I know there's a segment of Christendom that comes at salvation from the standpoint that's its permanent. Can't do anything to lose it. If you are truly saved you won't ever sin to the point of being able to lose it again, because God knows what you're going to do and predestines you to eternal salvation. Even before you are born God knows what you are going to do.
God is omnipresent, he can and does know what you will do. He doesn't make the choice for you though. It's still YOUR choice. You still have to obey the gospel of Christ.
I have asked about scriptures that support the doctrine of once saved always saved. I haven't had a lot of luck finding where this doctrine comes from except on the Internet. Scriptures to substantiate it.
1. John 3:15-18 ... so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (NASB)
There is no doubt that you must believe that Jesus is the Christ. John 8:24 says that if you don't believe that Jesus is the Christ you will die in your sins. When you rightly divide the word of God you have to consider the whole new Testament. When the statement is put forth that you have to believe to go to heaven it is completely accurate. This is what this verse is telling us and nothing else. To say this is the only defining activity in the New Testament is to say there was a lot of time and paper wasted on the rest.
2. John 10:26-30 ... But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
This is another verse put forth in support of the doctrine of once saved always saved. Jesus has healed a blind mind in the temple. In verse 22 of this chapter the Bible says that "At that time...", so what is about to take place is very soon after the parable of the good Shepherd. He explains that the ones that are of his flock hear his voice and they "follow" me. Follow is a word that requires continual action. You must keep following Jesus' words to be a follower of him. Then no man will be able to prevent you from being saved. You will be the only one that can prevent yourself from being saved.
3. Romans 8:38-39 ... For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Another verse in support of the once saved always saved doctrine. Pretty straight forward verse here. Nothing created and not even death can separate someone that is "following" Christ from the love of God found in Jesus. Again only one that can separate us from God is us. You may want to know how I know we're the only one that can separate us even after we've obeyed Christ.
Revelation 3:1-6 1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
As I've stated before in this article, combining the Bible together to get the complete message we see that all the verses above if taken as OSAS doctrine, then the message to a Church that Christ built in Revelation 3 isn't true. Read it closely, pick any translation you care to. In verse 2-3 if they don't wake up and remember what they have received and heard and strengthen what remains, they will die. In verse 5 if the Christians don't overcome this they will have their names ERASED from the Book of Life. They will have run the race in vain and lost their eternal salvation. In verse 4, there are a few people that have not "SOILED" their garment of white. They had garments of white and now they don't. Think people....these are Christians that John is writing to. If these Christians didn't wake up they were going to lose their salvation.
