Eternal Security: Destructive Heresy?

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” 2 Peter 2:1

Here Peter warns us that because of false teachings, Christians will be viewed as phonies and the truth will be in disrepute. It certainly seems to me that the teachings of Eternal Security and Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) has led to a self professed church that acts and looks no different than the non believers living in the world. This has harmed the church and made the gospel harder to believe as many look at us Christians and say hypocrites!

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3- 4

The largest and fastest growing churches of today area those that either preaches OSAS or those preaching we are all anointed just like Jesus.  I see the morals of our society declining and wonder if the words of Paul to Timothy above are now being fulfilled before our very eyes. God is a God of mercy, but He is also a God of judgment. The church must know that God hates sin and the requirement for repentance necessary to receive His forgiveness.

“For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” Jude 4

I believe the license for immorality that Jude speaks about, is exactly what is being taught in many churches today. I can’t tell you the last time I heard a sermon preached at my local churches about sin and our need to repent and avoid it. The doctrines of OSAS and the pride of preachers who want to build large congregations have led many teachers away from teaching the whole counsel of God. Instead the are teaching only the portions of the Word that we want to hear. God is Love, God forgives us, and God has made us many promises…. While true, they have neglected to teach on equally important topics such as repentance, holiness, righteous judgment, etc.

As I continue to dig deep into the WORD and seek answers to some of the burning question I have about our Christian walk, the Lord has opened my eyes to the deception which is prevalent in today’s church and the hypocrisy that my own walk as well as others exhibits to the outside world. Far too many popular preachers are teaching a contradictory message to the one that is clearly laid out in the bible. I cannot judge ones heart, only God can, but I am concerned and feel compelled as a watchman to expose error when I see it. I by no means have all the light and welcome any debate or commentary on what I see and proclaim herein as the truth. I have certainly changed my mind on some topics upon further study and remain open to such new understanding as confirmed by the Word. I ask that you read this blog with that same openness of mind.

We Are Saved by Grace
Thankfully we have a merciful Father, who by his grace sent us a savior named Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace which is unmerited but that which is also conditional. Nowhere does God say his grace is unconditional, in fact there are many warnings in the bible speaking to forfeiting grace, falling away, backsliding, not being deceived, remaining in him, and enduring to the end to be saved.

As I have said elsewhere, I do not believe in works salvation at all. I do believe we will be known as true Christians by our fruits, as Jesus said we would be; and that we will do good works and we will obey Jesus because we are saved, not to become saved. If we aren’t doing these things in increasing measure; being sanctified during our lives on earth, then we should indeed examine ourselves to see if we are of the faith. I encourage you to read 1 John and some of my other blogs which speak to the question of How to Know You Are Saved.

Spiritual Death
In Genesis 3:4 the serpent (the devil) tells Eve his first lie to man. He tells her that “she will surely not die” and that by eating the forbidden fruit that “her eyes would be open and she would be like God”. The death that was spoken of here was spiritual death and not physical death. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve sinned and separated themselves from God. This is one of Satan’s principal tactics used throughout history for which we are repeatedly warned not to be deceived about. The tactic gets us to believe a lie, a lie that says “we shall surely not die” if we blatantly disobey God’s commands. Now many of the largest church congregations regularly hear preached that their sin has no eternal consequences and they are saved no matter how they subsequently exercise their free will and indulge their fleshly desires. This is not the bible that Jesus or the Apostles taught and many have been deceived and are ignorant of the eternal consequences.

Luke 15:24 In the story of the prodigal son, Jesus said “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. The supports the clear biblical teaching that we can fall away (ie die spiritually) but that we can be brought back. This is why it is so important for the church to starting teaching the whole counsel of God, as how else will the lost, fallen away be turned back unto repentance and find life again? If they are taught once saved always saved, they will not fear the Lord and may well continue in a sinful wicked life because they are taught in error that it doesn’t matter to their salvation. These preachers will be held accountable for the lost blood per Ezekiel 33:6 and other places in scripture.

Galatians 6:7-9 Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature, will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Obviously since sowing to the spirit reaps eternal life, sowing to the sinful nature reaps spiritual death, not just the loss of rewards in heaven as many falsely teach.

1 Cor 6:8-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Matthew 3:9-10 And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Here Jesus is warning the Pharisees and Sadducees of their deception, their reliance on being descendents of Abraham for their salvation. Like numerous other places Jesus told them they would surely die if they do not produce good fruit. Satan is continuing to lie to us saying we truly shall NOT die. Who are we to believe, the father of all lies or Jesus?

I will be as blunt as I can right now. The teachings of Eternal Security are false. The teachings of Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) are false. The issue of falling away, or losing one’s salvation is not about becoming unborn. No indeed it is about DYING SPIRITUALLY. This is what we are warned about because if you die SPIRITUALLY by believing a lie (just like Eve did), it is impossible to renew you back to repentance.

John 8:51 “I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Jesus says if we keep his word (i.e. do it, not just know it) we will not spiritually die.

Conditional Grace: God has done his part, now we need to do ours

Just like the promises God made to Israel, the promises of the new covenant are conditional. God has done his part through Jesus. We just need to do our part to obtain the prize and the promise.

o John 15 Parable of the Vine “remain in me, and I will remain in you. IF a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. IF anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers (dies); such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned” … IF you obey my commands, you will remain in my love.” This ties remaining in Jesus love to obeying his commands. Does Jesus save people that do not remain in his love? I think the branches being picked up and thrown into the fire settles that matter. It is not enough to simply be in the vine for a time, we must remain in the vine; we must endure to the end to be saved.

o 1 Cor. 15:1-2 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand. By this gospel you are saved IF you hold fast to the word I preached to you—otherwise you have believed in vain.”

o Heb 5:9 …and having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

o Mt. 19:16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter life, keep the commandments.”

o John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:16 is absolutely true, but cannot be taken out of context without the whole of scripture. True belief results in repentance, conversion, filling with spirit of God and obedience as will be seen in the manifested fruits of the spirit.

o Matthew 7.27-28 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them may be compared to a foolish man who built his home on sand. The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house and it fell – and great was its fall. This person was not saved, he was lost. Simply believing the Word is not enough, we must ACT on it

o Luke 13: 23-30 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?’ And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, and for many I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door saying “Lord, open up to us!” then He will answer and say to you, “I do not know where you are from, Depart from Me all you evildoers”. Jesus never called the people shut out unbelievers in this parable and several others, he called them evildoers!

o John 14:15 If you love me, you WILL obey what I command. He didn’t say you should, he said you Will. This means many people have not made Jesus Lord and Do Not Know Him despite praying a sinner’s prayer, going to church or calling themselves Christians.

o Heb 3:6 … but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house IF indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

My motivation is to save souls, not to be an evil judge by my commentary. I am truly trying to awaken a sleeping church to the deception that has crept in the body of believers. I was asleep and living in ignorance for most of my life, thinking I was a Christian but not understanding or seeking the truth in his word. With new spiritual eyes, this is how I now see the majority of the body of believers. This is also how Jesus saw it when speaking about end times in Matthew “On that day, many who say to me Lord Lord will not inherit the kingdom of God but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven”.

I think we all agree that our sins must be forgiven for us to enter eternal life? Jesus spoke about situations where our Father in heaven would not forgive us our sins. Indeed forgiveness of our sins is conditional upon us forgiving other people’s sins. Sadly many professing Christians lead defeated tormented lives and are likely ignorant of the following two sayings of Jesus in Matthew.

o Mat 6:14-15 If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
o Mat 18:34-35 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses

Those who harbor bitterness and/or unforgiveness have poisoned themselves spiritually. Those in this state of mind will be attacked and tormented by demons until they repent of their unforgiveness. Show me someone who harbors bitterness and I will show you a person that is either angry or depressed; lacking in real joy and who does not cling to the truth of God’s word.

Can Christians Fall Away? The answer is emphatically YES.

Read and meditate on these passages and any confusion on this question should be abated.

Mt. 24: 10-13 “At that time many will turn away from the faith and betray and hate each other. Because of the increase of wickedness the love of most will grow cold, But the one who endures to the end, it is he who shall be saved.” Another words, it is possible to fall away and not be saved.

Luke 8:13 …”those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe it for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” Jesus said we must endure to the end to have life. There is no eternal security as being taught by many teachers, it is false teaching for the itching ears of those not willing to truly follow Christ. This parable of the four soils I believe is one of the most important in all of scripture. I would place it up there with the parable of the vine in terms of its eternal consequences and the wisdom upon which we are to lead our lives as Christians.

Luke 6:47 “Why do you call Me, Lord Lord”, and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock and when a flood occurred the torrent burst against the house and could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of the house was great.

James 5:19-20 - “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

If you can save one’s soul by bringing him back from his wandering, then clearly that soul was lost even though by definition that which is being “brought back” had to be saved to begin with. Notice also, James calls his readers Brothers, clearly indicating this is to be understood to apply to true believers that are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. We are secure for sure if we stay grounded in His word and don’t abandon the straight and narrow path to follow the ways of the world (those who practice lawlessness).

1 Timothy 4:1 – “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

Since we are told numerous times we must endure to the end to be saved, abandoning one’s faith appears to be a clear way to be lost. We cannot abandon faith and expect to have eternal life. It is ridiculous that these many warnings have not been taught to the church. We have indeed let error creep into the church unnoticed and the faith of many is being shipwrecked by their lack of knowledge.

Hebrews 6:4-8 “For in the case of those who have been once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame”.

This is a very powerful warning of falling away from the truth of the Word once you know it. There obviously comes of point where someone wanders so far away from the faith that it is impossible to bring them back as James writes in the passage above. That is why is it important for us to confront, rebuke and correct our brothers and sisters in Christ (yes to judge them righteously), but in the gentle and loving way we are instructed, or else they may be lost forever. They will have believed for a while in vain as we are told in the bible.

Rom 11:17-”If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”

To be graphed in one must be a believer and if a graphed in branch is a believer then it clearly says they can be broken off again. It clearly says they were broken off because of unbelief and that we will not be spared either.

Galatians 5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

John 6:66 “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” Pretty clear statement that people can fall away. Believing in Jesus is a requirement, but it requires obedience and persistent belief. These turn coats are not in heaven.

The Old Testament has scores of verses that attest to the same thing. They are still valid today as Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God does not change. His word is infallible. For the sake of brevity I won’t put those here except to share one of my favorites from the OT.

Ezekiel 18:24 But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

The Major Defense Given To OSAS

Teachers of eternal security (aka the Once Saved Always Saved doctrine) like to quote these two following passages as their defense of their false doctrine. This is no defense at all it you interpret them with the whole of scripture.

John 10:27-30 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

My read on this verse is that it needs to be interpreted with context. The context is of the true followers of Jesus, those that are walking with him, that know him, that listen to his voice and that follow him. If someone decides to stop following Jesus, they wander away and do not endure to the end, they indeed can be lost. When we are truly walking with God, we cannot be snatched away. So the context here is all about a present tense walk with God. That is why it is important that we constantly be on guard and not be deceived by false teachings that give us false comfort that we can live a sinful life, be no different from the non believing world and still expect to be saved because we said a prayer one time in our life asking Jesus to be our Lord.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

No where does the bible say the seal can’t be broken? Later in this same epistle, Paul makes a startling comment that includes a warning not to be deceived by empty words.

Ephesians 5:5-7 for this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them;

Additionally, OSAS preachers like to quote the verse in Philippians 1:6 that says “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. While a true verse as all scripture, the meaning here is that if we continue to walk with Jesus, we will be sanctified and he will perfect us over time. It doesn’t say God completes his work even if we rebel against him, or turn away from him and follow the world. Indeed the context is lost when this passage is interpreted without bringing the verses I have shown above into the illustration.

The Need To Endure To The End
I wanted to show several key verses that many teachers of OSAS try to explain away or simply do not preach on ever. They are a sober reminder that we must endure to the end to be saved. Our seal can be broken by sin and rebellion against God and we can indeed be snatched away if we abandon the faith by exercising our own free will.

 Mark 13:13 “And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved.”

 Heb. 3:14 - For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Pretty clear that our inheritance with Christ is conditional by holding firm, enduring to the end.

 Heb 10:26-29 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

 Col 1:23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

In Peter’s second letter we are given a clear warning to not become entangled again in the corruption of the world once we have escaped from it through the grace of the Lord. Peter says that if we do become entangled again, we are worse off than if we had never known the way of Christ.

2 Peter 20-22 “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them” Let me ask a question. How can someone be worse off then they were at the beginning if they are once saved, then get entangled with the world? It is because they then are lost (not saved) and Jesus tells us several places that those who knew the truth and then reject it, will have an even more severe punishment than those that never knew the way of the truth to begin with.

Let me end this section with a sobering reminder of a message Jesus taught. In the parable of the faithful and wise manager in Luke 12:42, Jesus tells of the consequences of not persevering “But suppose the servant says to himself, My master is taking a long time in coming, and he then begins to beat the menservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”. This parable is about a faithful follower, who does not persevere or endure to the end and rebels against God. Jesus said, this rebellious servant would go where the unbelievers go, that is to hell. Jesus goes on to say that this servant’s punishment would be even more severe than the other non believers because he knew the truth whereas the others did not. How much clearer can it be?

We must awaken the body of Christ from the slumber the false teachers of OSAS and Eternal Security have caused. Based on what is clear from scripture, it is not just non believers who will perish, but it is also professed believers that are evildoers or said another way in some translations, those who practice lawlessness. I have written about the distinctions between saved sinners and those who practice lawlessness in other blogs. Without rehashing the scriptures here, let me just say, we all fall short of the glory of God, we all sin, but those that are saved, do not grieve the holy spirit, sin primarily as a result of weakness not their practice, are convicted of their sins by the Holy Spirit, feel genuine godly sorrow when they do sin and exercise a sincere and heart felt repentance once convicted. Those in the true faith are indeed clothed in the righteousness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is only upon that basis we can enter life with the Father.

Encouragement to Persevere In Faith

There are many verses that speak to the need to persevere. I simply want us to grasp the seriousness of the call to perseverance in faith.

 Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

John 16:1 Jesus said, “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. Why would Jesus say this, if it isn’t possible? The church has got to wake up as the faith of many has indeed grown cold.

 Rom 2:7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil; there will be wrath and anger

 Rom 6:16 you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin which leads to death or to obedience which leads to righteousness

 1 Timothy 5:20 “Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning”. If we are once saved always saved, what is there to be fearful of?

Psalms 111 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

Most of the professing church does not fear the Lord, are not turning from darkness, and are fellowshipping with the world which is defined as enmity with God. Sadly they are deceived and have not heeded the warnings described clearly in the above passages. Somewhere along the way, preaching has turned to please men instead of being focused on pleasing God. We heap upon ourselves pastors who tickle us with what our itching ears yearn to hear.

Too much preaching today is all about the promises of God. The promises of God are amazing and we should take them to heart to help us endure the trials and tribulations of life. However, few are being taught the warnings of God and this error is leading people astray and away from repentance and a true saving faith. We are indeed to fear the Lord but the church today has twisted scripture to only teach the loving aspects of God and cherry pick the gospel and not teach the whole counsel of God.

Reconciliation With John 3:16 and Other “Believe Only Verses”
The most famous passage of scripture, at least in the USA is John 3:16.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I believe this verse is absolutely true as is all of scripture. But to interpret it correctly we must use the whole of scripture. A couple of things I want to point out. First a key word I bolded in the verse is “should”. The verse says we should not perish if we believe in him, it does not say we shall not. There is indeed a difference in meaning. It leaves open the possibility that some could perish, even those that believe in Jesus. Given the whole of scripture I have spoken about in this blog post; and most importantly the other words of Jesus; I am certain that more is required to be saved than simple belief that Jesus is the Son of God. I looked up the word in my concordance and the word in the Greek means, to entrust, commit to trust, put in trust with. So based on the whole of scripture, I would paraphrase this verse as really saying this.

For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever fully commits to him and entrusts their lives to him, will be sanctified during their life in their physical body and will exhibit their faith through the fruit they produce and they shall surely reap eternal life.

James 2:19 says “You believe there is one God. Good! Even demons believe that and shudder.” James is mocking the early Christians that thought all they had to do was believe Jesus was the Lord to be saved and they could continue to live a life devoid of fruit. The same issues that dogged the early believer; their pride and unwillingness to count the cost of discipleship with Jesus plagues the current church despite all the biblical warnings against such folly.

2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the on you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

I am not putting up with it easily enough. I encourage you to do likewise and to test and confirm all that you hear with the Word. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in all truth.

May God Bless You Richly!