Once Saved. Always Saved?

“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.” Hebrews 10:26

A person is saved when they have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Messiah, call out by His Name to save them, forgive everyone (including themselves), confess all sins, repent, and receive the Holy Spirit. They don’t repeat their sin because they have been CHANGED into a NEW PERSON by the power of the Holy Spirit. They have WITNESSED the Glory of God, and tell of their testimony. God enables them to do the works of HIS WILL.

Is it a done deal? Yes and No.

Yes: If they obey the Holy Spirit’s instructions and do not go back to their sinful lifestyle. There is NO OUTSIDE POWER that could ever undo what God has done. As long as a saved person remains faithful and obedient, God never changes His mind.

John 10:27–30 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

No: If they deliberately disobey God after seeing Him, and knowing Him in Spirit. They lose their salvation by their own free will. God does not change His mind, but people do. There’s no going back from this. The story of Lot’s wife is an illustration of it. She was rescued from destruction and was warned not to look back. Her looking back was equivalent to this situation.

Luke 9:61-62 “Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” 

John 15:4-17  “REMAIN IN ME, AND I WILL REMAIN IN YOU. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” 

Hebrews 6:4–6 

“For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.” 

For example; Samuel anointed Saul as king of Israel. God gave him a new heart and filled him with the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, Saul did not stay obedient to God and was later rejected. David took his place.

1 Samuel 10:6-9 

“At that time THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD WILL COME POWERFULLY UPON YOU, AND YOU WILL PROPHESY WITH THEM. YOU WILL BE CHANGED INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON. After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions. As Saul turned and started to leave, GOD GAVE HIM A NEW HEART, and all Samuel’s signs were fulfilled that day.” 

1 Samuel 13:8-14 

“Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?” 

Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” 

“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have NOT kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have NOT kept the Lord’s command.” 

1 Samuel 15:20-24 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” 

Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “YES, I HAVE SINNED. I HAVE DISOBEYED YOUR INSTRUCTIONS AND THE LORD’S COMMAND, FOR I WAS AFRAID OF THE PEOPLE AND DID WHAT THEY DEMANDED.”

• 1 Samuel 16:14 “Now THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD HAD LEFT Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.” 

  
  

  • Proverbs 29:25 “Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.”

1 John 2:18-29

Warning about Antichrists

“Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.

But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

So YOU MUST REMAIN FAITHFUL to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will REMAIN IN FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SON AND WITH THE FATHER. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Living as Children of God

And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.”

• Revelation 2:26 “To all who are victorious, WHO OBEY ME TO THE VERY END, To them I will give authority over all the nations.” 

*We would not get numerous warnings throughout the Scriptures if it was a “done deal.”

THE CONFUSION

I often hear this argument “people are not saved until they die physically.” Here’s what is hiding behind this false belief:

• What’s TRUE; the physical death seals our outcome, whatever it is. We cannot change anything after we die, but things can change before we die. If we die after having received the Spirit of Christ, we will receive new immortal bodies and will be forever perfect = forever saved. But if we die in sin, which separates us from God, this separation will also be eternal. 

Romans 8:9-11 “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

* “so even though your body will die because of sin” refers to our dying mortal bodies; sin = death. The bodies we live in now are sinful by nature. This verse is NOT a permission to continue sinning; you CHOOSE to sin or you CHOOSE to obey God!

Romans 6:1-2 “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”

• What’s FALSE: “One cannot be saved until they die” is a belief that all living people are sinners until the day they die, which means THEY die in their sins! So then, how can they obey God to the very end if they continue to sin? Impossible. Those who subscribe to this belief, don’t believe a person can receive the Holy Spirit during their lifetime on earth, which is the requirement for Salvation! 

Romans 8:7-8 “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”

Also, since they can’t stop being sinners and they cannot change anything after they die – there’s no redemption for them. But wait, they go around it by thinking they will be automatically forgiven at the time of their death because they are “such good sinners” and THEN, the Holy Spirit will be given to them, as a reward.

Ezekiel 18:4 “For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.”

Don’t they understand that the only reward for their sin will be death? No! They are special and entitled to forgiveness. The rules don’t apply to them, so they never repent, never change, and will never be saved because they have no faith. They only believe in their own righteousness. They twist what it means “to repent” and say, “it only means to change your mind.” However, they don’t ever dare to “change their minds” by having this brilliant new thought: “hey, let’s not be sinners anymore, let’s obey God now!” No, they resist it. A “changed mind” would destroy their faithfulness to sin. It’s not that they don’t know they “need to change their minds,” they choose not to. Arrogance swims in delusion.

CORRECTION

ONE MUST BE SAVED AND BORN AGAIN BEFORE THEY DIE PHYSICALLY. The “born again” is not a physical birth, like the pagan belief in reincarnation. It’s a SPIRITUAL BIRTH, the receiving of the Holy Spirit and it must happen during this lifetime! That’s our only purpose in this life; to break free from sin and live forever!

John 3:5-12 

“Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”

THE EVIDENCE

EVERYONE NEEDS TO PROVE THEY HAVE REPENTED BEFORE THEY DIE. No one is able to repent and prove it by their actions after they die and get buried!

Acts 26:20 “I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that ALL MUST REPENT OF THEIR SINS AND TURN TO GOD—AND PROVE THEY HAVE CHANGED BY THE GOOD THINGS THEY DO.” 

So why people can’t just “change their minds” and start proving their “changed life?” Because they are slaves to sin, and a slave is not stronger than their master; the Devil. 

That’s why we have the Savior, Jesus Christ, who proved to be stronger than sin and death! It’s by His mighty power that we may be saved, CHANGED and made holy! Free from sin! 

Ephesians 4:17-24 “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

What’s impossible for humans, is possible with God!

FOR BEST RESULTS

Believe, Repent while you still can, and REMAIN FAITHFUL TO CHRIST! 

Romans 11:17-22

“But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

“Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE IN CHRIST, AND YOU ARE THERE BECAUSE YOU DO BELIEVE. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.”

Proverbs 14:14 “Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.”

Jude 17-23

A CALL TO REMAIN FAITHFUL

“But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”