Once Saved, Always Saved?: The Faith Factor Series

The Faith Factor:

Once Saved, Always Saved?

Emanuel W. Sultana

Copyright 2001, 2012

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The Faith Factor series

can be obtained at Smashwords.com

or online book retailers:

Once Saved, Always Saved?

Blessings of Faith

Unconditional Surrender

Have You Faith of God

This book is dedicated to

my devoted wife Elizabeth (Betty)

and our children,

Mary,

David,

Aaron,

Peter,

and Adam

*****

Unless otherwise indicated all scripture quotations

are taken from the New King James Version, 1979, 1980, 1982,

by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the

Holy Bible, New International Version, 1973, 1978, 1984,

used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament

1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief

quotations in reviews, without written permission from the author.

Cover photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/7380767016/>Stuck in Customs via http://photopin.com>photopin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc

By this gospel you are saved,

If you hold firmly to the word

I preached to you.

Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

— 1 Corinthians 15:2 NIV

*****

Contents

Introduction

Part 1: What Happened In The Garden?

The Test Of Obedience

The Fall Of Man

Part 2: About Eternal Security

The Fallacy of Eternal Security

Searching The Scriptures

Witnesses, Witnesses

Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

Eternal Security Teachings

Part 3: About The Covenants

Part 4: Some Who Fell From Grace

The Fall Of Lucifer

The Rebellion Of Korah

The Son Of Gershom

The Unbelief Of Israel

The Errors Of Balaam

The Undoing Of King Saul

The Story Of Judas Iscariot

The Fall Of Some Disciples

Part 5: New Covenant Teachings on Eternal Life

Selected Teachings Of Jesus

Selected Teachings Of Paul

The Teachings Of James

The Teachings Of Peter

The Teachings Of John

A Teaching Of Jude

Part 6: The Faith Factor

The Necessity Of Faith

The Blessing Of Faith

The Exercise of Faith

Assurance Comes From Faith

Paul’s Faith

Appendix A: Some Conditional Aspects Of Salvation

End Notes

About the Author

Sample from Blessings of Faith

Sample from Unconditional Surrender

******

Introduction

This is eternal life,

that they may know You,

the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

— John 17:3

At any moment, Jesus Christ can come for His Church. There is absolutely

nothing, no future prophecy or any event that remains to be completed before His return. The Scriptures proclaim, In the twinkling of an eye in just a split nanosecond His last call will blare sharply. Then those who died in Christ will rise from their graves, and then all living Christians, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds … and thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thes. 4:17). And that will be a glorious and magnificent heavenward parade.

Tragically, those who have never invited Jesus to be their Lord and Savior will remain on planet earth. Many of these men and women have always believed that a humanistic view of life is sufficient, that is, one based on values, characteristics, and behavior that are believed to be best in human beings. And so, they are able and responsible captains of their own souls. They will take their place with a defiant multitude that has never invited Christ Jesus into their lives.

Others too will be surprised to join them, thinking that their mere appearance of accepting Christ would save them. All these will stay behind on earth, with the apostate church to face the trials and hardships of the Great Tribulation. The final section of Scriptures plainly tells us that no human being, no world government nor power, will have any say or control in the fury that will come.

Nevertheless, it is not too late. The Bible says repeatedly that God is patient. He is giving everyone the opportunity to come to Him. In his epistle, the apostle Peter speaking by the Spirit declares, The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins [repent]. (2 Pet. 3: 9 GNT). Peter says every day before Christ returns is a day of grace and allows the possibility of more people turning in repentance toward Him.

So, my friend, there is no need to be left behind. There is no need to face the tribulation or the fires of eternal hell. God is anxious, yes even enthusiastically eager to receive every child, every young person, and every adult into His family.

Look how simple He has made His invitation:

"Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved … If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

— Romans 10: 13; 9-10 NLT

In the Scriptures God proclaims that when we make Jesus our Lord and Savior, we become right with Him. Other Scripture verses say we become in Christ. In John 1:12 it says: "As many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name."

When we believe in the Son of God, we are saved, redeemed, born again, and literally children of God having a divine life and nature! Surrendering to Him we make our body, soul, and spirit subject to Him alone.

There is not one hint in the Bible that declares we can be Christians and habitually live an ungodly life. Granted, when we do occasionally sin God will forgive us when we repent and confess our sins. The Scriptures also clearly say that if we backslide and reject Christ and His atoning blood, we lose our salvation and the hope of eternal life with Almighty God. This principle runs throughout God’s Word.

The proponents of the doctrine of Eternal Security say once saved—always saved. They contend that Christians remain redeemed—remain born again—remain filled with the Holy Spirit—even if their conduct is habitually immoral. Furthermore, they firmly believe that they are still saved even if they reject Christ as the traitor Judas Iscariot did.

Charles Stanley, a proponent of Eternal Security says, God’s love for us is so great that even those who backslide into apostasy and rejection will be with Christ in heaven. And to believe that anyone can lose their salvation is to believe that we finite beings can thwart God’s infinite plans and purposes.¹

The fact is the Bible from Genesis to Revelation teaches that Eternal Security is eternal if you believe and obey Christ until the Lord takes you home. Whether we use the word believe or faith or trust in referring to our redemption, it is always in the present tense.

Any other kind of Eternal Security than one of continuous faith in Christ will certainly end in a Titanic disaster. Without an enduring abiding in Christ, what remains is a false assurance of salvation—a life preserver full of holes! Why else would the Scriptures instruct us to continue, stand fast, hold on to your faith, finish the race, persevere to the end—in Christ!

The psalmist has told us: Our soul escaped like a bird out of the snare of the fowler. The snare is broken and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord (Ps. 124:78). That is true! On Calvary’s Cross Jesus broke the devil’s snare, and freed us from his domination. We are no longer the devil’s slaves. Now we are together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory.

In Christ, we are living stones uniquely placed together by Him. Every believer joined to another. We were never meant to be stacks of Baptist and Methodists over here and stacks of Catholic and Pentecostals over there. Together, we are His Church glowing brightly on a hill—we cannot be hidden. And we have a mandate to pierce the darkness and release the transforming power of God throughout the world.

The time is short and getting shorter, we are in the last days! So I vigorously exhort each person in the Body of Christ to continue walking with Him until that glorious graduation day.

The apostle Paul admonishes us to:

"Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Do not drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it."

— 2 Corinthians 13:5 MSG

Then to, it deeply concerns me that our churches are filled with some folks who are in serious jeopardy. Why are they in peril? Because the Scriptures states that in later times there will be an increasing danger of believers departing from the living God. It says some "will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Others will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:4 NIV my emphasis).

But wait just one minute! Eternal Security folks say people cannot abandon God once they’re saved. They fiercely ignore the two Scriptures we just read that say people can and will! Just as in the Old Testament when they deserted Jehovah God to worship other gods. Listen, Satan still despises the Church and his ultimate goal has not changed. He has come to steal, kill, and destroy those who are in Christ. He has great pleasure in having us go to hell with him.

Friends, we are in the last days and time is short and getting shorter! So with vigor I exhort the Body of Christ to continue their walk with Him until that glorious graduation day. Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Do not drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it (2 Cor.13:5 MSG).

Today, the question of the permanence of salvation still remains in Christian circles. Therefore we may consider these questions:

Is it possible for anyone to turn away from Christ once he or she has been saved? In other words, can a Christian turn and reject the Christ who shed His blood for the sins of the world?

What is eternal life, and what must one do to obtain it?

Is eternal life in heaven awarded unconditionally as in once saved, always saved or are there conditions to be met?

This book has been written for lay people eager to learn what our precious God has for them. My only purpose is to show what the Bible teaches about possessing eternal life through the Scriptures themselves. My prayer is that these words will bless—and not divide us.

E.W.S.

*****

Part 1

What Happened in the Garden?

For as by one man’s disobedience many

were made sinners, so also by one Man’s

obedience many will be made righteous.

— Romans 5:19

The best place to begin looking at the subject of—not Eternal Security—but eternal life is at the beginning of creation. In the opening chapter of the Bible, it says that God made man and called him Adam. He placed him in the Garden of Eden; it was a perfect Paradise of unimaginable beauty and simplicity. It was a perfect environment; it lacked nothing, absolutely nothing that was necessary for man’s life.

Then the Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him. And so, Eve was formed from a part of Adam and they became man and wife. This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, they marry and the two are united into one.

The Scriptures tell us they rejoiced in God’s mighty works of creation, and talked and walked with their Creator. There they lived happily without hunger or sickness—in complete trust and dependence in Him. Even death would elude them as long as they walked in obedience with God.

Adam and Eve were created extraordinary people. Just as the garden was perfect, they too were fashioned perfect. They were innocent, having no knowledge of good or evil or any sense of right or wrong. They had intelligence, the ability to think and reason, the aptitude to make their own decisions. In other words, they had freedom of will—the privilege of making choices. And as they soon realized they had the ability to sin or not to sin.

The Test of Obedience

In that perfect paradise, God planted exotic trees of every description bearing every imaginable fruit. There was everything needed to satisfy one’s appetite and need. What's more, standing prominently in the center of the garden were two extraordinary trees; "the tree