Many think that the teaching of "once saved, always saved" gave a free pass to sin. Nothing could be further from the truth, brethren. We believe what the Apostle Paul states in Romans 6:15: "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." That's what we teach. Grace cannot be abused. Here a wonderful statement by brother Bas Rijksen from the Netherlands:
"Jesus is grace personified. Grace equals Jesus. Thus to say you can go to far with Christ is to you say you can go to far with Jesus! Likewise to say 'You better be careful, or people might abuse grace' is actually to say 'You better be careful, or people might abuse Jesus'! Can you see how ridiculous those concernes are?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fEuZ7UfI7M&feature=youtu.be&t=1m27s (Should You Be Careful Not To Abuse Grace? NEVER!)
Yeah, it's like that. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
Later in that video Bas also states that everytime we sin, we're not walking in grace. And if we fall into habitual sin, God will chastise us to correct us (Hebrews 12:6). You cannot be happy in sin, simple as that.
Let's look at some opposents of eternal security
Derek Prince
There is no doubt that Derek Prince was a zealous speaker. Sincere... but sadly also sincerely wrong. Like other Pentecoastals, he was against eternal security.
"This Gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all the nations and the end shall come! But the verse before that says: 'But he who endures to the end shall be saved'. And Jesus had been speaking about all the problems and troubles and agonies, that are coming on the nations. That's the english translation, but the Greek is more specific. It says 'he who has endured to the end shall be saved'. Fact is, it's more in a specific matter. Jesus says: 'he who has endured to the end, this is the one who will be saved'. The english translation doesn't bring it out sufficient. Who will be saved? The one who has endured to the end. So you're saved now, but to stay saved, you have to endure."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5yfFNbIpKs (You have to purchase your salvation with endurance - Derek Prince)
First off, in this situation it doesn't make much difference if it says "endures" or "has endured".
Second off, Prince failed to read in context. The verse he quoted was Matthew 24:13. Let's look at the previous verses.
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matthew 24:6-12)
This passage, without a doubt, speaks about the tribulation, when people have to avoid the mark of the beast. And yes, I believe in a pre-trib rapture. I'll talk about that another time.
Dan Corner
I would say Dan Corner is the biggest enemy of eternal security those days. To him everybody who doesn't agree with him teaches a "license for immorality". He even wrote a song called "Eternal Security, The Big Fat Lie" and wrote several books.
"A true Christian (or righteous person) will die spiritually if he turns to evil (Ezek. 33:18; Rom. 8:13; James 1:14-16; Lk. 15:24; etc.). A brand new baby Christian (new convert) is no exception to that! A true Christian (righteous person) can fall away (Lk. 8:13; Heb. 6:4-6; etc.) and die in his sins (Heb. 10:26-29). Clear Biblical examples are the Apostle Judas Iscariot and King Solomon. There are various Biblical examples of apostasies cited in the Bible."
https://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/christian-beliefs.htm
First off, there is no reason to doubt that Judas went to heaven, according to the book of Ecclesiastes. About Judas: it is possible that he was truly saved, but: he lived before the cross, still under the Old Covenant, under a different dispensation (Ephesians 3:2, Hebrews 9:16).
The Book of Ezekiel plays under the Old Covenant too. I will explain more on my article on dispensationalism.
Those in Luke 8:13 were NEVER saved, because it clearly says they had "no root".
What does Romans 8:13 mean?
"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."
Sounds a bit like losing salvation, doesn't it?
I think this verse can be explained by going through the previous verses.
I believe it says God can hasten your death, if you do live carnally. You can see that by looking at Verses 5-8, and if you compare that with John 3:6, which basically says your natural birth causes you to to think about and care for the flesh. The new birth causes you to think about and care for the new spirit God has placed within you. Atleast it should. The Christian still has that old nature looking to steal his time, attention and care. So Paul continues on and takes it for granted that some Christians will choose to "mind the things of the flesh".
Verse 6 is also clear. When you think like and act like the flesh wants you to think and act, then, as a Christian, you an hasten your own physical death. On the other hand, when you think and act like the Holy Spirit wants, you can prolong your life and have a peaceful life. As a Christian you already have "peace with God", but you can also have "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) Verse 7 talks about one of the three great enemies of the Christian. First Peter 5:8 calls the Devil "your adversary". James 4:4 says "that the friendship of the world is enmity with God." And here in Verse 7 "the carnal mind is enmity against God." The Christian battles the world (James 4:4), the flesh (Romans 8:7), and the Devil (1 Peter 5:8). Spiritual warfare is not just agains the occult, demonic music, the new age, demons and "territorial spirits." It is against the things you read, the magazines you look at, the TV shows you watch, your appetite, the friends you have, the clothes you wear, your "self-esteem", and your "lifestyle". Spiritual warfare is against anything or anyone that causes you to "give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27) or "live after the flesh" (Romans 8:13) or to be "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). "The carnal mind...is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
Also in Verse 7. The flesh is self-centered, not God-centered. It is concerned with its own exaltation and satisfaction. It doesn't naturally seek God's glory or its neighbor's well-being. The flesh has only one law; ME FIRST, you next. Verse 8 is also true, "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." There is no way that an unsaved man in this dispensation can please God. The flesh of an unsaved man operates on the basis of its senses; what it can see, touch, smell, hear, and feel. That is walking by sight. The Scriptures say, "without faith it is impossible to please him [God]" (Hebrews 11:6). The Lord is pleased with praise and thanksgiving (Psalms 69:30-31), but the songs of the flesh deal with sex or romance or beauty, or drinking or men or women, or even nonsense. If a man wants to please God in the New Testament, then he will receive Christ and follow Scripture (1 Thessalonians 4:1) and keep himself free to fight the battle to which God has called him (2 Timothy 2:4). An unsaved man can get God's attention with his prayers, like Cornelius did (Acts 10). God will often show mercy on an unsaved fellow who cries out to Him. After all, God "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). That's God's mercy to unsaved people. But when it comes to pleasing God, a man has to exercise faith in what God told him to do (Hebrews 11:6). In this dispensation, God told men to believe on Jesus Christ for salvation (John 6:29). When that happens, the man is no longer "in the flesh". He is now "in the Spirit" (Romans 8:9). With the new man living inside of him, the Christian can now please God by "making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). He now has the ability to follow Scripture in a way that will please God and to fight the good fight for Jesus Christ. Only in Christ can a man fulfill the purpose for which he was created (Revelation 4:11).
In Verse 9, you see an opposition to what was said in Verse 8. An unsaved man is "in the flesh" and, therefore, "cannot please God". "But" a real Christian is "not in the flesh, but IN THE SPIRIT". The qualifying phrase, that shows you what a real Christian is, is "if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you". This is what the Bible defines as the "baptism of the Holy Spirit". It is not only the Holy Spirit putting a Christian into the Body of Christ; it is also the Holy Spirit coming to live in a Christian's body. The book of Acts calls it "receiving the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:15 and 17, 10:47, 19:2). It is not a seperate act of grace that occurs after salvation. It is universal to every Christian. Paul had to teach the most "gifted" church, the Corinthian church, that the Holy Spirit lived in them, for though they had the "gifts of the Spirit", they did not even know that their bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Being "in the Spirit" means that the Holy Spirit lives in you, and if He doesn't, you aren't saved.
Now if that's true, look at Verse 10: "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.". If you are a Christian, you are a living man in a dead body. That body is dying because of sin, but positionally it has been crucified with the Christ on the cross and was buried with Him. Again in Verse 11 there is a "but" that gives a contrast to the previous Verse. Yes, it is true that "the body is dead because of sin" but if "the Spirit of God dwell in you" then He will do for you what He did for Jesus Christ. He raised the body of Jesus Christ from the dead, and some day, bless God, He is going to rase your body and my body up to Heaven and make it just like His. He says in 1 Corinthians 15:54 "this corruptible shall...put on incorruption, and this mortal shall...put on immortality." He says again "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Verse 12 "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." You don't owe the flesh anything. The only thing flesh has brought you was trouble. The debt you owe is the Holy Spirit. He gives you life now, and He will give your body life later. Verse 13 is related to such passages as Galatians 6:8 "He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." It is like Galatians 5:24-25 "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." In Colossians 3:5-10, Paul says in other words, even though a Christian is no longer "in the flesh", he can live like the flesh wants him to live. That is letting the old nature have control. That brings death to the Christian. To get the victory over the flesh, you have to kill the works of the flesh. Notice, you are to kill "the DEEDS of the body" not the body itself. Colossians 3:5 lists those "deeds" to which Paul refers.
This also should explain James 1:14-16.
Simple as that. A life of sin leads to an earlier physical death. You can see it from all those stars. Lately DJ and musician Avicii died at age 28 after a life of partying.
Simple as that. A Christian will not die in his sins. "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." (Revelation 14:13)
David Pawson
David Pawson from the UK is very famous as well. And he really goes to the extremes. Let's read from his book "Once Saved Always Saved?".
Atonement is provided for accidental falls but none for wilful and deliberate disobedience (p. 24).
Pawson takes Hebrews 10:26 that way that God doesn't forgive willful sins after salvation. What blasphemy! How could Peter have been forgiven after denying Jesus three times then?
Furthermore, Pawson also believes in baptismal regeneration.
Statement
I wonder if those people are/were doing good enough at keeping their salvation? I am glad to count on Christ's imputed righteousness (Romans 4:6).
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