That's interesting, do you believe in once saved always saved tbombz?
I don't have a simple yes or no answer for you so I am going to give you my detailed answer. I hope it is not too lengthy...
Now, to begin, I want you to know that I am not accusing you of being divisive and inappropriate.... because I know that you are not.... But for me, to answer your question, I need to say that the phrasing "once saved always saved" is a very divisive and inappropriate way to phrase the concept of
"eternal security."I say this because the word "saved" is, in this sense, I think misused.
There
is a sense in which true believers are "saved."
At the moment we are born again we are saved. (past tense)
But we are also "being saved." (present tense)
And "we will be saved." (future sense)
past tense -Justification - the moment we believe Jesus in our hearts - we were saved.
present tense - Sanctification - the process of becoming more like Jesus - we are being saved.
future sense - Glorification - the moment we enter eternity with Jesus - we will be saved.
So how does this relate to "once saved, always saved"? Well, I want to ask you: what does it even mean to "be saved"?
Is it "once justified, always justified," or "once sanctified, always sanctified," or "once glorified, always glorified"
The answer to the first two (justification and sanctification) are, of course, debatable.
The answer to the last (glorification), I think, is certain. Once glorified, always glorified. This seems to be true.
But is it possible for a true believer to lose their faith and be condemned?
In one sense, the answer is assuredly that they cannot. For the scriptures say that those who fall away from the faith were never truly part of the faith to begin with:
"They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." 1 John 2:19
Now, I understand this verse to as speaking to the predestined community of the elect which are formed together into the body of Christ from before the foundation of the world. There may be some people who come join our ranks temporarily during this age, but when these people fall away it proves that they were never really one of us to begin with.
Jesus speaks of people who call Him Lord, work miracles and cast out demons in His name, and yet end up condemned in Hell (Mt. 7:21). Paul speaks, in Hebrews (6:4), about those who have been enlightened by the gospel and who have participated in The Holy Spirit, but yet fall away into unrepentant sin and are condemned. These scriptures seem to indicate that there are people who believe, who may even be "saved" in some sense of the word, and yet will fall away and be condemned. The question is: what is the difference between those who fall away and those who persevere?
I would venture to guess that those who fall away were never, in their heart, truly faithful to Christ. I imagine that these people possessed strong mental knowledge of the truth, and their hearts may have been pleased at the idea of a God who will love them and accept them into eternity because of Christ's work on the cross. But I find it hard to imagine that any of these people ever truly surrendered their hearts to Christ.
So, my answer is somewhat complicated. On the one hand, there is a community of God in Christ that cannot fall away from their election. They are sealed and possess eternal security. On the other hand, there are those who will temporarily share our faith to some degree, they will come among us and participate with us, but they will fall away from us. Were they ever truly "saved," since they were never truly part of us? I dont know.
