Getting Saved (Part 2)
Beware of Counterfeit Grace
Editor: Last week we explored how once saved, always saved leaves unanswered questions about its soteriological claims. This is Part 2 of that post, if you haven’t read Part 1, we highly recommend reading it here before continuing.
“I’m sure your uncle will still go to heaven.” These were the words my mother said to me two years ago about my uncle. My uncle has long hair and a long messy beard, he wears a kilt, has Norse pagan symbols tattooed all over his body, wears a necklace of Thor’s hammer, supports homosexuality, and is a vocal atheist. Why would my mother think he would still go to heaven? It's because of a soteriology that she was taught to believe in our small Baptist church: once saved, always saved (OSAS). It has a nice name to it but what is it exactly? Let us first start by going over what OSAS is not. It is not the same view as Calvinism, which believes in Eternal Security. OSAS teaches that a person who professes faith in Christ will inherit salvation regardless of how they live or regardless of final state of belief.
John Calvin and Jacob Arminius
In both Calvinist and Arminian soteriology, proponents would point to the words of Paul when he said, “the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NASB). This points to the main difference between Calvinism and OSAS; most advocates of Calvinism admit that they do not know who the elect are, as opposed to some OSAS advocates who say they know with certainty. Quoting from 1 Corinthians 15, Calvinism teaches we can only know who is elect by how they finished the race. If they despised God till their last breath then they were never elect to begin with. OSAS, on the other hand, affirms that anyone who at one time professed faith will never be cut off even if they cursed God with their last breath. An example of this could even be Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who was once a seminary student. Thus, the Body of Christ is strangely made up of believers and unbelievers. What this doctrine has done is forsaken Sola Fide, by faith alone, one of the main principles of the Reformation, while keeping Sola Gratia, by grace alone, since one can now be saved apart from faith. This understanding undermines the tenets of Protestantism and basic Christian orthodoxy.
What divides OSAS from both Calvinism and Arminianism is that it does not take Romans 8:29 seriously. That is, it divorces true faith from the act of regeneration and sanctification in the believer’s life. John Calvin commented on this effect in the believer’s life, saying, "no man is a Christian who does not feel some special love for righteousness" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 03, Chapter 06). Jacob Arminius goes further:
“For when a new light and knowledge of God and Christ, and of the Divine will, have been kindled in his mind; and when new affections, inclinations and motions agreeing with the law of God, have been excited in his heart, and new powers have been produced in him; it comes to pass, that, being liberated from the kingdom of darkness, and being now made "light in the Lord," (Ephesians 5:8) he understands the true and saving good; that, after the hardness of his stony heart has been changed into the softness of flesh, and the law of God according to the covenant of grace has been inscribed on it, (Jeremiah 31:32-35) he loves and embraces that which is good, just, and holy; and that, being made capable in Christ, co-operating now with God, he prosecutes the good which he knows and loves, and he begins himself to perform it in deed. But this, whatever it may be of knowledge, holiness and power, is all begotten within him by the Holy Spirit” (Public Disputation 11, Section 12)
That man does not pursue the good at all, that he does not love God or seek to obey Him, shows that a man is not of God (1 John 2:3-4). The apostle Paul states that “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:8-10). According to Paul, we are not justified by works but works naturally follow our justification, from a place of love for God. Our justification and sanctification are both based on faith. Since our justification and sanctification are both based on faith, to not have faith means one does not have either of these two, and thus, does not have salvation. How can a man be part of the Body of Christ if he has nothing but contempt for Christ? Those who hate God will be cast off (Romans 1:21, 1:32, 11:19-22).
Counterfeit Grace
Though we are not glorified right after conversion, we are still being transformed by the Spirit into the image of God throughout our lives, so that we might decrease, and Christ increase in us. Put another way, God loves us too much to leave us the way we are. This is the natural progression of things mentioned in Romans 8. It is impossible for a believer to be called, elected, and justified but then not undergo the process of sanctification. If one claims he can be justified and does not need to be sanctified then he is a liar (1 John 2:4). Such men, Jesus says, will be cut off from the vine and thrown into the fire (John 15:1-6).
The further danger is that this makes Christians complicit in damnation, either on their own or someone else's. Paul writes that we should have assurance in our election and rest in God’s promises (Ephesians 1), but the one who lives in unrepentant sin should be unnerved, that is why Paul tells us for “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Christ set us free from sin and not to sin (Romans 6), otherwise, we will make shipwreck of our faith (1 Timothy 1:18-20). The apostles command us to help our brothers who are falling into sin or have fallen from faith by returning them, thus, saving their souls (Jude 22-23, James 5:19-20). OSAS gives a sense of false assurance of either our, or someone else’s salvation.
I have seen many mothers not bother to even attempt to win back their apostate children because they believed their children would still go to heaven because God is gracious. When I or others try to tell them of the real danger their children are in, they would answer back that to doubt that OSAS is true would be to deny the grace of God. As we have explored, the biblical reality is the grace of God frees us from sin, not to sin. Anything besides God’s perfect grace is just a counterfeit grace.
Editor: You can find more from D.C. Blackmon on Facebook at The Reformed Arminian.
Next week, we will explore how there is real, biblical assurance of salvation to be found in Christ Jesus. Join us, and make sure not to miss Part 3 by subscribing below.
Getting Saved (Part 3)
Previously, in Part 1, we introduced you to once saved, always saved (OSAS). In Part 2, we explored why it is a harmful soteriology. We highly encourage you to read Part 1 and 2 before continuing so that you are up to speed on where we are, though this can be read on its own.
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