“ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED” – CAN GENUINE CHRISTIANS WILLFULLY AND DELIBERATELY FORFEIT THEIR SALVATION? – (Part 2)

One major sign of the later times which the Holy Spirit revealed to the foundational apostles, prophets, and the Early Church was the operation of the antichrists or seducing spirits to lead many Christians astray.

1 Timothy 4:1
1Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times, some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons.

The reality is that one can’t depart from the faith if he wasn’t in it. The truth we all need to accept from this is: genuine believers can be led astray or influenced to abandon their faith in Christ as they pay heed to the teachings of deceitful spirits or spirits of antichrist.

We need to know and understand this for us to correctly interpret Apostle John’s admonition in 1 John chapter 2, verse 18 through 27. Apostle John’s emphasis in this passage was to inform the church about the operations of those who carried the spirits of antichrist or were embodied by them as a sign of the last hour or later times to lead faithful Christians astray by denying Jesus as the Christ just as the Spirit had already indicated. THESE WERE THE COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANS WHO LEFT THEIR FOLD.

Sadly, those who subscribe to the concept of “one saved, always saved” use certain verses in this passage, especially the 19th verse out of context, to persuade Christians that no genuine believer can abandon his faith in Christ, and those who do so are never saved.

Genuine believers can willfully and deliberately forfeit their salvation by denying Christ or rejecting Him. The following passages of scripture clearly prove this:

1) Hebrew 6:4-6
4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

2) Hebrews 10:26-27
26For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

3) 1 John 5:16
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin that does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin, not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

4) John 15:5-6
5 l am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

5) Hebrews 3:14 ( Amp)
14 FOR WE [BELIEVERS] HAVE BECOME PARTAKERS OF CHRIST [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], IF ONLY WE HOLD FIRM OUR NEWBORN CONFIDENCE [which originally led us to Him] until the end.

Hebrews 3:14 NLT
“FOR IF WE ARE FAITHFUL TO THE END, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

Those who subscribe to the concept of “once saved, always saved” need to take another look at this doctrine so that they don’t continue to mislead many faithful Christians. Seriously, they shouldn’t wait till the glorious appearance of Christ, at His coming. It will just be too late at the Lord’s presence for any amendment to be effected.

In the third part of the series, we will discuss the fate of the believer who continually, deliberately, willfully, and knowingly practises or lives a sinful lifestyle. In the fourth part, we will cover this: if “once saved, always saved” is true, why should various warnings be given to Christians regarding their salvation in the Bible?

GOD’S servant: Peter Collins Obeng
Grace Covenant Glory