IS ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED?
Sakkie Parsons
I would like to share with you on this very important topic. I think that “once saved, always saved” is one of the most dangerous errors in people's preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Is:
"Once saved, always saved?"
I say; No.
Or then, let me express myself correctly and what I say, I say with all the respect in me towards our Lord.
Our Lord would like it that way. This is what He had in His mind before the fall, but now we have our own Will, because we were created in His image and most people use their will because of the fall to follow Satan to hell.
Let me explain how I understand this and I want to start with something Jesus said to His FATHER:
JOHN 17:12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Do you see what is written here?
None of those who were given to Jesus were lost except one.
In other words, only one of the twelve that He specially chose, which was then given to Him, was lost.
JHN 17:12 … and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, …
I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I am now a disciple of Jesus.
Let us quickly look at the first disciples of Jesus and then in particular at the one who became the son of perdition:
MARK 3:13-19
13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.
14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
15 and have authority to cast out demons.
16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Have you seen?
He called to Him those He wanted and of them He singled out 12 especially – and to those twelve He even gave special power and Judas Iscariot was one of these 12.
MARK 3:13-15
13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.
14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
15 and have authority to cast out demons.
Yes, Judas Iscariot as one of the twelve also had that power.
He was also full of our Lord and His power at the beginning – but somewhere between the day when he said yes to Jesus and where he ended, he exercised his own will to move away from Jesus, until he was so far from Jesus that he did not want to come back – until it was too late.
Let me just say something about Judas Iscariot and you and my own will.
We are created in the image of God and one of the characteristics of God that we have as human beings, is that we have a will of our own.
God sent His Son to save the whole world.
JOHN 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
JOHN 3:16-17
16 "For God so loved the world (all people), that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Although God's redemptive act was for the sake of the whole world, He Himself knew that because man was created in the image of God, he has a will of his own and because most people will exercise their own will and choose the sinful world above God, most people will end up in hell.
MAT 7:13-14
13 "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.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
One of the passages that people use to proclaim "once saved, always saved" is the following:
ROM 8:38-39
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the passage you just read, my great hero Paul covers everything and everyone except one – and that's yourself. The closest he comes to you is "or any other creature."
But you who read it, read of another creature, you do not read "yourself."
These Words are written for each person personally and I, for instance, will not write to you and then speak of you as 'another creature'.
If our Lord wanted to include yourself here, then Romans 8:39 would have read as follows: "nor height nor depth, nor yourself, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Everything he mentions above, plus "any other creature" or human, cannot separate you from God or His love – except you.
Our Lord will never let anyone perish from His side. If I get lost, it's because I've exercised my will to walk another path.
Have you ever wondered why, if it is true that "Once saved, always saved," Jesus tells us?
MAT 24:42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Also –
MAT 26:41 Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Because you see, the answer how I understand it is the following:
If I do not watch and pray –
If you do not remain in Jesus –
If I do not put on the full armour of God –
Then it will surely happen that I, just as Judas, can sit with Jesus around the table and put my hand together with His in the bowl, but it has no effect on me anymore – I don’t care if I betray Him.
There will come a time – when I continue to trample God’s loving grace under my feet – which the following from the Word will apply to me, as it did to Judas Iscariot:
Despite being a disciple of Jesus,
Despite the fact that he was able to perform miracles in the leading of God's Spirit,
Despite the fact that he preached the Gospel,
Despite the fact that he cast out demons:
HEB 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
Did you see what you read now, among other things?
You cannot speak of "renew to repentance," if there has been no repentance in the first place.
HEB 6:6 if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
If you are now wondering if you might already fall into the latter category, I want to say to you:
Be very happy. Yes, leap in the spirit and rejoice:
“Praise the Lord! I can still hear His voice! I can still turn around! ”
Because you see:
If your relationship with our Lord is not good at the moment and it bothers you, then you can still hear His Spirit pleading with you to turn back to Him.
You are certainly not yet past the point of no return.
Our Lord plead with you again today:
HEB 3:7-8
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
Now, if you want to do something about your condition but are not sure what to do, I would like to suggest three things to start with:
First, pray this prayer in sincere faith:
Lord I hear Your voice.
I want to come back to You.
Help me!
I ask this in the Name of Jesus.
Now you join a congregation that has the entire Bible as its basis in preaching and you become involved.
Please also remember:
MAT 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Because you see:
1PET 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Jesus says:
JOHN 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
I say again:
Our Lord does not want anyone to be lost.
That is why Jesus gave His life and was crucified to rescue you and me from everlasting hell.
The choice lies with me whether I will stay on the narrow path and follow Jesus through the narrow gate.
If I do, I will never be lost.
JOHN 10:27-28
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
No one can snatch you or me out of the hand of our Lord – but you can live out your own desire to free yourself from His arms and walk away to hell, like Judas.
More about this topic are:
"Remain on guard in all circumstances"
"In Your book were all written – the days that were appointed for me"
Greetings,
Sakkie