PART 7

We have considered many passages thus far that clearly show we can indeed lose our salvation. Now we will consider some misunderstood passages that some people use in an attempt to prove that we cannot lose our salvation. It amazes me at the number of preachers and teachers that are supporting such a false doctrine. Not only do they attempt to explain away all of the passages that we have previously considered, but they also take out of context, twist, distort, and malign other passages in order to try and prove their own man-made false doctrines of once or if saved-always saved and eternal security. Let’s look at a few of these passages.

Mark 13:22 For false christs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens to deceive, if possible, the elect.

Many will use this verse to say that it is not possible to deceive the elect... because the verse ends "to deceive, if possible, the elect." If we consider this passage in context (Mark 13:1-23) we will learn that Jesus is speaking to His disciples about things to come, one being the fall of Jerusalem, which has already occurred, and the other about His return, which we still look forward to. None the less, the passage can be applied to us today because there are still numerous false teachers that will always be trying to lead Christians astray. There are a couple of points to remember here… first Jesus says in Mark 13:6, "Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many.” Only Christians can be led astray, all others are already astray. Clearly Jesus stated many would be misled, not might, but would. Second, “if possible” does not mean “impossible”. “If possible” I’ll be at worship service on the next Lord’s Day. Does that mean it’s impossible for me to be there? Why would Jesus say just a few sentences earlier that many “will” be misled and then turn around and claim that it is impossible to mislead Christians? I believe the answers are evident.

Now, do you remember so recently as the last post? The part about the story of Simon who was already saved (Acts 8:13 tells us he believed and was baptized). The apostles were laying on hands to give spiritual gifts. Simon saw what was happening and wanted to purchase this same ability to lay hands and give others these gifts. Even Peter was unsure if Simon's sin could be forgiven when he said in Acts 8:22, "if possible, this thought of your heart may be forgiven you."

Both of these passages relay the same "if possible"... in one case "if possible" to deceive the elect and in the other case "if possible" for the elect to be forgiven. So, if those who claim "if possible" means "impossible"... we have a problem, because then would not be possible for Simon to be forgiven. Hold on, you cannot have it both ways... it don't work like that.

Let’s move on and consider another misused passage.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I could not agree more than the next person with what this verse tells us... but clearly it does not tell us that we cannot lose our salvation. What many would like us to believe is that because the verse says nothing can separate us from the love of God means God does not love the unsaved and only loves us once we are saved, therefore, losing our salvation would mean God no longer loves us (or it somehow separates His love from us). We could consider this passage in context and clearly learn this is not Paul’s point here, but instead of getting that deep into it, we’ll stick with the obvious. God gave His only begotten Son because He loved the whole world... that is everyone, lost and saved (John 3:16). Consider also what Paul wrote earlier in this chapter…

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Let's move on to yet another passage that many people will use in an attempt to give a false sense of security…

John 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

In order to understand what Jesus is communicating to us in this passage, we have to consider the passage in context with what Jesus said earlier…

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

We must "follow" Him, not just once, but continually. If we follow Him, we will have eternal life. Jesus said, "he who follows Me will not walk in darkness,". What does it mean to "walk in darkness"? It is to continually and willfully practice sin. So if we are saved we are obviously following Christ. If we fall into a habit of sin and continue in this sin, are we still following Christ? Absolutely not! Is it possible that there has never been any Christian that has fallen into a sinful pattern and continued in that sinful habit? Consider the repented and confessed sin versus willful sin…

1 John 1:6-9 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Repented and confessed sin.)

Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. (Willful sin.)

If we are following Christ and not walking in darkness, as John explains in 1 John, then the blood of Christ cleanses us from all of our sins. We must confess our sins and we will be forgiven and cleansed. But, if we walk in darkness we are practicing sin continually and willfully, and if we fail to repent and confess this sin we have no more sacrifice for sin. We have rejected Christ (our sacrifice) and lost our salvation.

Now let's go back to the original passage when Jesus says, "they shall never perish". From these last few passages we learn that as long as we walk in the light, and not in darkness, we will in fact never perish. Jesus says we must continue to "follow" Him and not "walk in darkness", obviously while we are saved. As long as we "follow" Him, we will certainly never perish. Also from the original passage Jesus says, "no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." The Greek word for "pluck" or "snatch" (harpazo¯) has a definition which means "to seize" or "carry off by force". This can only refer to anyone other than our own self. There is that possibility that we could turn away from God ourselves. If we lose something or give it away, are we plucking or snatching it from our self? Are we carrying it off by force? Plucking or snatching requires force by someone other than our self. You or no other person could take my salvation away, but I can fall away or walk away from God by my own free will. So to say that our salvation cannot be "plucked" out of God's hand is true. But, it does not mean we cannot lose our salvation by walking in darkness and turning away from God on our own... which in no way requires any "plucking".

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'