"For it is not the man who commends himself
that is accepted,
but the man whom the Lord commends."
2Corinthians
10:18
Some non-Catholics teach that all you have to do to achieve
salvation is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and your salvation is assured in this life. You only
have to make a once in a lifetime commitment and no matter what you do for the
rest of your life, you can be certain that you will go to Heaven when you die.
Once you do this, it is an impossibility that you will ever lose your salvation.
That train of thought, however, is not Biblical, and in reality it is a sin of
presumption.
Jesus did not die just so we could sin.
"For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the
Lord, and believe in your heart that GOD has raised Him from the dead, You shall
be saved." Romans 10:9
"For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." Romans 10:13
This is what St. Paul said. Some non-Catholics use these
two verses, taken completely out of context, to try to provide justification for
their false, man made, "Once saved, always saved" belief.
A text without
a context is only a pretext.
If they would only read further on in the
same chapter they would clearly see the context of Romans 10:9 and 13,
and the fallacy of this false belief:
Romans 10:14 "But how are men to
call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him
of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a
preacher?"
In this verse we see that in order to properly hear the word of
GOD so that they may believe, there is a condition attached.
They cannot
"believe in Him" unless they have heard it, and have heard it from a preacher.
Does that verse mean any preacher, even a false one (2Cor 11:12-15)?
No,
definitely not, for Holy Scripture teaches that it could not be just any
preacher, but only a preacher who is sent by GOD.
The very
next verse will teach us this.
Romans 10:15, And how can men preach
unless they are sent? As it is written (Isaiah
52:7, Nahum 1:15*), "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good
news!" (Please note that "good news" is the meaning of the word
"Gospel".)
"And how can men preach unless they are sent?"
Sent?
If anyone
has been sent, then it stands to reason that "someone" had to do the
sending. Isn't that true?
By simple deduction, and by common
sense, the question must be asked that they who were
sent then, were sent by whom?
In this verse we can see and hear the
death knell of the "Once saved, always saved" false belief.
The word for
"sent", as used in the Greek language of which the book of
Romans was written, is apostello.
Doesn't that sound like another
Biblical word for which we are all familiar?
Apostello means to send
out properly on a mission. From apostello we get the Greek
word "apostolos", meaning "Apostle".
The Greek word "Apostolos"
means "he who is sent".
So who are the "they" who are those
sent, and by whom are "they" sent?
The same Greek word,
apostello, is used by Jesus Christ when He spoke to His
"Apostolos" in John 20:21:
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send
you."
It is obvious that those who are sent (apostello)
by GOD are also given authority by Jesus Christ who is GOD.
That
authority was delegated to the Apostles alone by Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:15
had said, "And how can men preach unless they are sent?". I must
ask, "Sent by whom and with what authority?"
"And He
appointed twelve, to be with Him, and to be sent out to preach..." Mark
3:14
So, those who are sent, are sent with the authority given to
them by GOD. Consequently, the only persons authorized to preach are the
Apostles, and those who followed them in a long line of succession, the office
of the Bishops (Psalms 109:8, Acts 1:20).
This was said by Saint Paul:
"So, if I brag a little too much about the authority which the Lord gave us, I'm not
ashamed. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt you."
2Corinthians 10:8
In addition there were a few others mentioned in Scripture
who were appointed directly by the Lord such as the seventy who were
sent in Luke 10:1.
There is another Greek word for
sent, and it is pempo.
Pempo is used in verses where sent means
not sent with the authority of GOD, such as in Matthew
14:10.
Non-Catholic preachers and ministers will have a hard time proving
that they were sent by the authority of GOD since they are not in the
line of succession going all the way back to the Apostles. So by what authority
do these men preach?
"Let every soul be in subjection to the higher
authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are
ordained by God. Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the
ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves
judgment."
Romans 13:1-2
None of those non-Catholic preachers and
ministers can claim that they have GOD given pastoral authority, since it would
be at most only a private revelation if that, and not a public one, so how could
anyone "prove" that their claim to "GOD gave me the authority" is to be
believed? Anyone can utter the excuse that "GOD told me". History is replete
with heretics, criminals, dictators, and despots who used that term as their
supposed justification for their evil deeds.
In Luke 10:16, Jesus said,
"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects
me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." That verse is a verse of authority and it is a
verse of infallibility as well.
It is a verse also of obedience for those who were sent. Now there are
well over 39,000 sects of diverse denominations that call themselves Christian,
each with at least one preacher and all of them are preaching something
different from one another. So, given the fact that there can be only one
truth and with obedience
to only one authority, which
one of those tens of thousands is the model of obedience and has the authority
and infallibility given to him or her by Jesus Christ?
Which one of the tens
of thousands of them could lay claim to Luke 10:16?
"...and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me
rejects him who sent me."
What else could this part of Luke 10:16 mean other than to be applied to those
who reject the teaching of His "Apostolos" and their successors through the one
Church which He founded?
Here is another verse with a similarity to Luke
10:16:
"We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of
God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error."
1John 4:6
Now that we have taken Romans 10:9-15 in context, it
is clear that verse 15 negates any thought of "Once saved, always saved" as
being a foregone conclusion.
But that is not all, as there is more which
negates the false belief of, "Once saved, always saved" in Romans 10:
Romans
10:16, But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has
believed what he has heard from us?"
How can anyone obey the
Gospel when they are preached to by someone who is not sent? And just
who are "us"?
"Us" are those who are
sent with the authority of GOD.
Romans 10:17, "So faith comes
from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ."
So
from where does "the preaching of Christ" in absolute truth come? Again, it is
from those who are sent with the authority to do so given to them by
GOD. Authority from GOD is the only guarantee for those sent, of
preaching only one truth, and with only one authority. It is the lack
of the authority from GOD that has created the tens of thousands of sects of
diverse denominations that we see today, with all of them preaching their own
individual interpretation of Scripture. Theirs is nothing more than personal
opinionated preaching.
Truth stands alone. It comes from Jesus Christ, who
said, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life" in John 14:6. Truth is not
dependent upon private opinions. Jesus Christ said that he cares not for the
opinions of men, Mark 12:14.
Therefore the opinions of mankind have no
bearing whatsoever on doctrinal truth.
Romans 10:18, "But I ask, have
they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the
earth, and their words to the ends of the world."
Whose voice "has gone out
to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world"?
Again, it is
those who are sent, the Apostles and their successors whose
words have gone out to all the earth and to the ends of the world as commanded
by Jesus Christ Himself to the Apostles in:
Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came
and said to them, "All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, to the close of the age."
And in:
Acts 1:8,
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and
to the end of the earth."
From what I have presented here
for Romans 10, it is to be a lesson learned
that no one should ever
take a verse or two out of context in order to promote a false
belief.
It is impossible for anyone to write a text of which any
person could take a line or two out of context and twist it to mean something
entirely different from what the author had intended. By taking verses out of
context, a true statement could easily be transformed into something other than
the truth.
Another verse which they use to try to support the "Are you Saved"
misnomer, is John 10:28.
"And I give
them everlasting life; and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch
them out of My hand."
See also John
6:37, "And him who comes to Me I will not
cast out."
Both of those verses
indicate that Jesus Christ will be loyal to us and will never cast us
out.
However, He left open the fact that we could simply jump out of His hand
and walk away from Him by not keeping His Word.
Here is yet another verse
used by those who say they are forever "saved".
"For GOD so loved the
world that He gave his only-begotten Son, that those who believe in Him may not
perish, but may have life everlasting." John 3:16
It seems at first
glance from that verse, that all one has to do is to believe in Jesus Christ to
be saved. Again, when the verse is understood from the original Greek text, this
is not the case at all. When the underlying Greek wording is analyzed, their
argument is lopped off from the vine as yet another fruitless branch would
be.
The Greek word used here for "believe", is "Pisteuvw", or when
transliterated into English is "Pisteuo". This Greek word means, to believe, to
rely on, and to "obey". To "obey" involves works, which means we must bear good
fruit.
"Why do you call me 'Lord,
Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words
and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a
house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose,
the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been
well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a
house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and
immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." Nothing defiled may enter the kingdom of heaven. What is the message from these two examples from
John 5 and 8? What if both sinned again? In the first case it would seem that
indeed, SOMETHING WORSE WOULD BEFALL THE MAN and in the second case it would be
a clear disobedience by the woman to a direct command of Jesus. I repeat, does
that sound like, "once saved, always saved"? No way! So, can we truthfully say that we are saved? If we co-operate with
the commands of GOD, we can have hope that we will be saved. However, we
cannot assume, as some non-Catholics believe, that it is a one sided process
completed by Jesus Christ alone. He did His part, now it is up to each one of us
to do our part by our co-operation with His unlimited sacrifice on the
cross. Salvation is an ongoing process throughout our lives. It is a
life-long struggle We are being saved now: Rom 5:9-10, 1Cor 1:18,15:2, 2Cor 2:15, Phil
2:12, 1Pet 1:8-9,2:1-2. We will be saved in the future: Mt 10:22,24:13, Rom 13:11, 1Cor
3:12-15,5:5, 2Tim 2:11-13, Rev 21:6-7. We can lose our salvation: Perseverance in doing the will of the Father: For all of those who think they are already saved, I must warn
them that it is a sin of presumption to believe that false Protestant
invented doctrine, as 1Cor 10:1-12 and 2Cor 10:18 in the previous section have
told us. Interestingly, the people who believe in "Are You Saved", or "Once
Saved, Always Saved", are the same people who berate the Catholic Church for
canonizing saints. Now the word "Saint" simply means, a "Holy One", or a person
who is in heaven. So, by believing in, "Once saved, always saved", it simply
means that those who believe in it are canonizing themselves
already. In other words, since I am "saved", "I will go to heaven, and
therefore, all who are in heaven are saints, therefore I am already a saint".
"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, ©
Luke 6:46-49
Those are powerful verses against
"once saved always saved". Let us shine a bright light upon
them.
Non-Catholics believe that all we have to do is to hear His words and
accept them and they are saved. However, Jesus said not only do we have to hear
His words, but we have to DO WHAT HE TELLS US.
Here is only one example out
of many, a case in point:
Jesus said in John 10:16, "...and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." And in John
17:21, "...that all may be one."
In
those two verses are just a single example out of many that I could list. That
being said, I must ask, "Since there are now some 39,000 sects of diverse
denominations (folds) in the world today, how can any one of them claim that
they obey the words of Jesus when He commanded that we must be one?" If they do not obey
His words, then Scripture has clearly conveyed to them the fact that their house
is built without a foundation and that it will fall.
39,000 sects in
existence now is proof enough that those words of Jesus have come true.
If
those verses of Luke 6:46-49 are ignored by the tens of thousands of sects, then
the following verse has to be ignored by them as well:
"Knowing their
thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom
divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against
itself will stand;..."" Matt
12:25
United we stand. Divided we fall.
You could be a branch attached
to the vine, but just who is the vine dresser?
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser.
Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He will take away; and every branch that
bears fruit He will cleanse, that it may bear more fruit."
John 15:1-2
"For all of us must be made manifest before the tribunal
of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has won through the body,
according to his works, whether good or evil."
2Cor 5:10
See Matthew
22:8-14, the parable of the marriage feast. The one who was not dressed properly
was cast into the darkness outside where there was weeping and the gnashing of
teeth.
In Matthew 25:1-13 is the parable of the ten virgins. Five were
not prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom (Christ) and were shut out of the
marriage feast.
Then there is another parable which applies to our topic.
In Matthew 13:47-50, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a net cast into the sea
and gathers fish of every kind, both good and bad. The good fish are saved, but
what happens to the bad ones in verses 49-50? They are cast into the furnace of
fire where again there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth. All of the fish
were gathered into the net, but were all of them saved from the furnace of
fire?
Read about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46. You
probably have already noticed that both believed, but did you also notice that
only one worked? What was the final end of those who did no works? See verses
45-46. Since the goats believed, why then were they not saved also?
See,
you may think you are "saved", but a fruitless person is cut off. Now you can
readily see that salvation depends upon each one of us and on our individual
fruitful actions in a very important way.
"And there shall not enter into it (heaven) anything
defiled, nor he who practices abomination and falsehood, but only those who are
written in the book of life of the Lamb."
Revelation 21:27
Does this sound like "Once saved, always saved?"
The
people who fit this verse are not following the will of GOD, the Ten
Commandments.
"He who overcomes
shall possess these things, and I will be his GOD, and he shall be my son. But
as for the cowardly and unbelieving, and abominable and murderers, and
fornicators and sorcerers, and idolaters and all liars, their portion shall be
in the pool that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death." Revelation 21:7-8
Does this
sound like "Once saved, always saved?"
Where do liars spend all eternity
even if they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but fail to work out
their salvation by keeping the Ten Commandments? Are not "Thou shalt not lie",
and "Thou shalt not kill" two of the Ten Commandments?
According to the "Once
saved, always saved" group of believers, you can sin as much as you want after
accepting Jesus Christ and your salvation is guaranteed, regardless.
"Why
do you ask me what is good? One there who is good, and he is GOD. But if you will enter into life, OBEY THE
COMMANDMENTS." "Which commandments?"
the man asked. Jesus said, "Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal.
Never give false testimony. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as
you love yourself."
Matthew 19:17-19
These verses clearly have said that
if we do not obey the commandments, we will not have (eternal) life.
So if a
person who thinks he is "saved", and then lies or commits adultery,
how then
does he reconcile his actions with Matthew 19:17-19 and Revelation 21:7-8 and
21:27?
Jesus did cure the infirmed man at the pool in John 5:1-9, and
later He told him in verse 14, "See, you
are well! SIN NO MORE, THAT NOTHING WORSE BEFALL YOU." Does that sound like, "once saved, always
saved"?
Here is yet another example, the woman caught in adultery in John
8:1-10. Jesus had prevented her from being stoned to death, and in verse 11 He
said, "Neither do I condemn you; GO, AND
DO NOT SIN AGAIN." Again, Jesus cautioned, not to sin
again.
"Here is the
patience of the Saints, who keep the commandments of GOD, and the faith of
Jesus."
Revelation 14:12
If we are "saved" already then what is the
purpose of having to obey the commandments?
How can anyone reconcile the false man made doctrine of "once saved,
always saved" when Holy Scripture clearly tells us to, "Work out your
salvation with fear and trembling."? Phil 2:12
Nevertheless,
Catholics realize that even the fulfilling of Our Lord's requirements for
salvation is impossible without the free gift of His
grace.
as this verse, mentioned earlier, tells us:
"Work
out your salvation with fear and trembling." Phil 2:12
This verse is in
direct conflict with the notion of "Once saved, always saved".
Since
salvation is an on going life-long process:
We were saved in the past: Rom
5:1-2,8:24, Eph 2:5-8, 2Tim 1:9, Tit 3:5.
Those who believe "Once saved,
always saved", assume (presumption?) that they are written in the "Book of Life"
(Dan 12:1) in red indelible
ink, and cannot ever be removed from it no matter how much they
sin.
How then could they ever explain Ex 32:33:
"The Lord answered, 'Him
only who has sinned against Me will I strike out of My book'"?
Even St.
Paul admitted that he could lose his salvation:
"...but I chastise my body
and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself
should be rejected."
1Cor 9:27
Then there is Rom 11:22, "See, then,
the goodness and the severity of GOD: His severity towards those who have
fallen, but the goodness of GOD towards you if you
abide in His goodness; otherwise you also will be cut
off."
"I have confidence in
you the Lord, that you will not think otherwise; but
he who disturbs you will bear the penalty, whoever he may
be." Gal 5:10
"But that servant who knew his masters will, and did not
make ready for him and did not act according to his will, will be beaten with
many stripes." Luke 12:47
"You
therefore, brethren, since you know this beforehand, be on your guard lest, carried away by the error of the foolish,
you fall away from your own steadfastness." 2Pet 3:17
Is this "once saved, always saved"? Well then,
what about those who fall into this trap?
Refer to John 10:28 earlier in this
post where I said we can simply jump out of His hand and walk away from
Him.
Who are those who gloss over these verses and present a blind eye to
them?
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, witchcrafts,
enmities, contentions, jealousies, anger, quarrels, factions, parties, envies,
murders, drunkenness, carousings, and suchlike. AND CONCERNING THESE I WARN YOU,
AS I HAVE WARNED YOU, THAT THEY WHO DO SUCH THINGS WILL NOT ATTAIN THE KINGDOM OF
GOD." Gal
5:19-21
Again, does this sound like "Once saved, always saved"?
Who
can ignore Matt 25:31-46, where the shepherd will separate the sheep from the
goats and the righteous will receive their reward but the accursed will depart
into the everlasting fire?
See also, Matt 6:14-15, 7:21, 24:44-51, Mark
11:26, Luke 10:16, John 14:21, Rom 11:22, and Rev 21:8.
This virtue will
bring us to our goal:
"...but he who
has persevered to the end will be saved."
Matt 10:22, 24:13
Notice that these verses do not say that we are saved but
that we will be saved...future tense. What does "persevered" mean? Why
should anyone have to worry about perseverance if they are already
saved?
"Life eternal indeed he will give to those who by patience in
good works seek glory and honor
and immortality; but wrath and indignation to those
who are contentious, and who do not submit to the truth but assent to
iniquity." Rom 2:7-8
"And in
doing good, let us not grow tired; for in due time we shall reap if we do not
relax." Gal 6:9
"Do not therefore, lose your confidence, which has a
great reward. For you have need of patience that, doing the will of GOD, you may receive the
promise:" Heb
10:35-36
"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been
tried, he will receive the crown of life which GOD has promised to those who
love Him." Jam 1:12
"But he who has looked carefully into the perfect law
of liberty and has remained in it, not becoming a forgetful hearer but
a doer of the work, shall be blessed in his deed." Jam 1:25
"Take, brethren,
as an example of labor and patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the
Lord." Jam 5:10
"Therefore, brethren, strive even more by good works to make
your calling and election sure. For if you do this, you will not fall into sin
at any time. Indeed, in this way will be amply provided for you the entrance
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ." 2Pet
1:10-11
Well, this verse makes it clear that you need good works to help you
to your salvation.
"Once saved, always saved" does not look so promising
anymore, does it?
"Him who overcomes I will permit to eat of the tree of
life, which is the paradise of my GOD."
Rev 2:7
"Fear none of those
things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of
you into prison that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten
days. Be you faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." Rev
2:10
"And to him who overcomes, and who keeps
My works unto the end, I will give
authority over the nations." Rev 2:26
"Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall."
1Cor 10:12
Let us take this verse in
context so we all know the truth of what St. Paul has said here:
Starting
with 1Cor 10:1-4, all were believers and thought they were going to be
saved. In verses 5-10 some were lost for various reasons due to sin
(surprise!!!). Verse 11 is a warning for those today who proclaim that they are
saved. The end of ages points to today as well. Verse 12, those
who think they stand (are saved) are liable to fall.
Let us now back
up to verse 9, "We must not put the Lord to the test...".
Aren't we putting
GOD to the test when we claim that we are saved?
Now we must read
this next verse yet again to answer that question.
"For it is not the
man who commends himself that is accepted, but the man whom the Lord
commends."
2Cor 10:18
And what about this one?
"I have a clear
conscience, but that doesn't mean I have God's approval. It is the Lord who
cross-examines me."
1Cor 4:4
Aren't those who claim that they are
saved already,
prejudging themselves and are attempting to circumvent
the judgment of GOD?
See these additional verses also: John 15:4-10, 1Cor
15:58, Eph 4:14,6:10-17, 1Thes 3:8,5:21-22, 2Thes 2:15-17,
Heb12:1-15,13:9,
Jam1:4,2:14-26, 1Pet1:4-7,5:8, Rev2:17,3:5,11-12,21,21:7
Show me a genuine historical document written before 1500 in which
it is defined?
I would suggest that you re-read Matt 25:31-46. You will see
in these verses that both the sheep and the goats thought that they would be
saved, but the sin of presumption was upon the goats and they were
rejected, simply because they did no works.
Clearly, Holy Scripture has shown
that the false doctrine of once saved, always saved has no Scriptural
basis whatsoever.
"So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the
greatest of these is love."
1Cor 13:13
So if we are saved by faith
alone, then what is the purpose of Scripture telling us to have hope? There
would be no need for hope if we are saved already. What does that verse say
about love?
It says love is greater than faith. For those who say they are
saved by faith alone, are they not insinuating that faith is greater than love?
Aren't they ignoring both hope and love?
Since I mentioned the year 1500
above, there was a reason why I did. It was Martin Luther who
"invented" the false doctrine of "Once saved, always saved", when in Romans 3:28
he added the word "alone" to his German translation of Holy Scripture. That
verse then read, "...a man is justified by faith alone". This action on
his part was an embarrassment to the other reformers, and so you will not find
that little word "alone" in Romans 3:28 in the King James or any other
Protestant Bible except for Luther's.
Here is one quote from Martin
Luther regarding "Once saved always saved",
"Be a sinner and sin boldly, but
believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly... No sin will separate us from
the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a
day."
Martin Luther, letter to Melanchthon, August 1, 1521
What about
those verses I quoted previously regarding the command of Jesus to sin no
more."
Is this the meaning of "Once saved always saved"?
Can we throw
out the ten commandments now along with scores of other verses?
No, not at
all according to John 14:15, "If you love me you will keep
my commandments".
How can anyone possibly
reconcile those Words of Christ with that quote from Luther above?
Of what
purpose does that verse serve with Luther's twisted theology?
What about
"Thou shalt not commit adultery and thou shalt not kill?
Shall we believe
the words of Luther or the Words of GOD?
Did you know that Martin
Luther wrote the obituary for
his own church?
In this quote from one of his writings, he was speaking of
"Saved by Faith alone (or only)".
"If this article stands, the church stands;
if it collapses, the church collapses."
Martin Luther, Exposition of Psalms
130,4
Well, Martin, that 'article' of yours did not stand, but did
indeed collapse.
You see, your added word "alone" in your German Bible in
verse Romans 3:28
was removed by your successors and was never added in
other language translations.
I have shown more than ample evidence of that
collapse in the verses included in this writing, soooo....?
"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is
wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it
are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and
those who find it are few."
Matt
7:13-14
It would seem to me that "Once saved, always saved" is the
easy way since it requires no effort on the part of the individual. The
easy way, according to the teaching of Holy Scripture, is not the way to
eternal salvation.
"For it is not the man who commends himself that is accepted, but the man
whom the Lord commends."
2Corinthians 10:18.
In John 8:11, didn't
Jesus say to the woman about to be stoned for adultery,
"Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin
again."
Has any believer of "Once Saved, Always Saved" ever read those
two verses?
AGAIN, JESUS DID NOT DIE JUST SO WE COULD SIN ALL THE MORE.
and breaking
bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of
heart,
Praising God, and having favour with all the people.
AND THE LORD ADDED TO THE CHURCH DAILY SUCH AS SHOULD BE
SAVED."
Acts 2:46-47, King James Bible
What do those two
verses tell you?
Are those 39,000* sects of diverse denominations in the
world today of one accord?
Are they in singleness of
heart?
What about the last line?
Are you attached to the one
Church that Jesus Christ
founded?
Holy Scripture does say that in order to be saved, you must be
added to His Church, does it
not?
Written by Bob
Stanley, November 16, 1999
Updated June 6, 2006
Updated April 2,
2007
Updated March 31, 2008
Updated February, 19,
2009