Proofs of Conditional Salvation

Dar and I have just finished two introductory courses that teach the basics of Christianity by a major church in our area. This is a church that may have as many as 12,000 people attending its multiple services on a typical weekend. When I heard about the courses, I was overjoyed, as they were advertised to teach discipleship in the second course, what I view as one of the foremost needs in the church.

My joy was turned to sadness, however, when the class also became a forum for teaching the false doctrine of once saved, always saved (Unconditional Eternal Security), together with its step-child, antinomianism.

The teacher, in answer to a question pertaining to salvation by grace and falling away, told the hundreds assembled there that there were no scriptures that suggested we could fall away (and lose our salvation) if we had once confessed faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The speaker may have been speaking within the scope of his knowledge; I do not believe he intended to deliberately mislead the group. It often happens that once a false doctrine is stated and perpetuated, its adherents spend their time with each other, bolstering each other with their false doctrine. By not associating with people who have a different view, they become stronger and stronger in their assumption that their false interpretations are correct. The teacher of our class was affirming the message preached in recent weeks from the pulpit.

This will be an attempt to recount some of the most obvious scriptures that deal with falling away from the faith. I have already written about this in the article titled “Is the Believer Eternally Secure?” That can be found at: www.bereanpublishers.com | False Doctrines | The Doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security | Is the Believer Eternally Secure? This will be an attempt to create a short article that will establish beyond reasonable doubt that God’s salvation is freely given, but is conditioned upon a persevering faith that has many facets. We’ll look at several different approaches taken by Scripture[1] to forcefully make its point.

Damnation For Falling Away

Yes, there are scriptures that actually say we will be damned if we fall away. Two come quickly to mind. The first is Hebrews 6:4-6:

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, ⁶if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

This is a very strong passage that states that the person it describes cannot come back to salvation. Fortunately for all of us, it is also a very narrow, applying to a specific (hopefully small) group of people. This paragraph refers to those who were thoroughly into the Christian faith. They had received the Holy Spirit – the first test to see if a person is truly a believer. They experienced the faith, doubtless having enjoyed the fruit of the spirit (tasted the heavenly gift, according to the passage). Likely they were visible Christians, as all should be who are truly in the faith. It may be because they were visible, then turned their back on the faith, that they are guilty of crucifying the Son of God again and subjecting him to public disgrace. This is a stern warning! God guards jealously the reputation of his Son.

Peter also was troubled by those who fell away, those who had been saved from the corruption of the world only to fall back into their old ways. He describes it this way, beginning with his description of false teachers:

¹⁷These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. ²⁰If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²²Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud”
(2 Peter 2:17-22).

The verses that concern us are vs. 20-22, but the full context speaks of evil men who “entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” Likely Peter is observing new believers, just beginning the walk of faith. These false teachers promise freedom and attract a following. Peter warns that if these people escaped their corrupt life in the world by coming to know our Lord and Savior Jesus, but are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off than before they began.

Just how bad off were they before? They were without God and eternally damned for lack of knowledge and faith in our Lord Jesus. Imagine being worse off than that! Because they now had knowledge of the faith but fell away, their eternal punishment will be worse. Scripture teaches that we will be punished according to the level of our knowledge (Luke 12:47-48). Naturally that is why teachers will be judged more severely (James 3:1). They are presumed to have more knowledge.

Is this falling away from the faith what Jesus was referring to when he warned: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men?” (Matthew 5:13).

Damned For Engaging In Sin

This subject is definitely not on the politically correct list. Not only is it not in fashion to discuss sin, but being damned for engaging in sin must be almost a taboo. Nevertheless, Scripture does not shrink from the subject and neither will we.

The first, and perhaps most frightening, passage is at Hebrews 10:

²⁶If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31).

First we see that this is a Christian writing to Christians who includes himself and his audience in his warning. Note that he says “we.” Continuing in sin is not an option for Christians who have received the knowledge of the truth. If they do deliberately keep on sinning, they have only a judgment of damnation to look forward to.

In our class, the teacher took pains to make sure everyone there understood that there is no judgment for those who once confessed faith. He said they would look forward only to rewards at the Bema seat (judgment seat of Christ). But this scripture says the opposite. This passage clearly speaks to Christians and warns them about the extreme danger of deliberately continuing in sin. It does not say they will merely lose rewards if they continue in sin, or have a less abundant life (as the teacher also said), but that they will face the raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Could the Holy Spirit have made that any plainer? Wouldn’t any fair reading of that passage say exactly what we have said? How can that be misinterpreted by so many to claim this just isn’t true if you’ve once confessed faith in Jesus?

Likewise, Paul taught the same message several times to different churches. He did it in a more detailed way, enumerating many of the sins for which people can forfeit the kingdom of heaven. Our teacher utilized one of these passages, but then said it only applied to those who didn’t know the Lord, who had never professed faith. Let’s look at these to see if that is true.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

The Galatians letter is written to the churches in Galatia – presumably to Christians. It would appear Paul wrote this to warn new believers that they could not live in sin and expect to inherit the kingdom of God. Is there any guarantee that someone who has confessed faith will not fall away and live in those sins Paul recounted? Of course not! Most of us are familiar with people who had been strong in the faith but fell away from the faith and into sin.

Paul wrote the same type of message to the Ephesians, apparently considering it was of sufficient important to warn other churches as well:

³But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷Therefore do not be partners with them (Ephesians 5:3-7).

Paul wrote this letter to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus – Christians. Who is he warning? Paul says, “But among you . . .” He is speaking directly to them – the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus in Ephesus (plus all others who would also read the letter, including you and me). Paul’s warning could hardly be more clear. Notice how he continued in verse 6. Was he speaking of the very thing we encountered in that class as we were assured that such warnings were not intended for Christians but for unregenerate people. Even worse than not having an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (if there could be anything worse), Paul continues: “Because of such things (those sins) God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.” Sound familiar? These are the same warnings we’ve read elsewhere.

Paul also warned the Corinthians. In the following passage, I’ve included the prior paragraph in order to get the context more easily in mind. Paul is exhorting the Corinthians about the way they are living. They are suing each other.

⁷The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.

⁹Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:7-11).

In this very passage, Paul describes the people to whom he is writing as people who were washed in the blood of Jesus, who had been sanctified, and were justified (all stated in the past tense). According to Paul’s description, they had been Christians. But the prior paragraph casts grave doubt on whether they are really Christians any longer. In verse 8 Paul says they are completely defeated and that they cheat and do wrong, and they do it to their brothers. Paul warns, “Do not be deceived.” Do you suppose they had been deceived by teachers who assured them that their actions do not matter once they have confessed faith in the Lord Jesus? It sounds as if Paul is attempting to counter that very kind of deception.

Paul taught much the same to the Colossians, but this time he spoke only of punishment:

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips (Colossians 3:5-7).

Who did Paul write to? Verse 1, chapter 1, says, “To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse.” Was Paul suggesting to these Christian brothers that there were only rewards once they had confessed faith? No! He was warning them that if they engaged in sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, they would be subject to the wrath of God! We know from the prior scriptures that the wrath of God is poured out in judgment in hell. God’s wrath is NEVER poured out against a believer in discipline. God disciplines us as sons – in love (Hebrews 12:6 – “the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Jesus himself gave us the last warning at the end of the book of Revelation:

⁸But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Jesus didn’t mince words or try to be politically correct. He simply stated the facts. Those people who engaged in the sins he named would go to hell – the fiery lake of burning sulfur, the second death. Was Jesus simply reminding the redeemed that they wouldn’t face such a fate? Not at all! He was warning everyone, believers and unbelievers alike, that those who practiced these sins should know their fate and destination would be hell.

Demand for Perseverance

If none of us could fall away from the faith, there would be no need for a call to persevere in the faith. The only call would be to come to faith. Neither would we be expected to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-19), but rather only to evangelize. Once having confessed faith, we could happily know we would remain forever. But Scripture warns repeatedly to persevere in the faith. Let’s first consider Paul’s warning at 1 Corinthians 15:1-2:

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Note who this is told to. These are people who heard Paul’s preaching of the gospel. They received it. They took their stand on it. Paul says they are saved IF! Yes, he qualified the very statement by which he said they were saved. The qualification? IF you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. What if you don’t hold firmly to it? Will you lose rewards? Will you simply have a less abundant life? NO! If you don’t hold firmly to it, you will have believed in VAIN!

Is it clear what it means to believe in vain? Could it be stated more clearly? If so, I don’t know how. It simply means, their belief would have meant nothing. Their faith would have meant nothing. They had to persevere in the faith in order for it to have force and meaning unto salvation.

Is that the only passage in which Paul taught that? No, he also said much the same to the Colossians:

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²²But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant (Colossians 1:21-23).

This is a very special passage to me. It tells the good news of the gospel in the first two verses. It is in the beginning of verse 23 that we see the qualification again. We can see from the text that Paul was writing to Christians – “he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight . . .” That can only refer to Christians. But, just as he did with the Corinthians, he made their salvation conditional. They would be presented holy in God’s sight, without blemish and free from accusation IF! IF they continued in the faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

The requirement wasn’t just to continue in the faith. No, they must also be established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. That sounds similar to the teaching by James:

⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Again the warning from James parallels that of Paul. God does not honor those who are unstable and double-minded. They do NOT have a saving faith. Such people cannot expect salvation – anything form the Lord. Salvation is conditioned upon established, firm perseverance in the faith.

It is interesting how Paul concluded that passage. After those verses that set forth the gospel and the requirement for perseverance, he said (last sentence, 23^rd verse) this gospel – that he has just recited – was the gospel of which he, Paul, had become a servant. This is the gospel he preached!!!

The writer to the Hebrews also exhorted perseverance with a warning about those who do not persevere:

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.

³⁸But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved (Hebrews 10:35-39).

Paul combines the positive with the negative in this passage. He assures the believers that if they do not throw away their confidence, it will be richly rewarded. He warns them that they need to persevere so that when they have done the will of God, they will receive what he has promised. Note the first condition – they will receive what God has promised when they have done the will of God. Isn’t that exactly the condition of Matthew 7:21? Only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven?

But then comes the warning about those who shrink back – who fall away. What happens to them? Do they simply have a less abundant life? Do they have less rewards? No, they are DESTROYED! Those who believe – who persevere in the faith and do the will of God – are saved and receive what he has promised.

Jesus also commanded perseverance, even in the face of persecution and trials:

²²All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22).

⁹“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹²Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but he who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:9-13).

The latter passage deals with the end-times, when Jesus prophesies about what will happen. There will be an increase of wickedness; the love of most will grow cold. Then the clear statement with a plain meaning: many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. The statement not only says many turned away from the faith but reveals the evidence by which all will know they are no longer in the faith – betraying and hating. Likely it is because so many desert the faith that persecution can come to those who remain faithful.

But his promise remains for those who stand firm – they will be saved. What does this imply? The statement has no meaning unless the opposite is true, i.e., that those who do not stand firm to the end will not be saved. That is exactly what we saw in the warning from the writer to the Hebrews who said that those who shrink back (do not stand firm) will be destroyed!

Eleven times New Testament writers exhort and command their readers to stand firm. See
1 Corinthians 15:58, 16:13, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 1:24, Galatians 5:1, Ephesians 6:14, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 4:1, Colossians 4:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, and James 5:8.

Parables Teaching Perseverance

Perhaps the most famous and instructive parable on the subject of perseverance is that of the sower. It is also most useful because Jesus explained it. First let’s look at the parable as written at Mark 4:3-8,

³“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

All the people could relate to the subject. Farmers were all around them. Everyone knew the principles of farming. Nevertheless, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him to explain the parable. This is what he said:

¹⁴The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:14-20).

As we read this, consider what modern evangelism considers success. It is those described in verse 16, those who receive the word with joy. But, unbeknownst to the evangelist, most fall away. Some continue into the next category, hearing, perhaps continuing for a time, but they grow lukewarm and finally fall away, choked by life’s worries, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things. Are the first three categories saved? There is no evidence whatsoever, based on the rest of Scripture, that they are or could be saved. The second category lasted only a short time; the third did not persevere – they were choked! Only the fourth category persisted unto salvation, hearing the word, retaining it, and by persevering produced a crop.

Years ago I began to suspect that one of the evidences of a false presentation of the gospel is the high percentage of people who quickly desert the faith after having “made a commitment,”

said the sinner’s prayer, and confessed faith in Jesus (sometimes as Lord and Savior).[3]

Ray Comfort's Bride of Heaven, Pride of Hell confirmed my suspicions. Ray quotes statistics of a major denomination in the United States that disclosed it obtained an incredible 294,784 decisions for Christ in 1990. Yet, in 1991, it could only find 14,337 in a Christian fellowship. There were 280,447 decisions that couldn't be accounted for. The leadership had no clue as to why this happened, but could only conclude, "Something is wrong!" The trend continued. In August 1996 a leading U.S. denomination revealed that during 1995 it secured 384,057 decisions, but retained only 22,983 in fellowship. It couldn't account for 361,074 supposed conversions. Ray told of another crusade at which 600 decisions were obtained, no doubt with much rejoicing. But 90 days later, follow-up workers couldn't find even one person who was going on in his or her faith. In 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, 400 decisions were obtained in an Inner City Outreach, but, again, later not one person could be found who continued in the faith. Ray quotes Charles E. Hackett, the Division of Home Missions National Director for the Assemblies of God in the U.S.: "A soul at the altar does not generate much excitement in some circles because we realize approximately 95 out of every 100 will not become integrated into the church. In fact, most of them will not return for a second visit.[4]

The parable of the vine and the branches is equally well known and instructive. In this parable, the Apostle John quoted Jesus:

“I [Jesus] am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:1-8).

There are fascinating insights in this parable. Note that all the branches Jesus refers to are in him. Yes, they are IN HIM. Those who are in Jesus are Christians. Sadly, many who are once in him do not remain. Many start, but few finish. Many fear the punishment of hell and make an initial commitment, but when it comes to serving the Master, of doing those works that God prepared in advance for them to do, they refuse and fall away. My fear is that they fall away because of bad teaching. Could they have been saved if they had been told the truth before they had been urged to make a commitment and been told what God requires of those that he will save? I think yes, many would persevere.

Who is it that cuts off the branches in Jesus that bear no fruit? It is God the Father himself. He’s given them every chance to bear fruit, but they won’t. The point Jesus is making in this parable is, “You MUST remain in me!” If we don’t produce fruit, we won’t remain, we’ll be cut off.

What happens to those branches. Do they just dry up, the equivalent of not having an abundant life? NO! The warning is the very same as we see through all the other scriptures we’ve looked at. The branches that are cut off are picked up and thrown into the fire! Doesn’t that sound familiar? Is that the lake of fire? Is that the raging fire that will consume the enemies of God? There is certainly NO suggestion that such people whom God has cut from Jesus, the vine, can be or will be saved, at least not until they come back and persevere in a saving faith. Based on the rest of Scripture, one can only conclude such people have lost the salvation that could have been theirs. Did they lose it because they were not taught properly?

There is another parable, less well-known, that illustrates the same point. The people in the parable have similar roles. God the Father is the man who had the fig tree planted in his vineyard. Jesus is the man who took care of the vineyard.

“A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. ⁷So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸”‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:4-9).

Once again, as in the parable of the vine, God wants to cut down the fig tree that is not producing fruit. Jesus intercedes, however, wanting to try again to stimulate it into life and to get the tree to produce fruit. But note! Jesus agrees that the tree must be cut down if it does not produce fruit after being given another chance. Jesus does not intercede for us forever. Both he and the Father want, yes, demand, productive people in their kingdom.

Parables About Falling Away or Being Cast Away By God

We just saw the parable of the fig tree that didn’t produce. God commanded it be cut down because it failed to produce fruit. Though Jesus interceded and gained another year, if it didn’t produce fruit in that time God would cause it to be cut down. Surely the plain language of that parable is that the person was being cut out of the Kingdom. And in the kingdom he surely was – in the Father’s vineyard.

We saw the same situation still earlier in the parable of the vine. Note again the branches (you and I) were in the vine (Jesus). To the eternal security advocate, this is the definition of salvation and eternal security. Not so, however. God the Father cuts off all the branches that are unfruitful. They are gathered up and thrown into the fire. This is the same result as the case with the fig tree that didn’t produce fruit. Ephesians 2:10 said we are to do those good works that God prepared in advance for us to do. When we fail to do that, we face being cut out of the kingdom by God.

Still another parable should be examined. It is about the servant who was an overseer for the master:

“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. ⁴⁴I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers” (Luke 12:42-46).

This parable is frightening. Not only does it deal with falling away, but deals with someone in a position of responsibility within the Kingdom who becomes unfaithful and is judged for his unfaithfulness. We know he is in the kingdom to begin with as he is called a “faithful and wise manager.” In this parable, Jesus chooses alternate results. In the first result, he speaks of the servant who faithfully perseveres in his task. Jesus said the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. Then Jesus chooses the other alternative, of the servant tiring of waiting for the master, abusing the other servants and getting drunk. When the master returns he will cut him to pieces (punishment beyond what is found in any other parable) and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

In this parable everyone should find three things irrefutable. The first is that the servant began as a faithful and wise manager in the master’s household. The second is that he became unfaithful. The third is that he was cast out, frightfully punished, and sent to hell by the master – Jesus. There should be no doubt that this person fell away into perdition.

Finally, let’s look at the parable of the banquet:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

¹³“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴“For many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:2-14).

Jesus tells this parable to illustrate what the kingdom of heaven is like. The king held a great banquet, but the guests first invited didn’t come. Angry, the king ordered that all be invited in, to go into the highways and byways to find those to fill up his banquet hall. When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a person not wearing wedding clothes. Let’s examine for the moment this person. He was invited to the banquet. He accepted. BUT, he was not obedient to the terms of the invitation because he wasn’t wearing wedding clothes. The king seemed surprised that he was able to get in without wedding clothes. What could the wedding clothes represent? We may find the meaning in Revelation:

⁷Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. ⁸Fine linen, bright and clean,

was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

⁹Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” (Revelation 19:7-9).

¹³Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:13-14).

¹⁴“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14).

These three passages of Scripture give great insight into what the wedding garments would be, what they represent, and even how they became white. The scriptures show that these are those who had righteous acts, represented in heaven by their bright and clean fine linen. We know their robes are white because they are washed in the blood of the Lamb.

When the parable speaks of the person who didn’t have wedding clothes, it speaks of one who did not have the fine linen representing the righteous acts of the saints, nor had he washed the robe in the blood of the Lamb.

This parable apparently described a person who had accepted the invitation to the banquet, but who thereafter failed to prepare for the banquet. It is very similar to the fig tree and the branches

in the vine that were cut off for failing to produce fruit. This person had also not born fruit – did not have a robe that represented the righteous acts of the saints.

Can a person happily accept the invitation, profess faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord and be forever saved? This parable says not, as do all the other scriptures assembled here.

Salvation Issues

For the persons who believe or advocate or teach the doctrine of once saved, always saved, sooner or later when confronted with the Scripture, they are going to have to decide whether they will continue to have to distort the meanings of many passages of Scripture to conform to their doctrine, or whether they will believe and honor the Word of God as it is written, according to its plain meaning.

When dealing with salvation issues presented in Scripture, we may be at just such a point. If Jesus says a person will not be saved UNLESS, will the eternal security advocate insist each time that Jesus wasn’t talking to us or that he was referring only to the unsaved or …. or …. or ….. We certainly hope that such a person will not say that Jesus did not know what he was talking about or that he was simply mistaken or that Scripture is not accurate at that point.

At this very point, however, we come to a major misunderstanding within the church arising out of the interpretation of Ephesians 2:8-10:

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Perhaps there are few passages in Scripture that are more fundamental, but that have also been subject to such grave misinterpretations. We’ll deal with only one misinterpretation here and that is the two words, “through faith.” There are those who say that it is simple faith only that will save and nothing more. They insist adding anything else is adding a “works” salvation to the simple grace-filled message of the Gospel. And they are right! The Galatians were convinced by the Judaizers that they had to add to the Gospel observing the days, weeks, festivals, and circumcision of the Old Testament teachings. Paul forcefully told them they were wrong.

BUT, it is in the fundamental understanding of the word “faith” that so many make a mistake that can cost salvation. Faith is NOT mere mental assent. It is NOT simply believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. It is NOT simply believing that Jesus is the Son of God. What, you cry?!? Heresy! Yes, you may have been taught that to require anything beyond those simple definitions of faith is heresy. Read on.

IF one could have salvation by simply having faith that Jesus died on the cross for one’s sins, and there were no further requirement, then Jesus lied! OR, to rid themselves of Jesus’ statements that conflict with their interpretation, some have claimed that Jesus’ teachings were only for the Jews, that Paul is the one to whom we must listen as he went to the Gentiles. We know otherwise, however, because it was Jesus who commanded that the Gospel go to the Gentiles – “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). “All” nations refers to more than the Jews. It encompasses all the Gentile nations.

We come to an important cross-roads in interpretation. IF we are to agree that Jesus did not lie, that he knows full-well the true requirements for salvation, but that Paul’s statement saying that salvation is “through faith” is also true, we must interpret this so they are compatible. And that is very simple to do.

Faith is not a simple mental assent. Faith is multi-faceted, much like a diamond. If you look at a diamond from a couple feet away, you see a single crystal-like stone. But if you look at it closely, you see there are facets all around it. Each one reflects the light. Is the diamond less a diamond because it has facets? Is a saving faith less a saving faith because there are facets to it? No.

How do we recognize a facet of a saving faith? Each facet is always stated as a condition of salvation. The text of Scripture will say that unless a person does a certain thing (for example) he will never enter the kingdom of God. Or, it may use the positive and say that only those who do a certain thing will enter the kingdom of God. We will look at both kinds of facets below. Suddenly you will see that each of the requirements for salvation taught by Jesus are part of the saving faith taught by Paul. We’ll examine how these facets of a saving faith impact upon the doctrine of once saved, always saved.

Requirement of Obedience to the Will of God

At Matthew 7:21, Jesus states:

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

This is a passage that makes salvation conditional. The condition? Only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven. Note it did not say that only those who once make a confession of faith will enter the kingdom of heaven. No, this is an active, continuing command – to do the will of God.

What is the will of God? For the New Testament believer, it is everything Jesus said and did. Over and over in the Gospel of John, Jesus said that everything he did and said was just what the God the Father told him to do and say (John 8:28, 12:49-50, 14:10, 14:24, 14:31). Thus everything Jesus commanded and taught is the will of God. It follows naturally that Jesus requires that all new believers be taught to obey the will of God – everything he commanded (Matthew 28:20). Is it corroborated elsewhere in Scripture that salvation is associated with obeying Jesus? Yes, of course! Hebrews 5:9 states that Jesus became the source of salvation for all who obey him.

Some seek to neutralize that command (to do the will of God) by saying that all we need obey is simply to love our neighbor as ourselves (the Royal Law, see James 2:8), choosing that command of Jesus. Others point to the summation Jesus gave:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Though those two commands sum up the teachings of Scripture, Jesus taught much more. In some cases, he changed Old Testament law. In others, such as adultery, he expanded the definition to include looking with lust at a woman. He taught dozens of commands for the people of his kingdom that teach us how we are to love our fellow man and how to love God our Father and Jesus our Lord. It is not our definition of how we are to love that matters. God defines the terms. At this very point of loving God and our neighbor God defines the terms very differently than we do. The Apostle John told us what love for God is:

²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands (1 John 5:2-3).

Just as we found it is necessary to do the will of God – to obey God – we learn that the first and greatest command is to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, AND that to love God is to obey his commands. What an interesting circle that is! There is no “love” for God that does not include obeying his commands. Everything Jesus taught and commanded is the will of God that we are to obey. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey me” (John 14:15) which agrees perfectly with the teach of the Apostle John.

Perhaps the greatest sin of the present-day church is its failure to do what Jesus told us to do – to make disciples of Jesus and to teach them to obey all that he commanded us.

What if the person who made a confession of faith chooses not to obey? Or worse, what if that person is taught that there is no need to obey, that those who claim that God requires us to obey are really advocating salvation by works – seeking to earn one’s way to heaven? Did Jesus tell the truth – that those who don’t obey will not enter the kingdom of heaven? Or are the advocates of unconditional eternal security correct, that all it requires for salvation is a one-time, heart-felt confession of faith?

The Requirement to Forgive

This command and teaching is not usually considered a salvation issue. But Jesus made it front and center as a salvation issue. In what we call the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus included, “¹²Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Note that the request for forgiveness is based upon the extent to which we have forgiven others. Is there more? Yes, indeed.

Jesus makes sure we don’t miss the point. He continues:

¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15).

To understand how monumental this statement is, we must look all the way to the cross. Why did Jesus die on the cross? It was so our sins could be forgiven. Hebrews 9:22 tells us without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. IF we could have unforgiven sin and still get to heaven, then Jesus died in vain. There would be no need for the sinless lamb of God to be slain and his blood shed so we could be forgiven. We know it was necessary because Jesus asked God his Father to take the cup (of the death on the cross) from him, but conditioned that request by saying, “Not my will but your will be done” (Luke 22:42).

Can you accept that conclusion? There is more. In Matthew 18, you will remember the parable of the king who demanded an accounting from his servants. A servant owed the king a vast sum that he was unable to pay, so he ordered the servant, his wife and children and all that he had to be sold to pay the debt. When the servant begg