Salvation
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A believer in Jesus Christ can’t fall away from the state of grace
(‘once saved always saved’) |
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The Southern Baptist Convention.
The fifth article of the Confession of faith of the Southern Baptist
Convention says: ‘…. All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has
accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from
the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into
sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair
their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and
temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation’ |
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Presbyterian and Reformed Churches.
The seventeenth chapter of the Westminster Confession of Faith says: ‘I.
They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and
sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the
state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be
eternally saved. II. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their
own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing
from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of
the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of
the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from
all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof. III.
Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world,
the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means
of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue
therein: whereby they incur God's displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit,
come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their
hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others,
and bring temporal judgments upon themselves’. |
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As far as
this point is concerned, the above mentioned Confessions of Faith are
substantially based on the teaching of John Calvin, the well-known reformer,
who said: …. but not one of those whom Christ has once ingrafted into his
body will he ever permit to perish, for in securing their salvation, he will
perform what he has promised; that is, exert a divine power greater than all’
(John Calvin, Institutes of the
Christian Religion, Third book, chapter XXII, 7) and: ‘Moreover, it
cannot be doubted, that since Christ prays for all the elect, he asks the
same thing for them as he asked for Peter, viz., that their faith fail not,
(Luke 22: 32.) Hence we infer, that there is no
danger of their falling away, since the Son of God, who asks that their piety
may prove constant, never meets with a refusal. What then did our Savior
intend to teach us by this prayer, but just to confide, that whenever we are
his our eternal salvation is secure?’ (Ibid., Third
book, chapter XXIV, 6). |
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Those who
hold this belief quote several passages of the Scripture to support it. Here
are some of these passages: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which
gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father's hand” (John 10:27-29); “All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And
this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and
believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the
last day” (John 6:37-40); “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans
8:38-39); “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians
1:6); “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,
them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans
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Confutation
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Now, all
the above mentioned Bible verses are true and I firmly believe in them. However,
there are other Bible verses that make it clear that we who have been saved
will be saved if we hold the faith in Christ steadfast to the end, and some others which admit that a believer can draw
back to perdition. Therefore those who teach ‘once saved always saved’ are
wrong, for by so doing they deny what the Scripture admits, that is to say,
they deny the fact that if, and I repeat myself, ‘if’, a believer draws back
he will go to perdition, and thus they deny that throughout the history of
the Church some believing men and women have denied the Lord and gone to
perdition. By teaching such a doctrine they deceive believers for they make
them believe that after all no matter what sin they may commit they will
eventually be saved, because no matter how serious their sins might be the
Lord will cause them to return to Him, that is to say, the Lord will give
them repentance. Such a thing is not true for the following reasons; first of
all, because the Scripture does not teach that one who wanders from the faith
and truth will certainly be granted repentance so that he may know the truth;
secondly, because there is a sin which leads to death. How do these believers
explain those cases of believers who have denied the Lord then? In this way:
they affirm that those people had not really believed and thus they were
unbelieving people even though for a certain period of time they professed to
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And how do they interpret those verses
which admit that a believer can deny the Lord and go to perdition? In this
way: they say that those passages suppose a certain thing for the sake of
discussion, therefore those passages can’t refer to something which can
really happen. |
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Now, I
will confute this heresy by speaking of the sin which leads to death; and by
expounding all those Scriptures which affirm in various ways that we will be
saved if we stand firm in the faith till the end and that if we draw back the
Lord will deny us. And at the end of my confutation I will reply to the main
objections raised by those who hold this false doctrine. |
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The sin
unto death, of which it is impossible to repent |
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The
apostle John wrote: “If any man see his brother sin
a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for
them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he
shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto
death” (1 John |
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Brethren,
all wrongdoing is sin and we know that “sin is the transgression of the law”
(1 John 3:4), as John says. Now, the Scripture says that “the wages of sin is
death” (Romans 6:23), therefore, if a son of God commits a sin the
transgression of the law will repay him with death, that’s why if a believer
sins, after he has sinned, he feels disturbed and unhappy and feels a pain
that pierces him like an arrow inside him, because the wages of sin is death.
But the apostle wrote: “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not
unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not
unto death” (1 John 5:16), which means that if we see a brother commit a sin
which does not lead to death, we must pray God so that he might be made alive;
yes, because God gives life to those who commit a sin that does not lead to
death and repent of it, confessing and forsaking it. However, there is a sin
of which a believer cannot repent, because it is impossible for those who
commit this sin to be brought back to repentance and thus it is useless to
pray for them, as it is written: “I do not say that he shall pray for it” (1
John 5:17). In other words, for those brothers who have committed this sin
leading to death there is no possibility that they may repent and receive
life from God. What is the destiny awaiting these people? They will be
condemned to the second death (that is, the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone), because this kind of sin leads those who commit it to the second
death. |
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What is the
sin unto death? It consists in forsaking the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
on the part of a mature believer, that is to say, in denying the Lord. I say
this on the basis of what is written in the epistle to the Hebrews. For it is
written: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If
they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh
unto cursing; whose end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:4-8). |
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As you can
see, the Scripture says about these people who may fall away (and if they
fall away it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance) that
they were once enlightened, they have tasted the heavenly gift, they have
become partakers of the Holy Spirit, they have tasted the good word of God
and the powers of the age to come. There is no doubt that the author of this
epistle is speaking of Christians, of true Christians regenerated by the Word
of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, that is, of children of God. |
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Brethren,
those who, after they hear the Gospel of grace, approach God recognizing that
they are sinners and need to be saved have been enlightened by God who is
light; and when they believe with their heart in our Lord Jesus Christ
obtaining the remission of their sins and eternal life they taste the
heavenly gift, which is Jesus Christ, for Paul says: “The gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and John says about
the Son of God: “This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Afterward,
when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit they become partakers of the Holy
Spirit because they are filled with the Holy Spirit (however, this does not
mean that they did not have the Holy Spirit before, for every man receives a
measure of the Spirit when he believes in the Lord). |
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The words
“they have tasted the good word of God” mean that they have fed on “the pure
milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2 – NKJV) as well as solid food, which “belongs
to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14 – NKJV). The words
“they have tasted the powers of the world to come” means that they have
received some gifts of the Holy Spirit through which believers taste the
powers of the world to come. Now, if these persons, who have experienced all
these things, reject the Lord and draw back (they are again entangled in the
pollutions of the world and overcome), deciding not to follow the Lord any
longer and to renounce the Christ (they even don’t want to hear people
speaking about Christ any longer), they commit the sin unto death, and we
don’t have to pray for them because it is impossible to renew them again to
repentance because they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put
Him to an open shame. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says that the
earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs
useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God, but if
it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and cursed and its end is to be
burned; in the same way, if a believer abides in the Lord, the Lord abides in
him, he bears much fruit to the glory of God and God blesses him; but if he
ceases to abide in the Lord, the Lord will cease to abide in him and he will
bear only thorns and briers, and thus he will become a man disapproved
concerning the faith, an accursed child, who will be cast into the lake which
burns with fire and brimstone where he will burn and be tormented forever. |
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Why did the
author of this epistle admonish so severely those believing Jews? Because they
were enduring a great persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ and
they were tempted, in the midst of that persecution, to draw back; and so the
writer of the epistle, knowing the sufferings they had to endure for the
Gospel’s sake, exhorted them to hold their confidence in Christ steadfast to
the end and warned them against drawing back and renouncing the grace to
offer again those sin offerings whose blood could not take away sins, because
if they drew back they would condemn themselves to the everlasting perdition,
they would deserve such a punishment because in so doing they would trample
the Son of God underfoot and count the blood of the covenant by which they
had been sanctified a common thing and they would insult the Spirit of grace.
Here is what the writer of that epistle wrote about the end awaiting those
who draw back and about the punishment they deserve to receive from the
living God: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or
three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath
done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said,
Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again,
The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God” (Hebrews |
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At this
point I want to make it clear that both the expression ‘if they shall fall
away’ (Hebrews 6:6) and the expression ‘if we sin wilfully’ (Hebrews 10:26)
refer to the sin which leads to death and not to any sin, otherwise that
would mean that it would be impossible for a believer to repent of any sin he
has committed and he would be hopeless for he will surely be condemned to the
everlasting fire. And that’s not true at all because the Scripture teaches in
various ways that with the Lord is abundant redemption because if we sin we
have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous who is the
propitiation for our sins (cf. 1 John 2:1-2). That’s why John says: “If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 – NKJV). |
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Sins of
which it is possible to repent |
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Now, I am
going to show you from the Scriptures that not all the sins which a believer
may commit are unto death, for he can repent of every sin which is not unto
death and be forgiven. I find it necessary to write these things because I
want you to understand very well the difference which exists between a sin
which is not unto death and the sin which leads to death, with regard to the
possibility of repentance and forgiveness. |
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Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye
which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit
of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).
It is evident, therefore, that since a believer who commits ‘a fault’ can be
restored, for him it is still possible to repent and be forgiven by the Lord.
However, it is also evident that from these faults which a believer may
commit is excluded the sin unto death because it is impossible for those who
commit this particular sin to be restored, in that it is impossible for them
to be brought back to repentance. In other words it is impossible for them to
rise again from such a fall. Therefore when we read in the book of Proverbs:
“A righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16 –
NKJV), among the falls is not the fall which is the sin unto death, because a
righteous man can’t rise again from such a fall. |
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Jesus said: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee
seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I
repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). Therefore, a brother who
commits a sin which is not unto death can repent and be forgiven. Would Jesus
have told us to rebuke someone for a sin of which he can’t repent? Certainly
not. It is evident therefore that in this case also, the fact that a believer
can repent and be forgiven shows that not all sins are unto death and that
among the sins a brother may commit and for which we must rebuke him hoping
that he will repent and ask for our pardon, is not the sin which leads to
death because for those who have committed the sin unto death it is
impossible to repent and thus it is useless to rebuke them and to pray for
them. |
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John said: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10). Therefore,
these words assure us that we can confess our sins to the Lord and the Lord
will surely forgive us immediately, for we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins. Therefore,
since we can still confess these sins of ours to the Lord to be forgiven,
that means that these sins are not unto death because we can’t repent of the
sin which is unto death and thus we can’t confess it to the Lord. Once again,
therefore, the Scripture makes it clear that not all sins are unto death. If
all sins were unto death we would be hopeless, brethren, and the Scripture
would be nullified because we could not even confess our sins to God to
obtain their remission; we could not say to God: “Forgive us our debts” (Matthew
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James says: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert
him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his
way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James
5:19-20). From the words of James, therefore, we deduce that if a brother
wanders from the truth he can be converted, thus he still can repent.
Therefore, we cannot say that if a brother wanders from the truth, giving
heed to some strange doctrines, he has committed the sin unto death and thus
he cannot repent any longer, for James says that he can be turned from the
error of his way and his sins can be forgiven. The point I would like to
underline is this: it is possible to renew again to repentance a brother who
has wandered from the truth, but it is not possible to do the same thing
toward a brother who has committed the sin unto death. Paul also teaches that
a brother who has wandered from the truth can be renewed again to repentance,
for after saying to Timothy that Hymenaeus and Philetus are among those who
have wandered away from the truth saying that the resurrection has already
taken place, he says to him: “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but
be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who
are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they
may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the
snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy
2:24-26 – NKJV). As you can see, Paul says that the servant of the Lord must
gently correct those who oppose the truth (they oppose the truth because they
have wandered from the truth) because God may grant them repentance and allow
them to escape from the trap of the devil into which they have fallen. The
same thing cannot happen if a believer commits the sin unto death because –
as we saw before – it is impossible for them to be brought back to
repentance. |
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Jesus Christ said to the angel of the Church in Thyatira: “Notwithstanding I
have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel,
which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to
commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her
space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast
her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children
with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which
searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you
according to your works” (Revelation |
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The above
mentioned words that Jesus spoke to the angel of the church in Thyatira,
which admit that even those who fornicate and commit adultery can repent and
be forgiven, refute another false doctrine which is taught in some Pentecostal
churches according to which fornication and adultery are sins unto death and
those who commit them are guilty of eternal sins; for it is evident, I would
say very evident, that since the Lord gave Jezebel and His servants time to
repent this means that He did not declare them to be hopeless, He did not
think that those people could no longer repent and be forgiven. In the sight
of God it was still possible for them to be brought to repentance. And if
according to God those who commit these sins can repent of their sins, why
should we say the contrary? |
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Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not
find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would
not: lest there be debates, envying, wraths, strifes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults: And lest, when I come again, my God will
humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already,
and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness
which they have committed” (2 Corinthians 12:20-21). In the |
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Further Biblical
evidences in support of the possibility of losing salvation |
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I have
showed from the Scripture that there is a sin which leads to death, therefore
if a believer commits this sin he will go to perdition because he has
crucified again for himself the Son of God and put him to an open shame, and
he has insulted the Spirit of grace by whom he was sanctified. However, I
have showed also that not all sins are unto death, because it is possible for
a believer to repent of all the other sins and be forgiven. Therefore my
position is as follows: if a believer remains joined to the Lord during all
his life, believing in Him and keeping His commandments till the end, he will
surely be saved and nothing and nobody will be able to separate him from the
love of Christ. Even though he makes many mistakes (is there anyone among us
who can say that he doesn’t make mistakes?) he will finally be saved because
he has kept his faith and has fought the good fight till the end. However, if
at a certain point of his life he casts away his faith in the Lord and thus
ceases to keep his commandments (the two things go together because a person
who casts away the faith in the Lord does not keep the Lord’s commandments
any longer) by committing the sin which leads to death, he will by no means
be saved. In other words, he will be condemned, even though he once believed
in the Lord. The Bible verses I have mentioned above, which are written in
the epistle to the Hebrews, teach this very clearly. However, there are other
passages of the Scriptures which affirm the same thing. Now I am going to quote
them and comment upon them briefly. |
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Jesus Christ said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye
are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I
in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast
forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into
the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:1-6). |
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Jesus
Christ is the vine and we who are His disciples are the branches and He
commands us to abide in Him in order to bear fruit to the glory of God. What
does it mean to abide in Him? To abide in Him means to keep God’s
commandments, for it is written: “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in
Him, and He in him” (1 John |
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Paul wrote to Timothy: “This is a faithful saying … If we deny Him, He also
will deny us” (2 Timothy |
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Paul said to the saints in |
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We know
that the natural branches which were broken off are the unbelieving Jews, as
it is written: “Because of unbelief they were broken off” (Romans |
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At this
point, someone may say: ‘All the passages you have quoted are passages which
just suppose that a believer may draw back, but they don’t indicate that
there are some believers who actually after some time draw back to perdition!’
In other words, ‘These passages are a severe admonishment, but nobody
actually draws back!’ You are greatly mistaken in saying this because the
Scripture says that there are some believers who deny the Lord and go to
perdition. For instance the author of the epistle to the Hebrews says: “But
we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to
the saving of the soul” (Hebrews |
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The fact
that there are some people who once believed and afterward draw back to
perdition is confirmed also by what Peter wrote in his second epistle about
the false teachers, who are among the people of God. Listen carefully to his
words: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there
shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose
judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell
[tartarus], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a
preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the
ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned
them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should
live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of
the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and
hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve
the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that
walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government.
Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of
dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not
railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute
beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they
understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall
receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot
in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their
own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and
that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have
exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the
right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor,
who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the
dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These
are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when
they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of
the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them
who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the
servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he
brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the
world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are
again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than
the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to
the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:1-22). As you can see,
Peter says about these persons the following things: they denied the Lord who
bought them, they forsook the right way and went astray, they once had
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, they knew the way of righteousness but one day they
turned from the holy commandment delivered to them. Now, I ask you: ‘Are not
these expressions clear enough?’ Of course, they are, I would say they are
very clear, for one can’t deny the Lord who bought him if he did not accept
Him, one can’t forsake the right way if he did not walk in it, and one can’t
escape the pollutions of the world without believing in the Lord, and one
can’t know the way of righteousness without believing in the Lord. However,
let me comment briefly on the above mentioned characteristics of false
teachers. |
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They denied the Lord who bought them; therefore
they also were among those to whom Peter wrote: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these
last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the
dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God” (1 Peter
1:18-21). Note that those who have been redeemed by the Lord with His
precious blood are persons who believe in God. This is confirmed by Paul who
wrote to the believers in |
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They forsook the right way and went astray.
Which is the right way? Is it not the way about which the prophet Isaiah said:
“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it
shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but
it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err
therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon,
it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the
ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to |
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They had escaped the pollutions of the world through
the knowledge of Christ but then they were again entangled in them.
The Scripture says that through the exceedingly great and precious promises
of the Lord we became “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4 – NKJV) and for
this reason we must add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to
knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love;
therefore these false teachers also, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness
forever, were once sons of God by their faith in Christ. |
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They knew the way of righteousness and then they
turned from the holy commandment delivered to them.
The way of righteousness is the way in which John the Baptist also walked,
who believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. For Jesus said about
John to the Jews: “John came to you in the way of righteousness” (Matthew |
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What shall
we say about the example of Judas Iscariot? Is it not a clear example of a
believer who forsook the Lord and went to perdition? For on the night Jesus
was betrayed, He said to the Father: “While I was with them in the world, I
kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of
them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be
fulfilled” (John |
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Therefore,
in the light of all these Scriptures, we must reject all those arguments
which tend to make the saints believe that those who deny the Lord, that is
to say, who draw back, actually did not believe. On the other hand, the way
of thinking of these brothers (those who hold the doctrine called ‘once saved
always saved) induces us to think that after all we can’t be sure that those
who say that they believe have really believed in the Lord. For who says to
me that they will stand firm in the faith till the end? For if a brother tells
me that he has believed, he rejoices for he was saved, he suffers because of
the Gospel, and then one day he denies the Lord, this would mean that
actually he did not believe!! If things were so, we could not know whether one
who professes to be a Christian is a true believer or not, and we should be
very careful when we speak of a believer because if we say that he is a true
believer and then one day he denies the Lord we will be considered believers
who are not able to know a true believer. No, those who believe the doctrine
‘once saved always saved’ are wrong. I agree with them when they affirm that
there are false brothers among the people of God, that is to say, people who claim
that they believed but actually did not believe; however, we are able to know
them very easily, it is sufficient to ask them if they are sure to be saved,
if they are sure they have been forgiven, etc. thus it is evident that if
these people forsake the assembling of ourselves together and join a cult, we
can say about them that actually they had never believed in the Lord; but not
always this is the case because there are some true believers who forsake the
assembling of ourselves together and deny the Lord who bought them. The
argument of those who teach ‘once saved always saved’ is a subterfuge they
use to support their false doctrine. |
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What
should we say then about all those Israelites who came out of |
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Replies to
some objections |
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All those
who teach that a believer can by no means fall away from grace, when they
have to explain some of the passages I have mentioned above, affirm several
absurdities. I am going to examine what they affirm in the light of the
Scriptures to show you that they are wrong. |
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Some say
that the expressions, ‘if they fall away” (Hebrews 6:6 - NKJV) and, ‘If we
sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews |
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Let me
tell you something. Why should we believe that such a thing cannot happen?
Why should we affirm that the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, by saying
that if Christians fall away it is impossible for them to be brought back to
repentance, just formulated a hypothesis but he did not speak of something
which can actually happen or that has ever happened? Then, if we say such a
thing about the ‘if’’ of Hebrews 6:6, it follows that we should say the same
thing about the other ‘ifs’ which we read in the Scriptures. Let us look at
some of them. Paul says to the Corinthians: “But if any man thinks that he is
acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and
if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let her marry (1
Corinthians 7:36 - NASB) What does Paul mean by these words? Does he mean
that such a thing cannot happen or has never happened? It doesn’t seem to me
that Paul meant such a thing, for there are men who think that if they don’t
allow their daughters to marry they will behave improperly toward them and
therefore they permit them to get married. And what shall we say about the
following words of James: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and
one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the
error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of
sins” (James 5:19-20)? Shall we say that such a thing cannot happen or that
has never happened? As far as I know, there are some Christians who wandered
from the truth for a while and then someone converted them. And what shall we
say about the following words of John: “If anyone sees his brother sinning a
sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for
those who commit sin not leading to death” (1 John 5:16 – NKJV)? Should we
say that such a thing cannot happen or that has never happened? How could we
affirm such a thing when we have seen several brothers sinning
a sin which does not lead to death? And I could mention many more ‘ifs’
written in the New Testament to show you that the expression ‘if they fall
away’ means not only that such a thing may happen but also that sometimes it
has happened. We know several cases of children of God who have fallen away. |
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Another
subterfuge used by ‘Calvinistic preachers and writers’ to support the
doctrine ‘once saved always saved’ is this: they affirm that these warnings
are for those who have never been born again, that is, sinners. Matthew Henry,
for instance, says the following things about those who may fall away
(chapter 6 of Hebrews): ‘Now hence observe, [1.] These great things are
spoken here of those who may fall away; yet it is not here said of them that
they were truly converted, or that they were justified; there is more in true
saving grace than in all that is here said of apostates. [2.] This therefore
is no proof of the final apostasy of true saints. These indeed may fall
frequently and foully, but yet they will not totally nor finally from God;
the purpose and the power of God, the purchase and the prayer of Christ, the
promise of the gospel, the everlasting covenant that God has made with them,
ordered in all things and sure, the indwelling of the Spirit, and the
immortal seed of the word, these are their security. But the tree that has
not these roots will not stand.’ As you can see, the writer to the Hebrews is
not speaking of people who were truly converted. A similar thing he says
about those who may sin wilfully after they have received the knowledge of
the truth (chapter 10 of Hebrews); here are his words: ‘The sin here
mentioned is a total and final apostasy, when men with a full and fixed will
and resolution despise and reject Christ, the only Saviour,--despise and
resist the Spirit, the only sanctifier,--and despise and renounce the gospel,
the only way of salvation, and the words of eternal life; and all this after
they have known, owned, and professed, the Christian religion, and continue
to do so obstinately and maliciously. This is the great transgression: the
apostle seems to refer to the law concerning presumptuous sinners, Num. xv.
30, 31. They were to be cut off. 2. From the dreadful doom of such apostates.
(1.) There remains no more sacrifice for such sins, no other Christ to come
to save such sinners; they sin against the last resort and remedy. There were
some sins under the law for which no sacrifices were provided; but yet if those
who committed them did truly repent, though they might not escape temporal
death, they might escape eternal destruction; for Christ would come, and make
atonement. But now those under the gospel who will
not accept of Christ, that they may be saved by him, have no other refuge
left them. (2.) There remains for them only a certain fearful looking for of
judgment, v. 27’. Therefore, according to Matthew Henry, the author of that
epistle is speaking of sinners in both places, he is
not speaking of true believers because true believers can’t fall away nor sin
wilfully. |
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I have
already showed from the Scripture that these passages refer to believers and
not to unbelievers. However, let me say something else about this argument of
theirs because it is one of their ‘warhorses’, however it is a losing and not
a winning warhorse because they interpret the Scripture wrongly. Now, how can
they affirm that those who have tasted the heavenly gift are not sons of God?
Then, when the apostle Peter in his first epistle says: “Therefore, laying
aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as
newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:1-3 – NKJV)
who did he refer to? Did he refer to believers or unbelievers since he says
‘if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious‘? You will say to me:
‘To believers, because he says also that they have believed in God (cf. 1
Peter |
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Let us
come now to the words written in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the
Hebrews; we can’t affirm that those to whom the writer refer are people who
have never been converted or have never been regenerated because first of all
the writer says “if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of
the truth” which means that he is speaking of a sin which can be committed
after one has known the truth. Does an unregenerate person know the truth?
No, he doesn’t. If the answer were ‘yes’ that would mean that a person can be
lost and at the same time know God. Now, if Jesus Christ is the truth, and to
know the truth is to know Jesus Christ, how can we say that an unregenerate
person knows the truth? As far as I know, one cannot know Christ unless he is
born again. One may have heard of Christ, he may have heard of the truth, but
to know Christ and to know the truth is a different thing. In order to know
Christ, that is, the truth, a man must be born again, because if anyone is in
Christ, that is, in the truth, he is a new creation, he is no longer the same
person. Therefore, those who have received the knowledge of the truth have
truly believed and are truly saved. For instance, when Paul says that God
“desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy
2:4 – NKJV), he associates salvation with the knowledge of the truth, thus
when one is saved he knows the truth. And again when he says that some forbid
to marry and command to abstain from foods which God created to be received
with thanksgiving “by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:3 –
NKJV), he associates faith with the knowledge of the truth. This confirms
what I said before. I would like to say something also about the passage
which says that he who sins wilfully after he has received the knowledge of
the truth “counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common
thing” (Hebrews |
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Conclusion |
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Brothers,
the Word of God does not deceive us; it does not encourage us to think that
even if we neglect such a great salvation God will finally have mercy on us,
for it says: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things
which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the
word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so
great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him” (Hebrews 2:1-3) and again: “See
that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him
that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him
that speaketh from heaven” (Hebrews |
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The
Scripture exhorts us to see that no one misses the grace of God and that no
one is “godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights
as the oldest son” (Hebrews 12:16 - NIV), and “when he wanted to inherit this
blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he
sought the blessing with tears” (Hebrews |
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Brothers,
let us not despise the right to be called children of God in order to return
to the pleasures of sin which the devil offers to us continually through this
wicked world (he wants to make us believe that it is worth turning one’s back
to the Lord and neglecting such a great salvation for the things of this
world), because if we despise it we will become godless like Esau and we will
by no means inherit the kingdom of God nor the blessing of God, because we
will be cast into the unquenchable fire, that is, into the fire which awaits
all the wicked, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (cf. Matthew
25:30). To cast away the most precious thing we have which was bought by the
Son of God with His blood, that is to say, the eternal salvation, is a
foolish act and those believers who have cast it away are reaping the awful
consequences of their foolish decision, for they are weeping and gnashing
their teeth in Hades, they are without water in that horrible place of
torment and no one can wipe away their tears nor alleviate their torment.
Their tears can be compared to the tears of Esau when he sought to inherit
the blessing; those tears were not tears of repentance and did not move Isaac
nor did they induce Isaac to bless Esau. So in like manner those who have
despised the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and have counted the blood of
Christ by which they were once washed a common thing, are in the fire of
Hades where they weep for pain and they will by no means obtain mercy and
inherit eternal salvation. |
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Therefore,
brothers, let us stand firm in the faith, let us not draw back when our faith
is tested, knowing that we have in heaven a city which has been prepared by
God, who is the architect and builder of this city. It is the hope of the
saints, but in order to enter that city made of gold, whose gates are pearls,
and in the midst of which is the river of the water of life, which is clear
as crystal, we must stand firm in the faith and keep the works of Christ to
the end. Yes, to the end and not just for a while, then on that day our eyes
will behold the beauty of the King of glory; then we will enter the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and we will sit down with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of heaven.
Beloved, it is worth suffering for the Lord on earth. So, knowing that one
day we will taste and see the glory of God, we say to you: ‘Let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, let us fight zealously for the
cause of the Gospel, let us not turn aside to the right hand or to the left,
but let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, “who for
the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews
12:2 – NKJV). A great joy also was set before us, so let us also despise the
shame that we may inherit that joy and hear the Lord say to us: ‘Enter into
the joy of your Lord, you faithful servants of the Lord’. To God who called
us to His Kingdom and to His glory, be the glory
forever. Amen. |