People have argued that "once saved always saved" (OSAS) proponents don't have any foundation of their belief. But I think that something you never earned can't be lost. My question is, if someone commits apostasy (departs from the faith), do they really fall from the grace of God? How does repentance relate to the OSAS debate?
Yes, once a person puts their faith and trust in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ they are saved eternally!
I often ask those who ask me about this, and who are unsure about their eternal security one question, and that is....What does the word "eternal" mean? And they will obviously answer: forever! So I tell them that if God gave them the "gift" of eternal life…
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
…and that once God gives you and gift, he will never take it back...
Romans 11:29
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
....meaning God will never change his mind and take it back! Therefore, once God gives us his eternal life, it's ours and belongs to us eternally! Praise the Lord Jesus Christ for that!
Our Apostle Paul gives much evidence and proof of this fact in other places as well. In Romans 5:1-5, Paul says that once we trust Christ's death at Calvary for our sins and are justified by faith alone, God gives us the Holy Ghost to live in our hearts.
He also says in…
Ephesians 1:13-14
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
When you believe the "gospel of your salvation," (that is, the one that Paul preached in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, that Christ died for your sins) then God seals you with his Holy Spirit of promise.
Just like you put down earnest money on a home, and give it to a realtor as proof that you are serious about buying that home, God—who cannot lie—gives the "earnest" deposit of his Spirit as proof that you can never lose your salvation.
Our brethren, the Corinthians, shamefully sinned worse than some of the lost gentile heathens around them, yet Paul said that they are still secure “in Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4-8).
In the book of Galatians our Apostle dealt with saved people who were apostates—those that left the faith that Paul preached, and mixed Israel's Law program with God's Grace program to the Body of Christ. Paul calls this "fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:4). Why? Because by mixing the doctrine that God wrote to the Nation of Israel, with what God wrote to us thru Paul, you render your Christian life and service useless! It will not function as God intends and you can not bring forth the "fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ...." Philippians 1:11.
You must rightly divide the scriptures, which is simply…understanding that God's commands TODAY to you are found in Paul's 13 letters
Acts 9:15
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
1 Corinthians 14:37
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
It's by taking heed to what our Apostle Paul writes that a person who has "fallen from grace" and has "opposed themselves" can allow God to "give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."...2 Timothy 2:25-26.
Please do not take my word for all this, but study all these passages for yourself.
Hopefully this
helps!
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