The Assault on Christ's Eternal
Salvation (Pt. 3)
By William Handschumacher
A Special Rock of Offence Commentary
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This is Part 3 of a six-part Bible study.
The other parts of this study are available
below.
Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 4
Part 5
-------
Part 6
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On numerous occasions, we hear various ministers both preach and defend a dangerous heresy. What's truly amazing is that the Bible clearly warns about this heresy ... but the warning is either ignored or censored to protect a popular false theology.
Here's one example.
Recently, on a popular Christian
television show the host asked his
guest the following question:
If you could pick just one false
Christian teaching - which one
would you say is the most
harmful?
The guest responded by saying...
This whole idea that once you are
saved, you can sin and live anyway
you want and still claim to be
saved. It's called, 'Once Saved
Always Saved'...and it comes from
the pit of hell because it teaches
a false type of Grace.
This and other similar statements (and their corresponding arguments) always sound 'Biblical and right' because it's used in combination with a half-truth. The part that's true acts like bait to lure and then "hook" (or entrap) new and inexperienced Christians. It's correctly referred to as "heresy" because it changes the way Jesus (and later Saint Paul) said salvation is to operate - as previously outlined.
When hearing such statements we
should always remember...
Yes ... all Christians should live righteously in a Christ-honoring way - and not in sin or "anyway they want". Yet, the Bible (God's official rule book) teaches that salvation becomes God's unmerited and undeserved gift after Christ's sacrificial death at the cross. As a result ... if a Christian decides to foolishly "live anyway they want" (or does so in ignorance) it will never cause God to revoke His gift; otherwise the gift becomes nonsensical. This amazing statement represents God's Grace - and remains true whether you agree with it - or not.
The subtle lie offered by the guest in this program is that real salvation is dependent upon "living right" ... and if you don't "live right" (or if you have any sin your life) - then God will, at some unknown time, revoke His salvation without your knowledge. This is the heresy the Apostle Paul fought during his entire ministry. Bible scholars often refer to it as "Lordship Salvation, the Galatian heresy - or Leagalism". Yet, authentic New Testament salvation teaches that "living right and avoiding sin" (and everything connected to these attributes) ARE ONLY DEALT WITH AFTER WE ARE SECURELY SAVED ... and must never be used as a requirement (or precondition) for obtaining and keeping God's Gift of eternal life.
This is why Romans 11:29 emphatically
states;
"For God's gifts and His call
are irrevocable - and will never
be withdrawn once given".
Eternal life (or salvation) is
God's Gift (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Next, the statement pertaining to a Christian "living anyway they want" is not clearly defined. It can be modified into anything - as a way to control an unsuspecting congregation, who were never taught that God's gift of eternal life is irrevocable once given (Romans 11:29).
Claiming that the teaching "Once Saved Always Saved" is from the pit of hell - is the same as saying that Christ's teaching is "of the devil" - which fits the Biblical definition of blasphemy.
How can we make such a statement?
Because the "once saved always
saved" teaching they claim
is "from the pit of hell"...
happens to be how Jesus
describes His salvation.
Speaking of the future salvation His sacrificial death would provide - Jesus said (paraphrased); 'The Holy Spirit will now be in you and remain forever'. This essentially means that once you are saved under the New Covenant program of salvation - you remain saved (John 14:16-17). And...once you receive God's gift of eternal life, He will never take it away (Romans 11:29). Claiming that Christ's words are actually "of the devil" is a serious sin known as blasphemy, which carries unthinkable consequences if allowed to continue unchecked.
Jesus addresses the subject of blasphemy after He healed a deaf and dumb man in Matthew chapter 12. The Pharisees, who witnessed the miracle, attributed it to Beelzebub (an ancient reference to the devil) ... and said that the miraculous power Jesus used was not from God, but from Beelzebub (or the devil). Jesus quickly warned them (and all those who make the same kind of accusations) that they had just committed "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit".
Jesus then gave one of the strongest
warnings found in the New Testament:
"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:31-32)
To be fair to the program host and his
guest; the statement they made falls
into the category of "blasphemy that
will be forgiven".
However, it is still "blasphemy" - because the guest (with the obvious approval of the host) took a benefit of New Testament salvation taught by the Lord Jesus Christ ... and assigned it to the devil. Unfortunately, some falsely religious Christians regularly use these kinds of accusations as a way to defend their beliefs ... being unaware of the spiritual consequences connected to their actions.
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This is Part 3 of a six-part Bible study.
The other parts of this study are available
below.
Part 1
-------
Part 2
-------
Part 4
Part 5
-------
Part 6
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