Barry Amundsen (12 Dec 2007)
"Take Heed Brethren Once saved not always saved"

The following is from a book that I have written and it addresses the issue of "Once saved always saved" and the rapture. The book is not out yet but hopefully will be soon.
 
Take Heed Brethren…
 
This subject is so important that it will become the deciding factor in determining for this current generation, who among us Christians will go in at the rapture and who will be unable to enter in. I cover that aspect of this in my chapter on the rapture, so I won’t get into it heavy here. But because we are speaking of Hebrews, I will mention that the type, given in scripture for the rapture, is best demonstrated in the Children of Israel going into the Promised Land. The whole book of Hebrews is about this very subject and was especially written for us in these last days.
Some people argue that the whole, entire church will be raptured at once. They say that God cannot divide His people or the body of Christ. Well, Jesus is the Head of the body and He is already in heaven. So according to that logic the church is already divided. But more than that, Jesus Himself divided His church into seven groups, or churches. Each with different characteristics and each (besides Philadelphia ) with different problems and warnings and promises if they overcome etc. Only one among those seven is promised to be raptured prior to the tribulation, and that is the Philadelphia church. Jesus tells them why He is keeping them from the tribulation, too. It’s because they have kept the WORD of His patience or literally, endurance. Also, the example given in Hebrews is that while the whole company of Israel left Egypt , yet only those who trusted God were permitted to enter into the Promised Land. The unbelieving died in the wilderness, exactly as it will be for this generation who has come to the very gates of the Promised Land of the rapture into heaven.
 
Hebrews 3: 17.  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
 18.  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
 19.  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
 
Jude 1: 5.  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
 6.  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (This, from Jude, fits right in here, to show that even though the whole company of Israel was initially saved out of Egypt , that didn’t automatically get them into the Promised Land. Also, Jude gives the example that even God’s once holy angels were capable of sinning and being rejected by God. How then can we think that we cannot lose our salvation?)
 
Hebrews 2:  1.  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. (Literally: Lest we wait one day too late to believe God, as they did… Sound like a rapture warning to you?)
 2.  For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
 3.  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation…?
 
Hebrews 3: 12.  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (This is a foolish warning, if it is not possible to depart. These are brethren being addressed.)
 13.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
 14.  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
 
Hebrews 3: 6.  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
 
In other words. Jesus is saying, you Philadelphia church people really do accept the finished work that I did. You believe in the word, that I paid the whole price and you never went back to a works of the law which cancels out my atonement for you. And because you have kept that word, and have not denied My name, (“Jehovah, our savior”), I will keep you from the hour of temptation that will come on all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth... (The tribulation period.)
One interesting aspect of “missing” the rapture that is overlooked by most is that those who fail to enter in do so by their own choice. Just as with the Children of Israel, who would not enter into the Promised Land when God offered it to them, but they feared and chose to remain where they were in the wilderness. This is illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. The bridegroom tarried and the foolish virgins, because they had brought no extra oil, were not able to keep their lamps lit, and when finally He appeared, because their lamps were going out, they were in darkness and not willing to go and meet Him. They tried to borrow oil from the wise virgins, (the Philadelphia church), but the wise could not share any with them because there was not enough (how could there be not enough Holy Spirit? The oil is not the Holy Spirit, but teaching of the Holy Spirit) and so they sent them to buy more for themselves. Just as Jesus also councils them: 
 
Revelation 3:18.  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
 
 2 Peter 1:8.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 9.  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
 10.  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
 11.  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
 
So basically, it is true that there is something that we each must do in order to be ready. But being good enough is not it. He took care of that for us. What we must do is accept His salvation, (do justly) become His disciple and forgive others (love mercy) and walk humbly with Him, as we have already stated. Then you will be in open communication with Him and the Holy Spirit and since this is important, He will keep you informed as to when to expect Him.
 
1 Thessalonians 5:  1.  But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
 2.  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
 3.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
 4.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
 
Not only that, you will not be ashamed or afraid at His appearing. You will have the extra oil (of the Holy Spirit, not the Holy Spirit Himself) for your lamp, which will lighten your path at this critical hour. This is not the Holy Spirit Himself because you cannot run out of the Holy Spirit and you don’t ask fellow virgins to borrow some of their Holy Spirit, and you sure can’t go and buy for yourself more Holy Spirit. (As Peter rebuked Simon, the sorcerer for offering money for the Holy Spirit.) This is revelation knowledge that you get from the Holy Spirit; therefore it is oil of the Holy Spirit.
The foolish virgins became painfully aware at the moment of the rapture, that they were wholly unprepared for what was happening, because they were too preoccupied with the cares of this world to have been taught by the Holy Spirit of these things. They never put Jesus first in their lives and became disciples. The wise had been taught and were trimming their lamps and assessing all that was taking place. However, they were barely able to take it all in for themselves, since, let’s face it; the rapture is going to be scary. (You have not passed this way before…) What with graves opening and possibly UFOs coming out of their hiding place. Some have suggested that it is at this very moment when Satan is cast down to earth from his place in the heavens, in other words he loses his ability to be invisible to the physical realms of our dimension, and therefore he has great wrath, knowing his time is short. The point is that if you are not ready for this moment, there is no way that anyone will be able to catch you up in that moment. It will take all the attention of a wise virgin just to get himself in the door at this moment; he will not have enough extra knowledge to share with dummy, foolish virgins at this point. But this is not works of the law, it is being faithful to hold onto what He has done for you and having redeemed the time and made good use of your grace that God has given you by taking His yoke on you and learning of Him. Being saved by grace does not mean that there is nothing that we do as part of the salvation equation.
 
Playing Hooky from Men; Back To School, With God
 
Think of it like a college scholarship. If you were poor but wanted to attend a college or university and you were given a scholarship for free, then that would be like grace, unmerited favor to attend the school. That gets you in the door, but it’s still up to you to pay attention in classes and learn what you are expected to know in order to graduate. God paid our way into fellowship with Him through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection from the grave. But now that we are able to become disciples, it is up to us to give ourselves to Him and become taught and learn what He wants us to know.
 
2 Corinthians 5: 14.  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
 15.  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
 
Those among us who take this seriously and learn are the ones who have the extra oil. That’s why we are called “wise”.  But those who goof off and don’t take the classes seriously but pursue other hobbies or interests instead will be rejected at graduation time. They will be ashamed. They will not know or be able to accept that God already paid their way in as well, because they will not know God and His loving ways. Like the Children of Israel were, they will be afraid to enter in when the invitation is given and they will stay in this earthly wilderness while those who are ready will joyfully go on in. Whew!
 
Barry Amundsen