What Do You Mean Once Saved Always Saved?

Well, brethren, from a human fleshly perspective, wouldn't it be nice if you were once saved, always saved? Wouldn't that be nice? Say you profess Christ when you're 15 years old. You give your heart to Him in an emotional, just-as-I-am plea from some youth minister. And then you're once saved and always saved. Saved once and for all. You wouldn't need to be overly concerned about your behavior from that point forward, of course, because you would have been saved.

You could sow lots of wild oats. You wouldn't really need to be very concerned about the harvest. Now, of course, that's a carnal viewpoint, but let's face it. That is how human beings think often. You would believe that you had purchased an ironclad salvation insurance policy. An ironclad salvation insurance policy. Once saved, always saved. You wouldn't even have to pay any monthly premiums. So you're saved and that's it. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. You're saved, so don't worry. Be happy.

So wouldn't that be nice? Maybe it would in some ways, but that's not the reality of it, even though many, many people believe in a doctrine of once saved, always saved. Now I do believe in not worrying. I do believe in being happy. But what does this doctrine of once saved, always saved mean? What verses in the Bible are used to substantiate this particular doctrine? And what are the likely ramifications of such a doctrinal belief? What does the Bible say about salvation?

When is a person saved? What does it mean to be saved? Is it possible to fall away or to lose out on salvation? These are all very important questions. So look for answers to these important questions in this sermon. And also be ready to give an answer yourself on this subject if anyone would ever ask you about this one. What do you think of the once saved, always saved doctrine? All right, I'm going to organize this sermon by asking seven questions. So we're going to answer seven questions throughout the sermon.

The first question is, what does this doctrine of once saved, always saved mean? Or what are people trying to say by clinging to this once saved, always saved doctrine? Well, I'm going to just give the short answer here. I'm sure we could go into a lot of different things. I did go on the internet and looked up once saved, always saved. And they'll take you to various churches and what people say. But basically, it is the belief that once a person accepts Jesus into their heart, they are saved. They're destined to go to heaven no matter what.

The belief is that nothing can keep them from salvation. No sin, nothing can keep them from going to heaven. Now, that's basically how most people who believe in this doctrine look at this doctrine. This is what it means. It really is, in a sense, an ironclad salvation insurance policy. Once saved, always saved. That's question number one, so let's move right on to question number two. Second question, what scriptures are used to lend support to this doctrine? Now, I'm going to go through five of the main scriptures that are used to substantiate this doctrine.

These are the five that I found. There probably are others that they would point to, but I'm sure these are representative of any of the others that they might point to. We're going to actually go to these verses and see if it's really saying, once saved, always saved.

John chapter 10, let's go there. John chapter 10, verse 27. Christ is saying here that, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.

I and my Father are one. Now, indeed, this is a comforting number of verses, and I take great comfort in these verses myself. And I believe every word that is said here. But does it really say that you're once saved, always saved?

Is that what these verses are saying? It says, Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. It is certainly true that no one can snatch you out of the Father's hand. I mean, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, and if you cling to God the Father, Satan isn't powerful enough to do it. No one is except yourself, because it is a choice. It's a decision. So, no one can, but you can. That's how I look at these verses.

You have to look at them from this perspective that, right, Satan isn't powerful enough, and no other human being is powerful enough. But you can make that decision yourself. You have to remain faithful. You have to endure to the end. So, this scripture really doesn't say once saved, always saved. I mean, those words aren't in the Bible, for one thing, and they certainly are not here in these verses. Let's go to 1 John 5, verses 11-13.

1 John 5, verses 11-13. 1 John 5, verse 11. And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Again, it doesn't say once saved, always saved here. I don't see the words anywhere. Certainly, we do have eternal life through Jesus Christ. In fact, the Bible says there's no other name given under heaven whereby a person may be saved.

It's only through Jesus Christ that we can gain salvation. But it isn't saying that it's once saved, always saved. You know, actually, when you stop and think about it, the doctrine of once saved, always saved, really is a true doctrine. Because once you're truly saved, you are always saved. But you're not saved until you enter into the kingdom of God. You're not saved until you actually become spirit. In fact, Mr. Caping was referring to that as well. We're spirit beings once we go into the God family, into the family of God.

Then we're pure, and we are being purified. Right now, we're in the process, though, of conversion. We're headed in that direction, but we're not there yet. We're not yet saved because we're not yet changed into spirit. We have not yet entered into the family of God in the fullest sense. We haven't entered into His kingdom. We're not spirit beings.

We haven't become like Christ in that sense. And only until we become like Christ in the fullest sense that we become spirit as He is. Then, and only then, will we be saved. So, we are once saved, always saved, when we look at it from that perspective.

But that isn't how the religions of this world look at this doctrine. They consider, once you profess Jesus Christ, once you profess Him as your Savior, accept Him, bring Him into your heart, then it's once saved, always saved.

So that isn't what these scriptures tell us here. Certainly, we do have eternal life in Christ. There is no argument there. But nowhere does it say, once saved, always saved. In fact, we'll go through a lot of verses that show that that could not be the case.

Hebrews chapter 10. Let's go there. This is another one of the verses that are used to substantiate this idea of once saved, always saved. Hebrews chapter 10. See, the problem is, they pull a few scriptures out of context and they build a doctrine on those verses instead of, here a little, there a little, you know, look throughout the entire Bible and come up with something that does not contradict other verses in the Bible. We will see that this once saved, always saved doctrine does contradict some very clear verses in the Bible.

Hebrews chapter 10 verse 8. Hebrews 10 verse 8. Previously saying, sacrifice and offering, burn offerings and offerings for sin you did not desire, nor had pleasure in them which are offered according to the law. Then he said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first that he may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God from that time waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.

For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us for after he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts. Now, actually, they don't read that far. They stop at verse 14.

For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified or set apart and made holy. So they will use these verses that we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all and saying that that means once saved, always saved.

But again, that isn't the entire picture, is it? Yes, we believe every word that we just read here in Hebrews 10. We just don't believe that it substantiates the idea of once saved, always saved.

1 Timothy 2 are a few other verses here that are used again to substantiate the doctrine of once saved, always saved. 1 Timothy 2, verses 5 and 6. 1 Timothy 2, verse 5, For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, I am speaking the truth in Christ, and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. So again, they'll point to this, for there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. And they'll use that to substantiate this idea of once saved, always saved. Actually, when you look at the verses they use, they're not very compelling. They really don't nail down this doctrine at all of once saved, always saved. And one other verse that they will use is John 1, verse 12. John chapter 1, verse 12. John chapter 1, verse 12. Here it says, But as many as received him Christ, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Now, the word that's translated born here is the word ganao, which can also mean begotten, or it can also mean conceived. We know that we are not fully born into the family of God at this time because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. That's what the Bible tells us, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and yet we're still here in the flesh, aren't we? We have not yet been changed into spirit beings.

We are awaiting a time when that will happen, but that has not yet taken place.

So again, they will use these verses, verse 12 specifically. As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.

Again, we don't have any problem with the verse. It's a great verse. We believe it, but it does not say once saved, always saved. Those words, again, they're not in the Bible.

So those are five of the main verses that I found in my research that are used to substantiate this doctrine of once saved, always saved.

A third question now. Let's go on to a third question. Where did this idea or doctrine of once saved, always saved, where did it come from? Where did it originate?

Now, to answer this question, let me quote from one who believes this doctrine and has some knowledge but lacks understanding. Actually, I only know him as cuddles24, because that's the email address that he used. CuddlesCUDDLZ24. I have no idea who this man is, but I googled this on the internet, of course, using my trusty iPhone as well as my computer.

And so I'm going to go into some of what he says. Here's what he says.

The idea that one can lose their salvation, which is what we believe. You know, we believe that a person could lose out on salvation. Again, not once they're saved fully, not once they're changed into spirit, but we do believe that a person can be converted and receive the Spirit of God and be on the road to salvation. They can be in the process of being saved, but that process can be aborted. That process can change. A person can lose out on salvation depending on the choices and the decisions that they make and what, of course, God does in response to what this person would do. So getting back again to what Cuddles24 says, he says the idea that one can lose their salvation was actually invented by Roman Catholicism. He says, surprise, surprise, in parentheses. He says they invented it to make money off the sale of prayer for the dead. Like I said, the man has some understanding because the Catholics certainly have misused scripture in a number of different ways, but it doesn't mean they have every single thing wrong.

Everything that they believe doesn't mean everything is wrong. But he says that the Catholics did this to make money off the sale of prayer for the dead, for indulgences, which are indulgences where people pay money to get people out of purgatory, I guess, or maybe even hell, I don't know all they believe. But he said to give them more power over how and what else, in addition to Christ, people had to do to be saved because they believe it's only, you know, just profess Christ and that's all you have to do.

Accordingly, many of the denominations who claim to have broken away from Rome still teach their heretical views to their members. So that's what he would say about us, that this is a heretical view that a person could actually lose out on salvation.

If we can't have a sh... getting back to what Cuddles24 says, if we can't have assurance of salvation, what's the point of getting saved? Okay, so what he's saying... he wants this insurance policy that I was talking about, this ironclad salvation insurance policy, otherwise he wants no part of it. He wants no part of Christianity unless he could have this 100% you know, salvation guarantee. That's what he says. If we can't have assurance of salvation, what's the point of getting saved? I may as well just try to be the best person I can that I can be and hope for the best. Nope, it flies in the face of the eternal peace and hope that God promises to his children. And then he quotes John 1, verse 12, which was the last verse that we read in verses that supposedly substantiate this idea.

So, Cuddles wants an ironclad salvation insurance policy.

And actually, this idea that he has was already taking place. It was taking root in Paul's time.

In fact, we can go to the Bible and we can see that Paul addressed similar ideas in the book of Romans. So, let's go to Romans chapter 3 and let's consider a few verses here in the book of Romans. Paul was already having to combat this kind of an idea of once saved, always saved. Romans chapter 3, verse 31. Paul says, do we then make void the law through faith?

Because really, when it gets right down to it, it gets down to the idea that the law is done away.

That's what allows people to think that they need this salvation policy. The law has been done away, so therefore, there is no sin. It doesn't matter how you live, essentially, although they won't quite put it that way. But verse 31 says, do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not. On the contrary, we established the law. We established the law by faith. And we know it goes on to talk about how Abraham was justified by faith. Abraham was the father of the faithful. But there were people that were beginning to already say that the law is done away. Do we then make void the law through faith? Faith in Christ? Certainly not. On the contrary, we establish the law of God. The law of God is important. The law of God reveals what sin is. And it helps us to understand what it is we need to repent of. Romans 6, verse 1. Paul asks the question, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin? And by the way, I'm skipping over a lot of verses that would be helpful for you to read these things. I just don't have time to do it today in this sermon. He says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? See, that's after a number of things that he says here in chapter 5 about how people look at the law and so forth. He says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Because some were coming up with this idea that, well, let's just go ahead and sin all the more because grace and mercy, God extends grace and mercy, wants to do that. So the more we sin, the more he will extend grace and mercy, and the better for everyone. That's not how God looks at it. And that's not how Paul looked at it. He said, certainly not, or God forbid, very strong language, how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Now, how is it that we die to sin?

We die to sin through baptism, as it goes on to say here in chapter 6. This is the baptism chapter.

Or do you not know that as many of you as were baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death?

Because Christ died for our sins. It's by accepting Christ as our Savior and repenting of our sins that our sins are forgiven. You know, it's by going under the watery grave, dying with Christ, that's how our sins are forgiven. So when we come out of that watery grave, what are we to do? We are to walk in newness of life. We are to strive to keep the commandments of God. The commandments of God are not done away. The commandments of God have been magnified by Christ who kept them perfectly, setting us an example to do the same thing. And when we fall short, he is our sacrifice. He is the one that was crucified for us, who was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us. So Paul was combating these ideas in Romans chapter 3. Do we void the law through faith? Certainly not. We establish the law.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. God forbid. That's not what God wants at all. He wants us to keep his commandments. He wants us to keep his laws.

It's not once saved, always saved. You have to continue to keep the commandments of God.

You can't just throw them out or just say they're done away. That's no longer necessary.

The idea that one can lose their salvation is grounded in God's Word. And we're going to see that very clearly as we continue in today's sermon and go through some other verses.

This idea or doctrine of once saved, always saved, frankly has its roots in human reasoning.

From a human standpoint, yes, it would be nice to be once saved, always saved.

And not only that, I could go do whatever I wanted to do in the meantime. I mean, that's human rationale. That's human reasoning. It's human nature.

So this doctrine has its roots in human nature and our desire to be free of God's laws and God's commandments without consequence. Okay, that's where this doctrine comes from.

For a man's innate desire to be free of God's law. The scripture says about man's heart, that the heart is deceitful above all things. It is desperately wicked.

I mean, that's what we have to battle. We have to battle this human nature. The Bible also says that the flesh or the carnal... the law of God is enmity against God. It is not subject to the it is not subject to the law. What am I, Romans chapter? What is that? I better go look it up now since I'm misquoting it here. Romans chapter 8.

Okay, let's start in verse 5. For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So we have to learn to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. All right, let's go on to a fourth question.

Excuse me, a fourth question. And that question is, what are the likely ramifications of holding to this doctrine? Okay, if you hold to this doctrine, what are the ramifications? In other words, what are the fruits of believing this doctrine? Again, human nature being what it is, doesn't it seem likely that man would take advantage of such a doctrine? One saved, always saved?

It has been said that a Christian is a man that feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do again on Monday. That's what Thomas Russell Ybarra said about a Christian. A Christian is a man that feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and plans to do again on Monday. Now, that's obviously not a true Christian, is it? A true Christian is a follower of Christ, and Christ didn't have to feel repentance because he never sinned. This is talking about a man who has a little bit of worldly sorrow for doing something that he knows is wrong, is contrary to God's law, but plans on doing it again and again and again because that's what he desires, that's what he wants to do. So, in other words, some people discredit Christianity because they have seen the behavior of one who may hold to this belief of one saved, always saved. Isn't that a consequence? A person who feels a Christian is someone that can just repent, in a sense, not real repentance, but a little bit of sorrow, for what he did on Saturday and then go back and do it again on Monday and not and then repeat the cycle over and over and over again. Now, that isn't overcoming, is it? That's not putting sin out of your life. So, that brings discredit upon Christianity. Someone who has this idea of one saved, always saved, and thinks that you can just continue to do whatever you want to do and you're always forgiven and you're one saved, always saved.

People have seen a professing Christian who allows himself to justify his bad, even evil behavior, believing that they have nothing to be concerned about because they're already saved. Their sins are covered by the blood of Christ. Now, in the quotation that I just used about a Christian as a man that feels repentance on Sunday, for what he did on Saturday and it's going to do again on Monday, we see an attitude of one who feels, again, a little tiny remorse but no conviction to really change his behavior. See, that's what happens if you endorse a belief that isn't in the Bible, by the way, of one saved, always saved. Human nature runs with that. Oh, I'm saved. I don't really need to be all that concerned about how I treat this person or that person or the other person or how I treat myself even or what I do to my body or if I drink too much or whatever it is that I do. Again, this is the kind of person who is doing what he wants to do and wants to continue to do that. This type of attitude toward sin clearly breeds or produces more sin in a person's life. That's what happens when you endorse a doctrine like this. This type of attitude is reflected in what Cuddles 24 said earlier, if we can't have assurance of salvation, what's the point of getting saved? I may as well just try to be the best person I can be and hope for the best. How much does a person really try, though, unless they have understanding of what it really means? That God wants us to be overcomers, that he wants us to put sin out of our lives. It gives us more motivation to realize that there are consequences for our choices and our decisions and that we do need to bring our bodies into subjection. That's a verse we'll cover a little bit later on. Again, why surrender your life to Christ? Why even be concerned about who Christ is? Why pattern your life after Christ? Why change your behavior and do as Christ did? Why focus on overcoming when you believe this once saved, always saved? That's question number four.

Again, what are the likely ramifications of holding to this doctrine? It's a lax attitude toward behavior and toward sin. If you think the law is done away and you think you're once saved, always saved, then there's a laxness towards one's behavior. Does that make sense? Not yes, please. Let's go on to question number five.

The question here is, what is salvation? That's part of the problem. They don't even realize what salvation is. They think salvation is going off to heaven as soon as you die.

That's salvation, right? You either go to hell and you burn in hell forever and ever, or you're saved and you go up into heaven. That's, unfortunately, how some people look.

That's how they understand salvation. They don't have a depth of what salvation really is.

Another question, when does one... This is all part of question number five. What is salvation? And when does one receive salvation? We know that salvation is... We in God's church realize that salvation is eternal life in God's eternal kingdom. That's what salvation is.

I mean, going into heaven, that's just a part of... I mean, the third heaven, there's much more to all of this than just going into heaven.

Salvation occurs at the return of Jesus Christ for one who has been converted and has received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It occurs at Christ's return. When a person has surrendered his life to Christ and is actually striving to live by every word of God, by being baptized and by repenting of his sins, again, he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwelling within a person is what seals them until Christ returns bringing salvation with him. That's what Hebrews chapter 9 says.

That's what Hebrews chapter 9 says. Let's go to 27 and 28. Christ is coming back a second time. The first time he came to die for our sins, he came to live a perfect life and then to lay his life down. He never sinned. He was tempted, but he never gave into that temptation. He was a human being, so he was tempted, as we are tempted, but he never sinned. So in Hebrews chapter 9, verses 27 and 28, speak about his second coming. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27, it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment will all die once, unless Christ returns before we actually die. We're all going to die once, but after this the judgment will take place. And that's true whether you're in the first resurrection or the second resurrection.

You'll die once, and then the judgment will take place. If you're in the second resurrection, then you'll have an opportunity to come to know Christ at that time. And then you'll be judged on whether or not you accept that and whether you begin to live it and are changed and converted and overcome and so forth. But for those of us who are among the first fruits, now is the time of judgment for us. This is our Judgment Day. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. Christ was offered once. He was sacrificed. He was crucified to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation. Christ is going to bring salvation with him for the first fruits. When he returns the second time, he's bringing salvation with him for the first fruits. What does the Bible say? We will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. Those of us who are alive and remain until when Christ returns, then we're going to be changed in the spirit. And we actually won't have to die once if we happen to be alive at Christ's return. Which, you know, who knows how many of us will be alive when Christ returns? None of us know the answer to that. But if we die first, then we will be resurrected first. Actually, we'll be resurrected before those who are alive. It says those who will come out of the graves first, and then those of us who are alive and remain shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye.

So if we die before Christ returns, having been sealed by the Holy Spirit, then we will rise to meet Christ in the air. We'll come out of the graves. We'll rise to meet him in the air. That's when we will receive salvation. We'll no longer be flesh. We will be changed in the spirit. And that's when there will be salvation for us. We're not saved until then.

Until Christ returns, and we are changed into spirit. So that's really what salvation is. It's being saved from this human flesh, this human carnal body being saved out of this flesh, into a spiritual body like Christ. In Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, we see here that Jesus means Savior. That's what his name means. Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, his name means Savior, for he will save his people from what? He'll save them from their sins.

And that's because they will be forgiven their sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There are many, many scriptures that talk about that. We don't have time to go through all of them, obviously, today. But we are saved by grace because God is forgiving us through the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ. That's how you'll be saved. That's how I'll be saved. We'll be saved by grace. We won't be saved by law-keeping. We'll be saved by grace. But that doesn't mean that we can neglect God's law. It doesn't mean we can say it's done away and we don't have to pay any attention to it any longer.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, let's go ahead and go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

And I know we're familiar with these verses, but they're important to consider in this once-saved, always-saved doctrine. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 15.

Because they don't have their minds opened to God's truth.

Because that doctrine makes no sense if your mind is open to the truth. It makes no sense.

But if we've died, we're not in heaven, we're not in hell, we're in the grave. We're awaiting a resurrection to life. That's what the Scripture clearly tells us.

And yet billions of professing Christians believe that when you die, you either go to heaven or hell.

Then somehow they believe in the resurrection too.

And I never did quite understand how they put that all together. But that doesn't make any sense to me.

This makes sense.

Okay, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible, this flesh, is put on incorruption, and this mortal is put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Okay, death is an enemy of ours that will be destroyed one day when there'll be no more death.

And there'll be no more sorrow. And there'll be no more crime because God's Kingdom would have been established. And it will last forever.

One final... well, actually, I might go to 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Again, these are verses that we're quite familiar with. We read them always on the Feast of Trumpets, as well as other times throughout the year. But 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 17.

Again, it's pretty very, very clear here what Paul says.

Speaking about the last trumpet and the resurrection to life, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13, he says, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, although so many, many people are ignorant about this, but Paul didn't want them to be ignorant, concerning those who have fallen asleep, those who have died. I don't want you to be ignorant. Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. In other words, those who have died, when Christ returns, they'll be resurrected.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive...

Now Paul thought he would probably be alive back then. He thought Christ was coming back a lot sooner than he did, than he has. You know, we're still waiting on him. And this is almost 2,000 years later. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Yes, we're going to meet Christ in the air. He's coming down to the Mount of Olives.

We're going to meet him in the air. We're going to come down here on earth, and we're going to rule and reign with him for a thousand years. And then there will be a great white throne judgment period, and then the new heavens and the new earth, the new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven.

You know what the Bible says. It all makes sense. Philippians 2 verse 12 is a very important one. Actually, I want to go there now. This question, again, the one that we're answering here, question number five, what is salvation and when do we receive it?

Okay, let's go to Philippians chapter 2 verse 12, because it gives us an idea that we don't receive salvation the moment we're baptized. That's not when salvation comes. The moment we accept Christ as our Savior isn't the moment that we receive salvation. Philippians chapter 2 verse 12, if it were, then we probably wouldn't have to have a verse like this in the Bible. Philippians chapter 2 verse 12. Philippians chapter 2 verse 12, therefore, my beloved, as you 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. Undoubtedly, he was talking to a lot of people who were already converted. They were already baptized. He's talking to the church at Philippi here. They are his beloved brethren, many of them converted people. He says, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. It takes God and it takes also us in order to be saved. I mean, it is a choice and a decision that we have to make.

So, God does the work in us, but we have to yield to God. We have to allow him to do the work in us.

So, it is a partnership in a sense. You know, God doesn't do everything. He expects us to do something. He expects us to surrender our lives and submit to him and allow him to live in us, allow Christ to live in us. Then he will give us salvation. But we have to work out our own salvation. We have to work it out with fear and trembling. Even Christ himself went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed all night long for strength and for help. And God gave him that strength and, of course, he qualified to be our Savior. But we also have to work out our own salvation in that sense. Not that we can save ourselves. We can't. God saves us. Christ is the Savior. That's what his name means. But we have to accept him and we have to learn to obey him and follow him. Remember, the scripture says... Now, I'm quoting the scriptures again.

He that says he abides in him ought himself to walk even as he walks. If you say that you abide in Christ, that you are a Christian, then you should walk as he walks. You should, in other words, follow his example. Do what he did. Okay, so that was the answer to question number five. Let's go on to question number six. What are the requirements for gaining salvation at Christ's return? Okay, what are the requirements for gaining salvation? Are there any requirements for gaining salvation at Christ's return? If we're going to understand this once saved, always saved, basically, they don't think there's any requirements. All you have to do is believe. Believe on Jesus. Accept him into your heart and you're saved. Once saved, always saved. But is that what the Bible says? Or are there some requirements for gaining salvation at Christ's return?

Now, as already mentioned, a person must accept Christ as their Savior, as the one who will save them from their sins. Emmanuel means God with us. This was another term for Christ. Emmanuel, which means God with us or God in us. We know that we are to repent of our sins and sin is the breaking of God's law. That's what Peter said in Acts 2, verse 38. Repent and be baptized every one of you. These are things that are actually requirements that basically, unless there's a rare exception, this is what God expects. Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of your sins. So we are to repent of our sins and then we are to strive with our whole heart to put sin out of our lives. There are many scriptures that bear that out that we are to learn to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our might, learn to love our neighbors as ourselves.

And in fact, again, Mr. Caping referred to this in the sermon at that, you know, this is the bottom line. You know, God is calling us and we need to fight the good fight. We need to grow and overcome. We need to reflect the image of Christ in the way we live our lives and everything that we do.

So we repent of our sins. We learn to be overcomers. We put sin out of our lives, too. We make some changes in our lives. We no longer allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies.

Sin no longer has us in its control. Now we might sin on occasion. We might slip and, you know, we will sin. We're all sinners. If you say you don't have a... if you say you have no sin, you're a liar. The truth is not in you. So we are going to sin, but we can certainly also overcome sin. We can put it out of our lives. We don't have to continue in the same kind of sinning that we've always done before we were converted. We have to change.

So we surrendered it to God and Christ and we learned to walk as Christ walked.

And remember what Acts 5 verse 32 says about the Holy Spirit? God grants His Spirit to who?

To those who obey Him. Acts 5 verse 32, God grants His Spirit to those who obey Him.

So God isn't going to give His Spirit to someone who isn't willing to obey Him, someone that believes the law is done away and that He doesn't have to observe the law of God.

The true Christian knows that Christ is a high priest and that Christ intercedes for us when we sin and have a repentant mind and heart, confessing our sin to Him because Christ is our advocate. Christ loves us. He laid His life down for us. And we know that the Father also loves us because He gave His Son for us. But Christ speaks on our behalf because the Father does hate sin.

And so does Christ. They both hate sin. They have horror sin. It's not something they like.

Sin is what caused the death of Jesus Christ.

So they don't take sin lightly and we shouldn't either. We come to know the Father through His Son. Again, both the Father and Son are loving and merciful, but they do have rules and regulations.

They have requirements that they expect of their members to follow. And one of them is to obey God's commandments. And when we fall short of that, then we truly do have to repent in a godly manner, which means we are striving to change and to put that sin out of our life. We're not making excuses for it. We may repeat it again, but we're not making excuses for it. We admit it when we sin and we try not to sin again. We try to put that sin out of our life, but we also know that we do have a high priest and He will make intercession for us and He will plead our case. And we are saved by grace. We are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for our sins. Okay, let's go on to the last question. Question number seven. The requirements, again, there are requirements. Repent, be baptized, every one of you obey God, keep His commandments. Those are actually requirements for gaining salvation. We don't gain them ourselves, but they are something that we need to be doing. Otherwise, we won't be given salvation. We are saved by grace because it's only through God's grace. We're all sinners and the wages of sin is death, and that's what we all deserve. All right, question number seven. What are some scriptures that give a better understanding to the scriptures that we read earlier that people use to support man's false doctrine of once saved, always saved? Okay, we went through five verses that they use to say once saved, always saved is solid, that it's a doctrine. Well, I'm going to go through a number of verses that shoot that to pieces. Okay, let's start with Mark 13 verse 13. Mark chapter 13 verse 13.

Mark 13 verse 13.

And you will be hated. Christ says, you will be hated by all for my name's sake. He's speaking to his disciples. You'll be hated, but he who endures to the end or bears patiently or endures to the end shall be saved. Okay, so here an element of enduring to the end is given.

Not once saved, always saved, but enduring to the end. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Not he who decides 30 years before his end comes that he can just do whatever he wants to now, because he's once saved, always saved. No, a person who endures to the end. In other words, a person who works out his own salvation with fear and trembling for a number of years.

That's the person that will endure to the end, and that's the person that will be saved.

Matthew 24 verse 13 says essentially the same thing. Let's see if it says exactly the same thing.

Matthew 24 verse 13. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Speaking about how lawlessness will grow cold, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. Then the end will come. So that's the context of he who endures to the end. So we have to endure. What is the end? Actually, two ends. One could be the end of your life.

If you die, then you've endured to the end. If you still have the Spirit of God dwelling in you, when you die, then you've endured to the end. The end of your life. You're in the grave. You're awaiting a resurrection. If you are alive and you endure until Christ returns, then you've endured to the end. Because that's the end of an age. Christ is coming back at the end of the age. It's all starting over again when Christ returns. It's God's kingdom being established on the earth for a thousand years and then expanding on for eternity from there.

So that's important to realize that you have to endure to the end. Whether if you die or Christ returns, that's the end. That's the end of the age for you. So some of you may endure to the end sooner than some of the rest of us.

Christ may actually return before we're all dead in this room. Who knows?

Okay, now let's go to another verse. Also, I might just mention that Paul talked about fighting the good fight. He said that there was a crown of life that was laid up for him, but he had not yet attained that crown. He knew that he was not yet saved. In fact, Paul said, O wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death? Remember that? That was in Romans 7. This was probably 55 AD, somewhere in that neighborhood, 20 plus years after Christ had died. Paul is saying, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Speaking about this fleshly human body, who's going to deliver me? He says, I thank God through Jesus Christ.

But he calls himself a wretched man. He was still concerned about working out his own salvation with fear and trembling, wasn't he? Paul was one that was... he hadn't just decided that he was once saved, always saved. In fact, let's go to 1 Corinthians 9 and see what Paul says here.

1 Corinthians 9.

1 Corinthians 9.

All right, where am I? 1 Corinthians 9 verses 24 to 27. Verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?

Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Now, the beauty about the race that we run, of course, is that we can all win it. You know, we can all be winners. There isn't just one winner in this type of race. And Paul understands that. He realizes that. Let's go on and see what he says here. He says, run in such a way that you may obtain it. In other words, live your life the way God would want you to, in a way that would be pleasing to him. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown. But we for an imperishable crown. So he's making an analogy between a physical race and a spiritual race. And he's saying that a person who wins a physical race will get maybe a crown of olive, what are they, olive leaves or whatever they use to crown the winner back in those days. It was perishable. It wouldn't last. It wasn't a crown of gold. It was a perishable crown of leaves of some sort. I think olive trees.

I don't remember all that stuff. But anyway, he says, therefore I run, thus, not with uncertainty.

Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, okay, here's Paul the great preacher, the vessel of God, called by God, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Now if Paul believed in once saved, always saved, would he have ever written that?

Saying that I could become disqualified? And in Hebrews chapter 6, it speaks of those who are enlightened. I'm not going to take the time to read all that, but Hebrews chapter 6, 1 through 12, you can put it in your notes. Hebrews chapter 6, 1 through 12. Basically, it's saying here that those who are enlightened with the gift of the Holy Spirit will be held accountable for their behavior.

Once you're enlightened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, you're going to be held accountable for your behavior. For their steadfastness and obedience and repentance for their sins, I mean, they're going to be held accountable as to whether or not they're steadfast, whether they're obedient or repentant, or whether there is a lack of faithfulness there. Let's go to Hebrews 6. We'll look at a couple verses, but I'm not going to read all these to you. Hebrews chapter 6, 1 through 12.

Okay, verse 4. It says, For it is impossible for those who are once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away. Now, there would be no reason to write that if one saved, always saved, was true.

Because you wouldn't fall away. If you'd been enlightened, and it was impossible to fall away, then there's no way this would have ever been written.

What he's saying, it is possible to fall away, is what this verse is saying. It is possible to fall away. Because if they do fall away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they crucified again for themselves the Son of God, and put him to an open chain.

So, a person who is enlightened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, receives the gift of God, if they fall away. Now, what does it mean, fall away? Well, it's important to understand that, because I know in some of the congregations that I pastor, there are people there who have fallen away. You know, there are people that went back into the world for 20 or 30 years. I don't know that anyone here has done that, looking around, I don't see that. But I know of some cases in some of the other churches where they were gone for 20 years, and they went back into the world. And they lived a worldly lifestyle, to a large degree. But they came back. So, there is a point where a person can fall away. In other words, they can stop attending church. But if God doesn't take the Spirit away from them, they haven't fallen away. As long as they have the Spirit of God dwelling in them, they haven't fully fallen away. Because if they still have the Spirit of God dwelling in them, there's still hope. If they've been enlightened by the Spirit, they've gotten sidetracked, they've gone off in the wrong direction, but they still have something nagging away. That's how people have described it to me. They knew better, but they continued to do their own thing. And God was merciful. And in some cases, those people come back. They repent of their sins. They come back, and they still have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. But on the other hand, it seems that there are others who go too far. They go too far, and they get so far away from God that they actually reject God's way of life. They don't have a desire to come back.

These other people have a desire to come back. They partially want to come back. They know they should, but they're weak. They just put God away, and they do their own thing, I guess. I've never done this. I've never fallen away like that. But in talking to some of them, there was always something nagging at them that told them they needed to come back one day. Now, that's like playing Russian roulette, though. That's not wise. You don't want to fall away, because the further you get away from God, the more likely God's going to take his Spirit away from you.

David talked about, don't take the Spirit away from me when he sinned with Bathsheba.

Now, he would have never prayed that if he had believed in a once-saved, always-saved doctrine.

He wouldn't have to be concerned about God taking the Spirit away from him.

But he was concerned. That's another verse you could write down. I don't have them in my notes here. Hebrews 10 is another one, and we'll have to wrap it up here. I've got a few others, but this is most of it. Hebrews chapter 10. Okay, this is the unpardonable sin verses here in verse 23. Let's start in verse 23. Well, I don't know if I'll... No, I'm not going to... Let's go to verse 26. It says, For if we sin willfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. So he's saying, if we sin willfully, and that's the unpardonable sin, when we sin willfully, not willingly, those people that I talked about who fell away, they sinned willingly. They willingly did it. They laughed. They even knew better, but they did it. They sinned willingly, but it wasn't willful. It wasn't to the point that they had willed themselves to reject God and His truth. When you become so willful that you reject God and His truth, and only God knows He's the judge of that. I'm not the judge of that. I can't judge that. You can't either. But God is the judge of whether or not someone has become so willful. Satan was willful. Lucifer became vain and proud and willful, and he rebelled against God. He tried to actually destroy God. He wanted to exalt himself before God. So if a person ever gets to a point where they're willful in that respect, then God will take the Spirit away from them. Then there's no hope for someone who's gone to that extent and to that degree. But as long as a person has a desire to obey God and serve Him and wants to become like Him, even though they sin on occasion, they slip, it doesn't mean they've committed the unpardonable sin.

In 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11, it says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

There's a number of other verses that show that. The unrighteous are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. So you can't just think that you can do evil. 1 Corinthians 6, it gives a list of people who aren't going to be in the kingdom. And Revelation 22, I think it gives another list, there are a number of lists of people who aren't going to be in the kingdom. They're all very similar. 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11, it says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites, nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners. And actually, this is the short list. There are others who won't inherit. It's not a laughing matter, but that's the truth. These people will not inherit the kingdom of God. If a person continues in homosexuality, they won't. They're not going to enter the kingdom. God's not going to allow that in. Sodomy, adultery, people who do not repent of drunkenness, of being a thief, they're not going to be in the kingdom of God. Even revilers, angry people who revile, who don't repent of that behavior, they won't be in God's kingdom either.

We have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

I'm not going to go to Revelation 2 and 3, but it does talk about, He who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne. We have to be overcomers. It's not once saved, always saved. I could go through many, many other verses. This is just a sampling of verses that point out that it's not once saved, always saved.

So, brethren, don't be deceived by man's false doctrine of once saved, always saved.

Don't be deceived by it. Instead, cling to God and cling to His truth. Keep His commandments, keep His statutes, and reap the blessings of doing so.

Know that it truly is God's good pleasure to give you His kingdom. He wants to grant salvation to you. He wants you to live forever with Him, but you are expected to learn to strive, to live, you're expected to learn to live by every word of God. We are indeed saved by grace, by God's forgiveness for our sins, upon our genuine repentance of those sins, sins that we've committed, and that we will no doubt continue to commit to some degree.

None of us will be perfect in this flesh. But let us all continue to run the good race, to fight the good fight, and to endure faithfully to the end, to the end of this age. So may God hasten the coming of His kingdom. Then we will be, once saved, always saved.