Does scripture teach that a believer is eternally secure, even if they decide to abandon Christ altogether? This doctrine is taught in Calvinist and Baptist circles, primarily, but does scripture really teach eternal security, ‘no matter what’? The Apostle Peter warns, it is better to have never known the way of righteousness than to have known it, and turned away from it (2 Pet 2:20-21). Can a person walk away from God or ‘depart from the faith’? This is a very controversial doctrine, and this extended broadcast seeks to provide biblical answers to this contentious question. Join Carl now…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Today we will address the treasured sacred cow which resides in the pasture of both Calvinists and even Baptists…and that is the old nugget, “Once saved, always saved.” Now this maybe a cute saying, but you won’t find it in the bible. The premise is this friend, some believe that once you’ve prayed the prayer of salvation, and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you then have permanent insurance from hell, no matter what. Whatever happens you are guaranteed a place in heaven. It’s a one-time affair, case closed
Let me start out by saying people get very offended when you claim as the bible clearly teaches, that you can depart from the living God. Let me ask you, this is it once married always married? Heck no, if one party rejects the other and walks away, there is no covenant relationship. Can your citizenship be revoked? Sure, it can, just as your citizenship in heaven can be revoked. God does not save a man against his will, nor does he keep him against his will. No-one is going to heaven against their will, friend. Just as faith and repentance are necessary for salvation, so they are requisite for the continuance of that salvation in a Christian’s life. The word believe, as it’s used in the many passages within the New Testament, is always in the ongoing present tense and means, “to believe and to continue to believe.” It is the continuous or progressive present tense and implies not only an initial act of faith, but a maintained attitude of faith.
Now let’s get to brass tax here. There is no promise in the Bible, that God will keep the man who willfully turns away from the provisions of salvation which Christ has made. In fact, there is a precedent set in the Old Testament, that one may depart from the living God. This law of first mention has far reaching doctrinal repercussions. The Book of Deuteronomy especially mentions this departing, and serves as a stark warning, that it is a possible to walk away from God. In fact, in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 10, verses twenty-six thru twenty-seven, we are plainly told, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of JUDGMENT and of raging FIRE that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” To abide in Christ is an ongoing present tense endeavor, but if through flagrant unbelief, unconfessed, willful sinning, or apostasy, we do not abide in Christ, we have no promise our salvation is secure. And I’m going to read many scriptures here, this will be a long broadcast, so get ready.
Now, Adam and Eve were once in union with God and fell away. Then the Watcher angels, who were once aligned and in service to God, left their first estate, and came into the daughters of men in Genesis 6. Their rebellion and subsequent perversion, is arguably the main reason for Noah’s flood, wiping out the suspected 500 million people, who were comprised of humans, Giants and chimera’s. Then we have Lucifer himself, a rebellious Cherub who once served God in a worship position, yet departed from God in rebellion along with a third of the angels. Judas Iscariot was once a follower of Christ, yet he also departed from the living God. Then we have many people who at various times in Christ’s ministry walked away from Him, because His message was too severe for them.
Friend the Bible is replete with admonitions not to depart from God, which we will cover today. The idea that something or someone can be lost is voluminous in scripture. Sheep can become lost, coins can be lost, we can lose our flavor as salt, we can become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, we can err from the truth, we can be overcome by the world and finally, we can leave our first love, if we choose to.
The bible talks about drawing back, casting forth, casting out, falling away into spiritual darkness, being cut off, and our faith becoming shipwrecked. Hebrews 2:3 warns we can ‘neglect’ our salvation. Heck, Jesus even threatens to spew the lukewarm out of His mouth, in the book of revelation. In the parable of the vine-dresser, it talks about the branches which are thrown away and cast in the fire, for those who do not remain in the father, with the implication they were once in relationship with the Father. In the book of Galatians, it says those who came back under the law after becoming born again are estranged from Christ himself. To be estranged is to become alienated, or even hostile. Deuteronomy chapter four warns of forgetting the covenant which was made with the Lord your God. In Deuteronomy 8:11 it says, “Beware that you forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day; “certainly this is an old covenant verse, albeit, precedent has been set, we can forget God. Three times in this eighth chapter alone, God wars Israel not to forget Him. The Book of Job and Psalms reference those who forgot God and paid the ultimate price for doing so.
Let me be clear, God’s love for you is so all consuming, He will never give up on you, but there is a chance you may give up on Him. God will pursue you to the ends of the earth but if you reject Him and turn from Him, there is no surety of salvation. No-one can be saved against their will, just as no-one is going to heaven against their will, if they choose to depart from Christ having once believed on Him, God honors your choices. Losing one salvation is not like losing a set of car keys, God will pursue you, even if you don’t reciprocate His pursuit. And I will add, it would be very difficult to lose your salvation, that I agree with, but it is not impossible to do so. Lets read, 1 Timothy 1:18-20: “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, HOLDING ON to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”
This passage implores us to ‘hold on’ tightly to our faith in Christ and steward a good conscience which is the secret to faith itself. If our conscience becomes seared, or wounded, we are in fear of going the way of Hymenaeus and Alexander, as Paul warns. 1 Timothy 4:1 says, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” To depart from the faith, means you were once in the faith. The Apostle Paul in this Pastoral Epistle is addressing the church, not the unsaved and in these ‘last days’ or ‘latter times,’ many are indeed departing from the faith and sound doctrine for that matter. In fact, most preachers sadly no longer believe in a literal hell, let alone preach it.
This notion of departure from Him, is reiterated by Christ himself, in the gospel narrative. Matthew 24 speaks of many turning away from the faith in the latter times, as part of the Olivet Discourse. Lest we forget, God departed from King Saul because of his disobedience in 1st Samuel 28:15. I understand certainly this is a different covenant and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, yet this idea that God can leave someone is biblical. And seals can be broken by the way. King David later describes not ‘wickedly departed from His God’ in 2 Sam 22:22, as others had done. He also repeats this sentiment in Psalm, 18:21. Biblical precedent has been set in the OT, that one can depart from God. In Isaiah 59:13, he laments over Judah who were indicted for departing from the living God. Isaiah, who was the only major prophet who spoke prior to the fall of Jerusalem, says Judah were transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing away from God.” This should get our attention.
Hebrews 3:7–13, says and I quote, “Wherefore, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Paul warns us here (and I do believe Paul wrote Hebrews), that, deceitfulness of sin can cause a hardening of the heart, to the point of unbelief and the inevitable departing from the living God, once unbelief has been conceived. The problems in particular for Israel, referenced in 1st Corinthians 10, were idolatry, fornication, tempting Christ, murmuring and complaining. Those five things stopped them from entering the promised land, which serves as a type or motif for our entrance into heaven in the new covenant. We friend, have a once and for all sacrifice in Christ, yet, unbelief, can cause such a hardening where you no longer care for the things of God. This is very rare but not impossible. You must believe to get into God’s kingdom, which means you have to ‘un-believe’ to get out of it. And that is unbelief. I’m not talking about struggling with sin here. A believer, struggles with sin, but does t practice sin and there’s a difference. A believer can repent of his sin and be restored to fellowship with the Lord once more, certainly. However, the sin of unbelief is particularly troublesome, along with unforgiveness which I believe is the very ‘sin unto death,’ spoken of in 1st John 5:17. And remember, death is separation from God, not just physical death.
I know people who were on fire for God and today want nothing to do with Him because of expectations that weren’t met or offense that came. I know ministers who have walked away from God, which is a very sad state of affairs. The Book of Romans provides a parallel verse here, concerning the hardening of one’s heart. Let’s read, Romans 1:21–22, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
Notice it says, they knew God and I realize the context of this passage is really an unbeliever, whom God has revealed Himself to via his conscience and creation, yet if a believer chooses not to respond to God’s unction, and express thankfulness for the Graces bestowed, their heart too can become darkened and hardened. It works both ways Let us now address perhaps the most pertinent passage, Hebrews 6:4-6. The epistle of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who had put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. They came under pressure and persecution to return to the synagogue and the Jewish religion. It’s the same bewitching spirit, of Judaism that is referenced in the Book of Galatians, trying to entice born again believers back under the Mosaic Law. Many were pressured to return to Judaism which refutes the Gospel’s message of salvation, exclusively through faith in Christ’s sacrifice of blood on the cross. Now listen carefully to these words, Hebrews 6:4-6 says,”It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they FALL AWAY, to be brought back to repentance, because to THEIR LOSS they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
The people in question had, been enlightened by the gospel, tasted the heavenly gift of eternal life, tasted the good Word of God, tasted the powers of the age to come–that would be the gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation and the power of the Gospel with authority over the enemy. And finally, had been partakers of the Holy Spirit, having been sealed by Him But now, they had fallen away, having been pressured to return to Judaism by denying Christ Jesus. They had fallen away by apostasy, renouncing their faith in Christ. They put Him to open shame. It was a recantation or desertion of their faith. And while we are on the topic of being sealed by the Holy Spirit, The word “sealed” does not mean to be stuck in or sealed inside. Let’s read Ephesians 1:13-14, “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. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
This word sealed in the Greek is sphragizo (σφραγίζω,4972). It is a demarcation of ownership. A sealed object was marked by the owner, as proof of possession. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is a down-payment or earnest money of our full redemption, spirit, soul, and body, but we won’t see our full redemption until our spirit, soul and body are aligned with Christ, in the coming Millennial reign. When we receive our glorified bodies at our point of death, our redemption will be complete. So, to be sealed, is to be marked for full redemption, which is a future event. Therefore, our spirit man is in union with Christ currently, will stay that way, if we choose to remain or abide in covenant relationship with Christ.
Here’s another admission, Romans 11:20–22, “Well; because of unbelief they (that’s Israel) were broken off, but you stand by faith. Be not high minded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee (the spiritual branch which has been engrafted in to the True vine). 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. Yes friend, we too can be cut off, if we depart from the living God as Israel did and they our examples of Gods severity. As the spiritual branch, we have greater accountability and responsibility because more grace has been shown to us. To whom much is given, much is required.
Now the counter argument usually refers to the fact, no man can pluck or steel us out of Gods hand. But that man is someone else, not you. John 10:27–29 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. Certainly, no one else can pluck you out of God’s hand but the context hear is the hireling shepherd who is unfaithful to the sheep and wolves who seek to devour the sheep. They cannot separate you from God, but you can depart from Him by choice. And finally in Matthew chapter 8 verse 12, Jesus warns that in some instances, the children of the Kingdom, will be cast into ‘outer darkness,’ where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The context here is the great faith of the Centurion from Capernaum, a Gentile, whose servant was healed by speaking the word only. But Christ juxtaposes the Centurion with the unbelieving Israelite of the kingdom, with the intonation that some who were once in the kingdom could be lost to darkness for all eternity. This is a sobering thought.
Friend there are so many scriptures in favor of the fact anyone who is in covenant relationship with the Lord, can of his own volition, depart or walk away from Christ, and ultimately lose their salvation. Yet I am also convinced, this would be very difficult to do. God will pursue a lost sheep to the ends of the earth, and never leave nor forsake us, but a heart which grows cold toward Him is perhaps the most dangerous disposition of all. Stay on fire for Jesus’ friend, He could return at any moment.
https://carljosephministries.com/podcast/is-your-soul-saved/
https://pastorvlad.org/alwayssaved
Title: Once saved, always saved?
Bibliography:
W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 553.
Guy P. Duffield and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, Foundations of Pentecostal Theology (Los Angeles, CA: L.I.F.E. Bible College, 1983), 196.
Related keyword searches:
