Among people who call themselves Bible-believing, born again Christians there are primarily two different salvation messages (gospels) that are proclaimed. The gospel associated with eternal security would have you believe that:
Salvation begins in a moment’s time and is guaranteed to continue.
There is no salvation maintenance on man’s part. God will keep you, hold you and has already sealed you by His Spirit at the point of salvation assuring an entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
Sin can never bring a Christian to his spiritual death, regardless what sin is committed or false doctrine is believed.
Eternal life is a gift that can’t be lost or returned and a present tense possession for the Christian, guaranteeing an entrance into God’s kingdom.
Reaching heaven for the Christian is absolutely certain just as though he has already been in heaven for 10,000 years.
Some Christians are adulterers, drunkards, thieves, etc.
In contrast, the real gospel which rejects eternal security states that:
Salvation begins in a moment’s time and continues on, but only as long as we follow Jesus. This implies the possibility that something can adversely interfere with it, as has happened in the lives of Solomon, Saul, Judas and many others.
After getting born again (initial salvation) there is salvation maintenance on man’s part, which is under Biblical grace. If this is neglected, the Christian will inevitably drift away, turn lukewarm, grow unfruitful, become unloving and unforgiving as well as regress spiritually in other ways to the point that spiritual life is no longer present within his spirit. Man cooperates with God and enables Him to keep and hold us spiritually safe. Though God is sovereign, He will never violate man’s free will, even if it is to man’s detriment and damnation. Christians can put to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature (flesh) by the Spirit of God—never by their own ability or strength.
Sin can defile, corrupt, contaminate, soil and even bring the Christian to his spiritual death. The seal of the Holy Spirit can be broken. Consequently, we must be on our spiritual guard at all times, as we look to God for his strength and power. The Christian life is a war, fight and struggle against the deceiving forces of darkness and personal sin.
Eternal life is much more than just a gift and a present tense possession. It is also a hope (Titus 3:7) and promise (1 Jn. 2:24,25), yet to be reaped (Gal. 6:8,9), in the age to come (Mk. 10:30), but only for those who persist in doing good (Rom. 2:7) and who don’t grow weary and give up sowing to please the Spirit of God and not the sinful nature (Gal. 6:8,9).
The only salvation assurance the Bible offers is a present tense salvation assurance for the person who is presently following Jesus and trusting in Him for his own personal salvation (1 Jn. 5:11-13). In other words, the faith needed to enter God’s paradise kingdom is a trusting, submitting and enduring faith. To enter God’s kingdom, we must endure hardships and persecutions as we continue to live holy as Jesus’ disciples in this wicked and adulterous generation. Sadly, continuing in the faith and holiness has not always happened for others in times past.
It is impossible to be a Christian at the same time as being an adulterer, drunkard, thief, or such as is cited in 1 Cor. 6:9,10; Rev. 21:8; Eph. 5:5-7; Mk. 7:20-22. To teach that such is possible is to twist the holy image of being a Christian (a saint) into something which allows for wickedness. Eternal security is a dangerous myth, which has many on the road to hell thinking they are on the road to heaven because they once had a moment of true faith which brought regeneration. Please see our book, The Believer’s Conditional Security for much more information.
The gospel based on eternal security is built upon partial truths presented as the whole truth and various Scriptural distortions, as well as misrepresenting the true Christian gospel and grace. Jude was adamant and clear in his epistle about those who change grace into a license for immorality. He said they are godless people, who don’t have the Spirit of God and for whom blackest darkness has been prepared. Paul stated that to preach a false gospel (another gospel) is cause enough for eternal condemnation. OSAS doctrine is a false gospel, as well as a heresy
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
True Salvation
True Salvation
The true plan of salvation is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). The Lord Jesus taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Mt. 7:13,14, NKJV). Many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unaware of in our day because of the false teaching of once saved always saved (OSAS). According to true grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).
If a saved person sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death, so DO NOT BE DECEIVED (James 1:14-16). For more information regarding the believer's security, see our 801 page book, The Believer's Conditional Security, which is the most exhaustive and comprehensive refutation to OSAS ever written. It will not be refuted!
Because of the teaching of once saved always saved, grace has been taught as a license for immorality for so long, and without challenge, that when Scripture is quoted, such as 1 Cor. 6:9,10 or Rev. 21:8, it is disregarded, and the giver of God's Word is falsely accused of teaching legalism, bondage, works, etc. This reflects how truly dark are the days in which we live!
The ACID TEST question to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality as condemned by Jude 3,4 is: Does true grace allow the sexually immoral in heaven? If their answer is "YES," avoid it like the AIDS virus! To sit under this teaching influence could mean that your soul and the souls of your loved ones will be eternally damned as a result. To support and promote such a ministry and teaching is to share in its wicked work (2 Jn. 9-11). This includes your financial donations! Flee from such a ministry or congregation and encourage others to do the same before it's eternally too late.
Get more @ http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/index.html
The true plan of salvation is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). The Lord Jesus taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Mt. 7:13,14, NKJV). Many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unaware of in our day because of the false teaching of once saved always saved (OSAS). According to true grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).
If a saved person sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death, so DO NOT BE DECEIVED (James 1:14-16). For more information regarding the believer's security, see our 801 page book, The Believer's Conditional Security, which is the most exhaustive and comprehensive refutation to OSAS ever written. It will not be refuted!
Because of the teaching of once saved always saved, grace has been taught as a license for immorality for so long, and without challenge, that when Scripture is quoted, such as 1 Cor. 6:9,10 or Rev. 21:8, it is disregarded, and the giver of God's Word is falsely accused of teaching legalism, bondage, works, etc. This reflects how truly dark are the days in which we live!
The ACID TEST question to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality as condemned by Jude 3,4 is: Does true grace allow the sexually immoral in heaven? If their answer is "YES," avoid it like the AIDS virus! To sit under this teaching influence could mean that your soul and the souls of your loved ones will be eternally damned as a result. To support and promote such a ministry and teaching is to share in its wicked work (2 Jn. 9-11). This includes your financial donations! Flee from such a ministry or congregation and encourage others to do the same before it's eternally too late.
Get more @ http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/index.html
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