Once Saved Always Saved Part 3

Before reading Part 3, please make sure to read Part 1 and Part 2.

In this third part of OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved), I will demonstrate, from Scripture, how the doctrine of OSAS is unbiblical. There are too many passages to list, but we’ll go through a few of them. 

Let’s start with 2 Timothy 2:10-14:

[10] Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory.
[11] The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
[12] if we endure, we shall also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
[13] if we are faithless, he remains faithful --
for he cannot deny himself.

Who is St. Paul talking about in this passage? If we look at verse 10, it’s obvious that he’s talking about the elect. When we get to verse 12, it is clear that there is a condition to the endurance. St. Paul says “IF” we endure, THEN we will reign with Him. What makes things more clear is the second part of verse 12. Please keep in mind that St. Paul is talking about the elect here (verse 10). With that in mind, please note that the second part to verse 12 says “if we deny him, he also will deny us”. The doctrine of OSAS teaches that once we accept Jesus into our life as Lord, then we can no longer lose our salvation. Yet, Scripture, explicitly states that the elect can deny God. If we deny Him, then He will also deny us. This is clearly going against OSAS. 

How can we be sure who Saint Paul is talking about in this passage? If verse 10 doesn’t convince you that St. Paul is talking about the elect, then perhaps we can note who Saint Paul is writing to in this letter. He is writing to St. Timothy (2 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 2:1). So at the very least, the words (“we”) that are being addressed in verses 11-13, are about Timothy and himself. That tells us that the “we” in those passages are dealing with Christians and not just people in general.

The Letter to the Hebrews is also something that goes against the OSAS doctrine. There are several passages to look. Let’s first begin with Hebrews 6:4-6:

[4] For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
[5] and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
[6] if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.

When quoting this passage to our Protestant friends during our dialogue, we were accused of taking it out of context; however, it wasn’t clear as how we took it out of context. Since this passage is clearly going against OSAS, I believe it deserves much attention. Let’s go through the context of the passage together and see if it was taken out of context.

First, we must establish that the passage is saying that those who were once saved (verses 4 and 5) and fell into apostasy (verse 6). I don’t think the Scriptures can be any more clear. We believe that we can have confidence and hope for our salvation (Hebrews 10:19,35, 1 John 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Romans 5:2,5, Romans 8:24-25, and many, many more) but we cannot have 110% assurance of our salvation. If we are walking with God the way He wills, then we have no reason to doubt our salvation; however, there are sins that lead us to death (1 John 5:16-17).

Let’s dig in to the context of Hebrews 6:4-6. We’ll start all the way back to Hebrews 5:11:

[11] About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

What does it mean to BECOME dull of hearing? It means that they were once not dull of hearing and then they BECAME dull of hearing. It means that they have regressed a little bit.

[12] For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food;
[13] for every one who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child.
[14] But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

The author (which we’ll say is St. Paul) is telling the people receiving this letter that they have been in the faith for so long, that they should now be teachers. They should not receive “solid food” which is another way of saying “advanced teachings”. Yet, these people need milk, which is another way of saying “basic teachings”.

Let’s give a scenario to this: John is a non-believer and is dead in sin. One day, John becomes a Christian and accepts the Lord as his personal Lord and Savior. At this time, John is in need for “milk” because he is not advanced. The fact that he needs “milk” does not mean that he is not saved; it just means that he is learning the basics of the faith. So, just because someone needs “milk”, does not mean that he is not a true Christian.

With that context in mind, let’s now dig into Chapter 6 and see if we took it out of context.

[1] Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
[2] with instruction about ablutions, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

In other words, “let’s now move from the basic teachings about ablutions, laying on of hands, the resurrection, eternal judgment, etc. and go on to more advanced and deeper meanings.”

[3] And this we will do if God permits.

In other words, “This, we will do by God’s Grace.”

[4] For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,

And now we move on to the meaning of verses 4-6. Let’s deal with verse 4 first. Prior to this verse, Saint Paul was talking about people who were drinking “milk” instead of solid food. They were stuck in the basics of Christianity. Then, he moves on to verse 4 and gives a warning. What is this warning about? WHO is this warning about? It’s about people “who have once been enlightened…” In other words, they once held to the truth and believed it. Also, these same people had “tasted the heavenly gift, and HAVE BECOME PARTKAERS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.” This is very important to note here. What does it mean to have become partakers of the Holy Spirit? It means to have the Holy Spirit living in you and have a sharing of the Spirit. Does this sound like people who are unsaved? No. These people were definitely once saved and have now fallen into apostasy.

Now, before we continue, we must answer this question: Why does Saint Paul go from talking about people who have been dull of hearing and want “milk” to people who were once partakers of the Holy Spirit and have now fallen? Answer is: It’s a warning that he is giving to those people who have become dull of hearing. He’s basically telling them: If you don’t shape up and desire “solid food”, then you’ll be like the ones who once had the Holy Spirit, were enlightened, tasted the Heavenly gifts, and then fell from the faith. Saint Paul is giving a warning to those people. Basically, in a nutshell, he’s saying: Shape up or you’ll end up just like them!

[5] and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,

If you had any doubts about whether or not these people were once saved, verse 5 should negate those doubts. On top of being enlightened, tasting the heavenly gifts, being partakers of the Holy Spirit; they also “tasted the goodness of the Word of God AND the powers of the age to come”. Meaning, they knew the Word of God and also had the hope of going to heaven. What happened to them?

[6] if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.

They fell away and have “crucified the Son of God on their own account”. How did they fall away? They committed apostasy. In other words, they were once saved, then they fell away. This whole context, ironically, disproves the OSAS doctrine. I say ironically, because the Protestant brother we were dialoguing with tried to show us that the context isn’t saying what we’re trying to make it say. Though, in my opinion, the context gives even more evidence to the fact that this passage goes against the OSAS doctrine.

Let’s continue with the context because it further proves our point:

[7] For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
[8] But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.
[9] Though we speak thus, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things that belong to salvation.

Please note the passage in verse 9; it is very important. After talking about people who were once saved and the n fell away from the faith (verses 4-6), Saint Paul, in verse 9, makes it clear that verses 4-6 is NOT about those who were “dull of hearing”. In a nutshell, verse 9 is saying: Although we warn you about people who were once saved and then fell away, we’re not talking about YOU guys in this way, but in your case, we feel sure of better things that belong to salvation. So, we can be sure that verses 4-6 is NOT talking about those who are dull of hearing. Verses 4-6 is a warning to those who are dull of hearing, saying, if you don’t shape up, you’ll be just like them.

[10] For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.

Who is Saint Paul addressing here? The same people he was addressing at the end of chapter 5: the dull of hearing and those who desire “milk”. Notice, how he speaks to them as Christians.

[11] And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end,

Please note what Saint Paul says at the end of this verse: “…show the same earnestness in realizing the FULL ASSURANCE OF HOPE until the end…”

Did he say, “full assurance of salvation?” No. He said, “full assurance of hope.” What does the word “hope” mean in the Greek? Well, the word “hope” in this instance is interesting:

ἐλπίς

elpis

el-pece'

Fromἔλπω elpō which is a primary word (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence: - faith, hope.

Is that assurance? No. It’s confidence and expectation, but it’s not assurance.

[12] so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Here, Saint Paul is warning the same people who are dull of hearing. He’s telling them not to be sluggish, but to imitate the saints who are on their way to inheritance that is promised to them. This inheritance is heaven and it is something that they have confidence in God that He will give them.

[13] For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

[14] saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you."
[15] And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.

 God made Abraham a promise. God keeps His promises. Abraham had to PATIENTLY ENDURE in order to obtain the promise. It wasn’t a one time event that made God say: “Alright Abraham, since you have made a decision to follow me, you will never lose the promise.” No. Abraham had to ENDURE till the end. Why would one need to endure if salvation is a one time thing?

[15] And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.
[16] Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
[17] So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath,
[18] so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.

In other words: God cannot lie. He made us a promise. The promise is a sure thing because God can’t lie. Now that we have “fled for refuge”, we now have “strong encouragement to seize the HOPE set before us.” The promise is a sure thing. When we go to God, we have confidence and hope that we will receive heaven. Receiving heaven is not the “sure thing”, but the promise that God will give us heaven (granted we persevere) is the sure thing; however, whether or not we do persevere is not a sure thing. We can have full confidence in God that He will give us heaven if we persevere in the faith.

[19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain,
[20] where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchiz'edek.

There’s the word “hope” again. If Saint Paul believed in OSAS, he wouldn’t be using the word “hope” over and over again with regards to the promise that God wants to give us (heaven).

What does Saint Paul mean by: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul”? What does he mean by “this”? “This” is in reference to the promise that God made for Abraham. The promise is a SURE thing; however, Abraham had to endure till the end in order to obtain this promise.

We have taken a look at the context, and it points to the fact that the Scriptures do not teach a OSAS doctrine.

I’d like to close by quoting my favorite Church Father and Doctor of the Church, St Augustine:

From all which it is shown with sufficient clearness that the grace of God, which both begins a man's faith and which enables it to persevere unto the end, is not given according to our merits, but is given according to His own most secret and at the same time most righteous, wise, and beneficent will; since those whom He predestinated, them He also called, Romans 8:30 with that calling of which it is said, The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Romans 11:29 To which calling there is no man that can be said by men with any certainty of affirmation to belong, until he has departed from this world; but in this life of man, which is a state of trial upon the earth, Job 7:1 he who seems to stand must take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

-St. Augustine: On the Predestination of the Saints, Book II, Chapter 33.

Other verses to consider that go against OSAS: Romans 11:19-22, Hebrews 3:6, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, John 8:31-32, John 8:51, John 14:23, John 15:6, Hebrews 13:14, 1 Corinthians 10:12, Colossians 1:21-23, James 5:19-20, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Luke 12:45-46, Hebrews 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (“hope of salvation”), Matthew 13:1-23, Acts 14:22, 1 Timothy 6:11, John 14:21-22, 1 John 2:4.

…we are said to receive justification as a free gift because nothing that precedes justification, neither faith nor works, would merit the grace of justification…  (Council of Trent, Session 6, Decree on Justification, Chapter 8)

Grace and peace.