On "Once Saved Always Saved"

(Oh wow, I didn't realize I made a second post about OSAS.  Or was this the first?  Anyway, this is a longer more in-depth analysis on the doctrine vs. the Truth.) 

As many of you know, I grew up as an American Baptist, who, like many Baptists, tend to teach "Once Saved, Always Saved".  It's also called "Eternal Security".

Their key proof text is the following:

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Another proof text they use is this:

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. 

What they say is this:  Once you come to Christ, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that can keep you from going to Heaven.  I've had it described this way:  Coming to Christ is like pressing the "up" button on the elevator, and you can never, ever go "down" (either the "down" button doesn't work or it's broken, I don't know how it goes)

But is all this true?

Firstly, let's look at those two texts.  John 10:28 is part of a passage in which Jesus is talking with the unbelieving Jews who ask Jesus to tell them plainly if He is the Christ (v. 24).  Jesus responds by saying that He did, but they didn't believe it (v. 25), because they are not His sheep (v. 26).  In John 10:28, it certainly is true that followers of Christ are given eternal life and will never perish.  However, I say the word "followers" intentionally, because Jesus says in verse 27:

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Those who are given eternal life and will never perish are Christ's FOLLOWERS, those who not only acknowledge His existence, but actually heed His words.

On to Ephesians 1:13-14.  This is part of Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus.  In the first chapter, he speaks of the believers being predestined...

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 

Now, anyone who is predestined to be saved is 100% GUARANTEED to be saved (Romans 9:18)

Thus, Ephesians 1:13-14 makes sense.  The Holy Spirit is given to the predestined upon belief.

 

YET...

 

Here's the head-scratcher.  There are many warnings given to believers against turning from the faith.  Here is a sampling:

Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Rom 11:22  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. 

Gal 5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
(Heb 6:4-6)

Heb 10:26  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 

2Pe 2:20  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. 

1Jn 5:16  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

So, it is also true that those who turn from the faith go to Hell.

 

In addition, Jesus warned ALL, not just believers, against withholding forgiveness:

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
(Mat 6:14-15)

If you don't forgive others, you will go to Hell.

In addition, Jesus warned some churches in the Book of Revelation to repent of their errors, lest something unpleasant happen to them:

Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 

Rev 2:16  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

Rev 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 

Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth...As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
(Rev 3:16,19)

These unpleasant things sound like going to Hell.  Fear!

Now, I wish to discuss the main head-scratcher in Hebrews 6:4-6:

"and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost"

The writer of Hebrews is saying that those who fall away were once believers, and had a share in the Holy Spirit, the very same Spirit that seals believers and guarantees their heavenly inheritance in Ephesians 1:13-14.  Yet the fallen believers go to Hell, because it is impossible for them to repent.  This I do not understand.  If the Holy Spirit in believers tells our spirits that we are among the children of God (Romans 8:16), what explains the fallen, who are indeed fallen and indeed are burning in Hell?

Nevertheless, we must heed these words of warning.  We cannot say, "Just because we are in Christ, just because the Holy Spirit confirms we are saved, we need not be concerned about losing our salvation."

WRONG!

As long as the warnings against apostasy exist, we must stay the course:

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 

Act_14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Now, there is one branch of "Once Saved Always Saved" thinking that is called "Free Grace" theology.  Ken Wilson in his piece "A Defense of Free Grace Theology" writes:

There were Christians in good standing with the church c.AD 400 who held the doctrine that a person received salvation by faith alone without repentance or good works. Much to Augustine's ire, baptism was practiced immediately if one of them believed in Christ, without first entering prolonged education in Christian faith and morals as a catechumen. For those early Christians, God's future judgment consisted only of payment (reward) or punishment (temporary) for how those Christians lived their lives before God—heaven or hell was not in question.

While not a defense of Augustine (I have yet to prove him according to I Thessalonians 5:21), the above Scripture verses I just mentioned about apostasy immediately proves Mr. Wilson wrong, as well as the aforementioned "Christians" from the 5th century.  There's just too many warnings given to BELIEVERS! to believe that you can do whatever you want in your life as long as at some point in your life, you came to Christ.  

If I believed that free grace was true, nothing would stop me from a life of mass fornication and gluttony.  I'm serious.  Someone once asked me what I would do if I didn't believe in eternal life.  Without hesitation, I said I would be a hedonist.  When asked for clarification, I told them that I would live a life of pleasure.  Everyone was shocked.  Paul wouldn't be:

1Co 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

Do you think such a hedonist person I would imagine I would be, under Free Grace, go to Heaven?  Do you think if Ron Jeremy died in impenitence, that as long as one time in his life he came to Christ, he would be in Heaven?  The answer to both of these questions is an unequivocal, NO.

Wikipedia contributors. "Free grace theology." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Oct. 2023. Web. 8 Oct. 2023.