|
       |
Saved or not Saved?
Many people have come into Churches all around the world, and many have left for one reason or another, and have gone back to their old ways. The Calvinists will conclude that these were never saved to begin with, while others will say that they have all fallen from salvation. In many cases the Calvinists are correct, for there are many people who come into Churches, have the appearance of a Christian, talk like a Christian and even know scripture; but yet have never truly been saved. Although this happens with many, it does not prove to be the case with all who fall into sin. But each person and situation may be different depending on their heart and their reasons for going back to the World. Each individual may react in a different way to different situations in life. Just as one Christian may have more faith than another, or one more love and compassion towards others than another, some Christians are also weaker than others. And even those who appear to be strong, when a certain situation may rise in their life, they may make a wrong choice to give in to temptation and sin. They may go as far as to lose faith in God and choose sin over all that they once had in Christ. Although this may be somewhat rare, it does happen. The Calvinists believe that for a true Christian to fall back into sin would only make them “out of fellowship with God”, but still saved from sin. But how can a person be saved from sin and in bondage to it at the same time? According to scripture, sin has become their master, and nobody can serve two masters. Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” If we choose sin, then Jesus said that means we prove to hate Him. So to Calvinists, a Christian that is “out of fellowship with Christ” can hate Him, love His enemy, and still be Eternally Secure. If this is true, then God would have to allow every sinner that ever lived into heaven, and repent for those that did not have the chance to get saved. For what is really worse from a Biblical standpoint: to condemn a sinner that never heard about Christ and the way of salvation to the eternal hell, or to saved a Christian who had the salvation experience and then went back to the old ways, and lives just like the other sinner? If sin will send an ignorant sinner to hell, then it will also send a backslider there as well. Calvinists may say “but the difference is, that the backslider had his sins under the blood of Christ, and the other did not”. A Christian will always and forever be covered under the blood of Christ, as long as they abide in Him, under His blood. But those who make the choice to walk away, and to sin with the rest of the world, also choose the same judgment that the world will receive. That is righteous judgment! It certainly is not Gods will, but God allows man to make his or her own choice.
John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”
Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
The Christian is warned to keep away from sin, lest they become a servant to it once again, which is a sin unto death. To teach that a person cannot fall away from salvation is contrary to scripture; and to teach that if they do, they were never saved to begin with, is only an attempt to explain away the truth of what really had taken place when a person backslides, falling from grace, back into sin. We must be obedient through righteousness unto holiness, or we may close the door to grace. Romans 5:21 “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Calvinists believe that this salvation is through Christ alone, with no decision on the part of man. It is Gods grace and Gods righteousness. But as mentioned earlier, Gods righteousness will cause man to live a righteous life. And then through Gods grace and His righteousness, followed by mans obedience by righteous living, he may obtain eternal life. I was in the Navy in the mid 1980’s. I knew a man that was a Christian on the same ship that I was on. I was a new Christian at this time, but when we would get together for fellowship we would occasionally talk about Bible doctrine. He would often share his belief in eternal security, and I the belief in falling away from salvation. He would witness to men on the ship with a zeal for God, would often share messages he heard at Church, and loved to talk about Jesus and the things of God. You could tell by his heart, his actions, and his life that he loved God. But over a period of a year or two, temptation got a hold of him. He began to go out with the guys to the bars, chase women and hang out with the wrong crowd. One day we ran into each other on the ship and began to talk about the things of God. I had noticed that the zeal and excitement were not there any longer. He did not want to talk about these things any longer. And he looked at me and said, “You know, you were right! You can fall away from salvation”. Everyone may be different. For one person to say this, it may be a cry to get back to where they once were, while for another it is a careless, empty comment about where they once were in their Christian life. This man did not show remorse or sorrow for his sin condition or a desire to get his life right with God. He had fallen from grace. The Calvinists answer to this is that he is out of fellowship with God or never saved to begin with. But this man not only had a strong relationship with God that nobody that knew him could deny, but now was a servant of sin. It is impossible to be a servant of sin and a child of God at the same time. Jesus said that you could only be one or the other! This man was once a servant of God, he knew God and God knew him, but he chose the pleasures of sin over his relationship with God. If the case was that he was never saved to begin with, then no Christian can know for sure that they are saved. Because if they fall, they will have to believe that they were never saved to begin with, or accept that they are still saved while in their sin. How will that person ever know when they are truly saved, if what they had experienced the first time was not real? And how can they see the urgency of repentance if they believe they are still saved? The answer to this question would be obvious for those who have not truly been saved; but for those who were, this doctrine would only cause confusion or critical damage. There is evidence of true salvation! It is not that hard to tell the difference between a person who has had a change of mind, and one who has had a total change of heart and mind. Or between a person who has been filled with knowledge and a person who has been filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Matthew 7:18-20 “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Jesus said that we will know by the fruits people bare whether they are true Christians or not. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit! It is obvious when a person really gets saved, and it is obvious as well when that person is backslidden and away from God. One evidence of true salvation is when a person has both forsaken their old ways, and begins living the new life in Christ. As told in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This is the born again experience that Jesus spoke of in John 3:3. Unfortunately, there have been many who have had this kind of experience in their lives, and at some point, whether weeks, months or years later they have fallen away. Another evidence of true salvation is not only that they have changed their habits and lifestyle, but have also had a true change of heart. For anyone can change and become different, even having the appearance of a true Christian. But it is those who have had a change in nature, from the natural to the divine, who possess evidence of true salvation. This is the selfless, loving attitude: the life of Christ that will be expressed through the life of the true Christian, with the exercising of faith and all the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” There are many who have obtained this fruit, as this man I knew in the Navy, but at some point went back to the old ways. A true Christian will be obvious by their baring these fruits.
Ephesians 5:9-10 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
I have known many ministers who have also fallen into sin. Many of them have gotten back up, been restored, and are flowing in ministry once again. But others have not, and remain in their sin. One particular man I know was a Pastor for over 20 years. He had a powerful ministry, was a great discipler of men; one of the best preachers I have ever heard, and was a great soul winner. But there came a time in his life that for whatever reason, he fell into the sin of homosexuality. Because his conscience bothered him and the Spirit of God drew him he tried to find restoration, but because of condemnation, inability to humble himself, and other things, he continued in His sinful lifestyle. He chose a life apart from God, his blessings and from eternal life. There is no doubt this man was saved! And he cannot be out of fellowship with God as a homosexual and adulterer: a sin punishable by spiritual death. Gods grace is always extended to people who have fallen away. He will draw them, and do all He can to restore them. But they have to make the choice to trust God, humble their selves, and turn from the sinful lifestyle. If they choose not to, it is not unfaithfulness on Gods part. Gods grace is not that He saves Christians even though they return to sin. His grace is that he will not forsake them, because He will continue to draw them, and is always present if they will choose to repent and seek Him. God is so good! But we don’t need to make Him something that He is not by teaching that His grace saves us in our sin. He doesn’t save us in our sin, but from our sin. There are groups that teach that Christ saves all mankind through His death and resurrection, because He died for all, without the need to repent: because He is such a loving and gracious God. But that is not what the Bible teaches about His grace. Yet the Calvinists have added to His grace by saying that Christians will always be eternally saved, even if they have returned to sin. Such teaching is heresy!
Some people might say that those who have fallen into sin are only prodigal sons. This may be a true statement, but as mentioned earlier, the prodigal son was also dead to the father, away from His protection, provision, and blessing, and was not safe from the penalty of his sin, until he returned to the father’s house. The prodigal son knew that he had lost it all, and only hoped that the father would receive him once again. Through His great love and grace the Father does receive every backslider that returns. But while they are away they are still in their sin and in danger of judgment. How can we know that we are saved? Can we really know? Absolutely! The Bible clearly says that we will be a new person; old things are passed away, all things become new. We have a change of heart, mind, desire, and lifestyle. There is a love for God, His people, and His will to be done. If we are not certain if we are saved, then Paul instructs us to examine ourselves.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” He says to examine and test your self. Look at your own life to see if you bare the fruit of a born again Christian. Every Christian can know that they are saved if they pass the self-examination test through the scriptures. Some have deceived themselves, not being doers of the Word. James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Some people have gone to Church for years and have never been “in the faith”, or “doers of the Word”. Others have been both, but have fallen into temptation and sin. Paul is not saying to examine whether or not you got saved to begin with, although this is a fact with many proclaiming Christians. But he is saying to examine whether or not you are living a life of faith in Christ after becoming a Christian. Not basing everything upon that first experience at the altar when you got saved, but based upon your present spiritual condition. To the Calvinist, all it takes is a single prayer of faith, and it is settled for all eternity. But Jesus doesn’t want a ritualistic prayer, a quick fix for the soul, and it is settled. He wants our whole heart, our life and everything we have to be completely committed to Him. Though we may fall short, His grace is always available. But we must have faith in Him. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him:” If we live a life of faith in God then we will not sin. Faith will overcome every obstacle in life, because we no longer trust in ourselves, our abilities, talents, knowledge, wisdom, or anything else; but we trust in God.
It can be difficult to understand why a person who once experienced the goodness of God would go back to a life of sin. But nevertheless, many have done so, many times because of condemnation from the sin that they have committed. And then because they also love their sin and do not want to give it up, they also reject Jesus by refusing to change and find it difficult to ever get back to their relationship with Christ. The backslidden state is a very difficult place to be! But many have gone that way and have fallen from grace. There may be times that a person’s salvation may be questionable. But if this is the case, it is actually better to assume that they are not right with God than that they are. At least if they are shown the concern of a loving brother or sister in Christ and can be led in a prayer of repentance, and seek spiritual guidance; then they will be stronger and begin to bare the fruit they were called to bear. But if we just assume that they are saved, when they are not, then we do no good at all for their eternal soul, and they may return to the life of sin, whether or not they were saved to begin with.
James 5:19-20 “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
|
 FEATURED CHAPTERS -Table
of Contents |
Calvinism