ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED I being raised in the Baptist Church, would like to address your comments. I am not defending OSAS, But I am criticizing the terminology being used to describe the heresy of Lawlessness. Which is essentially what OSAS without, obedience is.... I am pretty sure you are in agreement here, and thats what I am defending is the doctrine of eternal security.... It is my exp...erience of Late, that the doctrine of eternal security is coming under attack from the opposite front of legalism (works based righteousness).... Both Lawlessness, and Legalism, are opposed to the Gospel of Grace. They pit Law and grace against one another, as in a title bout, with Paul in one corner (fresh off his Damascus road training), and James in the other corner proclaiming faith without works is dead. This is how Satan has kept the church divided for all these centuries, and he will continue to do so. From my experience, here is how Satan works. If you are debating with a legalist that has come into your church, Satan will send an ally to fight against that legalist, should you begin to defeat the legalist in your debate. Once this ally gains a foot in the door, and your trust, they in turn will attempt (Note the word Tempt in there) to lead you down the road of Lawlessness. This can go in the opposite direction as well, where the ally is a legalist fighting against lawlessness. Why would Satan want to attack the doctrine of eternal security, if it leads to Lawlessness? Because he knows that whichever way you fall, to the right or to the left you are in his grasp, And he sees that his fight towards legalism is gaining traction in the churches. To make us doubt our eternal security is his goal, that we will become ineffective warriors for the Kingdom of God. Satan always fights from two towers, But the Lord is our strong Tower (Psalm 61:3), and he is ONE. Without Law, you cannot have grace. Without grace, the Law does not lead to righteousness of heart, Only coercive obedience. The two are inseparable, But Satan wants them apart and contradicting each other. If then, You are declaring OSAS a doctrine of the devil, then You must also declare earned salvation a doctrine of the devil as well. For it is by Christ alone, that we are saved, eternally so. If one is truly Born again (Put to death the old self), then they are always his. Though we will stumble and sin, or even become prodigal as I once was, we never lose our position as adoptive sons of God. This is because when God looks down from heaven, he sees not our righteousness (filthy rags), but he sees the righteousness of Jesus imputed upon us. So when I say I believe in once saved always saved, It is not a license to sin, But an obligation to obey. And conversely my obedience to the Law has nothing to do with my salvation or any merited favor, which is by grace alone through faith alone. To Use a real world example, Drinking, and drunkenness. I do not drink anymore. When I returned as a prodigal, he accepted me as someone who would enjoy a few drinks, and get drunk, Partially to drown out my sorrows, and partially to hang out with the guys. I stopped punishing myself for drinking, and he in turn by his grace, took the desire away to have a drink anymore. I did not conquer drinking, he did. I surrendered my fight against it, and he won the battle. In fact he had won that battle long ago. This is why the Legalist will always fail. On the cross, Gods wrath was satisfied. Yet the Legalist will punish themselves for their failure. Inevitably this leads to concealing sins, and true sanctification never occurs. Likewise, the Lawless person will continue to wallow in their sin, and true sanctification never occurs, because they have failed to surrender their will to Gods will. The solution is to stop trying to impress God, and surrender your will to his will. This is knowing God, and Obeying his commands. It is my Hope that you understand this distinction that I am making here and walk the narrow road that leads to salvation. The One where Law and Grace are One, As God and his Son are One. That we, through the power of the Holy Spirit in us may all become perfectly One. (John 17) ~ Mike McVey
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 16:37:58 +0000
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