~ Once: At any one time; at one time and no more ~
~ Saved: To be delivered from sin; to rescue from harm; to preserve or guard from destruction ~
The term, “Once Saved” is the belief that once a person has been saved from sin / Born Again, they can never be lost.
The Apostle Paul In 1st Timothy 4:1-2 wrote, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; *Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"
The Apostle Paul is reported to be Minister of the Gentiles and he is the one that wrote the biggest portion of what is called the New Testament. Therefore, let’s consider what he has said in the above verses.
The “Spirit,” what Spirit is he talking about? The Holy Spirit of God “YHWH,” SAID there would be some that will DEPART from the Faith. That Faith is the Belief that Jesus has freed them from sin. For them to DEPART from the Faith would implicate that they have returned to sin.
To help avoid Departing from the Faith, the Believer needs to have the In-Filling of the Holy Spirit by the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is given to give the Believer / the Saints POWER to over-come ALL the power of satan. He, the Holy Ghost is to Instruct, Lead, Guide, and Direct the Believer / the Saints, in-to ALL Truth and to Comfort them.
What causes the Believer to DEPART from the Faith is dabbling in False Doctrines ~
In Isaiah 59:1-2, the Prophet Isaiah wrote, Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: *But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
The thing that Separates the Believer from the Lord and from following the Truth is their own wicked desires, their Willful Transgress of the Laws of God “YHWH.”
When a man and a woman get married, they dedicate their lives to one another because they love each other. However, when one member of the marriage goes out and has an illicit affair, that person’s love is brought into question and is grounds for dissolving the marriage.
We, the Saints of God are to married to Christ and when we, the Saints have as it were an affair with satan, we are committing Spiritual Adultery which is grounds for separation from the Body of Christ as part of His Bride.
We read in 1st Chronicles 15:2, Then David said, "None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever."
With God “YHWH,” there is a Set Order and when that Order is not adhered to / followed, there is a price to pay and that price is death or separation from Christ ~
The Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 18:20-26 wrote, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. *But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. *All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. *Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? *But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. *Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? *When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die."
It should be very plain and simple to anyone that reads the Bible / the Written Word of God that results of sin is death. In light of that, we also know that if we sin, we have an Advocate with the Heavenly Father, His Only Begotten Son Jesus that Intercedes for the Saints when they seek Him and ask God “YHWH” for Christ sake to forgive their sin.
However, if a Soul does not Repent of their sin, they will not be forgiven thus, the end results will be death. On the other hand, when a sinner forsakes their sin and turns to Jesus then, they are forgiven and are made Righteous by the Precious Blood of Jesus. Praise His Holy Name!
In Revelation 2:5 we read, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Here, the angel of the Lord is talking to John about Souls that fall away or depart from the Faith. If a person can not backslide or fall away, why would they need to repent and do the first works over again?
Let me interject a thought here. If you were out in a boat with friends on a lake and somehow you fell out of the boat into the water and was about to drown for one reason or another “you can’t swim or you get caught on something that brings you down under the water” and one of your friends in the boat rescues you from the water, you are then saved from drowning. As long as you remain in the boat until you get back to the shore / dry ground, you will be OK.
However, if you wind up back in the water again before you get back to the shore, you could drown if someone doesn’t rescue you again. Thanks be to God “YHWH” for His Only Begotten Son Jesus that He is there to rescue us when we reach out to Him.
We read in St. John 15:6, "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
Here, the Apostle John reports that Jesus said, “he is cast away and burned.” Are we to think that Jesus doesn’t know what He’s talking about or that John was mistaken in what he heard? I don’t think so, I believe that Jesus says what He means, means what He says and that He does not change. Praise His Holy Name!
The Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 9:27 wrote, "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."
The Apostle Paul seems to be concerned that it could be possible that he could be lost if he is not steadfast in complying with the Word of the Lord.
In Hebrews 10:26-31 we read, "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. *He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: *Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? &For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. *It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
The Great Transgression is something very few people understand. There is a sin that if a Soul Blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, there is never any forgiveness in this life or the World to Come. Love has many facets and the Fruit of the Spirit has many elements and without any one part of them, they will not be complete.
It would also seem that there is more than one way to Blaspheme against the Holy Ghost. In the 5th chapter of the Book of Acts, we read about the account of Ananias and his wife conspiring to lie to the Apostle Peter about the price of a parcel of land that they sold and wanted to appear to have given the full price to the Ministry. This action would seem to be a sin against the Holy Ghost and they were struck down dead immediately.
In the 13th chapter of the Book of 1st Chronicles, we read where Uzza put forth his hand and touched the Arc to keep it from falling and the Lord struck him down dead. This too could be construed as being a sin against the Holy Ghost.
It may also possible be that once a Soul has truly tasted of the Power of the Holy Ghost and then turns and say that there isn’t really anything to it, that could be construed as a sin against the Holy Ghost.
For a Soul to backslide or fall away from serving the Lord would be like Crucifying Jesus on the Cross all over again; it would be like saying, “I don’t care what Jesus did, and I’m not going to serve Him.” This too could be a sin against the Holy Ghost.
King David in Psalms 19:13 wrote, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression."
This too may possibly be viewed as a sin against the Holy Ghost ~
The Apostle Peter in 2nd Peter 2:20-21 wrote, "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."
The Apostle Peter is another Witness along with the Writer of the Book of Hebrews that a Soul can turn away from serving the Lord and be Eternally Lost.
In the 12th Chapter of St. Luke it says it something like this, “the servant, which knew his Lord’s Will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to His Will, shall be beaten with many stripes “a more severe punishment”. *But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.”
It would seem the Luke is saying that a Soul that has never accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will receive a lesser punishment and the Soul that accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and then turns away from Him to live a life of sin will receive the greater punishment.
In Exodus 32:33 we read, "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My Book."
The Lord told Moses that if one of His Children sinned against Him that He would remove their name from the Book of Life and destroy that Soul.
We read in Revelation 2:25, "That which ye have already “If it be of God” hold fast till I come."
In the Book of Revelation John frequently reports that “he that endureth “holds on” till the coming of the Lord will be Saved.
It would appear from this sort of statement that it might be possible for a Soul to Fall Away from Serving the Lord. Therefore, it behooves us to keep on keeping on serving the Lord in Spirit and in Truth till Jesus calls us Home. Praise His Holy and Righteous Name For Ever More!
Derwood A. Stewart, Minister
House of Prayer Sabbath Ministries
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