...as LONG AS WE ABIDE IN THE VINE!!Consider this: if OSAS is true -- then NOTHING changes, right!!?? But if it's not true: then WHO has something to potentially lose? If you want to GAMBLE with your soul & salvation, wouldn't you much prefer a SAFE bet?Further: if OSAS is true -- there would be absolutely NO NEED for the rest of the Bible other than just the "believe" verses -- the rest of the Bible could just be tossed out!! ~ after all, there are lots of "instructions" written in there to follow -- were they put there for our mere reading amusement??!!2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,And ~ it's not about "picking sides" ~ of which side of the fence you want to be on!! .... or whose team!! It's about going by WHAT is WRITTEN IN THE BIBLE!!!The OSAS gang ALWAYS likes to accuse the other side that "you're trying to ADD to salvation by WORKS".......no, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Nothing could be further from the truth.We are aiming to PLEASE THE LORD with our lives ~ BY OBEYING HIM & following His commandments ["NT style"!!]Luke 6:46
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.John 14:24
He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.How much clearer can it get?? Is it considered a *WORK* to obey the Lord??John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”If you want to GAMBLE with your soul & salvation, wouldn't you much prefer a SAFE bet? It's by FOLLOWING the Lord in humble obedience! Sooooo simple a child can understand! Do we say, "no, no! ~ don't touch that stove!" because we want to by a TYRANT to the child..... or do we say this to keep him from burning himself?The Lord's commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.It's not about "works" ~ it's about FOLLOWING the Lord!! http://www.truthablaze.com/works.htmlOf course, all OUR works are as filthy rags -- that is, when we try to get into heaven OUR way..... [instead of obeying/following Jesus on the NARROW road, many are like Cain: "Look!! Look what I DID for You"!!]Is there such a thing ETERNAL SECURITY??
YES!! ~ as LONG AS WE ABIDE IN THE VINE!! (continue to fellowship and FOLLOW the Lord Jesus in humble obedience.) But there is no cushy, comfortable eternal security for those who do not. In that case, the Holy Spirit will allow so much time during the “prodigal phase” (which, whew, is my testimony!) and then the child either “returns to the Father and is alive AGAIN” Luke 15:24 ~OR~ his/her heart hardens beyond repentance Hebrews 12:17 and thus, he loses his eternal security.
What do these following terms mean: 1. fall away 2. stray from 3. wander away 4. shipwreck faith 5. DEPART FROM the faith 6. turn away….. They’re certainly not referring to charlatans, as they have *NOTHING* to fall away from! Or, from Luke 12, “appoint him his portion WITH the unbelievers” <this is not said to someone who is ALREADY an unbeliever!> Go to www.BibleGateway.com and plug in these KEYWORDS. It’s time to study the BIBLE!! That’s the ONLY PLACE we’ll find BIBLICAL TRUTH!!
1 Tim 3:6 says that a bishop should not be a novice, puffed up with pride, lest he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. <um, again, a bishop [or insert word "preacher" *IS* a believer!!.... And condemnation of the devil IS NOT HEAVEN!!>
From 1 Timothy 5:15: Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. [turned AWAY means turning AWAY FROM Christ!! You cannot turn away FROM..... if you are ALREADY following Satan!] Same verse from NLT: For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan.
Again from 2 Peter 2:15: Forsaking the straight road they have gone astray
Let’s study!! ~ with the Holy Spirit’s direction
This refutation to unconditional eternal security (UES) would be incomplete if the primary proof texts and objections offered by the UES proponents were not dealt with and explained from Scripture. The following are additional objections that were not yet dealt with in this controversy. {If OSAS is right, then nothing really changes, does it? On the other hand, if it is wrong, then there are many people who will one day stand before God and be required to give an account for the blood on their hands.}
I further realize that for those who have their minds concrete-solid hardened that even speaking directly from the Bible, they still may not "get it", but this is primarily for those who are still searching & trying to figure out just what is biblically true. FTR, it's almost laughable all these years later, but nearly 2 decades ago, I fought just as equally as hard on the OSAS side -- I, a Southern Baptist [was always TAUGHT OSAS, just never looked INSIDE Scripture to see what it said!] was fighting with a little Church of Christ lady -- and nearly gave the poor soul a heart attack, too! Once I got INTO the Word, then it's plain as day that eternal security exists ONLY as long as we CONTINUE to abide IN Him!!
OBJECTION #1. Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand," Jn. 10:28. Therefore, if, having received eternal life, we could lose it and perish, it would make Christ a liar. You see: First, Christ gives them 'eternal' life. Second, they shall 'never' perish, and third, neither shall any pluck them out of Christ's hand." (26)
ANSWER: Jn. 10:28 is a wonderful and true promise, but only as Jesus meant it to be understood! We must examine Jn. 10:27 carefully to understand who "them" and "they" are in verse 28 and what the Lord was saying. It reads, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they FOLLOW me." This is the only type of person, the one that meets these conditions, that will "NEVER PERISH," according to the next verse! Did you notice the words, "they follow me"? The word translated "follow" is a PRESENT INDICATIVE ACTIVE in the Greek, which asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is making the statement. In other words, as long as we remain faithful and CONTINUE to follow Jesus, He will, indeed, assure us that we will "never perish," v.28.
No such promise, however, is given here (or anywhere in the Bible) to one that would turn and start "to follow Satan" as Paul knew could and did happen (1 Tim. 5:15)! It clearly does NOT cover such. Some read into Jn. 10:28 the words, "under any circumstance" after the words "never perish," but they are NOT there! Jesus did NOT include them in his promise and neither should we!
This favorite, oft-quoted proof text is John 10:28-29. Here Jesus is speaking about His sheep and He says, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them outof My Father’s hand." When pulled out of the Bible and taken out of context it sure sounds like this proves OSAS. What does Jesus say about these sheep, though? Let’s go up just one verse and read verse 27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This word “follow” was also written in the present, continuous tense. So here we see a condition attached to those wonderful promises of, they shall never perish, and no one will pluck them out of My or My Father’s hands. These awesome promises are only for those sheep who are presently following Jesus. They are in no way guaranteed to those who once were following but who are no longer following or those who seek to live THEIR sinful way without obeying the Lord.
OBJECTION #2. Can you be "born again" again?
ANSWER: This is a rhetorical question that has confused some. To be "born again" is the same as getting saved or believing in Jesus. Therefore, if one stops believing in Jesus, then later starts believing again, he did indeed get saved again, as Rom. 11:23 declares. Remember also the Prodigal who became "alive again" (Lk. 15:24,32).
OBJECTION #3. Those that truly get saved will faithfully endure to the end and never follow another.
ANSWER: This was not true with Saul, Solomon, Judas, the unnamed disciples of Jn. 6:66 and many others! Furthermore, Jesus clearly taught that one could "believe for a while" then fall away or die (Lk. 8:13)! Paul similarly taught that one could "believe in vain" (1 Cor. 15:2) and fall "away from grace" (Gal. 5:4). Therefore, the wishful position of the UES proponent here is, again, refuted by the truth of Scripture.
OBJECTION #4. "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life," Jn. 5:24. The verse says "will not be condemned." Therefore, one cannot lose it!
ANSWER: The word in Jn. 5:24 rendered "believes" is transliterated as PISTEUON and is also a PRESENT PARTICIPLE in the Greek. Therefore, the Lord is saying here that we must CONTINUOUSLY BE BELIEVING the Father, that is, his testimony about Jesus, which implies that Jesus alone is to be the focal point of our TRUST for our soul's salvation. See Matt. 17:5 cf. Jn. 14:6. We will never be condemned, as long as we keep this condition -- a continued 100% trusting in Jesus for our soul's salvation.
OBJECTION #5. "The Bible Answer Man" is Hank Hanegraaff. He's on coast to coast radio, he can't be wrong! He wrote the following, "And remember, eternal life comes to the believer through faith in Christ is not life for two weeks, two months, or even two years; eternal life is everlasting life. It begins at the moment of conversion and stretches on through the eons of time." (27)
ANSWER: Hank is right when he writes that eternal life (or salvation) "comes to the believer through faith in Christ" and "begins at the moment of conversion." Also, it DOES remain everlasting (or eternal) life. That can't change. However, this doesn't necessitate that we can't be lost after we receive the "gift" of eternal life. In other words, eternal life is the "gift" (Rom. 6:23). As long as we have the gift, we have eternal life. Moreover, as long as we have spiritual life, it is everlasting, but according to Scripture a person once saved can still "die" spiritually (Rom. 8:13) and miss the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21)!
OBJECTION #6. We are made sons of God, not put on probation!
ANSWER: Yes, it is true that we become a son of God at the point of salvation (Jn. 1:12). However, "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly TILL THE END the confidence we had at first," Heb. 3:14. This verse is also true! Better than the word "probation" would be to say: according to Scripture, after salvation, we are sons of God with a free will and the potential of still not inheriting the kingdom of God, because of certain sins, false doctrine about salvation and disowning Christ during persecution.
OBJECTION #7. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life," Jn. 3:16. Jesus said "shall not perish"!
ANSWER: The word "believe" is PRESENT PARTICIPLE again! Therefore, Jesus was promising only those that CONTINUE to BELIEVE on HIM the assurance that they "shall not perish." This verse does NOT cover others that just "believe for a while" then fall away, as Scripture mentions (Lk. 8:13). Remember, one can truly believe, but this doesn't mean he will always continue to believe on Jesus in the future!
~~ will present more objections & answers in the days ahead for as long as John allows [unless the call to heaven comes before then!]
QUESTION to ask yourself: Do you WANT to please the Lord??2 Corinthians 5:9
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.And if we WANT to please Him, we'll WANT to love Him!! And HE says that IF we love Him, we WILL obey Him!!!FTR, I often feel that those who argue so strongly that noooooooo...... we don't have to follow any set of rules ~ only believe in Him, period, end of story! ~ I feel that that's because some people are just whiny & loud & self-willed & presumptuous in saying ~ LOOK, I don't care what He requires of me; I don't give a flip about "pleasing" Him; I only want to enter into heaven -- and I'll do it MY WAY!Two words: repent and believe. [Acts 20:21] Here is what these mean, as well as what they do not mean.
Repentance means giving God your bad habits, evil behavior, lack of love, selfish desires, and other sins. It does not mean you must cleanse yourself before you can come to Christ. It does mean turning from living for yourself, and turning your life over to God, and allowing Him cleanse your life.
Belief means trusting what God says in His word, the Bible. There is only one true God, existing as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, sustainer, and judge of all. God is Almighty, All-knowing, holy. God is love, but God’s wrath hangs over all who transgress His commands.
That includes us. By God’s standard, all of us have fallen short of what God requires in what we say, do, think, and fail to do. In God’s eyes, all of us are failures in who we are. On our own, we have no hope of ever satisfying God’s demands for justice without going to Hell forever.
When there was no hope for us, God made for us a great and certain hope in His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins as to satisfy the demands of justice. Jesus is the only way to God, and His grace is sufficient for us.
Belief means more than intellectual assent. We must choose to give our life over to God, and ask God’s Holy Spirit to come into our heart and commit to try to obey God. All who reject Jesus will die in their sins and go to Hell forever. The most important question is the one you will be asked by God at the Last Judgment: "Did you know my Son? Did you follow and obey Him?" If you have not done so, please give your life over to God today.~~Maranatha!!Reva
Titus 2
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The rapture is a blessed hope to the Christian. Watching for and expecting the rapture is a blessed hope that encourages a person to stay close to the Lord. A person watching daily for the rapture will go on with life but be constantly looking for the return of the Lord each day. This blessed hope also has a purifying effect. A person will not get caught up in worldliness or wrong things if he thinks His Lord could come back at any moment. ~ Alan YuskoThe **RAPTURE** will bring on simultaneous worldwide DISAPPEARANCES
.... it is soooo close now!!