Once Saved, Always Saved –
Fact or Fiction?
- "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21
Once saved, always saved. That is the cry so often heard from many of the pulpits today. "I can do whatever I want, as long as I have accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour. Why I could go out and mow down a crowd of people with a machine gun and if I were to die at that very moment, I would be saved." Many people believe this teaching today, but is it true? Once we have accepted Jesus, can we do whatever we want and still be saved. Most people who believe this teaching will quote the following Bible verse as proof: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38, 39
Now this is a wonderful Bible promise that God has given us and it should inspire us all. But does it say once a person is born again, it is impossible for him to lose his way and be lost? In fact, is this verse talking about salvation or eternal life at all? No, this verse is clearly talking about God's unconditional love towards man, not unconditional salvation. Salvation is conditional! You might also notice that the word "sin" was not included in the list of things which are unable to separate us from the love of God.
If we continue in sin, after we have asked Jesus to be our personal Saviour, are we really in a saved relationship? "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Hebrews 10:26
Let me challenge you by reading the following Bible verses regarding eternal life and see if you don't agree. You would really rather know now before its too late, wouldn't you?
The verses below were all taken from the King James Bible. They were purposely not italicized for easier reading.
- Pure In Heart Shall See God
- • "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3
• "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5
• "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8
• "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20
• "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21
• "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22
• "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3
• "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:16• "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." Luke 10:25-28• "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3
• "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5
• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
• "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." John 5:24
• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." John 6:47
• "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54
• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." John 12:24, 25
• "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21
• "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Romans 2:13
• "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9
• "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8
• "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8
• "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" Hebrews 5:8, 9
• "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12
• "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" James 2:5
• "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter 4:17, 18
• "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12
• "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Jude 1:21
• "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:7
• "...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10
• "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Revelation 2:11
• "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." Revelation 3:5
• "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Revelation 3:11
• "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Revelation 3:21
• "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Revelation 21:7
• "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12
• "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14
• "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4
- There Are No Shortcuts
- The bottom line in all of this is, if we are going to spend eternity with Jesus, we must be born again, meek, love him, pure in heart, converted, baptized, born of the water and the spirit, do the will of our Father, do His commandments, be an overcomer, be obedient, endureth temptation, etc. There are no shortcuts to heaven... If there were, Jesus would not have had to come to this earth, and die for us. We can trace all of the misery and suffering in the world today back to one person's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. If God were to take one unrepentant sinner to heaven with Him, sin would rise up again.
Did you notice in Revelation 3:5 that unless you are an overcomer, Jesus will blot your name out of the book of life... Only the names of the born again are written in the book of life in the first place. So if we had only one verse in all of the Bible to show that a person can lose his salvation and that it is conditional, it would be this verse.
Now lets look at the following verses from 1 John 3:2-15. These verses really go into depth regarding the born again person. Please look at the whole chapter from your Bible and read it.
- 1 John 3:2-15
- 2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
3 "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."5 "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin."
6 "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."
7 "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous."
8 "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
10 "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."
15 "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
In conclusion, according to the above Bible verses, obedience most certainly does affect our salvation. It surely affected Adam and Eve. Is that not why we lost our first inheritance, due to their disobedience, back in the Garden of Eden. Yet thousands of years later people think they can do as they like and still be saved. I guess my point in all of this is this, if you are not having victory over sin in your life and you keep constantly committing the same sins, over and over again, then maybe you need to stop and ask yourself this most important question. Am I converted??? Am I on the pathway to heaven? Or am I just fooling myself...
All text from the King James Bible, all emphasis supplied.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7, 8
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