Jesus: “That servant who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes, but he who didn’t know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes.” – Luke 12:47-48
Jesus includes the RIGHT HAND in Matthew 5
27 You have heard that it was said [old covenant], ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you [new covenant] that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.
Paul in Galatians 5
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
6:7 Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. 8 For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap CORRUPTION. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap ETERNAL LIFE.
Many people argue that because salvation is a “free gift,” that humans do nothing to earn it, and therefore can do nothing to lose it.
God’s Word:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. John 3:36 NAB
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 1 Cor. 15:1-2 ESV
“How can they be worse off if they received something that can never be taken away from them?”
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:17-22 ESV
Most born-again Christians would become lost again:
“God had foreseen… that faith even after baptism would be endangered. He saw that most persons after attaining unto salvation would be lost again by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for their torches.” ~ Tertullian (c. 213)
Excellent video! I found this segment especially helpful:
19:15 Charles Stanley says: “In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul makes it very clear about losing our reward when we live a life of sin.”
But Paul wasn’t talking about living a life of sin in 1 Cor. 3. “If any man’s work is burned” refers to his work, the Corinthians falling away:
Aaron Gallagher: “[Paul is] saying that if those converts that [he] taught, were baptized, if they fall away, Paul will still be saved but they won’t.”
1 Corinthians 3
1 Brothers… 3 for you are still fleshly. … 6 I planted. Apollos watered. … 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. … 12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble, 13 each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. 14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
Romans 11:20 ..Don’t be conceited, but FEAR; 21 for if God didn’t spare the natural branches [the Jews], neither will he spare you. 22 See then the GOODNESS *and* SEVERITY of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, IF YOU CONTINUE in his GOODNESS; OTHERWISE YOU WILL ALSO BE CUT OFF [like in Mt. 7:19 and John 15:6].
“Continuing in His kindness is required to avoid being cut off from this tree.”
“There are upwards of 80 passages in the New Testament that suggest in one way or another that a believer can fall away from the faith.”
9:00 John Calvin‘s explanation is that Paul is basically lying to his readers to scare them. R. C. Sproul avoided the passage completely.
Dilemma: Calvinist pastors who teach the perseverance of the saints ‘omega’ version of OSAS personally know those who were certainly born-again and did not persevere.
Time Stamps Basics and History: 0:00 Can lose salvation: 16:25 Cant lose salvation: 24:57 Implications: 41:23 My Testimony: 50:49
Here are some of the verses I found: Conditional Security Passages (51)
2 Peter 2:19–22, Hebrews 6:4–8, 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, Hebrews 10:26–31, Mark 4:13–20, Hebrews 3:12–19, Galatians 5:4–7, Romans 11:18–23, James 5:19–20, Colossians 1:21–23, Matthew 7:21-23, Hebrews 10:35–39, 1 Timothy 4:1, Revelation 2:4–5, Acts 14:22, John 15:1–4, Hebrews 12:14–17, 2 Peter 1:3, Matthew 10:22, Matthew 25:1–13, Luke 12:46–48, Luke 21:34–36, 2 Peter 1:10–11, 2 Peter 3:14-17, 1 Timothy 1:18–19, Matthew 5:13, Acts 11:23, Galatians 4:9–11, 1 Thessalonians 3:4–5, Hebrews 2:1–3, Revelation 2:13, Revelation 2:16–17, Matthew 13:18-23, Luke 8:11–15, Luke 14:34-35, Matthew 3:10, Luke 3:9, Matthew 24:4-13, Mark 9:43–50, Luke 13:6-9, John 8:31-32, Romans 8:12–17, Hebrews 6:11–12, Hebrews 10:22–24, Galatians 6:7–9, Philippians 3:17–4:1, 1 Peter 1:6–9, 2 Peter 2:1–3, 1 Timothy 6:10, 2 Timothy 2:22–26, 1 John 2:24, Revelation 2:25–29, Revelation 3:10–11, Revelation 3:12–13, Revelation 3:21–22.
Once Save Always Saved Passages (14)
Ephesians 1:13-14, John 10:26-30, Romans 8:28-39, John 6:37-40, Philippians 1:6, Romans 6:3-5,8, I Corinthians 1:7-9, 1 Peter 1:3-5, John 14:16, Ephesians 4:30, Hebrews 13:5-6, Jude 24-25, John 5:24, 2 Corinthians 1:22
Unrepentant heterosexual lust, lying, etc. too. Let us be FREE — walking in HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD — REJOICING! Let’s Worship Jesus as the Lord of our lives — holy unto Him!
– –
Can someone be a Christian and practice homosexuality at the same time? Dr. Christopher Yuan explains why the answer is no.
36:15 “Don’t you know that a little sin, carelessly indulged in will prevent your salvation?”
“These little sins show that you are still a slave to sin.” “It shows the deceitfulness of your heart, and manifests that you still love the ways… of sin.”
“If you love sin; though, it is a little one, your heart is not right in the sight of God. You are still a stranger to divine grace.”
“A sin is a sin, whether done in private or before the wide world.”
“Tell thine own conscience now what it is. Look it in the face. Confess it before God. May He give you grace to remove that sin and any other, and turn to Him with full purpose of heart.”
“Christians, recollect that little sins will spoil your communion with Christ. Little sins, like little stains in silk, may damage the fine texture of fellowship; little sins, like little irregularities in the machinery, may spoil the whole fabric of your religion.”
“..my friend, will you have your sin and go to hell, or leave your sin and go to heaven?”
“..will ye keep your secret sins, and have eternal fire for them? Remember it is of no use, they must all be given up, or else you cannot be God’s child. You cannot by any means have both; it cannot be God and the world, it cannot be Christ and the devil; it must be one or the other. Oh! that God would give you grace to resign all; for what are they worth?”
Is The Didache a blueprint for the way churches should be?
This is one of the writings of “the early Christian fathers” that I especially liked. It’s big on unity!
What if we compare The Didache to what is practiced in today’s ‘churches?’
But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one who is at odds with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned.
Is there even one ‘church’ in America that requires reconciliation? How many pastors have fully reconciled so they’re qualified to lead?
The Didache mentions prophets being a common leadership ministry in the late first century church (like Ephesians 4:11). Where are they in today’s churches?
The Didache also has“the way of death” list that is similar to Paul’s “will not inherit the Kingdom” list in Galatians 5.
Kerrigan Skelly explains how Jesus’ lust warning in Matthew 5 is absolutely serious! @ 39:00
“What I think Jesus is trying to communicate right here using hyperbole [overstatement to make a graphic point] is to teach this truth:
Do whatever it takes to get rid of the sin. Do whatever it takes. Why? Because your sin will cost you everything, everything in the end. And it’s better to lose whatever you have to lose than to keep sinning and lose Jesus and salvation. It’s better to get rid of whatever you need to get rid of to stop from going to eternal hell in the end.
Lust also many times involves the use of your hand or your hands. The same principle applies to verse 30 as to verse 29.
What Jesus said: Adultery in the Heart (Matthew 5:27-30)
“You have heard that it was saidto those of old [old covenant],‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I say to you [new covenant] that whoeverlooks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.If your right eye causes you tosin,pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.And if your right hand [masturbation] causes you tosin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Kerrigan Skelly explains how Jesus’ lust warning in Matthew 5 is absolutely serious! @ 39:00
“What I think Jesus is trying to communicate right here using hyperbole [overstatement to make a graphic point] is to teach this truth:
Do whatever it takes to get rid of the sin. Do whatever it takes. Why? Because your sin will cost you everything, everything in the end. And it’s better to lose whatever you have to lose than to keep sinning and lose Jesus and salvation. It’s better to get rid of whatever you need to get rid of to stop from going to eternal hell in the end.
Lust also many times involves the use of your hand or your hands. The same principle applies to verse 30 as to verse 29.
The question remains: is a little bit of pleasure you receive from lust worth everything: your life, your soul, your eternity? And if you answer ‘no,’ you need to prove it by your actions.”
False doctrine starts if we conform the Word to our experience – Skelly @ 1:03:35
“Conforming the Word to your experience instead of conforming your experience to the Word is definitely a problem. That’s how false doctrine starts.”
“..I also practice ALWAYS having a conscience void of offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16).
We can always overcome temptation by God’s grace:
“No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Cor. 10:13
How would you feel if the Bible taught that you could never rise higher in your spiritual life than the man in Romans 7? Would you shout “Praise the Lord” or would you flounder in the “Slough of Despond”? Let us together be challenged to understand Romans 7 as we believe Paul intended for it to be understood.
“A lot of people believe error today because it’s what they want to believe.” – Don McClain
49:40 Don knows someone who changed his or her view on who goes to heaven because a loved one died, and this person wanted to believe that his or her loved one went to heaven. Don then says: “you can change your views about it. That’s not going to save your friend if it’s not true.”
50:30 “I’ve known preachers who changed their view on marriage-divorce-remarriage because one of their children unscripturally divorced and remarried unscripturally. … People do oftentimes change their views because of what they want to believe.”
54:30 Black mamba snakes can kill humans in just minutes. “We should be afraid of error, because error is much more serious than a black mamba. A black mamba can kill the body, but it can’t kill the soul. False doctrine can.
1:01:50 Christian ‘liberty’ is “liberty from sin, not liberty from the authority of Christ.”
1:03:20 “Do you think Eve wanted to believe error due to her desire?”
“That’s what makes you lose your breath and your legs weak. We’re only on this earth for a short time, and he was just ahead of us.” – Tim Pierce
• • •
Notice “R.I.P.” in the video’s title. People want to believe “wide is the road to heaven,” which is the opposite of what Jesus clearly taught (Mt. 7:13-23).
“Enter in by the NARROW GATE; for WIDE is the GATE and BROAD is the way that leads to DESTRUCTION, and MANY are those who enter in by it. How NARROW is the GATE, and RESTRICTED is the way that leads to LIFE! FEW are those who find it. … BY THEIR FRUITS YOU WILL KNOW THEM…. A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. 19 EVERY TREE THAT DOESN’T GROW GOOD FRUIT IS CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. … Not everyone who *SAYS* to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who *DOES* THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.” (Mt. 7:13-21)
Paul predicted this great falling away from truth:
“For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables.” – 2 Tim. 4:3-4
Since “once saved always saved” (OSAS) & “only believe” are not Biblical doctrines [refuted by over 80 New Testament verses; were invented by Augustine (4th century) and Luther, Calvin & Beza (16th century)], how then can we be sure of our salvation according to what the Bible really says?
“How can we be sure? ..through the Holy Spirit. When we are led by the Spirit and are walking in the Spirit, we shall enjoy the continuous witness of the Spirit, that intuitive certainty that the Lord is with us. But the New Testament also contains checks even on this, so that we can be quite sure that our intuition is not being misled. These include a clear conscience, a love for our brethren in Christ and a discontinuing of habitual sins (1 John contains a comprehensive list of such ‘proofs’).” – David Pawson, Once Saved Always Saved?: A Study in Perseverance and Inheritance (p. 139; p. 134 Kindle)
Related:
My article that shows what the New Testament really says:
Kevin Conner was one of my Bible teachers at Abbott Loop Bible School in 1984. I hand copied this post out of our textbook. Rick used to call Kevin his mentor. Some highlights:
• “OBEDIENCE IS the very law of SECURITY for all created beings. There can be NO SUCH THING as UNCONDITIONAL security.”
• WARNINGS against backsliding SHOW that the security of the believer is conditional upon obedience and faith
• What God has provided in Christ man must receive and apply
• Divine SOVEREIGNTY *and* human RESPONSIBILITY meet together in the great redemptive plan
• Christ is “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that OBEY him” (Hebrews 5:9)
• Upon HEARING and FOLLOWING the Shepherd they receive eternal life and will never perish
• AS HE OBEYS the Word of the Lord his SECURITY against backsliding and apostacy is FULLY GUARANTEED
Paul, himself made sure he abided in Christ: “Herein I also practice ALWAYS having a CONSCIENCE VOID OF OFFENSE toward God and MEN” (Acts 24:16) — which sometimes required reconciliation to be right with men (Mt. 5:23-26 and James 5:16).
“So many pastors go out of their way confirming people’s salvation. I don’t see this approach in Scripture; it’s actually quite the opposite. Great fear and terrible trembling must overtake us daily. It will determine where we will spend forever”
So many pastors go out of their way confirming people’s salvation. They make it easy to get saved. They want them to feel secure in their eternity. Why? I don’t see this approach in Scripture. It’s actually quite the opposite.
There should be a never-ending wrestling match regarding our position in Christ. It’s common to lose it, challenging to retain it.
It costs everything. It’s never settled until we die.
Great fear and terrible trembling must overtake us daily. It will determine where we will spend forever.
Very good. Many falsely use Romans 7 as an excuse to not overcome sin by God’s grace.
Verses 5 & 6 are key:
5 For when we were in the flesh [Jews under the law], the sinful passions which were through the law worked in our members to bring out fruit to death. 6 But now we have been *discharged from the law*, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in *newness of the spirit*, and not in *oldness of the letter*.
As is Romans 8:
Verse 4 says the *law* is fulfilled in us if we walk according to the Holy Spirit.
Verse 13 says we will die if we live after the flesh, but will live if we put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit.
Verse 14 says those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God.
Verse 1: we have “no condemnation,” not because we said a prayer to be born-again (the start), but because we’re actually “in Christ Jesus” because we don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Galatians 5 is parallel: the two lists. Verse 24: “Those WHO BELONG TO CHRIST have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.” Whereas, those who live in the “works of the flesh” list will not inherit the kingdom, which we know for sure means salvation because of what Paul warns us in Galatians 6 about sowing and reaping.
“It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude.” – Adrian Rogers
Disappointing. Heiser is just teaching Martin Luther’s “only believe” false doctrine. “You can’t lose it through any sin,” he says, which he then explains through logic, ignoring what the NT says in *dozens* of warning verses, that we absolutely will lose our salvation through willful sinning, unless we completely repent, which sometimes requires reconciliation, getting right with those we remember we’ve hurt in some way (Jesus’ statement to reconcile in Mt. 5:23-24 and what Paul always practiced, Acts 24:16). Continue reading “Michael Heiser Refuted: Once Saved, Always Saved? Eternal security? Can a Christian lose salvation?”→
“Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible [crown in heaven]. I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air, but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.” – Paul in 1 Cor. 9:24-27