There are those who hold strongly to the belief that "there is nothing a person has to do to be saved, and once they are saved there is nothing they can do to be lost. Such belief, known as "Once Saved Always Saved," "Impossibility of Apostasy," and "Eternal Security" embraces all manner of sin as being completely harmless as it relates to ones relationship with Jesus Christ. One pastor expressed his strong belief in this doctrine of "Once Saved Always Saved" by stating, "We (meaning he and his church) take the position that...."The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul. The way a man lives has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul." This is a frightening statement and is correct only in the respect that regardless of the depth of sin or the amount of sin in a persons life "prior" to coming to Jesus Christ, if they come to Him at the foot of the Cross in true repentance, confessing their sin, asking forgiveness of their sin, and giving Jesus complete control of their life then of course Jesus will forgive them, and they will be saved. However, in stark contrast to this pastors statement that "there is nothing a person has to do to be saved" and that "the speech, character, conduct, attitude and the manner in which a Christian lives from that moment on has absolutely nothing to do with their Salvation" could not be further from the truth because the Bible very clearly teaches that each and every one of those things has everything to do with the maintaining of our salvation and our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Let’s address the first part of the "once saved always saved" belief that "there is nothing a person has to do to be saved." While it is certainly true that there is nothing we can do "on our own" to save ourselves, the Bible makes very clear that obtaining God’s free gift of salvation does require action on our part which includes - (1) responding to the calling and conviction of the Holy Spirit. He does not force Himself upon anyone. We must take the action of asking Jesus Christ into our heart. (2) we must be willing to hear the Gospel message. (3) we must believe the Gospel message. (4) we must repent of our sins - (5) we must confess that we believe in God and that Jesus rose from the dead - and (6) we must remain constant and committed in our faith and our relationship with Christ. As it regards the second part of their teaching that "once saved the person can live any way he or she chooses and still retain the righteous state of their salvation", (meaning their belief is that after a person accepts Jesus there is absolutely nothing at all they can do that would cause them to lose or "fall away" from their salvation), that belief, that teaching, and the following of such is spiritual suicide. It just doesn’t work that way. The "Once saved always saved" doctrine is, in all respects, a "free license to sin" because if one believes such teaching that you can never lose your salvation no matter what you do, then it follows that there is no need to ever be on your guard against sin. The Bible says however, in very strong contradiction to such foolish thinking, that "it is impossible to have salvation while willfully walking in sin."

It was in fact satan himself who originated and first taught the doctrine of "impossibility of apostasy" or "once saved always saved" during his conversation with Eve in the Garden: "And the woman (Eve) said to the serpent, God has told us that we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God has told us that we must not eat it, or touch it, lest we die. Then the serpent (satan) said to the woman, you will not surely die" (Genesis 3: 2-4). This is the first lie recorded in the Bible, satan telling Eve that she could sin against God and she would not suffer any consequences. The "once saved always saved" doctrine still believes this same lie today. Granted it is a tempting doctrine because it tells sinful man exactly what he wants to hear. But it is, in its totality, a completely false doctrine because it clearly contradicts Scriptures throughout nearly every book of the Bible.

Let us now take the "once saved always saved" doctrinal statement that "The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul" and compare that side by side with what the Bible says as it relates to ones daily walk with Christ and the protecting or preserving of our personal salvation:

(1) Regarding the way in which we live Jesus instructs that we are to "Live in a manner denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts. Living righteously and godly in this present world!" (Titus 2:12), and that our walk must be one that is "worthy of the Lord!" (Colossians 1:10).

(2) Regarding our speech "Your speech must be sound speech, always with grace, that cannot be condemned. A speech which becometh the gospel of Christ" (Titus 2:8).

(3) Regarding our character and conduct We are to "abstain from all appearance of evil" (ungodliness) (I Thessalonians 5:22) so that "In all things our life demonstrates a consistent pattern of good works showing un-corruptness" (Titus 2:7). 

"Once saved always saved" states "the way a man lives has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul." But again, the Bible reminds us that "it is impossible to have salvation while willfully walking in sin." Scripture further teaches that to claim salvation and "maintain it" the Christian must ALWAYS "walk as Jesus walked." The way that a person lives in their relationship with Christ does in fact have everything to do with their salvation. When one is saved and for whatever reason then falls away, turning from their faith and trust in God by their own free will, that person has consciously chosen on their own accord to no longer place themselves and their natural "lost state" under the power of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, and therefore they are no longer willing partakers of His grace or of His holiness. "We are made partakers of Christ" (the Bible says) ONLY when we hold stedfast to Him unto the end (Hebrews 3:14). Faith is absolutely essential to the "obtaining" and "maintaining" of our salvation. Those who lose it are no better off than those who never had it to begin with.

Embedded into God’s prescribed plan of salvation are conditions and warnings targeted specifically toward the careful maintaining of our salvation. Conditions which are not mere underlying "options" for us but rather clear "commands" that we must adhere to. The Bible says that if a persons heart turns away from God they shall surely perish. In Galatians Paul accused some in the church of having "fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:4). He also expressly said as a statement of fact, not supposition, that some "shall depart from the faith" (I Timothy 4:1). This statement in and of itself is clear indication that when we accept Christ as personal Lord and Saviour there are conditions that we must meet if we are to remain faithful and hold fast to our salvation. There are many passages in scripture that warn us to meet those conditions lest we fall away and forfeit our salvation. Jesus describes those who have chosen to follow Him as "branches of the True Vine" (Jesus) by Whom they have been cleansed and made whole as a result of their choice to seek forgiveness through the Cross of Christ. He then says that if any branch (any Christian) does not abide (always remain in Christ) and bear good fruit, that persons righteousness is withered away and Christ casts them away, they are cast into the fire and burned (John 15:6). The indication of His words here are indeed striking and very clear. If we do not maintain our faith in Christ and the Cross then the ultimate result is separation from God. Further the Bible declares that we are reconciled to God through the death of His Son "IF we continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved (or fall) away from the hope of the gospel" (Colossians chapter 1). This says that it is indeed possible for a person not to continue in their faith, thereby resulting in a once saving relationship with Him to become forfeit. As by our own free will we accept Christ, it is by that same free will that we can also turn away from Him. The Bible also states "we are made partakers of Christ IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end" (Hebrews 3:14). That word "IF" denotes a condition. These scriptures and many others cause the unbiblical doctrine of "once saved always saved" to fall flat on its face.

"Do anything you want" claims the "once saved always saved" doctrine and its proponents, "commit any sin and any number of sins and you never need to worry about losing your salvation." However, the Bible emphatically contradicts over and over again in no uncertain terms this completely false and damnable teaching. In Luke 8:13 Jesus Himself states clearly and with simple wording which cannot possibly be misunderstood that there are those "Which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away!" This, yet once again, completely refutes the unscriptural doctrine of "once saved always saved". In Hebrews chapter six the apostle describes the case of those who once accepted Christ as their personal Saviour but then "fell away," willfully casting away all forms of godliness and no longer believing in Christ and the Cross. And of such he states "it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance."  Why? Simply because (as the Bible states) if the Cross of Christ is rejected by an individual after having at an earlier point once accepted it, then "there remains no sacrifice to cover their sins" (Hebrews 10:26) because there is no other way that God will accept. Additionally, James 4:4 states clearly "know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." Once we have accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour we simply can NOT go on living as the world does in open, rebellious sin and still be saved. It simply is not possible, period! It is impossible for several reasons: (1) it is not taught anywhere in God’s Word, (2) it is not part of God’s prescribed plan of Salvation, and (3) it certainly contains no biblical basis of merit.

Those individuals who hold to the "once saved always saved" belief will often quote the following Bible verse in an effort to "prove" or "support" their belief: "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 unarguably a wonderful and comforting Bible promise that God has given and it should serve to inspire each of us. But does this Scripture actually say that once a person is born again that it is impossible for him or her to lose their way and be lost? No it does not. This scripture is speaking only about God’s unconditional love towards man. In no way is it speaking of unconditional salvation. Salvation is conditional! Read those verses again (Romans 8: 38&39) and take careful note of two very important facts. First, note that the word "sin" is not included in the list of things which are unable to separate us from the love of God. Note as well that it states that those things cannot separate us from "the love OF God" (for us), not OUR love for God.

Over and over again the Bible gives warning to be careful that we do not fall away and lose our salvation. Were the premise of "once saved always saved" true then it is also necessary to ebrace as "truth" that all Christians throughout the world could quite literally go about murdering, participating in sexual orgies, drinking, doing drugs, participating in absolutely any vile, deviant, godless sin that they so desired with no cause for concern of falling away from God or losing their salvation. Such belief ("once saved always saved") is blasphemous pure and simple and comes directly from satan and not from God’s Holy Word.

Everything about the "once saved always saved" doctrine is in direct opposition and contradiction to God’s Word. 1 Corinthians 10:12 warns "Wherefore let him (meaning all believers) that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (fall from their salvation). You see true salvation and a true saving faith is a complete and total surrender to Jesus Christ. It is a complete and total submission to Him and His will every day. It is dying to ourselves and our own wants and desires every day. It is taking up our Cross to follow Him every day. It is a complete transformation of the whole heart. A transformation that can take place no where else but at the Cross of Christ and cannot survive outside of the Cross of Christ. Anything less is not a true and saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
 
In closing, the Bible (in the book of Ezekiel) gives very clear and strong warning that when a righteous person "turns away" from their righteousness they shall die in their sin, and their (former) righteousness "shall not be remembered", and he will lose his soul. Within that same scripture context it also states (commands) that we as ministers, evangelists, and preachers of the true gospel of Jesus Christ are to preach not only to the lost but we are also to warn the righteous of the consequences of turning away from their righteousness. And if we fail to do so the Lord says "I will require at your hand" that person blood. Unfortunately, and without question, very few pulpits today adhere to the Biblical instruction of preaching an un-compromised gospel message for fear that the delivering of God’s Holy Word in all of its truth and power may fall outside the boundaries of  "political correctness." A circle in which such preaching is of "none effect" for the saving of a mans soul.

From cover to cover God’s Word completely refutes the concept and unscriptural doctrine of "once saved always saved". There is not an ounce of evidence to support such heretical belief. But there are mountains of overwhelming Biblical evidence to completely denounce it. "And seeing ye know these things, beware lest ye also fall from your own stedfastness" (2 Peter 3:17).

God bless you.
Mark Shutts.   

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