Monday, March 18, 2019

“Once saved, always saved” isn’t biblical

You’ve all heard the phrase, “once saved, always saved,” espoused by various Christian denominations. In other words, just because Jesus shed his blood for you, you’re forgiven for anything and everything.

But do you realize that is not true? Why? Well, for one thing, that’s not what Scripture says; and secondly, by the sheer action of committing a sin, you’re literally forcing the Ruach (Holy Spirit) to commit the sin with you. HaShem does NOT allow that! Evil cannot abide with holiness.

Thirdly, YHWH’s Divine Messiah, Yeshua, didn't die for ongoing deliberate sins. Like the animal sin sacrifices we see in Leviticus, he martyred himself for our PAST sins. (See Colossians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 10:26, etc.)  Like those animal sacrifices, which had to be done yearly to cover one’s sins for the year, Yeshua’s blood only atoned for what we have done in our past, to enable us to be clean enough to enter into YHWH’s Presence in the Holy of Holies, to pledge ourselves to Him.

It is imperative to remember that, for Yeshua’s blood to cover our deliberate FUTURE sins, he would have to die over and over again, every time we chose to commit a sin – and that can’t happen, because he could only die ONCE…

In other words, you got your chance to be redeemed, so don’t blow it!

Contrary to popular belief, prayer and repentance are NOT the only things required to be forgiven! We must also be willing to “turn from” our sins, and stop doing them, because we cannot willfully continue living in sin, and pretend we are a child of the Most High.

Whom are we worshiping if we deliberately continue to live in sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth (once we have realized that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is THE Creator who sent His Messiah whose divine blood served to redeem us for our PAST sins? Whom are we worshiping if we ignore the Ruach concerning our sins – the very Ruach that resides within us as a constant reminder of ADONAI’s Divine Rules

Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies. (CJB)

(NOTE: The above Scripture is not referring to those unclean bondages that dwell in our flesh but to the conscious choices believers make. It refers not to our unintentional sins but to those we pursue knowingly and willingly.)

Here are Yeshua’s own words:

John 14: 15. If you love me, keep my Commandments. 16. And I will ask of my Father and He will give you another Redeemer[1] who will be with you forever. 17. The Spirit of Truth, He who the world is not able to receive because it has not seen Him, nor does know Him. But you know Him for He dwells with you and He is in you. 18. I will not leave you bereaved. For I will come to you in a little while.

19. And the world will not see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20. In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. 21. He who has my Commandments with him and keeps them, he is who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and reveal myself to him. (AENT)

(NOTE: The Aramaic construct means “Redeemer” (not “advocate”), or “One who ends the curse.” By the indwelling of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit), our fallen nature is redeemed from the curse of Adam. By ending the curse, Messiah, as savior, more literally fulfills the office of Messiah as the “giver of lives.”)

I’m offering the following true example of deliberate sin as an illustration designed to drive home the severity and dreadful consequences of deliberate sinning:

Some years ago, there was a well-loved, married pastor in our area who had a huge, flourishing and ever-growing “mega-church” he had started in his basement decades ago. One day, this pastor got caught having a homosexual affair with a male masseur in another city which was approximately an hour’s drive away. At first, when confronted by a local news team, this beloved pastor tried to lie his way out of it, but then finally admitted to having had this affair for at least three years.

Consequently, he lost everything, except his wife, who opted to stay by his side as they left town and disappeared for a while.

The real tragedy was that, as a pastor, this guy KNEW how God feels about homosexuality, but he did it, anyway – which constituted a deliberate sin. So, he was not only guilty of lying and committing what God considers an abomination (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:22-32; 2 Peter 2:19; Revelation 22:14-15), but he also committed adultery - which, according to Torah is a sin that is to receive the death penalty (Exodus 20:12-14; Leviticus 20:10; Proverbs 6:32).

The Ruach always pricks our conscience when we’re about to sin, and this pastor’s homosexual lover was an hour's drive away - which means he had at least an HOUR of conscience pricking, which he clearly chose to ignore!

(How many times do you think the Ruach was with him when he was about to enter into this sinful sexual union? Once? Twice? My guess is ZERO – and that is why this pastor was able to continue to delude himself into believing that “Gawd knows my heart and surely he understands that I have needs….” Once the Ruach leaves, WHO is left to remind you that your carnal ways WILL result in your eternal separation from God?)

Anyway, in the end, this pastor was so deluded, so obstinate and so arrogant that, instead of spending the rest of his life repenting and trying to make things right with ADONAI, he instead returned two or three years later to do start a NEW church...one that is built on “tolerance” and not only accepts homosexuality as “normal”, but actually insists that God CONDONES homosexuality....

"Once saved, always saved?" I think not! Here’s why:

Numbers 15: 30 "'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people. (CJB)

Hebrews 6: 4. But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Ruach haKodesh 5. and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come, 6. cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim.

7. For the earth that drinks the rain which comes often upon it and produces the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from Elohim. 8. But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would be discarded and be approaching closely to a curse, and its end would be a conflagration. (AENT)

2 Peter 2: 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is slave to whatever has defeated him. 20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them. (CJB)

How many of today's believers behave in a way they know is sinful and yet they go ahead and do what they feel like doing, anyway? That's because they mistakenly think Divine grace covers intentional sin. That is a huge misconception! Divine grace has made wonderful provision for unintentional sin. But there is no provision for intentional sin. The Bible tells us so.

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