For
a thorough understanding of the subject of ‘Once-Saved-Forever-Saved’, there is
a major point we must always bear in mind. And it is this: there are two
distinct, but overlapping views in the
Bible on the issue of ‘WHO WILL
BE SAVED ON THE LAST DAY.’ First, there is God’s view. God DEFINITELY knows
those who will be saved on the Last Day. This is because known to God are all
His works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18). In addition, the Bible
also states this categorically in 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS….”
It is a seal. An inscription.
And
it is from this entirely divine viewpoint that we get Scriptures like Romans
8:29-30. The truth is that IT IS ONLY GOD THAT KNOWS those whom He foreknew and
pre-destinated to be conformed to the image of His Son as stated in the
passage. These are the ones that will be justified and glorified on the Last
Day. Only God, in His omnipotence, knows the final, full list. From this
entirely Divine Viewpoint (DV), there is no variableness, all is absolute. And
those who are foreknown and pre-destinated, will be ultimately glorified. There
is no question about this.
This
leads us to the second point. Because God has NOT shared the absolute knowledge
of those that will be saved with man, He gave us a second viewpoint that
incorporates the element of FAITH into the Divine Viewpoint. Let us call this
second viewpoint ‘BELIEVER’S VIEWPOINT’ (BV). So, the Believer’s Viewpoint
takes the Divine Viewpoint and mixes it with faith to give us a true picture of
how God wants us to view the subject of Eternal Salvation from our perspective.
From
this Believer’s Viewpoint, given by God, we can understand the words of Jesus
when He said, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The
‘chosen few’ in this parable are the believers that accepted the call, and by
faith, complied with the conditions of the call - which is to put on the
wedding gown. The one that accepted the call, but did not comply with the
condition was weeded out and cast into hell. This is exactly how God wants
believers to view our call to salvation – start from the Divine Viewpoint, mix
it with faith by complying with the conditions, and all will end well in eternal
salvation.
First,
let us illustrate this principle from the Old Testament as applied to New
Testament believers by Apostle Paul. We see it in Hebrews 4:1-11: “Let us
therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of
you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as
well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it…. (11) Let us labour therefore to enter into
that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” So, there is
a divine call to a rest. This rest is a finished work from the foundation of
the world. BUT to enter that rest, faith is needed TO LABOUR. That was the
condition. And in verse 11, the apostle applied this principle to New Testament
believers – comply with the condition, otherwise ANYONE that does not do so,
will fall like they did.
Next,
let us look at the condition (if any) imposed on the eternal salvation of a New
Testament believer. We’ll take it from Jesus and Apostles Peter, Paul, and
John:
“Then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, IF YE CONTINUE in my word, then
are ye my disciples INDEED….” (John 8:31)
“For
if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell,
severity; but toward thee, goodness, IF THOU CONTINUE in his goodness:
OTHERWISE THOU ALSO SHALT BE CUT OFF. (Romans 11:21-22)
“And
you … now hath he reconciled … to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable
in his sight: IF YE CONTINUE in the faith grounded and settled, and be not
moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard…. (Colossians
1:21-23)
“Let
that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. IF that
which ye have heard from the beginning SHALL REMAIN (CONTINUE) IN YOU, YE ALSO
SHALL CONTINUE IN THE SON, and in the Father.” (1 John 2:24)
“For
if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of
the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and
overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been
better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they
have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” (2 Peter
2:20-21). Here, these men started as saved souls, but they TURNED AWAY FROM
(DID NOT CONTINUE IN) the holy commandments, and they degenerated into false
teachers.
Please
note that ALL the passages quoted here contain the conditional phrase ‘IF YOU
CONTINUE’. This conditionality introduces the element of PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY in ensuring that we CONUTINUE to hold on (though it is God’s
grace, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that will facilitate the
continuation as we see in Hebrews 4:16).
This
is how Apostle Peter highlights the PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY conditionality
(please note the word ‘IF’ again): “Wherefore the rather, brethren, GIVE
DILIGENCE TO MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE: FOR IF YE DO THESE THINGS, YE
SHALL NEVER FALL: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Peter
1:10-11). Getting an entrance into the everlasting kingdom is dependent on
‘doing these things’ to make the calling and election SURE. So, WE MUST GIVE
DILIGENCE to make our calling and election sure. It is a personal
responsibility.
In
summary, our eternal salvation is NOT unconditional. Rather, it is conditional
on CONTINUITY. This makes the doctrine of ONCE-SAVED-FOREVER-SAVED completely
incorrect. Our salvation is dependent on fulfilling, through God’s grace, the
prerequisite condition. Therefore, a more correct and balanced view is this:
OUR ETERNAL SALVATION IS GUARANTEED AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE, BY GOD’S GRACE, TO ABIDE
IN CHRIST TILL THE END. This aligns perfectly with the words of Jesus in
Matthew 24:13, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved.”
Our
brothers and sisters that advocate the ONCE-SAVED-FOREVER-SAVED doctrine are
presenting a half-truth that is capable of misleading, and derailing a man's
salvation. Please recall the example of the man that was ejected for not having
the wedding gown in the parable we quoted earlier in Matthew 22. Maybe while
getting ready for the banquet, somebody had told him
'ONCE-CALLED-FOREVER-CALLED'. Maybe that was why he did not 'labour' to put on
the wedding gown. He was told a half-truth, and by the time he realised that he
had been misled, it was too late! He was thrown out and cast into hell fire.
That
is the risk that is today posed by advocates of ONCE-SAVED-FOREVER-SAVED. They
look at only ONE SIDE of the truth (the Divine Viewpoint), and neglect to
RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH (2 Timothy 2:15) by balancing the two views
that God gave us for our own good in this Christian race – that is, the Divine
Viewpoint and the Believers Viewpoint.
This
is just one aspect of the subject. In the second part of this article, we’ll
apply the principle discussed here in a practical way to our salvation
experience. For instance, we said it is important ‘TO CONTINUE’ in order to
guarantee our eternal salvation. What exactly does this mean? Is there a wrong
way ‘TO CONTINUE’? In addition to explaining this, we’ll also show how the
ONCE-SAVED-FOREVER-SAVED doctrine is gaining grounds by confusing several
issues in the salvation package. Please watch out for it.
Thanks
for reading, God bless.
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