Let us review some Scriptures that reveal that the unrighteous will NOT be in the Kingdom of God
1 Corinthians 6:9-11: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
We read here that some Church members used to behave in a wrong and sinful manner but we also read in Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,” meaning that some Church members could turn back to their former life. Therefore, anyone who has gone off the straight and narrow way and has not repented and got back on track will not be in the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Paul says they have to hold fast to that which he preached to them.
Hebrews 10:26: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” So again, anyone who has been converted can still go off track and sin willfully and will not be continuing in the Truth. For such a person, the consequences are dire.
2 Peter 2:20-22: “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”
It Does Matter What We Do!
In Romans 2:5-11, we read about God’s righteous judgment: “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
This passage is very clear about those who obey the Truth and their reward and those who do not obey the Truth.
Romans 6:15-19: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” This passage clearly shows that we are slaves to whom we obey—God or sin.
Romans 8:13-14: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” We must put the deeds of the body to death; i.e., it truly DOES matter what we do!
Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
People who emotionally “gave their heart to the Lord” at a crusade or at some other time did not really repent, and unless they do, they will not be in God’s Kingdom. But even those who became converted may have drifted away from the Truth or may have even deliberately turned their back on that which they once embraced, and as such, are no longer Christians. Of course, if they were called by God, then they can repent and it is God’s wish that they do so, but they will be held responsible for their actions, whatever course they may take.
So, putting all of these Scriptures together, the Bible tells us the following:
When Peter was asked what they should do, he said: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). It was not just an emotional experience—a one-off experience. Repent means to be sorry for past sins and implicit in it is that we will try and avoid such sins in the future. After repentance and belief in Christ’s Sacrifice and in the gospel of the Kingdom of God, then what do we have to do?
- We should be baptized followed by the laying on of hands.
- We have to develop and practice an ongoing godly behavioural pattern.
- We must not look back to our former life (compare Luke 9:62: “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”)
- We have to surrender our lives to God and He must come first (see Luke 14:26-27).
- It becomes clear that being saved (salvation) is not a once in a lifetime experience but a process that lasts throughout our lives.
- And we must endure to the end or we can lose out.
Jesus reproved those who were hypocrites, as we read in Luke 6:46: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” We have to follow the instructions that we are given and keeping the Commandments of God is of paramount importance.
It is critical to make these further observations.
- We can lose our crown of life.
Revelation 2:10: “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Faithfulness to God is a requirement and the only conclusion from this verse is that those who were being saved, but weren’t faithful unto death, would not receive the crown of life!
Revelation 3:11: “Behold, I come quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” This verse clearly shows that we can lose out and can lose our crown.
- At the end time, the love of many will grow cold.
Matthew 24:12: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The love mentioned here is “agape” which is godly love and applies to Church members. Unconverted people of this world do not have godly love within them and, because of lawlessness, the love of many in the Church will grow cold. When that happens, those who lose this godly love will not make it into the Kingdom of God unless they repent quickly of this and return to fully following the Way of God.
- There will be a falling away from the Truth at the end of the age.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3: “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” The time frame is obviously the end time as it talks about the man of sin or the false prophet, and in verse 10 is a very telling verse in the context of the “once saved, always saved” belief of some. It states: “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The love of the Truth is vital to our salvation; without it, we will lose out!
1 Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith, for whatever reason, will be a terrible position to be in unless there is true repentance.
Hebrews 6:4-6: “For it is impossible for those who were 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, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” Interestingly, this is one of many Scriptures that proponents of “once saved, always saved” quote as part of their proof saying that it is “an often misunderstood passage” and then go on to make assertions that don’t stack up with what the Bible reveals.
To avoid falling away, it is imperative that we must persevere in God’s Truth giving God thanks for our calling. Having a laid back approach to what God expects of us and never uncompromisingly carry out our individual and collective responsibilities could well lead to Christ saying: “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:23).
One writer asked the following:
“Why would our arch enemy, the devil, tempt Christians to sin if our future sins are all forgiven and could never be imputed to us? In fact, the devil would be wasting his time if no sin could ever be charged against the believer! The devil obviously believes what the OSAS (once saved, always saved) teachers want us to believe, for he is ever trying to get us to yield to his temptations. Jesus told us to pray to not be led into temptation (Matthew 6:13). Why would the Lord want us to pray daily about such if sin could not be imputed to the believer anyhow?”
It is a very dangerous thing to think that “once saved, always saved” is approved by biblical instruction. One English entertainer once said that he was told that he should “give his heart to the Lord” which he did, and that he didn’t have to change anything. The Bible clearly says otherwise.
Can true Christians lose their salvation? Yes! Once saved, always saved? The Bible gives an emphatic NO to that question.
If we’re saved now and we can’t lose out whatever we do, where’s the motivation? Why continue to grow and overcome? There would be no need, as the matter would be unchangeable, irrespective of our future behaviour. However, the Scriptures clearly tell us that we must grow and overcome AND endure to the end.
2 Peter 3:18: “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” This doesn’t indicate that nothing else needs to be done after conversion!
One passage of Scripture that proponents of “once saved, always saved” use is in John 10:27-29 which reads as follows: “My sheep hear My voice, and 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.” But to follow is a continuous tense and we need to continue to follow Jesus to receive eternal life – we mustn’t grow weary and give up.
In Philippians 1:6 we read: “… being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” To achieve this goal, we need to stick to the process that was started when we were baptised and keep repenting, growing and overcoming with God’s help and that way the good work that was begun in us, God will complete at Christ’s return.
1 John 1:7-9: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God will forgive our sins but we do have to repent and confess them.
In our booklet “Are You Predestined to be Saved?,” we read the flowing on page 71:
“WE WILL SUCCEED! True Christians ought to have a continual attitude of thankfulness and appreciation to God for both the physical blessings and spiritual blessings that He gives us. There is one most fundamental reason WHY we CAN be truly thankful to God. That reason is the PROMISE that we who are called, WILL make it into God’s Kingdom! Yes, God has called us to SUCCEED. If God had any doubt whether or not we would succeed, He would not have called us in this day and age. God is SURE and CERTAIN that we will make it! How certain are WE? Let us notice God’s absolute conviction that YOU, if you are one of God’s begotten children, WILL make it into His kingdom.
“Realize first, that, as far as God is concerned, it is already a done deal. Only ONE person can stop you from qualifying, and that person is YOU! As we saw in the last chapter, it IS possible for those who are truly called to salvation, to commit the ‘unpardonable sin.’ That is why the concept, ‘once saved—always saved,’ is wrong. We were saved from our past sins (Matthew 1:21; compare Romans 3:25); we are being saved right now (Acts 2:47); and we will be saved in the future—when Christ returns (Romans 5:10). Only the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). We need to conquer our fears and doubts, and that is why we need to overcome our carnality that tempts us to return to this world. BUT, in God’s eyes, this battle WILL BE won! It is not impossible to succeed! To the contrary, it is certain that we WILL succeed, as long as we let God live and rule our lives. And THAT is WHY we can be truly thankful, always, now and forever!“
It might come as somewhat of a surprise to some that when a person is saved and becomes a righteous person, he can die spiritually if he leaves the Way of the Life that he has been called to. We must remember that at the dawn of civilisation, Satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden and said “you will not surely die” but she did, although she lived a long time after this action that she took.
In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 18, we read the following in verses 24-26:
“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
“Yet you say, ‘The way of the LORD is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.”
This a revealing piece of Scripture showing that a righteous man can turn away from righteousness and die in his iniquity because there is no repentance of his sins. “Once saved, always saved” is shown to be a false concept from these verses in the book of Ezekiel.
In John 8:51, Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death.” This must be about spiritual death as all men die at some time. That is how we must live and those who were once saved and stray away from their calling will be lost – not once saved, always saved!
So, recapping, there are 3 aspects to salvation as the Scriptures clearly reveal:
- We are saved now.
- We are being saved.
- And to be finally saved, we must endure to the end.
As previously mentioned, there are many writers who present the case for the fallacy of the “once saved, always saved” debate, giving voluminous evidence to prove their stance but, inevitably, there will be counter arguments and discussions put forth by the adherents of this belief. As we said at the beginning of this series, this subject is one where there are many proponents on both sides of the debate who can present their case powerfully, but the Church of God has, historically, had the understanding that is shown in this presentation.
The real Christian life is a life of overcoming, of spiritual growing. The concept of “once saved, always saved” is clearly wrong and unscriptural.
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
