Once Saved, Always Saved?!?!

Today’s popular evangelical maxim “once saved, always saved” while based in the Biblical truth of justification by faith alone has morphed into a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card for far too many. The church’s duty to make disciples of all nations has been downgraded to an optional extra. The gospel call to repent and believe has become a plea for sinners to assent to the facts of the gospel, pray a prayer, and join the cool Christian club called churchianity. Gone are the stern warnings to “watch and pray” and “endure to the end”. Gone are the bold exhortations to “make your calling and election sure” and “be diligent to be found in [Christ] without spot or blemish”. In their place are the warm assurances “since you confessed you are saved” and “since eternal life is a free gift, God cannot take it back”, and the friendly reminders “everybody makes mistakes” and “don’t sweat: remember, we’re under grace!” The old doctrine that saints must diligently make a personal effort to persevere in faith has been overshadowed by the new doctrine that saints can live just like anyone else in the world and as long as they once assented to gospel truths they are most certainly bound for heaven.

I wish I was merely exaggerating the situation. But when a nationally well known evangelical leader like Charles Stanley seriously believes and teaches that people who actually stop believing in Christ and walk out on God are still eternally secure, I can hardly be accused of overstating my case. In the article linked to above he claims, “The Bible clearly teaches that God’s love for His people is of such magnitude that even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from His hand.” He goes on to only deal with Eph. 2:4-9 and 1 Cor. 1:21, while adding in a good portion of reasoning and illustrations. In his book Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure? he makes the startling claim that salvation can be compared to receiving a tattoo. Even if moments later, you regret receiving the tattoo, it cannot change the fact that you have it! (pg. 80)    Keep Reading>>>

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Once saved, always saved?

Wow.  You would think I would have a little more time to blog in the summer, but it always seems to be just the opposite.  This will be my first post in June.  It’s somewhat of a follow-up to a brief thought I shared about a month ago regarding the possibility of believing in vain.

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church.  I’ve been a member of three different Southern Baptist churches in three different towns–which means, among other things, that I’ve been exposed to the well-known phase “Once saved, always saved” all of my life.  It has become something of a Southern Baptist mantra.

For the record, I despise the phrase.  I wish it would go away.  Despite the grain of truth it contains, it is so misused that not only is it not helpful, it’s often detrimental to the cause of Christ.  It seems much better to me to simply stick with the biblical emphasis on what is commonly referred to as the perseverance of the saints.  The Bible is clear, I think, on the fact that final salvation is conditional on perseverance in faith and holiness. Keep Reading...