I’ve had a change of mind on a particular “doctrine” issue in the past few weeks. I’ve always believed in the Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS) doctrine. I was taught, and Scriptures seemed to agree, that once you give your life to Christ, it’s His forever. When you receive the gift of eternal life, you have it forever, regardless. It’s a little more complicated than that of course, because that didn’t mean that salvation gave a license to sin whenever. But I’ve recently realized that view is inaccurate.
It’s always annoying to find that something you’ve believed and taught for years is wrong, isn’t it?
I still won’t say that you can “lose” your salvation. But I do think you can give it back or throw it away.
This all came about from a discussion that happened in my small group a week ago, and we’ve all continued to discuss it trying to find answers. My original response to the discussion can be found here.
As the discussion progressed, I delved deeper into Scripture and what it means. Ultimately, the point that I was trying to make was that what matters is what’s in your heart. God’s pretty clear that we aren’t saved based on what we do, and it doesn’t make sense that retaining that salvation would be if the very act of salvation wasn’t.
In all of my reading on the topic, I found these verses:
Hebrews 6:1-6:
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
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.
I’m not sure how I missed these verses for all of these years. Falling away and then trying to repent again is as if you’re trying to crucify Christ again. Brings new meaning to these verses in Matthew:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Makes you think, doesn’t it? Is it possible for someone who believes in OSAS to be saved, fall away, and then come back to God thinking that they are saved and right with God even though they aren’t?
I have to say, I don’t think so. I think there’s a big difference between the person who falls back into sin, knowing it’s wrong and feeling guilty about it, and the person who completely turns away from God and declares that there is no God.
If God’s looking at the heart (which is what I believe He does), then the first person will not have truly fallen away the way the second person did.
Or maybe I’m just wishful thinking.
Either way, a significant shift has occured in my own way of thinking.
Trackposted to Dumb Ox News, Renaissance Blogger, third world county, and Conservative Cat, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
