by Dr. James & Natalie Ricks
Once a person is saved, is that person always saved, no matter what happens? It is clear that God supports all called brethren with total divine commitment. Jesus truly loves us and supports us. No one can doubt that commitment. Note the following verses.
Romans 8:30, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (NKJV)
This verse demonstrates that God has great plans for us. God plans on glory for those who are saved and most men will be saved. God would not want to waste all the billions of people through failure in Gehenna fire which burns to ashes. He plans to glorify us and some are even predestined to be in the first and best resurrection!
Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God so loves us that He will allow nothing to derail our journey toward salvation, except for ourselves. We can derail ourselves. God will not force anyone to be in His family. We alone can undermine our road toward salvation. No one can pull you away from God but you, yourself. The Apostle Paul knew this truth.
2 Tim. 2:12, “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”
Further, Paul understood that he needed to discipline himself so that vanity or various other carnal things did not undermine his salvation. He plainly stated this as a lesson for us all.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27, “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Note the great Apostle Paul knew that he had to control himself or he would become a castaway. The man who wrote most of the New Testament knew he was at risk. He could undermine his own salvation. God loved Paul so much that He allowed him to be afflicted on a somewhat regular basis in order to keep him humble. This affliction helped Paul to be more effective and safe. He would not fall to human vanity and pride and lose out on salvation even though he had more revelations than all the other Apostles.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
If Paul had been exalted above measure and puffed up with pride, he would have fallen into the trap of Satan and possibly lost his salvation and eventually become a castaway.
Warnings of the Potential Dangers to Salvation
James, Peter, Paul and John sent many epistles to the church members warning of a number of things that could cost them their salvation. These great Apostles certainly knew that being baptized and saved did not mean you now faced no dangers. They knew that salvation was contingent on fighting a number of things that could drag them (and us) into undermining our own salvation. God would always be on our side, but would we always be on God’s side? They warned of being seduced away from God. James gave a blunt, plain warning to all believers:
James 2:17-20 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone [by itself].
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
James is saying we know you have faith by your actions. However; if someone or some desire alters your actions to turn you away from God, you would lose your salvation. So says James!
1 Peter 5:5-9, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:
“Casting all your care upon Him; for he careth for you.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
“Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
Peter warns the brethren about our spiritual predator, Satan, who can lead us astray and cost us our salvation. Peter tells believers to resist! If we have no danger of losing our reward, why the need to resist?
2 Peter 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;”
2 Peter 2:19-21, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
“For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
Peter makes it clear that if we allow a deceived or false teacher to convince us that we are free to openly disobey God, that kind of false liberty will ultimately cost us our salvation. He says we would be better off to have never been converted in the first place. If we allow ourselves to be misled, we will lose our salvation. Peter is very clear on this matter. Paul also gives a stern warning to all believers.
Hebrews 10:23-27, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
“But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”
The Apostle warns all of us not to waver. We should not neglect attending Sabbath services with other believers. We must keep encouraging and being encouraged by others, lest we ourselves fall away. Paul says we need weekly exhorting of one another and even more as the evil day comes closer. Otherwise some might become willful sinners. This means a defiant sinner.
Most of us, when we sin because of weakness, repent and ask God for help. God will then forgive us and help us. All of us need to keep encouraging each other to repent as needed like adding salt and pepper as needed to a dish. God will take care of us. But one who sins defiantly and does not care, will lose his salvation in the lake of fire, unless he repents.
Jude 1:21, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
V. 24, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”
John knew that we need to keep ourselves with God’s mercy and use His help to keep us from falling. Obviously John knew we could fall.
Why “Put Out” a Brother If He Could Not Be Lost?
Paul put a man out of the church to shock him back into obedience so he would not lose salvation. His bad example could possibly cost others their salvation as well. Clearly Paul knew that once saved does not mean always saved.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
“And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
“For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged [or, determined] already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
“In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
“To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus.”
It did work. We learned in the next letter to the Corinthians that the man repented and thereby would be saved. He was not lost, thanks to Paul’s strong actions.
God’s Love Is Patient
God does not want us fretting and worrying all the time about whether or not we are good enough to be saved. No one is good enough! We are saved because of the grace of Christ and the love of God. God will help us get through this life. We need to trust God and do our part.
Philippians 2:12-13, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Jesus Christ, our high priest and advocate, will help us see the truth and give us the will power to want to obey the truth. We need to cooperate, but it is Christ working in us that brings us to salvation and the truth of God in this dark age.
God is love. He wants us to succeed. He will help us to succeed but we must stay alert. Read Matthew 24 verses 42 through 51. We could lose out on salvation by sleeping spiritually and slipping unaware back into the evil world.
