ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED?

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Once Saved, Always Saved? Can We Lose Our Salvation? Can We Be Saved Without Good Works?

a) Most Christians believe we are justified and saved by faith alone, but good works are the necessary result and evidence of that salvation. In contrast, there is a modern doctrine, popularized by some evangelists and organizations, that believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Savior is all that is required for salvation, and we can never lose that salvation. 

b) According to that doctrine, we are saved by belief in Christ alone; it is not necessary to repent, and good works do not necessarily result from being saved. Bible passages such as John 3:16 and John 10:27-29, as well as Paul's teachings in Romans 8:35-39 and 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 are cited in support. This doctrine has tremendous popular appeal because it teaches that we can be assured of our salvation without the obligation to change our sinful ways. In this view, God loves us and accepts us just as we are, and it is up to God to change us if He wants to. 

c) However, the overall weight of Biblical evidence points to the conclusion that a person who goes on willfully sinning has either intentionally abandoned his or her faith or never sincerely made a faith commitment in the first place. 

d) True faith involves a commitment to trust God and to do our best to live according to His commandments:

i) 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 under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)

ii) Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. (1 Timothy 1:19)

iii) The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:19-26)

e) Other relevant passages include Matthew 7:21-23, 10:22, 25:31-46, Luke 10:25-37, John 14:21-23, John 15:6, Romans 2:6-10, Galatians 6:8-9, Ephesians 5:5-6, 1 Timothy 1:18-20, 2 Timothy 2:12, Hebrews 6:4-6, James 2:14-24, and 2 Peter 2:20-21.

The End ...