jerusalem whos name is not found written in the Book of Life (Rev. 21:27). To Philadelphia, the message is given by ...he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; (Rev. 3:7, 1:11,18). The command is given to ...hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Rev. 3:11). The promise: HE WHO OVERCOMETH will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and [I will write upon him] my new name (Rev. 3:12). The crown here referred to is the crown of life. To receive this crown is to receive eternal life. The key of David is the key to life - eternal life (Rev. 1:18). To Laodicea, the message is again given by Christ, ...the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14). To command: buy from Me gold, and white raiment, and eyesalve. Hear my voice and open the door (Rev. 3:18-21). The promise: I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:21). To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne (Rev. 3:21). Anyone who refuses to open his heart to Christ will not receive eternal life. THE LAMBS BOOK OF LIFE REVELATION 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lambs book of life. LUKE 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. HEBREWS 12:22-24 But yea are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant... PHILIPPIANS 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yoke-fellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellow-labourers, whose names [are] in the book of life. REVELATION 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the beast), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. REVELATION 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. REVELATION 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy (Revelation), God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book. REVELATION 3:4-5 4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh...I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. Our name is written in the Lambs book of life when we come to God in repentance and faith. We receive forgiveness. The words blot out his name, and take away his part tell us that it is possible for us to loose salvation and eternal life. Once saved - always saved is not taught here. LAST RITES - LAST MINUTE SALVATION A Mafia keeps a priest close by for emergencies. Can the mass, administered by a priest just before, or even just after death (before the soul leaves the body), gain a place in Heaven for one who committed murder after murder in life, with no thought of reform? The thief on the cross asked for and received assurance of a place in Christs kingdom (Luke 23:42,43). Does this mean that any one of us may ask for and receive forgiveness and salvation in the last moments of our life? Only God knows the heart. If the person who is dying is asking for absolution just so that he/she will go to the good place instead of the bad place - then the answer is no. On the other hand, if that person is genuinely sorry for his sin, if he has truly caught a glimpse of the great love of God, if he greatly desires a relationship with God and with His Son for all eternity, then the answer is yes. REASSURANCE The human mind cannot live with the thought of burning torment without end. The individual seeks reassurance that, no matter what happens, no matter what he does or does not do in the future, he will never go there. This is why the once saved - always saved doctrine is so important to those who believe there is a place called Hell. CONSIDER A FEW EXAMPLES OF PERSONS WHO WERE IN A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AND THEN FELL AWAY. SOME REPENTED AND WERE RESTORED AGAIN, SOME WERE NOT. David: (PSALM 51:11) take not thy holy spirit from me. (v. 12) Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Saul: (1 SAMUEL 10:6,9) Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. He was converted. (v. 9) God gave him another heart. (1 SAMUEL 31:1-6) Saul committed suicide rather than be captured by the enemy. (1 SAMUEL 28:6,16) The Lord refused to communicate with Saul. The Lord had departed from Saul. (1 SAMUEL 28:7-25) Saul consulted with the spirit medium of Endor. (1 CHRONICLES 10:13,14) for asking [counsel of one that had] a familiar spirit, to inquire [of it]...therefore he (God) slew him. Solomon: Was close to the Lord when he began his reign as king. Then he married many heathen wives and they turned his heart away from God and he built alters to their false gods. In his old age he returned to God but not in time to save the kingdom of Israel from the result of his influence. Judas: He walked with Jesus for three years, and accepted him as the Messiah. Then he betrayed him. Mary Magdalene: Saved from seven demons. (Mark 16:9) The parable of the Prodigal Son: He was free to leave again if he chose. (Luke 15:11-32) (1 Timothy 4:1) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. THE CITIES OF REFUGE When a murderer fled to a city of refuge he was safe from the avenger of blood only so long as he remained inside the city (Numbers 35:26- 27). If he ventured outside, the avenger could kill him. So we are safe from Satan the destroyer only so long as we remain in Christ our Refuge. Jesus is Lord pastor st onge
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 22:14:20 +0000
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