The Bible teaches in Hebrews 10:26-27 "For if we go on
sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment,
and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries." The book of Hebrews,
written to Christians, tells us plainly that whether we are confessing bornagain
Christians or not, if we do not repent of known willful sin, we will not be
saved. As long as you keep yourself clean of the world and confess and repent
immediately of any known sins in your life, thank God the Father for His
forgiveness of those sins through the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ, you
are saved, you have eternal security and you will go to Heaven.
__________
The Unpardonable Sin and the Issue of Eternal Security are
complicated. I discuss them thoroughly in my article titled "The Unpardonable
Sin & Eternal Security" in
Section 4 Chapter 11 of my Advanced Evangelism
Training Program titled
Relationship With Jesus the Key to Effective Ministry.
As was discussed in the previous Chapter, confessing and
repenting of our sins does not save us. After we confess and repent of our sins,
the only way we gain God’s forgiveness for sins confessed and repented of is by
receiving by faith Jesus’ payment of those sins through His death and shed blood
on the cross. Many denominations and theologies teach that once saved, always
saved. However, Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels and the disciples’ teachings in
the Epistles do not support this. The Apostle Paul in almost every book he wrote
in the New Testament has a statement making clear that we are not once saved
always saved. An example is Romans 11:22,
"Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who
fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness;
otherwise you also will be cut off."
Paul makes plain in this passage, written to bornagain
Christians, that we are saved only if we continue walking with Jesus. Jesus
promised in Hebrews 13:5 "I will never never desert you, nor will I ever, ever,
ever forsake you." However, He did not promise that He would violate our free
will to desert Him. Hebrews 10:26-27 cited earlier makes plain that if after we
come to saving faith in Jesus Christ we later fall back into unrepented sin, we
can lose our salvation. Other passages which make this clear in both the Old and
New Testament are the following:
Isaiah 29:20-21 "For the ruthless will come to an end,
and the scorner will be finished, Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will
be cut off; Who cause a person to be indicted by a word, and ensnare him who
adjudicates at the gate, and defraud the one in the right with meaningless
arguments."
Isaiah 32:5-7 "No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be
spoken of as generous. For a fool speaks nonsense, and his-heart inclines toward
wickedness, to practice ungodliness and to speak error against Yehovah. . . . As
for a rogue, his weapons are evil; he devises wicked schemes to destroy the
afflicted with slander, even though the needy one speaks what is right."
Ezekiel 3:20 "Again, when a righteous man turns away from his
righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he shall
die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous
deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at
your hand."
Ezekiel 18:4-28 "‘Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as
well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die. But if a man is
righteous, and practices justice and righteousness, and does not eat at the
mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or
defile his neighbor’s wife, or approach a woman during her menstrual period—if a
man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not
commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with
clothing, if he does not lend money on interest or take increase, if he keeps
his-hand from iniquity, and executes true justice between man and man, if he
walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous
and will surely live,’ declares Adonai-Yehovah. Then he may have a violent son
who sheds blood, and who does any of these things to a brother (though he
himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain
shrines, and defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits
robbery, does not restore a pledge, but lifts up his eyes to the idols, and
commits abomination, he lends money on interest and takes increase; will he
live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he will surely
be put to death; his blood will be on his own head. Now behold, he has a son who
has observed all his father’s sins which he committed, and observing does not do
likewise. He does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the
idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife, or oppress anyone,
or retain a pledge, or commit robbery, but he gives his bread to the hungry, and
covers the naked with clothing, he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take
interest or increase, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; he
will not die for his father’s iniquity, he will surely live. As for his father,
because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good
among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity. Yet you say, ‘Why should
the son not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ When the son has
practiced justice and righteousness, and has observed all My statutes and done
them, he shall surely live. The person who sins will die. The son will not bear
the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the
punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be
upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. But if the
wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My
statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall
not die. All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered
against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.
Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,’ declares Adonai-Yehovah,
‘rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous
man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and does according to
all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous
deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has
committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.’"
Matthew 3:7-12 "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with
repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, "We have Abraham
for our father"; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise
up children to Abraham. And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees;
every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is
coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His
hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His
wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 10:22 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it
is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved."
Matthew 12:30-32 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does
not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall
be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And
whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but
whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him,
either in this age, or in the age to come." (See also Mark 3:28-30)
Matthew 24:13 "But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
Luke 3:7-9 "He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going
out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do
not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham for our father," for I say to
you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And also
the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’"
Mark 13:13 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the
one who endures to the end, he shall be saved."
Romans 2:4-11 "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and
forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to
repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are
storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to His deeds:
to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and
immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be
tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first
and also of the Greek, But glory and honor and peace to every man who does good,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God."
Romans 11:19-23 "You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I
might be grafted in.’ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but
you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare
the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and
severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you
continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if
they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to
graft them in."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, Nor thieves, nor the
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom
of God."
1 Corinthians 3:17 "If any man destroys the temple of God, God will
destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are."
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which
I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which
also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless
you believed in vain."
Galatians 5:19-21 "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, lewdness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities,
strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, heresies, envying,
murders, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you
just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of God."
Galatians 6:7-8 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a
man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall
from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from
the Spirit reap eternal life."
Ephesians 5:5-6 "For this you know with certainty, that no fornicator or
impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because
of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
Colossians 1:22-23 "Yet He has now completely-reconciled604b you in His
fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and
blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly
established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that
you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which
I Paul, was made a minister."
Hebrews 10:26-27 "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the
knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a
certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will
consume the adversaries."
Hebrews 6:4-8 "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened
and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy
Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance,
since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open
shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings
forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a
blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and
close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."
Revelation 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and
murderers and fornicating persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars,
their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the
second death."
There is a difference, however, between sinning willfully and
sinning out of weakness. We all on a daily basis sin out of weakness. Solomon
and the Apostle John makes plain in Ecclesiastes 7:20 and 1 John 1:8 and 10,
Ecclesiastes 7:20 ‘"Indeed, there is not a righteous man
on earth who continually does good and who never sins.’"’
1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not in us."
1 John 1:10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and
His word is not in us."
It is impossible on a daily basis for us to not sin. Whether
we want to or not, we are going to sin. The moment we are aware we have sinned,
we need to stop, confess it to God, thank Him for His forgiveness according to 1
John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," ask Him to refill us with His
Holy Spirit according to ‘Ephesians 5:18 "And do not get drunk with wine, for
that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit," to retake control of our
lives and then continue to lead us into His will and plan for our lives
according to Ephesians 5:15-17 "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise
men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So
then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is’
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