I am saved: Now what?

There is a popular, overmastering doctrine that has enveloped the Christian world. Many pastors, professors, leading evangelical ministers and untold millions of professing Christians have warmly embraced the concept of Once saved, Always saved. They have gone so far as to brand it with the sacred sounding name of the doctrine of Eternal Security.

The idea of this doctrine rests on the belief that once a person claims to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, there is nothing else that is required of them. Its proponents boldly proclaim that all a Christian needs to do is to continue to sing and swing, sin and celebrate; since they are well on their way to heaven. As to when they go to heaven is a matter of careful contemplation. 

Suffice it to say that the ‘Once saved, Always saved’ doctrine affords its believers the comfort of salvation in sin. Jesus Christ, they claim, has done it all for us and all we have to do is say that we believe in Him. That’s all we need to do to ensure our eternal security with Him. No need to turn from their wicked ways and to keep His law is their constant refrain. But this notion is contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture which declares that Jesus came to save us from our sin and not in sin (Matthew 1:21).

The doctrine of salvation is expressed in many concepts. Born again, redeemed,  having our names written in the Lamb’s book of life, connected to  Christ, the free gift of salvation, not under the law but under grace, are but a few. They all entail an initial acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Only Savior from sin. This idea is most powerfully presented by the experience of the thief on the cross next to Jesus at the time of His crucifixion. There was nothing else the thief needed to do; simply because there was nothing else he could have done. He was indeed saved, always saved.

But what about us? God’s plan of salvation, instituted from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), is designed to rescue men from death, which is  the penalty for sin, the breaking of God’s law.  (Romans 6:23; 1 John 3:4). His plan demands  the return to righteousness…the keeping of His commandments (Psalms 119:172). The only means of accomplishing this is through Jesus Christ, the epitome of law keeping. The apostle Paul explains it very well. Says he, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).

An  improper understanding of God’s plan of redemption leads one to believe that he or she is saved when they are indeed lost.  Moses writes, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). Man’s thoughts were pure; his actions ennobling and elevating, just like his creator. But something happened. That something is called sin. Man disobeyed God’s instructions. Salvation is the restoration of God’s image in man and the attainment of eternal life with Him from whose image we fell.

You may read the full account of man’s first disobedience in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. As a consequence of sin, man deserved to die. Death means separation from God and not living with Him in a different form.  The wise man Solomon instructs us, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6). But thanks be to God for mercy. The apostle Paul assures us, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The advocates of Once saved, Always saved  fervently declare that God’s law is done away with, having been nailed to the cross at Jesus’ crucifixion. However, it was not the law that took Jesus to the cross. It was sin, disobeying God’s law, that  made Calvary necessary. Salvation means the return to keeping God’s law. If God’s law was done away with at the cross, then there can be no sin in the world, for sin is the transgression of the law. If there is no sin then there can be no need for grace. Now, since there is no need for grace, we certainly do not need a Savior. Sounds heretical, doesn’t it? Yet, this is the predicament in which those who claim that we do not have to keep God’s law find themselves.

Simple common sense would dictate that since Jesus came to save us from sin, which is the breaking of the law, then when we accept Him, we must, by His grace, overcome sin…return to keeping His law. Surely we are justified and cleansed for sins past when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, like the thief on the cross some two thousand years ago. The Apostle Paul makes this abundantly clear. He declares, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:24-25). When we accept Jesus’ sacrifice, we are immediately justified… saved if you will. Justification is accomplished in an instant. Herein enters the dilemma of Once saved, Always saved.

The question is, I am saved, now what? Paul again answers rather clearly, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). This is consistent with what the angel told Joseph about Jesus’ mission to planet earth. When Jesus saves us from our sin, we cannot continue to live a sinful life and deceive ourselves into believing that we are on our way to heaven. In other words, Once saved, is not Always saved.

The Savior Himself declares, “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” (John 15:2). Using the analogy of a branch connected with the vine, Jesus is simply telling us that once we are saved, we are not always saved. Obviously, the idea of the branch being connected to the vine is suggestive of the relationship God requires the Christian to have with Him. That is an abiding intercourse with Him through which He can produce His character in us. That is, a character without sin. It is ongoing. It is the work of a life time. It is called sanctification.  Paul again writes to the young minister Titus, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12).

When we live otherwise, thus failing to allow Jesus to reproduce His character in us, He declares that he will cut us off. In order to be cut off, one had to be connected (saved).  In fact, by one’s action not to allow that transformation, he or she loses out on salvation.

Our Lord and Savior consistently painted this picture in many of His parables. For example, the parable of the Ten Virgins, found in the twenty-fifth chapter of the book of Matthew, makes it abundantly clear that there is no such Biblical concept as Once Saved, Always saved. All ten virgins accepted the invitation to be present at the wedding. They were all saved. But the five wise ones made the necessary preparation to meet the Bridegroom. The others, who were once saved, simply lost their salvation.

The five wise allowed God’s Holy Spirit to transform their lives and were therefore ready to meet the Bridegroom when He arrived. On the other hand, the five foolish virgins thought that by merely accepting the invitation and showing up, without the necessary preparation, would get them into the marriage feast. They accepted the concept of ‘Once saved, Always saved’. They accepted justification, but rejected sanctification. But what a surprise they got when the Bridegroom showed up. As they attempted to gain entry to the marriage, Jesus declared, “Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.”  This will also be the experience of those who today embrace the concept of Once saved, Always saved.

In like manner, the Parable of the Soils teaches the exact same lesson, Once saved, is not always saved. Here Jesus uses the analogy of the farmer sowing seeds. The seeds which represent the word of God are sown into all manner of soils representing every condition of human heart. All, except those that fell on stony ground, accept the word and were indeed saved. But only those who continued in the faith were ultimately saved. This was represented by producing of fruit, i.e. allowing the Holy Spirit to transform their lives to be like Jesus, without sin. Of them the Savior declares, “But he that receiveth seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:23).

The Apostle Peter concurs. In talking about the sanctification experience, he counsels the saints to develop Christian virtues such as love, faith, virtue, kindness and patience. He then concludes, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). The plain implication is that if you do not develop those virtues, you will be lost. If one is  saved and  always saved; then Peter would have no reason to encourage the saints to become changed lest they fail… be lost.

The concept of justification followed by sanctification is an enduring, sound salvation doctrine. It is by no means a notion of working to be saved. But rather, it is the experience of striving, through His grace, to become like Jesus. It is the ongoing battle with sin. Paul again teaches, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).

Certainly, the concept of Once Saved, Always saved is not evident within it. As we go through the process of sanctification, character transformation, by the in-working of God’s Holy Spirit, takes place. That transformation into His image, equips us  to become witnesses and ambassadors for Jesus. Paul confirms, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new…Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:17, 20) He reemphasizes, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:23-25).

The doctrine of Once saved, Always saved does tremendous damage to the cause of God and immeasurable harm to His Plan of  Human Redemption. As sacred sounding as Eternal Security is, it is misleading in a most damaging way. Like all other false doctrines which are so popular today, it is rift with contradiction and therefore defies firm, Biblical truth. It is confusion.Why would some one want to become a Christian if those who claim Jesus’ name are no different than they are. Too many are enthralled  by  fake ambassadors (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) in their deadly proposition of salvation in sin. Unfortunately, this is exactly what is prevalent in Christendom today.

The prophet Ezekiel admonishes the people of God, “When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby… But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby” (Ezekiel 33:18). The righteous here is a reference to those who were once saved. Isaiah agrees,  “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). You can only be separated from that which you were once connected. God, through His servants Ezekiel and Isaiah, was speaking to those who were once saved. Jesus did not come to teach us, to die for us, to intercede for us and return to take us to heaven so that we can continue committing sin. Neither Jesus, the apostles nor the prophets ever taught a gospel of salvation in sin. Once saved, Always saved, or by whatever other name you call this theory, defies what God says.

Salvation comes only through an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. Such is a continual process, not a one time act. From the Savior’s lips come these words, “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” (John 15:4-5).

How do we abide in Him? We diligently study His word. We pray without ceasing. We become witnesses for Him. Without that abiding we lose our salvation…we are lost. Hence, Once saved is not Always saved.  God’s Redemption plan is climaxed at Jesus’ second coming. Paul teaches, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Glorification, becoming like and with Jesus is the final plank in the plan. We cannot be glorified by continuing in sin. In fact, glorification is the act of total elimination of sin.

The Apostle Paul encourages his Hebrew bretheren, “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end” (Hebrews 3:14). He was simply following in the footsteps of his Savior who enlightens us, “ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22).

Finally, we must never forget that we are saved by the grace of God, and His grace alone. We can never work to be saved. The same grace that calls us to accept Jesus as our Savior from sin, also empowers us to be changed into His image. Part of that image in which God created man is the characteristic of free choice. By God’s grace, we are empowered to make the right choices, thereby being restored into His image. On the other hand, one can at any time choose not to follow God after they accept Him in the name of Jesus Christ.

Declaring with our lips that we are saved does not save us.  The beloved Apostle John assures us, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

The doctrine of Once saved, Always saved is a false tradition of men. It is a wine of Babylon. It is heresy. If you embrace that falsity, His loving appeal to you is, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues…” (Revelation 18:4).

How will you respond?