Real Bible Truths Many today are teaching us that Once Saved Always Saved, and that nothing will change that. In other words they are teaching us that even if we continue to sin we don’t have to worry about it because all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and we will still be saved.
In short they are saying “It’s ok to sin because we are all sinners anyways”. But those that are teaching this could not be farther from the truth.
Did you know that the Bible even tells us that if we abide in Him that we DON’T sin? Look at these scriptures below.
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.
In fact even Jesus tells us that He came a light into the world that those that follow Him would NOT walk in darkness.
His every intention was that we cease from our past life of sins. Of course we will make mistakes, but can we still be saved if we continue in those same things we promised to give up at baptism when we made a commitment to Him? Absolutely not! If we refuse to change our lives and give up those sins, we could forfeit our salvation.
And if there is no sacrifice for our sins, then we can no longer be saved.
Some will say but everyone is a sinner and will continue to sin! And while it is true that everyone comes from a background of being a sinner, God never calls His own children sinners.
The Bible says that all HAVE sinned, past tense. That’s why we were all called sinners before we were saved, but now as Christians we are not referred to as sinners any longer we are called Saints. But that doesn’t mean we are Angels. So does that mean we will never commit a sin again? No, we still make mistakes. But here is the difference;
Living in sin and making a mistake is different. We can not live in sin once we know better. But sometimes we commit new sins or should I say unexpected sins. These are the sins we commit without really thinking about it. Let me give you an example below.
Let’s say I am walking down a crowded street texting someone and accidentally bump into someone. And let’s say that the person I bump into calls me some very nasty words and I reply with some very choice words of my own. Was that a mistake on my part or was I living in a state of sin? It was a mistake, although it would still be a sin. But I was not living in that sin neither would I normally respond like that but maybe I was already having a bad day. So this is an example of a mistake, but compare this with the example below.
Now let’s say I move in with my girlfriend and begin having relations with her. Is this a mistake or is it willful sin? It is willful sin! If I were to do this I would be willing living in a state of sin. We can not and must not do these sort of things. They are not mistakes, they are willful acts of disobedience to God. And if we continue to do such things, we can loose our salvation. And God warns us about it.
The point is that there are times when we might make mistakes and commit a sin out of a reaction or before we really think about our words or actions. These sort of sins happen from time to time and they must be brought under control. But it is far worse to commit willful sin and live in a sin when we know it is wrong. And this is the kind of sin Heb. 10:26 is talking about.
But does this mean that if we have ever committed a willful sin that we can not be forgiven of it? I don’t think so. The Bible tells us that all manner of sin may be forgiven except blasphemy of the Holy Ghost.
And even willful sin is not blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. But I think what the Apostle Paul was describing in Heb. 10:26 is the continuation of willful sins. Once we know better, we MUST give those sins up because God is patient with us but His patients does in fact have limits and there is a point of no return. Just as King Saul found out later in his life when he sought repentance but God would no longer listen to him.
So do we want to test God’s patience?
Now look at this verse;
In other words, He will not always strive with rebellious man. So if we continue to live in sin and refuse to be obedient to Him, He will let us go and we can fall from grace. The end result being our loss of salvation. And there is such a thing as falling from grace.
If you begin looking at all the warnings the Bible gives about sinning and of rebelliousness it should be clear that the Bible is almost always talking to CHRISTIANS and Gods own children. In other words the Bible was written TO the believers not to unbelievers. So when God warns of consequences for sins, He is warning His own children to straighten up, OR ELSE! Look at the scriptures below.
Christ was speaking to some Jews during His time and although they were not Christians, they were believers in God and were supposed to be following the Bible. So who was Christ warning? Believers of course. And this applies to us as Christians as well. If we do not bring forth good fruit, we too could be cut down and cast into the fire. But if you think this only applies to Jews then look at this next scripture.
The Christians are the branches that are in Christ. The Jews as a whole were not in Christ, they didn’t even believe in Him. So the verse above is specifically speaking to Christians. Although it only says He takes them away, if you go down to verse 6 it makes it more clear what happens to them.
First of all in order to abide in Christ we have to have been put in Christ in the first place, since the word “abide” means to remain or continue. So we know for certain that He is speaking to Christians.
But this verse shows the ultimate rejection! What do you think He is hinting about? Hell of course! Not only could we loose our salvation, but we could even end up in the lake of fire. Do you think it is an accident that He uses the words “Fire” and “burned”? And if you do, then do you think it was also an accident that He used the same exact terminology in Matt. 3:9-10 ?
And what about the slothful and unprofitable servant in Matt. 25:14-30 ? He is cast into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
But the fact that he was a servant in the first place shows that he was one of His own. Yet the end result was that he was rejected.
Now look at this next very important scripture and clear warning.
1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Could it be any clearer that he is speaking to Christians specifically? It starts off addressing Christians, then warns them not to partake in these activities telling us that if we practice these things, we will NOT enter the Kingdom of God. Then it ends the subject with a final warning not to be deceived by anyone or their vain words because it is these very things that will bring the wrath of God upon His own children if they are disobedient.
In fact it is even worse for the Christian then it is for the unbeliever to continue to live in sin. Look at this next scary scripture below.
In other words there will be sorer punishment for those Christians who take their Christianity lightly by living in sins. Because they are walking all over Christ taking advantage of His goodness and treating His blood and sacrifice as if they were nothing or an unholy thing. What a shame it is for those who call themselves Christians but live in such sins.
So then back to the main subject about Once Saved Always Saved. If God is warning us not to participate in these things after we have been saved or we will not enter His Kingdom, it should be obvious that we could in fact lose our salvation. So Once Saved Always Saved is definitely a false doctrine. And there are so many other scriptures that prove the same thing, like this next one.
But the last two verses are the kicker and makes it clear that these are examples for the Christians and to be careful lest we fall. So we can fall if we are not obedient children of God. So again, there is no such thing as Once Saved Always Saved.
In this next verse Jesus makes it very clear about who will enter His Kingdom.
So not everyone that calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, except for those that change their lives and do His will. And look how He describes those that will not make it by saying “ye that work iniquity“. In other words, those that continue to live in sin.
Again He is referring to Christians, since we are the salt of the Earth, but if we have lost our savour or become unfruitful He tells us we are good for nothing except to be cast out.
Next is another good one, where Paul is comparing Jews to the Gentile Christians. He warns the Christians that if they don’t continue in His goodness by being proper Christians that God would not spare us and that we too could be cut off just like those Jews.
Paul makes it very clear when he says “IF” thou continue in his goodness. So if we don’t, we can be cut off and lose our salvation. That means our salvation is only secure if we continue in His goodness; that is if we continue to follow the faith and give up our past life of sins.
After all that is what we are supposed to be doing once we turn to Christ and get baptized. Part of the baptism is our repentance. And of course that is exactly what repentance means, to turn from our old ways and give up those sins. In fact Jesus tells us that except we repent, we shall all perish.
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
So Jesus makes it clear that we all must repent of our sins. Peter also makes the same point in this next verse.
Repentance then should not be underestimated, we must change our lives. Of course repentance alone can not save us because we still must be baptized. See my study on Baptism. But repentance is a critical part of Christianity.
Therefore, we can all fall from grace and lose our salvation if we don’t give up those sins we did before we turned to the Lord. We must repent and turn from our past lives and give our lives to God which means to stop living in sin and start doing what is right in the eyes of God. Only then will we remain under grace.
The bottom line here is that there is absolutely no such thing as “Once Saved Always Saved”. This is a false doctrine of men put in place so that un-honest men could continue to sin and not fill guilty about it. But the end result will be the loss of their salvation if true repentance does not occur. Please, do not be deceived by the false doctrines of those men.