Yesterday I was reading on James Maloney's Facebook page Aletheia Eleutheroo, which is also known as "Ask Professor Maloney". On said page one of the questions which were brought up to James was on the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved. His answer is one of those which I not only understand but with which I agree! Sometimes we are so focused on the bare minimal that we miss out on the absolute best possible.
In Revelation we are told of the white robes all believers in Jesus will be given in heaven. We are also told of crown's given, some with jewels, based on our beliefs and works as a result of our faith in Him. (I suggest reading the Book of Revelation to understand in context). The robes we keep - the crown's we throw at the feet of the Lord. I'd be saddened to not have a crown to give back to Him. How awesome it will be to give to Him the result of harvesting His best in me! What an honorable worship!
James'answer is so good I realized I could not begin to paraphrase adequately. So, with his permission, I have posted the crux of his commentary. I pray it stirs your spirit, encourages your heart and motivates us all to know the Lord more fully. Thanks Jim!
Comments on Once Saved Always Saved (by James Maloney)
I believe it is extremely difficult to lose one’s salvation. But I do believe it is possible. Most likely, people who revert and recant their salvation – one could arguably say they weren’t serious about their salvation commitment to begin with – this is the stance of Calvinists, and there can be a lot of truth to this notion. Many people play games with God for years and years, even with themselves, deceiving themselves for years that they are saved, and in the end, their lifestyles dictate otherwise.
Maria Woodworth-Etter spoke about some conversions being one way, and other conversions another way. She used the term being “brightly” converted. Now, look, saved is saved. You either are or you aren’t. But the whole point of Christianity, to be a “follower of Christ,” is NOT to get into heaven just by the skin of your teeth, because Hey, God’s a gracious God. Whew, just made it. That’s a sad testimony and demeans the work of the cross – as if Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t enough to change one’s lifestyle, just save them barely from hell’s flames.
Sadly, a lot Christians fall in this category, and this is why I personally believe not EVERY Christian will have a crown in heaven – many will just have a white robe. Yes, they are saved and they are in the Lord’s presence eternally – that’s the most important thing, considering the alternative. But Christianity is not JUST about salvation from hell. It is conforming one’s life to the Spirit’s promptings, being obedient “even to the point of death” and being transformed into a likeness of Christ Himself (note—I said likeness, I don’t want a whole bunch of comments that I’m saying we become deity, let’s get away from this garbage, please!) But Christianity is a lifestyle, not just a moment of salvation. In fact, soteriology teaches that salvation is a process. Sozo is present continuous. “You were saved, you are being saved, you will be saved.” Justification, Sanctification, Glorification.
Some people try to skip the second step, and OSAS makes all three steps the same thing, in essence – they will argue otherwise, but when the choice of salvation (and keeping it) is taken away, we’ve just crammed Justification, Sanctification and Glorification into the same singular experience of “being saved.”
I’ve found many people need to believe in OSAS because their lifestyle requires such. Selah...
However, to say that one can be “born again” and do whatever one wants to do, even to the point of denying their salvation experience in Christ, and STILL go to heaven, to me, is contrary to common sense. And the question I always ask is, “Why would you want to play such a dangerous game of Russian roulette?”
I am all about grace, I love grace, but grace has a price. The Lord demands His disciples act a certain way – hence, the Bible…
Just like freedom in Christ means to be in submission to His commandments. Does that seem oxymoronic? Freedom while being a “slave” to Christ, as Paul called himself.
We often try to look at things like some magical formula, some x+y = z and that means you’re saved. It doesn’t work this way. “Well, I was sprinkled by the priest as a baby, therefore, I will go to heaven no matter if I kill a bunch of people and steal their money.” “When I was five I went down to the altar and said, ‘Jesus come into my heart.’”
For people who argue the “science” of how can a spirit be regenerated (born-again) and become “un-born-again” (totally a made up word) is to deny the very essence of a holy and just God who is omnipotent and sovereign. And to negate the fact of human will.
If salvation is a miracle, the loss of salvation is an “anti-“ miracle, right? If God can do one, why can’t the reverse happen? Why can’t we make it “undone”? That’s like saying, “God created the earth a specific way.” Yes, we all agree with this – Eden was perfect. But mankind had a choice in messing it up, right? God permitted them to choose death (or in Eve’s case, be beguiled into choosing death.) If a person has NO OTHER CHOICE but to go to heaven, then we are simply robots with no real will. It goes both ways with Calvinism—some are made to go to heaven, some are made to go to hell.
I believe everyone MUST decide one way or the other. Otherwise all of Christianity (the act of becoming more like Christ) is a sham, and we should just go do what we feel in our hearts we should do, because I cannot lose my salvation and neither can you. Some will choose to “be good” and most won’t. Hey, there’s that “choose” word again. Hmmm…
Luckily, you and I will never have to decide who makes the cut and who doesn’t. That’s what should be the focus here. OSAS and those against OSAS still have a God in heaven they are answerable too. We worship the same Lord, with just a differing viewpoint on that Lord’s grace and mercy. Only God knows, and only God will judge. To me, the point is, “fear and trembling” means just that. The “fear” of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, don’t push it. Don’t test those limits. Don’t find out just how far you can go before you “lose” your salvation. It is an attitude of the heart, see?
I’m not saying we live in fear of losing our salvation — don’t take this out of context. God is not the author of fear. God is love, and God is full of grace, His mercies are new every morning, He is slow to anger. Don’t be saved because you’re afraid of your soul burning in fire – be saved because you love your Lord and you don’t want to hurt Him by doing something stupid, such as habitual sin and a careless attitude toward grace and holiness. That is why Paul was ECSTATIC to call himself a bondslave of Christ. He “got” what it’s all about. A decision to live like Christ (through only His grace and mercy and Spirit, of course.)
I reiterate: the whole point of Christianity is to pursue a crown, not just a white robe! Don’t be one of those people who “just make it” because God’s a gracious God. Be more than a conqueror. And I think you will be!
So, to sum up, I have a very moderate viewpoint concerning OSAS – I don’t unequivocally believe a person cannot lose their salvation, nor do I take it to the extreme, as say Mennonites, who believe one sin causes you to lose your salvation. I believe one cannot “accidentally” lose their salvation – it is a choice they must consciously make, continuously over a period of time (habitual sin, a conscious decision not to care about sin, a rejection of truth even though the Spirit continues to convict and woo—because He’s full of grace!) and one could argue, were they “brightly” converted to begin with? Was it really true salvation? That goes to my statement above – only God knows, and thank Him, we don’t have to be in charge of determining.
Because you’d have to be out of your mind to give salvation up! To me, that is the height of insanity.
Maria Woodworth-Etter spoke about some conversions being one way, and other conversions another way. She used the term being “brightly” converted. Now, look, saved is saved. You either are or you aren’t. But the whole point of Christianity, to be a “follower of Christ,” is NOT to get into heaven just by the skin of your teeth, because Hey, God’s a gracious God. Whew, just made it. That’s a sad testimony and demeans the work of the cross – as if Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t enough to change one’s lifestyle, just save them barely from hell’s flames.
Sadly, a lot Christians fall in this category, and this is why I personally believe not EVERY Christian will have a crown in heaven – many will just have a white robe. Yes, they are saved and they are in the Lord’s presence eternally – that’s the most important thing, considering the alternative. But Christianity is not JUST about salvation from hell. It is conforming one’s life to the Spirit’s promptings, being obedient “even to the point of death” and being transformed into a likeness of Christ Himself (note—I said likeness, I don’t want a whole bunch of comments that I’m saying we become deity, let’s get away from this garbage, please!) But Christianity is a lifestyle, not just a moment of salvation. In fact, soteriology teaches that salvation is a process. Sozo is present continuous. “You were saved, you are being saved, you will be saved.” Justification, Sanctification, Glorification.
Some people try to skip the second step, and OSAS makes all three steps the same thing, in essence – they will argue otherwise, but when the choice of salvation (and keeping it) is taken away, we’ve just crammed Justification, Sanctification and Glorification into the same singular experience of “being saved.”
I’ve found many people need to believe in OSAS because their lifestyle requires such. Selah...
However, to say that one can be “born again” and do whatever one wants to do, even to the point of denying their salvation experience in Christ, and STILL go to heaven, to me, is contrary to common sense. And the question I always ask is, “Why would you want to play such a dangerous game of Russian roulette?”
I am all about grace, I love grace, but grace has a price. The Lord demands His disciples act a certain way – hence, the Bible…
Just like freedom in Christ means to be in submission to His commandments. Does that seem oxymoronic? Freedom while being a “slave” to Christ, as Paul called himself.
We often try to look at things like some magical formula, some x+y = z and that means you’re saved. It doesn’t work this way. “Well, I was sprinkled by the priest as a baby, therefore, I will go to heaven no matter if I kill a bunch of people and steal their money.” “When I was five I went down to the altar and said, ‘Jesus come into my heart.’”
For people who argue the “science” of how can a spirit be regenerated (born-again) and become “un-born-again” (totally a made up word) is to deny the very essence of a holy and just God who is omnipotent and sovereign. And to negate the fact of human will.
If salvation is a miracle, the loss of salvation is an “anti-“ miracle, right? If God can do one, why can’t the reverse happen? Why can’t we make it “undone”? That’s like saying, “God created the earth a specific way.” Yes, we all agree with this – Eden was perfect. But mankind had a choice in messing it up, right? God permitted them to choose death (or in Eve’s case, be beguiled into choosing death.) If a person has NO OTHER CHOICE but to go to heaven, then we are simply robots with no real will. It goes both ways with Calvinism—some are made to go to heaven, some are made to go to hell.
I believe everyone MUST decide one way or the other. Otherwise all of Christianity (the act of becoming more like Christ) is a sham, and we should just go do what we feel in our hearts we should do, because I cannot lose my salvation and neither can you. Some will choose to “be good” and most won’t. Hey, there’s that “choose” word again. Hmmm…
Luckily, you and I will never have to decide who makes the cut and who doesn’t. That’s what should be the focus here. OSAS and those against OSAS still have a God in heaven they are answerable too. We worship the same Lord, with just a differing viewpoint on that Lord’s grace and mercy. Only God knows, and only God will judge. To me, the point is, “fear and trembling” means just that. The “fear” of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, don’t push it. Don’t test those limits. Don’t find out just how far you can go before you “lose” your salvation. It is an attitude of the heart, see?
I’m not saying we live in fear of losing our salvation — don’t take this out of context. God is not the author of fear. God is love, and God is full of grace, His mercies are new every morning, He is slow to anger. Don’t be saved because you’re afraid of your soul burning in fire – be saved because you love your Lord and you don’t want to hurt Him by doing something stupid, such as habitual sin and a careless attitude toward grace and holiness. That is why Paul was ECSTATIC to call himself a bondslave of Christ. He “got” what it’s all about. A decision to live like Christ (through only His grace and mercy and Spirit, of course.)
I reiterate: the whole point of Christianity is to pursue a crown, not just a white robe! Don’t be one of those people who “just make it” because God’s a gracious God. Be more than a conqueror. And I think you will be!
So, to sum up, I have a very moderate viewpoint concerning OSAS – I don’t unequivocally believe a person cannot lose their salvation, nor do I take it to the extreme, as say Mennonites, who believe one sin causes you to lose your salvation. I believe one cannot “accidentally” lose their salvation – it is a choice they must consciously make, continuously over a period of time (habitual sin, a conscious decision not to care about sin, a rejection of truth even though the Spirit continues to convict and woo—because He’s full of grace!) and one could argue, were they “brightly” converted to begin with? Was it really true salvation? That goes to my statement above – only God knows, and thank Him, we don’t have to be in charge of determining.
Because you’d have to be out of your mind to give salvation up! To me, that is the height of insanity.
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