Chapter 6: Secure in Christ

With a proper understanding of Faith in Jesus Christ, you will discover the doctrine of Eternal Security, or “once saved always saved” (OSAS), to be false. For all the Calvinists and those who’ve been taught contrary: You can “lose your salvation”. You can go to Hell. The Bible is clear about this. Let me explain.

First off, Faith is not a one-time thing; we must continue in it. We cannot have Faith in Jesus at one point, and stop at another, and still consider ourselves to be faithful just because of our past history of Faith. Liberals say that a true Christian cannot walk away from the Faith, but this is a lie because:

“The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Tim 4:1)

We are in the “latter times”. To “depart from the Faith” simply means to stop believing the truth; to stop obeying God and to stop producing his fruit; and many Christians have already done this. The majority of Christian teachers today have a misunderstanding of Faith because they listen to deceiving spirits. These doctrines of demons are designed to make us think we have Faith, when in fact, we have none. If a person ever had true Faith in God, these false teachings would gradually diminish their Faith to a standstill. Therefore we must understand what proper Faith is and continue in it moment by moment. We must continue to obey, love and produce his fruit. If we are not actively doing these things, we cannot claim to have Faith in Jesus. Without Faith we cannot be saved. This is why the Word instructs us to both continue and endure in the Faith:

But he who endures to the end shall be saved (Matt 10:22, 24:13). Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in  them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you (1Tim 4:16). Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us (2 Tim 2:12).

I’m pretty sure that if Jesus denies us, we won’t get into Heaven; and I’m sure he wouldn’t tell us to endure if we would automatically continue to the end. Notice the “if” statements: if we endure, and if we hold fast. “If” statements are throughout the entire Bible. God makes promises with conditions, and salvation is based on the condition of having proper Faith, then continuing in that Faith until the end. To all those who’ve been taught otherwise, we are not guaranteed a ticket to Heaven if we cease from having Faith. It is our continual Faith in Jesus that saves us. Jesus speaks of the consequences of fruitless Christians and those who don’t stay joined to him:

¹ Jesus said to his disciples: I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch that does produce fruit, so that it will produce even more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of what I have said to you.

⁴ Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. ⁵ I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit.  But you cannot do anything without me. ⁶ If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be thrown away. You will be like  dry branches that are gathered up and burned in a fire. (John 15:1-6 CEV)

First off, if Jesus is our salvation (Luke 2:29-30; 3:3-6), detaching ourselves from him would surely mean the eventual loss of our souls.  Another point the above illustration makes is: that we are connected to Jesus for the purpose of producing fruit (good works), but if this isn’t  happening, the Father will remove us like a fruitless branch and throw us into the fire. This implies the loss of our souls in the fires of Hell.  So we can deliberately walk away from Jesus (the Faith) or be removed and sent to Hell for being fruitless.

Being removed from the vine sounds harsh, but you must understand the Father’s will. His plan is not only about saving souls; he wants to transform our character too (Romans 8:29-30). How can we fit into God’s family when we don’t act like him or produce the fruit of the Spirit? So, allowing God to grow us into the character of his Son is another condition for salvation. If our desire is to only be saved from Hell but not resemble his Son’s character, then we forfeit our salvation.

Disconnecting one’s self from Jesus, departing from the Faith, not continuing in the Faith, and not allowing the Father to change us into his Son are all synonymous and will bring the same result: eventual destruction in Hell.

The Danger Zone

The Bible clearly says that the world is in danger because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The world is also condemned because they have not put their Faith in Jesus Christ who can save them from their sin (John 3:16-18). But even though we have put our Faith in Jesus, yet engage in sin, we too will share in the same fate.

Sin disconnects us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and puts us in the danger zone. Rebellion, unrepentance, unbelief, lack of love, performing dead works, and following the flesh are all dangerous; this is why the Word of God urges us to avoid them:

• Don’t let sin reign in your body for sin leads to death (Rom 6:12-18).
• Don’t live according to the flesh or you will die (Rom 8:12-17).
• Because of unbelief they were broken off, but you stand by faith (Rom 11:20).
• Beware any of you who have a heart of unbelief, departing from God (Heb 3:12).
• We’re of Christ, if we hold on to our confidence [have faith] (Heb 3:14).
• They have damnation, because they cast off their first faith (1 Tim 5:12).
• We aren’t those who draw back to perdition [losing the soul] but those who believe to the saving of the soul (Heb 10:39).

Note: phrases in the brackets [ ] were added by me, for clarification

As Christians, we know sin is dangerous and leads to eternal death. But some believers have this misconceived notion that they can dip in and out of sin and escape the consequences, or perhaps, get as dirty as possible in their early years and return to God in the latter; but this isn’t wise. How do you know if you’ll be here tomorrow? Tomorrow is not promised.

We must strive to avoid sin today, and we must not excuse or minimize certain sins. All sins are repulsive to God. Some Christians act like they don’t know right from wrong. Whether some pretend to be ignorant of sin or not, the Word of God, our conscience, and the Holy Spirit are our guides to identifying sin. It amazes me how some Christians view arrogance, pride, gossip, and lying as insignificant. Check your Bibles, God hates this stuff, and because of it we are facing condemnation in the fires of Hell! But, “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Romans 8:1).

Cleansed in the Blood of Jesus

The good news is: we can get out of danger by humbly submitting to God through confession, repentance, and being cleansed in the blood of Jesus. Jesus is like a boat, floating over a deep dark ocean full of sewage. If we stay in the boat we won’t get dirty and drown, but if we jump out, we only have ourselves to blame for our watery grave. As the boat represents Jesus, the water represents sin. We are commanded to stay joined to Christ. In some Bible translations, it refers to us as being “in Christ” (Romans 8:1); so we must stay in Christ.

Liberals say, “Jesus died for my sins, past, present and future, therefore I’m covered under his blood and God looks down on me and sees nothing but the righteousness of his Son”. This is true, but only if you are in Jesus. If you’ve left the boat and begun to swim around in the polluted waters of sin, the Father looks down and sees you in sin, not in Jesus. When we find ourselves in transgression, we need to get back into the boat of Jesus, confess our sin, repent and have Jesus wash and cleanse us in his blood. Then God will look down and see righteousness rather than a polluted soul drowning next to the boat of Jesus.

But once again, the Liberals think: after they become a Christian, all their sins, of all time, have been washed away; and now they are clean, no matter if they decide to take a dive into the filthy ocean again. For those who are considered “out of fellowship, out of agreement with God, and backsliders”; these people are floating in sin; and they need to hurry back into the boat. These Christians are not on their way to Heaven, but heading toward the waterfall of Hell. These unfaithful individuals should worry very much for their souls. Outside of Jesus Christ is the most dangerous place to be.

The holy, precious blood of Jesus was made available for our sins and we must go to him and be washed and cleansed each time we sin. We get clean through confession and repentance. The blood certainly doesn’t free us to sin without consequence, for the wages of sin is still death. So we must continue to get washed. If we jump back into the sewage we become dirty again, but the blood is still available to wash away the filth and make us clean. The same blood of Jesus (shed some two thousand years ago) continues to wash and cleanse us through our daily confession and repentance; this is a continual process we undertake; and Jesus doesn’t do it automatically. We must initiate it.

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you (Acts 8:22). But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-9).

The word “confess” doesn’t necessarily mean to speak aloud our sins. A verbal confession likened to a felon and two police officers is not what God is talking about. And besides, if verbal confession were really required, this would really screw things up for a mute person. No, the word “confess” in the Greek text is defined as:

Acknowledgment and Agreement (G3670 – Strong’s Greek Dictionary).

So in other words: we need to acknowledge our sin (this may lead to verbal confession) and agree with God that he’s right and we’re wrong. Simply saying “I’m sorry” is not enough, we must acknowledge and agree with God in our hearts. This is real confession and is accompanied with repentance.

Intense personal Bible study helps us stay clean. Simple reading is not enough, we must study. We must approach the Bible with humility and patience, ready and willing to receive what God wants to give us. The more we study the Word, the more we will recognize sin and stay free from it and be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. When we study the Word and acknowledge our sins, we are washed clean and when the Father looks down, he sees the righteousness of his Son.

Seven Arguments

Continual Faith in Jesus is the condition for salvation and without it, we have no salvation. We can have Faith at one point and cease to have Faith at another. It’s up to us to either stay in the security of Jesus or live dangerously in sin. Because we are in the last days, and demons are deceiving the Body, doctrines like OSAS have sprung up among Christians.

The rationalization of OSAS starts with the assumption of its validity, and then scriptures are put with it to justify that assumption. This is just plain sad to see Liberals twist scripture to justify a doctrine they’re more comfortable with. Even though I believe the point has been made about our conditional security and the fact that we can lose our salvation, I decided to grab the most common biblical arguments for OSAS and smash them with the Word.

1) “I’m sealed by the Holy Spirit:”

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV).

First of all, the Strong’s Greek Dictionary defines “seal” as:

From G4973; to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively); by implication to keep secret, to attest:—(set a, set to) seal up, stop.

In the early Bible days, people would create documents called “scrolls”. After they finished writing, they would roll up the piece of paper, and seal it with a wax-based signet. The signet was a circular stamp with a logo on it; a signature of the author and origin of the document. Once the document reached the reader, the reader removed the signet (the seal) and read the document.

Liberals will use the Ephesians passage to claim eternal security because of the seal of the Spirit. But their assumption is that the seal cannot be broken or removed, or that the Spirit is permanent. David pleaded with God to not take away the Spirit (Ps 51:11) and the Bible commands us not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) by remaining in sin. I believe the Spirit will leave us if we decide to stay in sin. He is not permanent and has conditions, just like salvation. The condition is our willingness to be guided and controlled by him. The Holy Spirit is holy; he’s not going to abide with sin. There is no mention that he is permanent in the entire Bible. We are either in sin or in Christ; we are either in the flesh, or in the Spirit.

In the Ephesians passage, the Holy Spirit in us is described as a deposit for our souls; in which God will later pay, in full, at the end of our lives. This scripture is clearly saying that we haven’t been paid in full yet. If we were without-a-doubt going to Heaven because of the seal of the Spirit, the Bible would read, “we are paid in full by God”, but it doesn’t.

Taking into the consideration the rest of the Bible, the Spirit was given to help us live as Christ lived and confirm in us that we belong to him (Romans 8:16 NIV). Frankly, one day, years ago, after reading Romans 8:16, the Spirit told me I was not in him and that I needed to repent of my sins. Now if it was the devil talking to me, he wouldn’t have told me to repent; so I know it was the Spirit. This was a point in my life when I was beginning to come back to God and the Helper began to speak to me again. I know, for certain, that he was not in me, but was simply warning me, so that I could let him back in.

Once again, there’s no mention in the Bible that the deposit (the Spirit) is non-refundable if the product (us) is faulty. And once again, we must stay in Christ for security and allow the power of the Spirit to work in us to produce fruit. If we are in sin, the Holy Spirit is convicting us, urging and encouraging us to be righteous. But the sealing of the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean we are eternally secure.

2) “I’ll never perish, because I’m a Christian:”

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand (John 10:27-29).

Liberals use this scripture to validate Eternal Security, claiming that Jesus said, “They shall never perish”; and they assume it applies to anyone who calls themselves a Christian or follower of Christ. But look closely at the condition for eternal life. Eternal life only applies to the believer as they hear the voice of Jesus and follow him. And notice the words “hear” and “follow” are in the present tense, not the past. Therefore, those who presently hear and follow the voice of Jesus have eternal life; not those who “heard back then” and followed for a time and stopped; not those who heard and didn’t follow at all; but those who hear now and follow now; these are the ones who can be labeled true sheep of Jesus; and these are the ones who have eternal life because of their active Faith. In other words, if we are obeying Jesus right now, we have eternal life right now and shall never perish. But if we don’t follow Jesus, we don’t have eternal life.

The part about being secure in his hand falls under the same condition of hearing and following. Liberals often include that the “no one” Jesus referred to encompasses everyone including themselves, and that there is no sin that would remove them from the clutch of his protective hand. But their argument assumes that we have lost our free will to leave Jesus, and that sin is no longer offensive once we climb into the big hand of Jesus. This isn’t true. To be in sin is to be outside of Jesus, this is what separated us in the beginning and continues to separate us now, unless we are cleansed in the blood through confession and repentance. We will always have free will to walk away from God; if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be human; we’d be robots.

The word “snatch” refers to an outside source which tries to take us by force, like Satan. We can rest assured that we will be protected if we continue to hear and follow the voice of Jesus. As sheep, we can be lured away by doctrines of demons and evil men (wolves), but they cannot take us. It is up to us (in our free will) to make the decision to stop following Jesus and start following demons and wolves; these are the things that try to snatch us from Jesus; but they can’t, if we continue to hear and follow Jesus. This scripture was written for our assurance, so that we can know that: if we hear his voice and follow it now, we indeed are his protected sheep and have eternal life.

3) “Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even me:”

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor  angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).

This scripture is similar to the latter part of the last scripture they use to support Eternal Security. Once again, this scripture only applies to us if we are obedient followers of Jesus. If we choose to go our own way, we separate ourselves. Paul’s list refers to circumstances or  external sources but he never mentions sin or us on this list. Jude 1:21 warns us to “keep ourselves in the love of God”, he wouldn’t have warned us if we couldn’t be separated from God. In John 15:10, Jesus says, “If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love”. Therefore this scripture of protection against separation from the love of our God is only applicable if we obey God’s commandments. Sin and rebellion are not in keeping the commandments and therefore will separate us from the love of God.

4) “Destruction of flesh for the saving of the spirit:”

Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:5).

In context, verses 1-8 of 1 Corinthians chapter 5 describe Paul’s response to the knowledge of an unrepentant, fornicating Christian who was apart of the church of Corinth. This man was having sex with his father’s wife (1 Cor 5:1). Paul was flabbergasted at the fact that the people were indifferent to the seriousness of this sin and their failure to discipline and remove the man from the fellowship (1 Cor 5:2).

In verse 5, Paul instructs them to deliver the man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Paul was telling them to excommunicate the man because his continued behavior would screw up the rest of the church (1 Cor 5:6-7). Away from the believers and the protection of God, the devil would “teach the man a lesson” (so to speak), and he may realize his sin, repent, and come back to God, and be saved in the end.

I don’t believe the “destruction of the flesh” refers to actual death, but rather the destruction of this man’s sinful nature of sexual immorality. The God’s Word Bible translation renders verse 5 more clearly:

Hand such a person over to Satan to destroy his corrupt nature so that his spiritual nature may be saved on the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5 GW).

I believe the devil’s attacks would destroy the man’s physical and mental inclinations toward this sin, to the point that he’d realize that his defeated situation was his fault because he was out of the hand of God, separated, floating in sin and should make the decision to repent.

When we are outside the protective hand of God and playing in sin, all kinds of things will go wrong, and I believe some of it will be orchestrated by the devil, in which God won’t protect us from; after all, the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Perhaps  the immoral man’s girlfriend (his father’s wife) would break his heart and leave him for another; maybe he’d catch a STD, or his own father would discover them in the act and beat the snot out of him; then he’d realize the hard life of disobeying God and return. But notice the words “may be saved” (1 Cor 5:5); there was no guarantee that this man would return to God and be saved; but the excommunication was done to keep the church clean, and for the man’s own good; that he may be saved.

Liberals like to use verse 5 to support OSAS, claiming that even though the man was in sin, and given over to the devil (and even claiming that the “destruction of the flesh” meant actual death), that the man would still be saved when Jesus returns. But this isn’t true, for the wages of sin is death. For that man to continue in sin until death would result in his departure to Hell, not Heaven. I heard Liberals leaders call this man a “reprobate” and say,

“If you get too bad, too hard-headed, and plain unrepentant, God will just kill you; but you’ll still go to heaven, you’ll just lose some rewards.”

That is complete crap! God is clear about fornication of any kind: we will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9). The point of Paul’s response in chapter 5 was to instruct believers how to deal with fornication within the Church. To allow that man to stay among the brothers and sisters would give the appearance that God is OK with sin, and it would likely stumble others to fall into the same sin (1 Corinthians 15:33). When I look at churches today I see a direct violation of God’s instructions.

5) “But my name is written in the Book of Life and it’s permanent:”

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3).

Liberals will say that since they’ve become a part of God’s kingdom, their names have been written in the book of life, just as Jesus informed his disciples. They say that their names cannot be removed because they’re permanent, therefore, they are eternally secure. Adam Clarke’s Commentary of the New Testament for Luke 10:20 explains the history of the custom of writing the names of citizens in a public register book:

“This form of speech is taken from the ancient custom of writing the names of all the citizens in a public register, that the several families might be known, and the inheritances properly preserved. This custom is still observed even in these kingdoms, though not particularly noticed. … It appears also probable, that when any person died, or behaved improperly,  his name was sought out and erased from the book, to prevent any confusion that might happen in consequence of improper persons laying claim to an estate, and to cut off the unworthy from the rights and privileges of the peaceable, upright citizens. To this custom of blotting the names of deceased and disorderly persons out of the public registers, there appear to be allusions, Exodus 32:32, where see the note; and Revelation 3:5; Deuteronomy 9:14; 25:19; 29:20; 2 Kings 14:27; Psalm 69:28; 109:13, and in other places.”

In Revelation 3:5, Jesus says,

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

Taking into consideration the words of Jesus in the book of Luke 10 and Revelation 3, our names are written in the Book of Life signifying our place in the Kingdom of God, but this is based on the condition of “overcoming” as Jesus mentions. If we do not overcome, we shall  not be clothed in white garments; and our names will be blotted out of the book of life. In other words, if we continue in un-repentance (behaving improperly) and die in those sins it will result in the loss of our inheritance. Our names will be blotted with a big black marker  and no longer be in the book of life; therefore our names are not permanent. This means we must avoid sin and continue in Faith until the
end.

6) “We’re predestined to make it. I’m going to heaven no matter what:”

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30).

The Liberals define predestination as: “God’s divine decree foreordaining all souls to either salvation or damnation”. Because of this definition, they justify eternal security; claiming that God foreordained them for salvation and some for Hell; they don’t have a choice in the matter. The problem with this is twofold:

1. The Bible clearly says in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”. Therefore, we have a choice to choose life or death. True, he knows our outcome, but our salvation or damnation isn’t chosen in advance by God, we ultimately make our choice by our actions.
2. Liberals have made up their own definition for “predestination”.

A good example of predestination is: A father wants his son to go to Africa to spend time with the family, so he buys a plane ticket to Africa and gives it to his son. The father’s destination for his son’s visit to Africa was set up prior to, before, “pre”, therefore the word:  predestination. The Strong’s Greek Dictionary defines the word “predestinate” (G4309) as:

To limit in advance, that is, (figuratively) predetermine:—determine before, ordain, predestinate.

The father decided, in advance, that he wanted his son to go to Africa. He bought a ticket beforehand. He limited the place to Africa, and determined and ordained (commanded) that Africa was the place his son must go. But just because the father makes a command doesn’t mean the son will obey it. The son could defy the wishes of his father. The son hasn’t lost his ability of free will and he doesn’t have to comply with the commands of his father.

Likewise with God our Father, who knew we’d exist before we were born, he predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son so that Jesus might have many brothers like himself. This is God’s destination for everyone, but we don’t have to obey this command, we don’t have to take that route, we don’t have to be like Christ. The Father wants what’s best for us, but we have a choice; and like a hard-headed  child we can disobey, go our own way, and reap the consequences of it. Therefore we are not automatically secure or saved just because God wants us to be.

7) “We both love Jesus; we don’t need to talk about losing our salvation.”

There’s no scripture for this one. I usually hear this after the Liberal becomes perplexed, without answers and unable to prove their  doctrine. I agree that it’s pointless to debate if one can go to hell or not when both sides have already made up their minds to disagree on the topic. But to say, “We both love Jesus”, isn’t true. If you preach a doctrine that renders obedience optional, you don’t love God. Disobedience is synonymous with a lack of love for God. As far as debating this topic any further with such a person, we should stop. It’s a waste of time. The real issue is a misunderstanding of Faith, and once we understand proper Faith, I believe we can begin to agree on this most popular topic.

“What is salvation? What does it mean to be ‘saved’?”

This is usually the next question I hear from Christians trying to wrap their minds around the true understanding of Faith in Jesus. Here’s a definition taken from the Strong’s Greek Dictionary:

Here, we learn that “salvation” comes from the word “savior”: a person who delivers, rescues, and brings to safety; and “savior” comes from the word “saved”, which means to protect, preserve, make whole and heal. This is why God told Joseph to name his Son “Jesus”  because he will save his people (Matthew 1:20-21). We can also recall the many accounts where Jesus healed and restored the sick and the dead; and we all know that he saves us from condemnation: for Jesus is salvation (Luke 2:29-30; 3:3-6).

So, to “be saved” means:

• To be healed of sickness, to be made well, to be made whole
• To be protected from the judgment of Hell

Salvation is both what Jesus is and what he does. So, when a person says, “I’m saved” they should say it with the understanding that they are joined to Christ, obeying God’s Word, and out of sin. No longer should people think “being saved” means: “I regularly attend church”, or “I said a prayer of salvation”, or “I pay my tithes”, or “I associate with Christians”, but rather, “I obey God (according to his standards) and I’m saved because of it.”

The Consequences of OSAS

I feel the need to show the fruit of this doctrine to further exhort Liberals, and those with similar beliefs, to trash this false teaching and pick up the truth. There are four consequences to the belief in OSAS:

1. Holiness and righteousness become optional.
   For Christians, scriptures like:
   •  be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2- NIV);
   •  be holy because I am holy (1 Pt 1:16 NIV)
   •  examine yourselves to see whether you are in the Faith (2 Cor 13:5 NIV)
   These and scriptures like them become optional, and Christians won’t be cautious to avoid sin. Why should a person strive be holy, or renew their minds, or even examine themselves to see if they are faithful, when,no matter what they do, they still go to Heaven?
2. The believer suffers loss regardless.
   Whether OSAS is true or false, the unfaithful Christian will always lose something. If OSAS is true, the faithful and unfaithful Christian will still go to Heaven. But the unfaithful Christian would lose any additional rewards, while the faithful one would gain. If OSAS isn’t true, the unfaithful Christian will lose their soul while the faithful one will go to Heaven. To believe OSAS, is to make a gamble in which you will certainly lose something. Some would argue that I am assuming that a person who believes this doctrine is unfaithful. This is exactly what I’m saying. This entire book exposes our lack of faith, and this doctrine perpetuates our unfaithfulness.
3. Makes Jesus look bad.
   When the world sees the character of most Christians, they want no part of Jesus. Why would someone want to follow Christ when the people who represent him are defeated, arrogant, loveless and two-faced? There’s enough of that in the world. If Jesus is like that, I want no part of Christianity. Therefore, the ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) muck up the image of Jesus Christ.
4. Produces sadly mistaken people.
   God is clear about his requirements for salvation and if we don’t meet them, we will lose our souls; simply put. Can you imagine all the people on Judgment Day: “But God, I thought I was saved, the preacher say I was!” and God will say, “You didn’t obey me (John 14:15), get away from me you worker of iniquity” (Luke 13:25-27)… That’s scary!

Teachers Must Repent

With the proper understanding of Faith in Jesus, the OSAS doctrine is completely ridiculous! If you teach OSAS you must repent. Most leaders are simply teaching what they’ve been taught and haven’t questioned it. In some way, they could claim ignorance. But if they claim to hear from God, yet preach this fallacy, are they really hearing God? Or, are they rejecting his commandment that they must preach the truth? Which one is it?

Even though it would be very difficult to tell your entire listening audience, or your entire congregation that you believed a lie and have taught one, it is the most humble thing you can do. You would gain nothing but grace and bring honor to the Lord by confessing and repenting. Sure, you may lose your ministry or most of your church, but isn’t this much better than losing your soul in the eternal depths of Hell? To continue teaching this lie because of pride and downright rebellion will not only bring down your church but also sentence you to an even sharper judgment in Hell (James 3:1). What’s terrible about this is: many will not heed this warning. My heart grieves for these people!

Accepting the Truth

One reason people reject the idea of “losing your salvation” is because, by nature, people want to have their beliefs affirmed rather than challenged. Since the beginning, Liberals have been taught a comfortable dogma of security; they’ve accepted this doctrine of demons and made it their own. To attack OSAS is to attack the very foundation in which their lives are built on.

Liberals don’t want to hear something that removes this comfortable, spiritual safety net as they walk across the tightrope of life. Even though I tell them that Jesus can prevent them from falling (Jude 24, 1 Peter 1:5), and even if they do slip (if they wanted to be saved) Jesus would swoop down like Superman and catch them, they still cringe at the fact that Faith in Jesus requires some effort on their part.

They begin to realize the uncomfortable requirements of obedience, humility and love of one’s neighbor; as defined by God and not themselves. They realize, if they don’t enlist the help of the Spirit and Jesus, and strive for holiness, it’s impossible to keep the commandments of God on their own; and therefore, they’re in big trouble. The life of the believer is hard, and some don’t want to endure hardship. But we can make it, if we stick with God and encourage one another.

They encouraged the followers and begged them to remain faithful. They told them, “We have to suffer a lot before we can get into God’s kingdom (Acts 14:22 CEV).

When I first learned the truth, I didn’t want to accept it either. Earlier, I found a list of scriptures that clearly spelled out a “loss of salvation”, and I knew I wasn’t safe anymore. I knew I wasn’t guaranteed a ticket to Heaven just because of my past Faith. A lot of worry came to me. So in my rejection of the truth and my attempt to make myself feel better, I contacted a website I knew would justify OSAS, and threw the scriptures in the garbage. But I couldn’t reject the truth for long. I later accepted it and began to study and seek God about the proper understanding of Faith in Jesus that would guarantee my salvation. He gave me this book to start with. The safety net hasn’t really been removed, it’s just in Christ Jesus, and we must stay in him.

We Can Do It

You need to understand that God wants us to win this race of life (Romans 8:31). He’s not trying to toughen the course so we can lose. He’s not putting a heavy burden on us. His load is light (Matthew 11:30). He wants us to overcome the world as his Son did. He’s given us all the help to do it: the Son and the Holy Spirit; that’s two-thirds of the Godhead. I think that’s more than enough for us to win this race of endurance and receive the grand prize of eternal life in Heaven with our God.

This journey of Faith is hard because we’re so weak and don’t measure up to the holiness of God, and must desperately depend on him for our very souls. As soon as we realize how broken, incapable and weak we are, it would minimize most of our frustration and strain. All our lives we are taught to be independent and not dependent on someone else. And so, pride really becomes the issue, and humility is the starting point for all believers serious about becoming successful followers of Jesus. Without humility, we will fall just as Satan did (1 Tim 3:6). The great thing is this: the work of producing good fruit is done by Jesus himself, we just need to obey and allow him to do his job.

Next chapter: Let’s Please God

This ministry is no longer in service. I left the Christian faith and no longer agree with some of the content posted here. However, this website will remain available for archive purposes. Read the details in my last post.