Apologetics for the Masses - Issue #117

Bible Christian Society

General Comments

Hey folks,


I meant to get a newsletter out last week, but something came up that prevented me from doing so. I received a call from the Bishop on Thursday, we went to lunch, and I started a new position at the diocese on Friday, the day I usually write the newsletter. The new position is: Director of the Office of the New Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham. It had been in the works for a couple of months, but I didn’t think I would start until around June 1. This is a part-time position, so I’m still doing the Bible Christian Society and Queen of Heaven Radio, but my time is really being squeezed. Although, this new job is going to allow me to cut my salary at the BCS and use that money to get some full-time administrative assistance, which should help a good bit.


A downside of the new job is that, for the foreseeable future, I will not have time to answer any individual emails. At least, not any that contain apologetics questions or are looking for apologetics advice. I’ve already had to cut way back on that, and now I’ll have to stop altogether – at least for a while. In the next newsletter, though, I’ll give out some resources where you can go to get your questions answered.


Switching subjects, below is an email I received from Staff Sergeant Dennis Burke who is a subscriber to this newsletter and who is currently serving in Afghanistan:


“I am deployed with the Army Corp of Engineers in Afghanistan. I was hoping that some of the people on your reading list could be contacted so they might send me some of their books free of charge. I would like to read & share them with others, by leaving them in the chapel.


Yours in Christ


SSG Dennis T. Burke; dennis.t.burke@usace.army.mil”


I believe he is looking for used books – or new ones if you wish to go out and buy one – on apologetics, spirituality, Church history, the Saints, etc. – anything Catholic.


If you would like to send him something, please contact him at the email address above to get his mailing address. I’m sure he would love to hear from you. Anything you can do to support the guys in our military is greatly appreciated!

Introduction

This is a continuation of my chapter on Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS). I pick up towards the bottom of the last newsletter (I re-wrote the paragraphs on Matt 5:27-32), and then continue on with the new stuff.


But, before I get into the chapter, I want to respond to something that was in several emails that people sent me. They all brought up a question about the argument from logic that I raised in the last newsletter.


The argument from logic is that if OSAS is true, then how can an infant, who many OSAS adherents believe is saved, ever lose his salvation? It shouldn’t matter if he sins and whether or not he accepts Christ as his personal Lord and Savior – he’s already saved. And, according to OSAS theology, he can’t be unsaved once he’s saved. This is a logical inconsistency for the OSAS folks who believe infants are saved, yet also believe an adult cannot be saved unless they accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.


The objection was raised about the age of reason. Since Catholics believe a child cannot sin until he reaches the age of reason, why can’t OSAS believers take the position that a child is saved until he reaches the age of reason, and then after the age of reason, once he has started to sin, he has to accept Jesus Christ in order to be saved?


Sounds like a reasonable objection at first, but the problem lies in the mechanism by which an infant is saved in the first place. If one believes that an infant is saved, the question becomes: How is that infant saved? Is it saved of its own accord? No! Any infant, like any one else, is saved only by the blood of Jesus Christ.


Ask a OSAS believer if there is any other name under the heavens by which a person can be saved other than the name of Jesus Christ. They will tell you, “No.” No one can get into Heaven except by being covered in the blood of Christ. No one. An infant is born of the flesh, he has not yet been born again of the Spirit until he is old enough to make a confession of faith (in OSAS theology). Scripture tells us the flesh is of no avail. So, if the flesh is of no avail, then how is the infant saved?


In the Catholic Church, an infant is saved through Baptism. Through Baptism one is born again of the Spirit. Baptism heals the wound of Original Sin. Baptism causes an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Baptism covers one in the blood of Christ. Baptism makes one a member of the Body of Christ – no matter how young one is. But the OSAS folks don’t believe in baptismal regeneration. So, again, the question: How, in OSAS theology, is an infant saved? Is it not by the blood of Christ?


And, if an infant is saved by the blood of Christ, then how can it ever be unsaved? If someone is saved by the blood of Christ, if they are “hid” in Christ, then, according to OSAS theology, they can never be unsaved. So, a saved infant should, under OSAS theology, always be saved – even if he grows up to be an unrepentant sinner who never accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. If a saved adult has “eternal security” through the blood of Christ, then why doesn’t a saved infant have eternal security through the blood of Christ?


There is only one way a person – adult or infant – can be saved, and that is through Jesus Christ. So, if an infant can lose his salvation through sin, it is a logical contradiction to then say an adult cannot lose his salvation through sin, when the basis for the salvation of both is the blood of Jesus Christ.


The only way around this argument is for the OSAS believer to say that an infant is not saved by the blood of Christ, that there is some other mechanism by which he is saved. And to admit something like that would put them in a whole lot of theological trouble. They would be admitting that someone can get into Heaven without the need of Jesus Christ. But, they also believe that the only name under Heaven by which one can be saved is the name of Jesus Christ. They would be going from one logical contradiction to another.


I’ll include this response in the final version of the chapter.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

I could go on and on with one Scripture verse after another to show that the Bible nowhere says that once you’re saved sin no longer has any consequences in regard to your salvation, or that once you’re saved you will no longer sin, but I will include just one more verse here that pretty much seals the deal, so to speak.

Matthew chapter 5 – the Sermon on the Mount – verses 27-32.  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”  

What do we see here?  Does Jesus say, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ but I say to you that if you are a believer adultery will not be held against you?"  Absolutely not.  Jesus is very clearly telling us that there is a consequence for sinning – you go to Hell.

Jesus is talking to "saved" people here.  We know this because He is telling them that they can stay out of Hell by plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand in order to avoid sin.  Well, if they can stay out of Hell, that means they must be saved, they must have faith.  The problem is, though, that Jesus is very clearly telling these saved people that there is a consequence to sin – it will land you in Hell – and that if it takes drastic measures to avoid sin, to avoid Hell, then they need to take those drastic measures.   But that contradicts OSAS theology which says sinning doesn’t cause you to go to Hell if you have faith.  The only thing that gets you sent to Hell is to not have faith.  

Why is Jesus telling people to take whatever measures necessary to avoid sin, if once you’re saved, you cannot lose your salvation?  Why did He not just say, “If you wish to avoid Hell, then simply believe in Me and none of these sins will be held against you?”  Why would a saved person need to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand to avoid Hell if not sin is held against them?  And, how does plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand help an unsaved person, a non-believer avoid Hell?  It doesn’t.

This passage is a big problem for folks in the OSAS camp, because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever if once saved always saved is true.  Jesus cannot be talking to unbelievers, as cutting off a hand or plucking out an eye will not help an unbeliever avoid Hell.  But, if OSAS is true, neither can He be talking to believers, as sin is not held against the believer – there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, remember?  Yet the folks Jesus is talking to will clearly end up in Hell if they do not do whatever is necessary to avoid sinning.  Once saved always saved?  Not here.

One other verse that OSAS folks throw out to “prove” their doctrine is true is John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall 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 the Father’s hand.”

“See, once you are in the hand of God, no one can snatch you out.  That means once you are saved – in Jesus’ hand – then you are always saved.”  That is an interpretation of this verse.  An interpretation that is non-authoritative, fallible, and not in accord with the rest of Scripture.  Yes, it states very clearly that no one can be snatched from the hand of God, yet nowhere does it say one cannot, of their own free will, walk away from the hand of God.  

If a person is snatched, it means they are taken against their will.  This verse is saying that once you have been baptized, once you have become a member of the Body of Christ, nothing and no one – not the world, not the flesh, not Satan himself – can take you away from Christ against your will. It is not saying, however, that you cannot of your own free will reject Christ and reject salvation through sin.  If the other person insists on their interpretation of this verse, then you insist on yours.  Plus, you back your interpretation up with the verses we’ve already discussed and with the ones we will discuss in the following paragraphs.

Now that we’ve addressed the verses used to defend OSAS, let’s look at some verses that very clearly rip a hole right through the heart of this false doctrine:

James 5:19, “My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”  

How can one wander from the truth if once saved always saved is true?  You can’t.  Once you have the truth, you are set for life.  So, either James did not know what he was talking about, or once saved always saved is not true.  Furthermore, this speaks to exactly what I said above: you can, of your own free will, wander away from the truth – wander away from the hand of God.  You cannot be snatched away, but you can wander away.

One other thing of great import to note here: how is it that through some action of theirs – bringing a sinner back from the error of his way – a person can be said to “cover a multitude of sins?”  Jesus did all that needed to be done to cover sin, did He not?  Very interesting.

John 15:1-6, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch of Mine that bears no fruit, He takes away…Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.”

Jesus is the vine.  Who are the branches?  The branches are people who are connected to the vine.  Can an unbeliever ever be described as being a branch of the vine that is Jesus Christ?  No. How could an unbeliever be an outgrowth of Christ?  He can’t.  So, these branches have to be believers in Jesus Christ.  Yet, what does it say about these branches?  If they do not bear fruit – good works – they get cut off from the vine.  Once they are cut off from the vine, they wither and then are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.  A very obvious reference to Hell.

If OSAS is true, then how can the branches ever be cut off from Christ and tossed into Hell?  Jesus must have made a mistake here.  Either that, or once saved always saved is not true.  I know which option I’ll choose.  

Furthermore, notice that Jesus says to “abide” in Him.  Very important word, “abide.”  Abide means to remain.  So Jesus is telling us to remain in Him.  Which means that these branches being spoken of in these verses, are in Christ Jesus.  After all, you cannot remain in Christ Jesus unless you are already in Christ Jesus.  Which further means, that there is now no condemnation for them, since there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Yet, Jesus goes on to use the word, “if.”  If a man does not remain in Him, he will get cut off and tossed into the fire.  How can someone who is in Christ Jesus not remain in Christ Jesus if OSAS is true?  He can’t.  Which means OSAS is not true.

Again, in verse 7, Jesus says, “If you abide in Me.” Why does He keep using that word “if?” There is no “if” in once saved always saved.  Surely Jesus knows that, doesn’t He?  Verse 10, “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love…”  Aarrgghh!  There’s that word again.  Here Jesus tells us that we will abide in Him “if” we keep His commandments.  We have to keep Jesus’ commandments (works) in order to remain (abide) in Him and we have to remain in Him in order to be saved.  Salvation by faith alone?  Not here.  Once saved always saved?  Not here.  

Gal 5:1-4, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you…You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”  

First thing to note is that the people Paul is talking to have been set free (verse 1).  Which means they are saved.  Their ticket to Heaven has been punched.  The second thing to note is that the last half of verse 1 throws a left hook to the OSAS doctrine.  If these Galatians have been set free, then why does Paul admonish them to stand fast and not submit again to a yoke of slavery?  The yoke of slavery which, as we saw earlier from Romans 6:16, leads to death – eternal damnation.  Does Paul not know that they cannot submit again to a yoke of slavery since they’ve already been saved?  Why do people keep warning folks who have been saved, not to do things that they can’t do; at least, things they can’t do if once saved always saved is true?  Makes no sense.

Now look at the last verse: “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”  This is a stiff uppercut to the jaw of OSAS doctrine – the knockout punch.  Do you not have to first be joined to Christ, in order to be severed from Christ? But, if you are joined to Christ under OSAS theology, you cannot then be severed from Christ, for any reason.  Do you not have to first have grace in order to fall away from grace?  But, if you have grace under OSAS theology, you cannot then fall away from that grace, for any reason.

Yet, here is Paul saying those very things: telling people they are severed from Christ and that they have fallen away from grace, if they accept circumcision.  Here we see one more person in the Bible apparently getting it wrong.  First it was James, then Jesus, and now Paul.  Or, could it possibly be that James, Jesus, and Paul all got it right, but the people who believe in once saved always saved got it wrong?   

Continuing in Galatians 5, verses 19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger…I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Again, Paul is talking to people who have been set free, they have been saved.  Does he tell them that if they commit these sins of the flesh that he lists they are still saved, since there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?  Does he tell them to avoid these sins out of their love for God, but that if they do fall into them the sins will not be held against them since they are hid in Christ?  No!  Nothing of the sort.  He tells them very plainly, very directly, that if they do such things, they will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven – they will not be saved.  Once saved always saved?  Not here.

2 Tim 2:12, “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us.”  

There’s that pesky little “if” word again.  If we endure, we will reign with Jesus.  Which means that if we do not endure, we will not reign with Jesus.  Why is Paul even talking about enduring if once we are saved, we’ve automatically won the race?  “Enduring” is not a word that belongs in a once saved always saved theology.  If we deny Him, He will deny us.  There is no qualifier here.  It doesn’t say, “Unless, of course, you’ve already been saved.”  

2 Peter 2:20-21.  This is another knockout punch: “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.”  

Peter is talking about folks who have “escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  Would this describe someone who was saved, or unsaved?  Can someone who is unsaved be described as having escaped the defilements of the world?  No.  If they are not saved, they are still enmeshed in the defilements of the world.  Also, verse 15 says about these same people that they have forsaken “the right way” and that they have “gone astray.”  They cannot forsake the right way if they are not first on the right way.  And, they can’t be on the right way unless they’ve been saved.  They also cannot “go astray” unless they have first been on the right path.  But, those who have never accepted Christ into their hearts as their Lord and Savior have never been on the right path.  So Peter is definitely talking about the saved in these verses – people who have known the way of righteousness and have had the holy commandment delivered to them.

What happens to these saved people if they are again entangled in the defilements of the world?  Are they still saved?  I don’t think so.  Peter says that the last state – becoming entangled in the defilements of the world after having known the way of righteousness – is worse than the first state – being entangled in the defilements of the world before knowing the way of righteousness.  The middle state being when they had escaped the way of righteousness and were on the “right way.”

If in the first state, they were unsaved and headed to Hell, then in the last state, which is said to be worse than the first state, they have to be headed to Hell.  Once saved always saved?  Not here.  

The only response that I can think a OSAS believer can make to these verses, is to insist that the people Peter is talking about really hadn’t been saved in the first place.  They had professed a belief in Christ, but their profession of faith didn’t take, so to speak. It wasn’t really sincere or some such thing.  

There’s a problem with that argument, though.  I’ve clearly shown that Peter was talking about the saved.  How can someone who really wasn’t saved in the first place, due to a defective profession of faith, ever be described as having escaped the defilements of the world?  How can they be said to have forsaken the “right way” if they were never on the right way?  How can they be said to have “gone astray” if they were never on the path of salvation?  

The OSAS folks need to also explain what exactly the second state of this person was if it wasn’t that they were saved.  The first state is that they were unsaved and entangled in the defilements of the world.  The last state is that they are unsaved and entangled in the defilements of the world.  But then there is this second state where they are said to have been on the “right way,” and that they had “escaped the defilements of the world” through the “knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” and that they had “known the way of righteousness,” and, finally, that they had the “holy commandment delivered to them.” What state of existence does this describe if not the state of being saved?  From the context, the second state is clearly different from the first or the third, so if you’re unsaved in the first and the third, and the second state is different from those two states, then is the second state not then the state of being saved?  Of being right with God?  Of being on the path to Heaven?

And how can it be said that it is ever worse to have known the way of righteousness than not to have known it?  In a once saved always saved world, that statement is an absurdity.  It’s always better to know the way of righteousness than not to know it.  At least, if you know the way, you have a chance at salvation.  You have a chance of one day following it.  But, if you don’t know the way of righteousness, then you are doomed and without hope.  

This passage from Peter is yet another part of Scripture that drives a stake through the heart of the doctrine of once saved always saved.  

2 Peter 1:10, “Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall.”  

“If” you do this you will never fall.  If you don’t do this, then, you very well could fall.  Is this the language of eternal security?  Is this the language of absolute assurance?  Doesn’t sound like it to me.

1 Timothy 3:6, “He [any one aspiring to the office of bishop] must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.”  

Notice it doesn’t say, “He must not be a recent convert because you cannot be sure he is really saved.”  Plus, how could Paul call someone a recent “convert” if they really aren’t saved?  If they really aren’t a convert?  If they really have not accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts as their personal Lord and Savior?  They’re not a convert, they’re an impostor.  

No, Paul is saying that a bishop can not be a recent convert because as such, he is not yet steady in his faith and making him a bishop could cause him to fall into the condemnation of the devil.  It could cause him to lose his salvation.  Another way we know that Paul is talking about a saved person here, is because he says he could “fall” into the condemnation of the devil.  You cannot fall into the condemnation of the devil if you are already there, if you are already unsaved.  So, once again, Paul is referring to a saved person here.  Which means Paul is saying that a person can be saved, and still lose his salvation.  Yet another scriptural blow to the body of OSAS.  


[I’m going to stop here because it is way past my dinner time.  I’ll finish up with this, and insert the response to the age of reason argument that I mentioned above in the Introduction, into the body of the text and give you the entire finished chapter next week.  As you can see, there are still a number of Scripture verses I haven’t even touched, and this is not by any means a comprehensive list of anti-OSAS passages.  I probably will have to forego using some of them to keep this chapter from being really long.]



2 Peter 2:17-22

Rev 3:1-5

Rev 2:4-7, 10, 19-25-26

Rev 22:14-15, 18-19

Matt 13:40-42

1 Corinthians 15:2

Matt 5:27-32

Matt 18:7-9

Hebrews 4:1-4, 11

Hebrews 6:4-8

Rom 11:17-22: Paul is talking about how salvation has come to the Gentiles, while many of the Jews have rejected it – and he uses the analogy of an olive tree.  Verse 17, “But if some of the branches were broken off [the Jews], and you, a wild olive shoot [the Gentiles], were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree [Jesus Christ], do not boast over the branches,” (don’t get cocky).  Verse 20, “That is true.  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith.  So do not become proud, but stand in awe.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.”  Did you catch that threat?  If the natural branches were broken off, you could be, too.  Verse 22, “Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness; otherwise you, too, will be cut off.”

You will not be broken off from the olive tree (Christ) only IF you continue in His kindness.  And what happens if you do not continue in His kindness?  "You, too, will be cut off."  Is this the language of eternal security?  Is Paul here reassuring his readers that they have nothing to fear since they’ve already been grafted into the olive tree?  Absolutely not.

Let’s continue with verse 23, “And even the others, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.”  Perfect example of being in, being out, and then being in again – kind of like the way the Catholic Church teaches it.  And, perfect example of Scripture showing us very plainly that once you are grafted in, once you are “saved”, you had better not become presumptive about it and start believing you can’t be cut off.  Because you can be.

 

In Conclusion

Comments are welcome and all will be read and considered. Editing help – misspelled words, bad grammar, etc. – is always appreciated.


As I mentioned in the General Comments, I will not be able to respond to emails with apologetics questions or asking for apologetics advice at this time. I will in the next newsletter, though, give you some resources to help you find answers to your questions. I sincerely apologize for having to turn away those seeking advice, but it is simply physically impossible for me to take on any more questions from individuals right now with my added responsibilities and especially considering the fact that I already have a few hundred emails asking questions or wanting advice sitting in my inbox. I hope you will understand.

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Apologetics for the Masses