OSAS vs The Spirit of Grace

Because the children of Israel were rebellious and stiff-necked while God led them through the wilderness, Moses longed for the day that the same Spirit of God that rested on him could also rest on the people (Numbers 11:29). Without the Holy Spirit, the people were doomed to rebellion and as a result many of the Israelites perished in their iniquity and lack of faith to the extent that only the next generation could enter the promised land. However, Hallelujah that the day that Moses longed for was fulfilled! God in his grace and love sent us the Holy Spirit, without which we would have no hope.

John the Baptist said I baptize you in water for repentance but one who is coming after me will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. In John 16:7 Jesus said "that unless I go", the Comforter, the Holy Spirit cannot come to you. In Acts 19, Paul was concerned about the believers in Ephesus. Although they were baptized in water and believed in Jesus, they did not yet receive the Holy Spirit. Why was the Holy Spirit so important?

The receiving of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of God's reconciliation with man! Before God had no choice but to withhold his Spirit due to iniquity. Sin is an abomination to God and he can't even bear to look at it (Prov 6:16). But Jesus' death was the perfect sacrifice and his shed blood allows God to passover our former lives in sin. So after Jesus went up, the Holy Spirit could come down.

Whenever we have sin in our lives, the Holy Spirit convicts us of it and leads us to repentance. Repentance is more than saying "I'm sorry", the greek word metanoia means a change of heart or mind. With this in mind if our heart is not turned to the Lord and our mind is not changed then we will perish just like the Israelites who rebelled and complained against God in the wilderness.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

While the Holy Spirit is faithful to us, God is a gentleman and he will never violate our free will. We can reject the Holy Spirit either knowingly or unknowingly based on our choices. In Hebrews 10:26-30 Paul shows how believers can outrage the Spirit of grace:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth,there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay"

How then do we overcome sin and cooperate with the Holy Spirit? It's by following the desires of our spirit and not our flesh.

Romans 8:1 (KJV) says

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

That last phrase is dangerously left out in the NIV and the Recovery Version. However the original manuscripts have that phrase!

Paul goes on to say in verse 14:

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."

Now the remaining verses concerning the spirit versus flesh make so much more sense:

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law." Galatians 5:16-18

If we walk according to the flesh, we will sin to gratify the desires of the flesh. The Apostle John relates those those who practice sin as children of the devil:

"Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8

It's sober warning because if we become of the devil through practice of sin, then we will meet the same fate as him.

John continues:

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God."

There's so many other warnings throughout the whole bible that echo this. One of the more prominent ones is when Paul warns the believers in Ephesians 5 and again in Galatians 5 that those who practice sin will not inherit God's kingdom. 

This is what it means to me to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is in all things to be led by the spirit of grace that God gave to us freely (hence grace) and to put to death our flesh so we will never gratify its desires, knowing full well how close we still are to hell. This is why Jesus said you cannot be my disciple unless you pick up your cross and follow me. Taking the cross daily is required and not optional.

We receive the Holy Spirit because we have been reconciled to God through Jesus. With his Spirit, we also get God's life and that life will transform us and save us so that we become like Jesus-- so that we can stand with confidence on the day of judgement.

1 John 4:17
This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

That said, we still have free will choice whether or not to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Have you ever wondered why in the Lord's prayer, Jesus said "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13)? If eternal security is a true doctrine, then that prayer wouldn't make any sense because once you're saved you're always saved. But because Jesus loved us, He gave us this way to pray so that our souls could be preserved.

We see this again when Jesus tells Peter that Satan has requested to sift his soul (Luke 22:31). Jesus goes on to say that He prayed that his faith would be strong-- implying that God didn't spare Peter but granted Satan his wish, just like He did with Job! But Hallelujah we have nothing to fear because greater is He that is in us than the one in the world (1 John 4:4). And we are thankful to Jesus because He is our heavenly high priest that is interceding and praying for our faith to be made strong, just like he did with Peter. Peter though he failed horribly earlier, was eventually able to overcome Satan's testing, becoming one of the pillars of the church as an apostle, and persevere in his faith in Christ until the day of his martyrdom.

Matthew 24:13
"But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered

If you had to pick the most enigmatic statement Jesus ever made, it wouldn't be a stretch to say it was Luke 17:37. It's the last verse in this passage:

I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. (Luke 17:34-37, KJV)

I read many commentaries on this verse, but none of the answers seemed to make sense. Many have remarked that the body or the corpses are in reference to antichrist's armies being destroyed at Armageddon (side note: NIV and many other translations say vultures instead of eagles, however the Greek word aetos used here can also refer to eagles or other large birds of prey). In the context of the preceding verses in Luke 17 this explanation seems really out of place since Jesus was talking about people being taken and others being left behind while working or sleeping-- something that's really hard to relate to the aftermath of a serious battle.

For a month, I asked the Holy Spirit for understanding concerning Luke 17:37 and a similar verse in Matthew 24:28. Finally, just this morning around 5am, I believed I have finally received an answer while praying in bed and would like to share it here! Since these verses may have implications on the timing of the rapture -- whether it's post or pre tribulation, I don't want to get into that controversy right now. However I must be faithful to what I have received, so I ask those who believe that the rapture is post-tribulation to keep an open mind since the implication of my interpretation may imply that there will be a pre-trib or pre-wrath rapture. As a disclaimer: I am currently leaning towards the belief that there will be both-- a partial pre-trib rapture of overcoming saints signified by the barley harvest preceding the Feast of First Fruits in the OT, followed by a post-trib rapture of the remaining majority of Christians signified by the wheat harvest in the OT leading up to the Feast of Tabernacles, or sukkot. 

Some bible commentators have remarked that the eagles refer to the saints, or those who 'wait' upon the Lord in reference to Isaiah 40:31

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

If the eagles are referring to the saints, what are they doing around a body or carcass? (side note: Matthew 24:28 substitutes the word body for carcass which is ptoma in Greek). It seems like a pretty gruesome picture and it's what I asked the Lord this morning that led me to the following and the picture is so clear once you see it!

In Luke 17:37 the word used for body in Greek is soma (Strong's Greek word 5393). soma means living body and it is the same word used for body in Luke 22:19 when Jesus says

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

What does Jesus mean by his body being given to us? In John 6:54-56, Jesus makes a statement that caused many of his followers to be stumbled and leave him:

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.

Now imagine if we were to literally carry out what Jesus is asking of us here. Picture in your head a scene where many are gathered around the body of Jesus and are eating his flesh and drinking his blood. You could almost relate it to a gathering of vultures around a carcass-- the same picture Jesus gives in Luke 17:37 and Matthew 24:28!

What does it mean to eat Jesus' flesh?  In John 1:14, the "word [of God] became flesh". We know from John 1:1 before Jesus became a man, He was the word of God. In Matthew 4, Jesus likens God's word to food by telling Satan, "Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God". The link between Jesus as food and God's word deepens even more in John 15:6-7 when Jesus relates abiding in His word as the key to eternal life:

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

This goes on to show how important it is for us to 'abide' or live on God's word. God's word is our true food and without it we will truly starve to death. However, since Jesus, who was the word of God, became man, we can not only eat God's word, but we can also eat Jesus! This is why in John 15:7, Jesus says "if you abide in me AND my words abide in you" and in John 6:35, Jesus declares:

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

I feel that a big burden of Jesus' ministry was trying to reveal this mystery, that He alone is our true life source. So in order for us to truly live, we have to follow Jesus wherever he goes, because He is our only food supply and without him we cannot live. This is exactly what is described by Revelation 14:4 regarding saints who follow the Lamb wherever he goes!

These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.

Furthermore, the Lamb can be a likened to a body in Revelation 13:8 as "the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world." Just as the saints follow the Lamb wherever it goes, so do the vultures or eagles flock to the carcass to feed on it in Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37.  Jesus is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6), without Him we cannot live!

Bringing things back to Luke 17:37, the disciples ask "Where Lord?" because they wanted to know where the men and women who were 'taken' in the preceding verses are. So Jesus in answering this question responded "Where the body is there the eagles will also be gathered." We have clearly shown that the body/carcass refers to the Lord Jesus, or the Lamb of God who was slain. So we now have the answer to the disciples' question. Where are the men and women taken to? We know that the Lamb of God is in heaven from Revelation 14. Thereby the eagles, or the saints, are taken to heaven!

So what Jesus is describing in Luke 17:34-36 is the taking up of the first fruits of God (Revelation 14:4) who by waiting on the Lord, mount up on eagle's wings into heaven (Isaiah 40:31) and follow the  carcass which is the "Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world" wherever it goes.  Jesus is giving us a promise that by waiting on Him as a faithful bride, he will leave an open door for us as he describes in Revelation 3 and Isaiah 26 to be with him in heaven until the indignation  passes (Isaiah 26:20). This is one of those times when we just have to take a moment to marvel at the beauty of God's word and say Hallelujah!

Faith, Works and Salvation

The two most seemingly contradictory verses in the bible are Ephesians 2:8-9:

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

which appears to be in stark contrast to James 2:24:

²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 

These verses oppose each other after a superficial reading. However when we dig into the context and the spirit of what Apostle Paul and James were communicating, we will show that they are just painting two sides of the same coin.

Paul's burden in Ephesians 2:8-9 was to teach believers not to boast about or trust in their accomplishments. We are all deserving of eternal separation of God in hell and if it wasn't for Jesus' work on calvary, we would all end up there. While mankind often judges people by human accomplishments,  God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). You could be the greatest evangelist in world and save millions of souls but if you live a double life in sin and die without repenting, God will still throw your soul into hell (See Matthew 7:21-24 and Matthew 5, sermon on the mount).

On the flip side, James implicitly acknowledged that yes we're justified by faith in Christ Jesus alone, however that doesn't mean that we should just believe and do nothing. If we have no faith to back up our works then our faith is not real. Faith is living and active because it is the Spirit of grace that operates in us to produce good works. Works is evidence of faith, so without works, there is no faith and we are not truly born again. However, we should not do works thinking that they save us, rather it is a natural extension of our faith in Christ Jesus. The same apostle Paul who said we are saved by faith alone, goes on to state in the next verse in Ephesians 2:10 that we are a good workmanship in Christ Jesus and that we should walk in good works!

This is why Jesus teaches that when we give alms, we should do it without anyone knowing. When we carry out God's will we should do it out of genuine love for others, never expecting to get rewarded by men, but instead have faith that our Father will reward us. Works that are not genuine acts of faith are carried out with ulterior motives, such as winning someone's favor or doing something to look good.

What is true grace? First, it's us coming to the knowledge that there's not enough silver or gold we can pay for our sin because the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). However, the blood of Jesus is enough to pay for our sin. After we receive it freely, we are no longer separated from God allowing Jesus to come into our life and live it for us. It's no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). So grace is God himself operating in us! That's why we shouldn't boast because God is doing it all for us.

However sin is an abomination to God's holiness (Proverbs 6:16). It's okay to stumble in sin once in a while and repent, but if we make sin a practice, we can lose God's presence and become separated from God again (Hebrews 10:26-27). If you're struggling with hidden sin, cry out to the blood of Jesus to free you. If that's still not enough, find someone you trust who you can confess to and become accountable to (James 5:16).

If you're reading this and thinking "but I can't lose my salvation!", please read the verses in this post: http://nodustybunnies.blogspot.com/2013/03/once-saved-always-saved-osas-true-or.html . The bible makes it very clear that eternal salvation is conditional and that you can lose it. This is why we need God's grace to save us! With man it is not possible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26), Hallelujah!

Once Saved Always Saved: True or False?

I was raised in a church that taught assurance of salvation otherwise known as the once saved always saved (OSAS) teaching. For most of my life I believed that once you accepted Jesus Christ as savior you could never lose your salvation. You could however end up in a place outside of the millenial kingdom called outer darkness which lasts for 1000 years if you lived as an unfaithful christian-- but eventually you would be reconciled to God.

However, once I was exposed to the counter-perspective that eternal salvation was conditional, I felt that the matter was so important (after all this is eternity that we're talking about!) that I spent a solid three months studying the matter for myself. I started this research heavily biased against eternal salvation being conditional. However slowly but surely, the scales fell from my eyes as I came across verse after verse that contradicted OSAS. In addition, I discovered that there wasn't any verse in the bible that suggested outer darkness was temporary, but there was much more biblical support to suggest that it was for eternity.

Not only was there solid support from God's word to refute OSAS, but I found many testimonies of people who had near death experiences who had seen supposed christians in hell or outer darkness. The following is a testimony of a believer who led a carnal life and ended up in outer darkness after a heart attack. A voice told him that outer darkness was for eternity, not a thousand years!

If your denomination or ministry teaches OSAS, are you willing to trust your eternity with their teaching? Jesus said the Spirit of truth will guide us to all truth in John 16:13. Perhaps then we should all study the validity of OSAS for ourselves and take these teachings before the Holy Spirit as the stakes are  eternally high.

Below I share some of the verses I researched and what the Holy Spirit revealed with me concerning them. I also include some testimonies to back up the revelation.

The fate of branch that didn't abide

"If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." John 15:5 

Jesus told the Pharisees in hearing they did not hear. Many times I read this verse, the Holy Spirit convicted me that it really means what it says, but my theological mind blocked it out.

In John 15, Jesus said I am the vine and you are the branches. Who are the branches Jesus is talking about? Clearly Jesus is speaking to us, the believers. If then we are the branches, Jesus is saying that if we don't abide in Him we will be cast into the fire and burned. It's hard to reconcile being burned in fire with any form of temporary punishment or 'correction' outside of the kingdom. Instead it sounds more like the hell Jesus describes in Mark 9:48 where "worm does not die and the fire is not quenched".

Is it okay to keep sinning?

"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." Hebrews 10:26-27 

Paul states here that the blood of Jesus is not to be treated lightly. Sin that we practice need to be dealt with. For example it's not okay to continue in hidden sins such as viewing internet pornography and ask for forgiveness each time we willfully practice the sin- otherwise we are trampling on the blood of Jesus (see verse 29). Have you ever wondered what it means to trample on the blood of Jesus? It means to stand over the blood so that the blood of Jesus no longer covers us! Without the covering of the blood, God's wrath still remains on us because the blood no longer covers our sin.

And if there is no more sacrifice for sins left, then we are no longer justified. Of course this should not be misread to mean that hope is lost if we stayed in sin in our past. God is always faithful to forgive us if we truly repent of our sins and forsake them.

Paul states in Romans 6:1 the point of Jesus shedding his blood was not so that we could continue in sin so that grace would abound. He goes on to ask how we can sin if we are supposed to be dead to sin? Implying that just as Jesus died for us, we are supposed to die to sin. Paul goes on to encourage believers to use the freedom they've obtained through the blood of Jesus to present themselves as slaves to Christ (Romans 6:16-18) and not to sin which leads to death (hell). 

The broad road leads to destruction

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." Matthew 7:13 

Faith without works is dead (James 2:16-26). Professing belief in Jesus once in your life but then living as a carnal christian the rest of your life following the desires of the flesh is taking the broad road. Jesus says following this path leads to destruction. Again, it is very hard to relate the word destruction to a period of temporary punishment or 1000 year correction outside the 'kingdom' because destruction is permanent. It's much more likely that Jesus was using it as a metaphor for eternal damnation. Here Jesus says the road to life is narrow and few will find it.

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:14

Real death and real life in God's eyes

Have you ever wondered what Jesus means exactly when he mentions life and death? In Luke 9:60 Jesus says "let the dead bury the dead"? How can the dead bury the dead if they are living? When Jesus taught concerning death and life he was speaking with eternity in mind, so those who are alive in human terms are actually dead in God's eyes unless they come to repentance. Life isn't really life to God unless it's eternal! So when 'life' is mentioned the implication is 'eternal life', and when 'death' is mentioned the implication is 'eternal death'-- or hell.

"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4. 

It's interesting that when Lazarus died Jesus did not say that he died, but that  he was 'sleeping'. Those who pass from this world with Jesus Christ in their hearts await the resurrection to eternal life. In contrast, those who die in their sins will truly 'die' forever in hell.

Fate of backsliders who don't repent

"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 2 Peter 2:21,22.

Here Peter says it would have been better for Christians who are overcome by the world to have not known the Lord Jesus at all than to backslide suggesting that their condemnation will be greater than even unbelievers. If not believing in Jesus clearly means hell, then this verse implies backsliders may get an even worse punishment in Hell! Jesus said in Luke 12, to much that has been given, much will also be expected. Christians who have received much teaching and spiritual gifting will be judged harsher for turning away than those who had never received such knowledge.

Only one chance at life to repent

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Hebrews 9:27 

This verse implies that there is no chance for repentance after we die-- our only chance to repent is in this life! The Greek word for repent used in the New Testament is metanoia, it means more than just saying I'm sorry, but implies a change of heart and mindset. We must turn our hearts to Jesus in this life and get rid of all idols that we place above him.

Can only serve one master

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 16:25 

A servant cannot serve two masters. It's better that we surrender all of ourselves to Jesus in this temporary life or else we will lose our life in eternity (Read Luke 16:13 and Matt 6:24).

Be faithful til the end

"...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10.

"But the one who endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 24:13 

In order to receive the crown of life we must be faithful until the day we die. We must persevere to the end brothers and sisters! Paul likened the christian life to running the race. Let's keep running! When a competitive runner stumbles and falls he doesn't remain in that state and neither does he abandon the race in hopelessness but he gets up and continues to the finish line. Let us be of this same mindset.

Walk not after the flesh

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1 

Unfortunately, many translations such as the NIV leave out the last phrase which is in the original manuscripts. We cannot be in Jesus Christ if we are walking according to our flesh. The mind set on the flesh is death (leading to hell) but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:16).

Love not the world

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4

If we profess to accept Jesus as Saviour but love the world or anything in the world (see 1 John 2:15), then God considers us his enemy. In Revelation 19, Jesus is riding on a horse, and his robe is dipped with the blood of His enemies. It sure doesn't sound like a good idea to make God your enemy :) 

Forgiveness is required, not optional

"but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:15 

Perhaps what Jesus is saying here, he really means. If we do not forgive others, neither will God forgive us. Without forgiveness there is no atonement for sins.

There was a pastor in Kenya who died in car accident but came back to life three days later. He had a near death experience where an angel took him to hell and told the pastor that's where he'd end up if he were to die on earth. The pastor cried out to the angel asking how this was so after he had served the Lord so faithfully having given up his life for Jesus. The angel said it was because he wouldn't forgive his wife after she had slapped him. The angel proceeded to state that you cannot expect to sow unforgiveness and expect to reap forgiveness from God. TLDR: God is not a respecter of Persons and doesn't care if you're a pastor. If you don't forgive your wife, He will still throw you into hell. Video below:

Don't share the fate of the devil 

"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8

As we know, the devil is going to the lake of fire! If those that sin are of the devil they also must share the same fate as him. But Jesus Christ came to nail sin on the cross. If we are living in sin, then we are not fully taking advantage of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. There's power in  the blood of Jesus not only to cleanse us from unrighteousness, but to free us from the bondage of sin and addiction as well. 

The blood of Jesus frees us 

Let's go back to the time of Moses in Egypt when the children of Israel painted the blood of the lamb outside of their house. What did the blood do? It allowed for the wrath of God to passover their home sparing the first born from death. In addition to that, it was the final nail in the coffin to Pharoah's heart allowing the children of Israel be freed from Egypt. In the same way, the blood of Jesus not only spares us from God's wrath, but it frees us from being slaves to sin (Romans 6). 

However in order for the children of Israel to be freed, they had to decide to leave Egypt. Many christians are spiritually remaining in Egypt today when they have been freed by the blood of Jesus. They just need to take the extra step of actually leaving Egypt. The blood of Jesus gives us the legal right to be freed from sin. We must use our freedom in Christ to serve God  instead of serving sin.

"Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

Remember how God asked Moses to take off his sandals when he came to the burning bush? Holiness cannot exist alongside with the filthiness of sin. Without holiness no one can see the Lord. The implication is if the stain of sin remains on us whether it's through hatred, the trampling of the blood of Jesus or unforgiveness then we become eternally separated from God.

Not everyone...

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" Matthew 7:21-23

Many say that Matthew 7 is the most horrifying chapter in the whole of Bible.  Those who say "Lord Lord" are clearly Christians who profess Jesus and believe in him. Furthermore these are not even lukewarm christians, but those who are actively involved in healing, deliverance and prophecy ministry! They may have even quit their jobs and uprooted their lives to serve Him. Some translations say 'iniquity' in place of 'lawlessness'. What is iniquity? It's continual sin! These Christians may have led many to salvation, but because they were living a double life in sin, God won't let them enter heaven.

If you have time, please watch this testimony by Ugandan pastor John Mulinde. He gave up his career to serve the Lord and led one of the most successful faith healing ministries in Africa. However, God still told him he was not worthy of heaven because his heart was not right even though many thought highly of him.

Let's diligently seek the Lord that we would never be found in this camp. Ask the Holy Spirit now if our heart is right before God and if we really are in God's will. When the Lord says "I never knew you, depart from me", it has the ring of finality to it because Jesus often spoke from eternity's point of view. Given that Hebrews 10:9 says it is appointed for men to die once and then judgement, it's clear that God's judgement is forever. Many would agree that "I never knew you, depart from me" is the most frightening sentence you could ever hear from Jesus. Each one of us needs to desperately grow in true intimacy with our King so we can not only 'know about' him but really come to know Him.

Overcoming is required

"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."

This verse implies that becoming an overcomer is required and not optional. If we don't overcome, Jesus can blot our names out according to this verse. For those whose name is not found in the book of life Revelation 20:15 says:

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

By connecting these two verses together the implication is this: if you don't overcome, God can throw you into the lake of fire. 

Laodicea and the lukewarm church

Let us therefore be zealous and repent!  Laodicea was the church that thought it had all the riches and had need of nothing. This is like many many churches in America today. If we feel like we have all the revelation and lack nothing perhaps we must also consider that God may have another opinion. How much we must humble ourselves before our Holy God and come into agreement with him about our fallen condition of being poor wretched and blind. How much we need to cling on to our Saviour and lay hold of the eternal life we've been gifted and not let go!

Perhaps it would do well to compare ourselves against christians outside the US who are pursuing God such as those in the persecuted house churches of China:

Greek: pisteou and mello

A lot of the misunderstanding concerning OSAS doctrine comes from not fully utilizing the Greek meaning in the new testament. The Greek word used for believe is pisteou. pisteou means more than just believe but to trust in, commit oneself unto or have confidence in. So to believe, or pisteou  Jesus means more than mere intellectual acknowledgement but to trust enough to commit oneself to Jesus.

Another example is in the oft quoted John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Many translations replace "should not perish" with "shall/will/would not perish", however this is inaccurate. The word corresponding to this verb 'should' in greek is mello. mello implies possibility, duty and purpose (Strong's Greek word 3195). The correct translation is clearly should and not would! (Read more at http://www.carolinamessenger.com/images/050505.pdf) This alone should set off alarm bells for everyone believing in OSAS teaching. There are many out there that are twisting the bible to fit OSAS theology.

Not only is there sound scriptural support for eternal salvation being conditional, but many, many people who were near death but came back and gave testimonies about hell saw scores of professing christians there. This included pastors who stole tithes and a woman who spent all her life serving the Lord but would not forgive her cheating husband. You can read many of these testimonies here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/download/138255/1/latest/0/0/hell-testimonies.pdf

Conclusion

Indeed the road seems very narrow in this light and that is why Apostle Paul said that he was working out his salvation with fear and trembling. But though it is impossible with men, Jesus said with God all things are possible. This is true saving grace: God coming to live in us to transform our hearts so that we can be freed from the bondage of sin and instead present ourselves as a living sacrifice, willingly becoming bondslaves to Christ.

As we showed earlier, there's power in the blood of Jesus not just to forgive sins but also to free men from the bondage of sin. To truly follow Jesus we must surrender our whole being so we can take up the cross and follow him. Many christians don't realize that not only was Jesus' death a propitiatory sacrifice but it was also an example for us to follow. Jesus was showing us how you could conquer the grave by picking up the same cross he did. As the lamb of God died for us, we also must die to our flesh for him.  We must forgive others when they offend us, gossip about us or hurt us-- if not then we are haven't died to our flesh yet because dead men don't get offended.

If you believe in OSAS or a temporary period of punishment outside of the kingdom for unfaithful christians as taught by Watchman Nee and many Baptists, I know it's hard to take this teaching, but I plead with you to take it to the Lord and to re-read the New Testament in this light. Your eternity and those of your friends, coworkers and family may be at stake and it is not enough to take the teaching of men but we must go directly to the word of God and ask the Holy Spirit directly for understanding.

To close, I want to share with you a letter I wrote to a brother discussing OSAS:

Thank you for your response in fellowship. I agree with what you wrote because it is from God's word. Indeed we are not justified by works but by faith in Christ Jesus alone. However if we do not have works or a transformed life to back up our faith, then our faith is not real and we are not truly born again (James 2:14-26).

The work that Jesus did on the cross was of infinite value. We can never pay enough silver or gold to purchase our redemption. We can never become righteous enough in our flesh to become justified by God. It is purely God's saving grace that will save us until the end. However the word is clear that we can trample on the blood of Jesus if we dishonor God with disobedience. If we still sin habitually it is because we have not used the blood of Jesus to its full power yet. There's power in the blood to free us from sin! I know this from personal experience because there were addictions I was beholden to I never thought I could be free from. But when I fully surrendered my life to Jesus, God performed a miracle on me and freed me from those bondages. 

Paul wrote in Romans 6 how can we sin if we have died to sin? Jesus, after healing the paralytic told him his sins were forgiven and to sin no more. Jesus after not telling the women who committed adultery in John 8 that she was forgiven, told her also to sin no more. When we truly become born again, when we truly understand and become transformed and healed and made whole by the person of Christ, we can be set free from sin! If not then Jesus would not have put a burden on them to not sin anymore! For he said that his yoke was easy and his burden was light.

In order to have a balanced view of justification we must consider the whole word of God and not just part of it. It's interesting that Jesus said in Matthew 4 that man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth God. Yes, this includes the book of James which was divinely inspired by God and is consistent with Jesus' teaching in the gospel. If we place Witness Lee's writings, which discount the book of James, above some books in the bible then we must ask ourselves if we are placing more authority on the writings of men, or the word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 says:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 

The word is clear that all scripture is God's word and is profitable for teaching-- including every word Jesus said, much of which was based on warnings and parables concerning hell, and the book of James. I humbly present this thought to you that in whatever doctrine we adhere to, it must be consistent with all of the bible and not just some of it

This post wasn't meant to be an exhaustive analysis of OSAS. There are so many other verses throughout the Bible that refute this teaching. You can find many more here: http://www.preparingforeternity.com/oncesave.htm

Jesus Christ is Coming to Kick Ass

Many people think of Jesus as a meek and humble man. In many ways He was. However Jesus was also a "bad ass" in many ways as well, and He's coming back on this earth to kick some ass.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34

Are you unhappy with the state of this world? Are you sick of corruption, the moral decay of society and the litany of blue and white collar crimes that seem to go unpunished? If you are, then welcome to Jesus' world!

However, if you think the world isn't all that bad and if you're just happy to go along with the way everything is, then you're in real trouble according to the bible.

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." - James 4:4

God isn't satisfied with the current status quo of this world and He's planning on coming to make war with it. In fact, during the battle of the last days in Revelation 19:13, his robe is drenched with the blood of his enemies!

If you still doubt Jesus is willing to kick ass. Read John 2:15-17:

And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

This made the Pharisees and the authorities of the temple at the time furious! But so many people regarded Jesus that the rulers were afraid to do anything immediately. Instead, they secretly plotted to kill him using cowardly means.

Most people today think of themselves as good people. And I won't deny that there are very good, well intentioned non-christian people living today. However God's standard of goodness is sinless perfection. When He comes back to judge humanity, he'll not only scrutinize what we did, but even our thoughts and every hidden motive we had behind our deeds, good and bad (1 Corinthians 4:5). God's standard is so high, that He equates looking at a woman lustfully with adultery (Matthew 5:28) and considers hating your brother akin to murder (1 John 3:15).

And according to this level of judgement, if you had even sinned once, you fall short of God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23). As a result, God considers you good for nothing, not even the manure pile (Luke 14:35). The only place for those who die in their sin is the trash heap of the universe-- eternal damnation in hell (Romans 6:23). Every sin from smallest to biggest is an abomination to God, and He can't stand to have it in man whom he made in his very own image (Genesis 1:27).

However, there is hope. We live in a time bible scholars coin as the "age of grace".  God has offered terms of peace, and his terms are this: surrender your life to the Lord Jesus by coming into agreement that He is your Lord-- and not just in some aspects of your life, otherwise he's not really your Lord -- but in everything. And believe that God has raised from the dead (Romans 10:9).

After you've done this and cried out to God to come into your life, Jesus will come to even make his home in you and you will be born again.

Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." - John 14:23

No longer will God see the sin in your past life, but through the shedding of Jesus's blood on the cross, He'll see His perfect son Jesus instead.  In doing so, He'll 'pass over' your sins (this is the true meaning of the seven day holiday Jews celebrate known as passover). There's power in the blood of Jesus, not only to forgive sins, but to release people from the power of sin.

Despite Jesus being a bad ass, and despite how evil humanity became, God still loved man so much that He was willing to put His own son Jesus to death so he could pave the way to salvation for man (John 3:16). Jesus offers you the gift of eternal life today-- the greatest prize anyone could ever receive. It can't be purchased with any amount of money, but it can be received if you open your heart to Him and cry out for salvation (Romans 10:23).

Remembering the Good Things

This previous Lord's Day, our elder at church, Jupin, mentioned how we should recount the good things God has done for us. The Israelites were always quick to forget the good things God did for them and as a result they were quick to question God's goodness and rebel against Him. So I thought I should write down the things God did in my life that spoke to me. Here are a couple I hope you will enjoy:

- One night I was praying to God about how much I fear Him after coming to realization how close to hell I'd been in my life. I told the Lord about my fear and told Him I'm not sure what to do. The next morning while I'm eating cereal, I remind myself about how much I fear God. Right when I had this thought, the audio bible which I had playing in the background read out 1 John 4:18 "Perfect love casts out fear." God answered my prayer by telling me he would take that fear and turn it into love.

- Wanted a sofa bed, dresser and crib for the baby, God gave us all three. The baby crib was exactly the one Grace wanted on amazon (it was a special kind that can be converted to a bed) and was gifted to us by Laura and Johann. We didn't ask for any of them, they just came to us. Brother Johann emailed us out of no where and Aunt Shin called us saying her cousin wanted to give away a sofa bed and a dresser.

- Had trouble finding a job after college. At the last job interview I was nervous about whether or not I got the job from Oracle. About a week after the interview, Mom and I were eating pizza at costco. One of the pizzas fell on the way out to the parking lot. It did a flip but I caught it with my plate. It sounds far fetched but both my mom and I thought that it was God showing us that He can turn things around. I found a few hours later that I got the job after checking my voicemail.

- After surrendering my life to Jesus, I had a dream of a black limousine doing a U-turn. During the U-turn someone in a black hood prayed "Blessed be the name of the Lord". Interpretation: the black limousine was me in my previous life on the way to hell. Even though I was a professing christian I was living a double life with one foot in the world and one foot in church. God was turning my life around. I didn't understand the dream at the time because back then I didn't believe you could lose your salvation. I'm not sure about the guy in the black hooded robe, perhaps they are the forces of darkness who had to admit defeat because they lost one more soul going to hell. It also just occured to me the limousine may have been black to signify that it was going to my own funeral. In the new testament, death is used as a metaphor for hell, whereas 'sleeping' is a metaphor for those who die but wait for the resurrection to life (John 11:11).

- Had an enormous headache one Sunday that lasted until I came back from church. I tried to ignore it but finally a voice within me said "Why don't you pray for it?". I prayed to God to heal my headache and it immediately went away. This was the first healing I experienced.

Servants and Masters

"Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." John 15:20 (ESV)

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

The most important decision we can make in our lifetime is to choose which master to serve. Either we can serve the Lord Jesus or an idol we place above Him. If we make the wrong choice, we will perish along with that idol that we served, as a servant is not greater than his master. Let's make the right choice and choose Jesus! (John 14:6).