What men, councils, and various Church doctrines have said:
BAPTIST CHURCH:
"We take the position that a Christian's sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives,
what he does, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people, have nothing what
so ever to do with the salvation of his soul. All the prayers a man may pray, all the Bible he may
read, all the churches he may belong to, all the services he may attend, all the sermons he may
practice, all the debts he may pay, all the laws he may keep, all the ordinances he may observe, all
the benevolent acts he may perform will not make his soul one whit safer; and all the sins he may
commit, from idolatry to murder, will not make his soul in any more danger. The way a man
lives has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul." (From a Baptist preacher, Sam
Morris, then Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Stamford, Texas.)
"We believe the Scriptures teach that such as are truly regenerated, being born of the Spirit, will
not utterly fall away and finally perish, but will endure unto the end; that their persevering
attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a
special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God
through faith unto Salvation." (From The New Hampshire Confession of Faith as quoted by
Edward T. Hiscox, p. 140-141. With this fact J.M. Pendleton, in the Revised Baptist Church
Manual p. 54 # XI "Of The Perseverance of Saints", agrees).
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:
"By decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated
unto everlasting life, and others fore-ordained to everlasting death. These angels and men thus
predestinated and fore-ordained are particularly and unchangeable designed, and their number is
certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished. Those that are predestinated
unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His Eternal and
immutable purpose and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His Will, hath chosen in Christ,
unto everlasting glory, out of mere grace and love, without foresight of faith or good works or
perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions or causes moving
him thereunto." (From the Presbyterian Confession of Faith)
These examples will suffice to prove the point that the majority of "Christian" people today
believe that the ordinances and doctrines of the church is Scripturally correct. Not only is this
believed but the fact that once one is "saved" it is absolutely impossible for him to ever lose his
soul, whether he lives godly or not.
Before we examine the scriptures concerning this doctrine, let us note some important facts that
need to be considered.
Chart #2
WE ALL AGREE THAT:
1. A righteous man cannot be lost.
2. A faithful man cannot be lost.
3. A good, i.e. one who obeys and keeps God's Will, man cannot be lost
4. A righteous man will go to Heaven.
5. All unrighteous men will go to Hell.
Chart #3
THE ISSUE THEN IS:
1. Can a righteous man become unrighteous?
2. Can a faithful man become unfaithful?
3. Can a good man become a evil man?
Chart #4
THERE ARE TWO SENSES IN WHICH WE ARE SAVED OR LOST:
1. Saved from past sins NOW !!! 1. Lost in sin NOW !!!
2. Saved ETERNALLY. 2. Lost ETERNALLY.
Chart #5
NOTE THESE FACTS FOR CONSIDERATION:
1. The believer who continues to believe will be saved eternally.
2. The unbeliever who continues in unbelief will be lost eternally.
3. The believer who becomes an unbeliever will be lost eternally???
4. The unbeliever who becomes a believer will be saved eternally???
According to the Doctrines of various churches, as has been shown in the above section, it is
absolutely impossible for a believer to become an unbeliever and thus be lost as is also the case for
the unbeliever to become a believer and be eternally saved. Since the doctrine of Calvin is taught
concerning the ELECTION OF THE SAINTS and the PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS one
must conclude that you are either saved or you are lost. Nothing you do or say or pray for will
ever change this fact.
Chart #6
DOES THIS DOCTRINE AGREE WITH THE SCRIPTURES ???
Note These Twelve points that clearly show that the Scriptures teach that Eternal Life is
Conditional And in the Future.
1. "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt
both save thyself, and them that hear thee." 1 Timothy 4:16
2. "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye
do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:10-11
3. "And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the
gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters,
and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."
Mark 10:29-30
4. "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans 6:22
5. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and
hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12
6. "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast {some} of you
into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10
7. "Blessed {are} they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14
8. "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:8
9. "And ye shall be hated of all {men} for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22
10. "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward {is} with me, to give every man according as
his work shall be." Revelation 22:12
11. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21
12. "His lord said unto him, Well done, {thou} good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
Matthew 25:21
{NOTE ALL THE SCRIPTURES ARE TAKEN FROM THE KING JAMES VERSION.... all
words in {} are supplied by the translators and are not found in the original manuscript, but are
there to help make the English sentence more understandable. These words appear in italics in
the King James Version}
Chart #7
Let us now note the facts of these Scriptures:
ETERNAL LIFE IS CONDITIONAL & IN THE FUTURE | |
| CONDITIONS | TIME - FUTURE |
| 1. Continue in them, i.e Doctrine .... | 1. Will save thyself.... |
| 2. If ye do These things .... | 2. Enter everlasting Kingdom .... |
| 3. Those who hath left, house etc.... | 3. In world to come eternal life .... |
| 4. Fruit unto holiness .... | 4. End everlasting life .... |
| 5. Fight the Good Fight .... | 5. Lay hold on eternal life .... |
| 6. Be thou faithful unto death .... | 6. Give thee a crown of life .... |
| 7. They that do his commandments. | 7. May enter in through the gates .. |
| 8. He that soweth to the Spirit .... | 8. Reaps everlasting life .... |
| 9. Endureth to the end .... | 9. Shall be saved .... |
| 10. According to his work .... | 10. Shall receive His reward .... |
| 11. Doeth the Will of my Father .... | 11. Enters into the Kingdom .... |
| 12. Well done, good & Faithful .... | 12. Enter into the Joy .... |
Note: Should I not continue in the Doctrine of Christ then I WILL NOT SAVE myself.
Should I not do these things I CANNOT ENTER into the Kingdom.
Should I not do the commandments of the Father I will NOT enter in the city. etc, etc....
Chart #8
Let us now other Scriptural conditions by which one is saved:
SAVED BY THESE THINGS --- BUT !
| SAVED BY: | BUT ONE CAN: |
| God - Isa. 12:2; Romans 6:23 | Depart from God - Hebrews 3:12 |
| Grace -Romans 3:24 | Fall short of the grace - Hebrews 12:15 |
| The Lord - 1 Tim. 1:15 | Deny the Lord - 2 Peter 2:1 |
| The Blood - Romans 5:8-9 | Count the blood unholy - Hebrews 10:29 |
| The Truth - 1 Peter 1:22 | Err from the Truth - James 5:19-20 |
| The Gospel - Romans 1:16 | Believe the gospel in vain - 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 |
| Hope - Romans 8:24 | Can be moved away from hope - Colossians 1:23 |
| Faith - Romans 8:24 | May turn aside - 1 Tim. 1:5-6
Faith shipwrecked - 1 Tim. 1:19 Departs from - 1 Tim. 4:1 Deny the Faith - 1 Tim. 5:8 Cast off the faith - 1 Tim. 5:12 Err concerning Faith - 1 Tim. 6:21 Faith overthrown - 2 Tim. 2:18 |
It should be abundantly clear from the above passages that though some are saved, it is possible
for them to lose their saved condition when they do the things contrary to the Word of God.
Chart #9
The next avenue of our study concerning the conditions of keeping one's salvation centers on a
study of the word "if."
1. 1 Corinthians 15:2 - "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain."
2. Hebrews 3:6 - "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast
the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."
3. Colossians 1:22-23 - "In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and {be} not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, {and} which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister..."
4. 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
5. 2 Peter 1:10 - "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election
sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall..."
6. John 8:31 - "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word,
{then} are ye my disciples indeed..."
7. John 8:51 - "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death."
8. John 12:26 - "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my
servant be: if any man serve me, him will {my} Father honour."
9. Galatians 6:9 - "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
| STATUS | IF | CONDITION |
| 1. Ye are saved | IF | 1. Keep in memory. |
| 2. Lord's House | IF | 2. You hold fast. |
| 3. You will be Holy | IF | 3. Continue in Faith. |
| 4. Cleansed by Blood | IF | 4. Walk in the Light. |
| 5. Never fall | IF | 5. Do these Things. |
| 6. Disciples Indeed | IF | 6. Cont. in My Word. |
| 7. Never see death | IF | 7. Keep these sayings. |
| 8. Father will honor | IF | 8. Serve His Son. |
| 9. We shall reap | IF | 9. We faint not. |
One must recognize that the word "if" is conditional. Since this is the fact one must also
recognize that ones status is conditional upon his keeping those conditions laid out by the Lord.
Chart #10
In our last segment in this study let us note from the scriptures a few things that the child of God
can do:
1. "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are
fallen from grace." Galatians 5:4
2. "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know {these things} before, beware lest ye also, being led
away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness." 2 Peter 3:17
3. "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." James 5:19-20
4. "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?" 1
Corinthians 8:11
5. "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither
by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and {your} nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation."
James 5:12
6. "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and {be} not moved away from the hope of
the gospel, which ye have heard, {and} which was preached to every creature which is under
heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister..." Colossians 1:23
7. "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." 2 Peter 2:1
8. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from
the living God." Hebrews 3:12
9. "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." 1 Corinthians 9:27
From these scriptures we see that a Child of God Can:
| 1. FALL FROM GRACE |
| 2. BE LED AWAY WITH THE ERROR OF THE WICKED |
| 3. ERR FROM THE TRUTH |
| 4. WEAK BROTHER MAY PERISH |
| 5. FALL INTO CONDEMNATION |
| 6. BE MOVED AWAY FROM THE HOPE |
| 7. DENY THE LORD THAT BOUGHT THEM |
| 8. DEPART FROM THE LIVING GOD |
| 9. CAN BE A CASTAWAY |
Some try to argue, "If one was lost, he wasn't saved to begin with!" However, a look at the
context of each of the above verses will show that the inspired writers were referring to Christians
who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord and thus were saved.
The doctrine of Once Saved always Saved cannot be proved by the Bible and is in direct conflict with other clear scripture that shows Salvation to be conditional and in the future.