I seem to find myself in a lot of debates over people attacking the doctrine of once saved, always saved.
Religion tells you, you can hope you have lived good enough and someday you may be eligible for heaven. But then there are some that teach, yes you can’t earn heaven to be saved, but you better prove you deserve this free gift after or God will revoke it just as fast.
The bible says salvation is a one time thing that gives you eternal life. You are either saved or lost. Jesus says YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN. We are born on the devil’s team — we don’t choose the devil’s team. We must “get traded” onto God’s team — and that is a one time event, we simply need to see we are on the wrong team and cry out to the Captain of our Salvation and change teams. But it’s more like adoption than a sports analogy. If you see the way Sports teams work you can bounce from team to team and they will trade you or cut you if you get too old, or too slow, or simply get another coach calling the shots who plays or sits. God isn’t like that.
The bible says in Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
God will not adopt you and then un-adopt you and then perhaps re-adopt you if you deserve it.
God will chasten us as sons, not disown us.
I know it is confusing, especially with so many camps and slants out there. But first, here is a thought. Christians are not perfect and the flesh will battle against the spirit but we should grow. There is no such thing as sinless perfection- but there will be sin-LESS progression but it will be God doing the work and if we are willing to yield and get out of God’s way.
It is not trying to act spiritual or cleaning up the outside and trying to act like a Christian. True biblical Christianity is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.
The end result is perfection but that isn’t until God takes us out of here and leaves our imperfect flesh behind and reclothes us- but until then we can either act the part right away or be willing to be misunderstood and be humbled over and over and have to regularly apologize for things we say and do- because in this process down here God will use our sins and struggles and continuously reveal our need for God.
We have to study the bible as a whole.
Works for salvation or works to keep your salvation or do works or risk losing your salvation are not bible.
And this is not a license to sin, at all. But it will be God removing our pride and stripping down our pride and exposing our pride and that can be a painful process and get the religious to shake their heads at us.
This song we sing conveys the truth of it — “In my Father’s Eyes, there’s no wrong I’ve done. In my Father’s Eyes, I am the perfect Son. HE must see someone I can’t see, and it makes me want to try to be the Perfect SON (JESUS!!!!!) that is in MY Father’s Eyes.”
Good and evil were on the same tree in the garden, and the Pharisees were far more spiritual than any of us. But bad attitudes and pride and self-righteousness and thinking “Thank God I am not like so-and-so” are far more offensive to God than our sins. Our sins we will repent of! Yet we often do not repent of our righteousness.
Jesus came not to call the righteous, but SINNERS to repentance. But when that happens, we have a compassion and love for sinners, not a haughty I am better than you attitude. I don’t know who here has a haughty attitude, but something I learned and struggle with is it is very hard to start seeing extended lengths of victory and to not act like the Elder Brother when others stumble or have sins of the flesh.
The lessons of the Prodigal Son show we likely will fall into one ditch or the other — struggling with bad ACTIONS or bad ATTITUDES.
In heaven, God takes all struggles away. If we are saved and had no struggles, we wouldn’t see our need for Jesus and we wouldn’t see the truth that WITHOUT HIM, WE CAN DO NOTHING.
If you think you are the most spiritual person going, guess what?
You’re not.