Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS)
Once Save Fall Away (OSFA)
By Gene Williams
Once Save Fall Away (OSFA)
By Gene Williams
Where do I stand on once saved always saved (OSAS) or once saved fall away (OSFA)? I am in the middle. I will explain. I believe it is a free gift from God. I believe it is free for us because Jesus paid for it on the cross. The only works that is necessary for salvation is plainly spoken in Romans 10:9-10. You simply have to confess your belief in Jesus as your Lord who God raised from the dead. The devil also believes but he has not and will not ever confess Jesus as Lord. The main issues I have as it pertains to having to do any works of any kind to maintain my salvation is how many works does it take to stay in God’s saving grace and how many sins does it take before you lose your salvation? Is it one, three or thirty three? If I was able to remain sinless even for an hour, Jesus dying on the cross would not have been necessary. I realize some will say any works means one can boast about being saved by those works. I think this is a bad argument. For example if a man was drowning and was thrown a life preserver, would he then say, " It was a good thing I save myself by grabbing the preserver." No. A reasonable thinking man would say, "Thank you for saving me by throwing the preserver."
Now I need to clarify my position. I do believe Jesus has never lost a soul that the Father gave him. I also believe we can willingly give the free gift back and turn away from God. Giving the gift back is not Jesus loosing anything. The main reason why I believe this is free will. I maintain my free will until I die. When I got save I did not lose my right to choose hell. I believe it is a conscience discussion by the Christian believer to walk away from God. Once someone does that, that person will never return as mentioned in Hebrews 6:4-6. It has nothing to do with works. Struggling with sin is not walking away. A Christian never gives up struggling. How many times you fail is irrelevant. The act of struggling is your born again spirit fighting against the sinful flesh. If you no longer feel convicted for your known sins then you have walked away. It is not possible for the renewed spirit of God in you to ever be okay with the sins of the flesh. In my opinion walking away would equate to the Blaspheme of the Holy Spirit.
Those who feel differently have a really good reason for believing this. There are a lot of scriptures that seem to support both arguments which can be confusing. The OSFA believers simply want to go to heaven and are afraid of accidentally doing something to forfeit their right. They unfortunately never really experience grace just another version of legalism. Some say it is a certain heart condition to remain saved. As long as your heart stays focused on God you are maintaining your faith in God therefore still saved. Let’s follow this through. Let’s say the sin is just a little white lie. If I chose to lie and die in the middle of that sin then what? Technically speaking, every time we sin we have at that moment stop following and focusing on God. It is easy to see the dilemma this view causes.
Jesus said you know a Christian by their actions. If you boil it down to one simple answer what does a Christian look like? As stated in Matthew 22:37-40, a Christian loves God and his neighbor. Loving your nasty unsaved neighbor is a uniquely Christian trait and is not possible unless it is the Holy Spirit in you. Growing in faith and love is a lifelong process. Loving everyone does not come natural but it is possible for the Christian. If you do not reflect these two traits of God, you may be lost. This is why Jesus said some will say Lord, Lord and his response is that He never knew them.
Below is a list of scriptures that have to do with salvation. This is not an exhaustive list but it does contain pro and anti OSAS scriptures. I am not going to dodge the tough scriptures. I will attempt to reconcile these. May the Holy Spirit guide me in my attempt for truth.
Matthew 7:15-23 A Tree and its Fruit.
I believe this means the false Christians in church. Look at their actions. If they look like God, sound like God, they are probably from God.
Matthew 10:22 A Hard Road before Them
Those who don’t willingly walk away will be saved. The life of a Christian is one of sacrifice.
Matthew 13: 18-23 The Sower Explained
I believe this is refers to a Christian who walked away from the faith for different reasons. They won’t come back.
Matthew 24:24 Perilous Times
There are cults who teach about God and Jesus but do not hold to scripture. All cults have similar teachings. They take away the deity of Christ in some form or fashion.
Matthew 24:42-51 Be Ready for His Coming
The OSFA may say if you are saved no matter what how you cannot be ready. My answer is simple. Those who keep on and don’t walk away from God will be ready regardless of how many struggles they have.
Mark 10:17-23 The Rich Young Ruler
Be willing to give up anything for Christ. If you can’t give it up, it owns you and God should be your only owner.
Mark 13:13 Things to come
Endure to the end means you do not willingly walk away but struggle to be holy as He is holy.
Mark 16:16 The Disciples Commissioned
Those who believe and have the opportunity to be baptized will be saved. The thief on the cross was not baptized but went to paradise with Jesus so baptism is an act of obedience but is not necessary for salvation.
Luke 12:47-48 Be in Readiness
Those who do not know right from wrong will be punished but those who know right from wrong and do it anyway will be punished more severe. The conviction of the Holy Spirit can be brutal.
John 1:9-12 The Witness of John
Receive Jesus as your Lord and be saved.
John 3:3-16 The New Birth
Have to be born again spiritually by the Holy Spirit to be saved. Some OSAS say you can’t be unborn so you have to be saved even if you walk away. I disagree. Charles Stanley believes even if you want to leave God after receiving His salvation you cannot. Where is the free will? A born again Christian can chose to walk away from God. As I have said struggling with sin is not walking away.
John 6:28-29 Words of the People
This is used by some OSFA showing the need for works. This is not a salvation issue. This means to be in the will of God in your life.
John 10:27-30 Jesus Asserts His Deity
None except you can ever remove you from your salvation. If you chose to walk away you will be thrown into hell in the last days. As I have said struggling with sin is not walking away.
John 15:6 Jesus Is the Vine
A person who claims to be a Christian who doesn't show any traits of being a Christian is not a Christian. Here Jesus simply removes those who claim to be from those who are actually a Christian. A struggling Christian will still reflect Jesus in some ways. How can you be a part of Christ and not reflect it?
Acts 8:17-21 Philip in Samaria
Simon the magician said he wanted to buy the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was baptized in the name of Jesus but never believe in Jesus. His actions showed his true self. He was never a Christian to start with. It takes more than water in the name of Jesus to be born again. You have to believe Jesus is Lord not just use the church for gain.
Romans 2:6-8 Impartiality of God
OSFA say you have to persevere to the end in order to be saved. To them this proves works. I agree to a point. I think the only work here is too willing to keep struggling against the sins of the flesh. The closer you come to conquering the sins of the flesh will lead to a happier life but just struggling means the Holy Spirit is still in you working on you.
Romans 3:27-30 Justification of Faith
Simply put the only work, if you can call it work, is to be willing to struggle against the flesh. This struggling process will keep you focused on the savior. If you get weak someday and give in to the struggle you have not walked away from God. You simple have failed. This happens to everyone. Jesus died on the cross because we cannot win the fight against the flesh. Only the Holy Spirit in us can give us the strength to be successful in the fight against sin.
Romans 8:12-13 Deliverance from Bondage
This is a verse that states if you walk away from God and turn back to the world you will be lost. How do you know where you stand with God? If the Holy Spirit of God is convicting you, you are in a good place.
1 Corinthians 3:15 Foundations of Living
This verse does not mean salvation. It means to be judged about the things you have done in your life. For instance, did you do works with the right motivation or not? If not, those will not count toward your heavenly award. All awards you receive in heaven will be laid at the feet of Jesus as a heavenly offering. I hope to have many to give to Jesus. He deserves it and more.
1 Corinthians 9:27 Paul’s Use of Liberty
This has nothing to do with be disqualified as a saved Christian. This has to do with being no longer qualified to spread the gospel to others.
1 Corinthians 10:12 Avoid Israel’s Mistake
This verse mean the one who chooses to walk away is will not be saved.
Galatians 5:4 Walk by the Spirit
I do not think this means lose your salvation when you fall from the covering of grace. I think Paul is simply saying you have chosen to become legalistic again even though it is not necessary.
Ephesians 1:13-14 The Blessings of Redemption
OSAS believe you cannot break the seal once it has been given to you. I disagree. I think I have the God given right to decide to walk away at any time by breaking the seal of salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-10 Made Alive in Christ
I will not be able to brag about the gift Jesus paid for on the cross. I expected to fight against the flesh and show His greatness in my life. Unless I chose to walk away I will be saved.
Philippians 2:12-13 Be Like Christ
This is a verse that OSFA uses to justify works. It is not the act of working that keeps you saved. It is the willingness to work out you salvation and not give up and willingly walk away from your faith. A backslid Christian is a Christian who is in an emotional war. The Holy Spirit is convicting day and night. Not a fun place to be. An apostate is a Christian who walked away and said no to salvation.
1 Timothy 4:1 Apostasy
OSFA have it right. Some Christians will lose their salvation because they chose to walk away from God and give back the gift Jesus paid for with his life.
Titus 3:5 Godly Living
We are saved by Jesus’ finished work on the cross. We can chose to leave after knowing the truth but why? Where is there a better place to be than with God? No where
Hebrews 6:4-6 The Peril of Falling Away
I do not like to look at it as falling away. I like to think of it as walking away from the saving faith of the Holy Spirit. Once you have heard the truth, experienced the truth, and walk away you will never come back. How do you know if this is you? If the Holy Spirit is still saying stop sinning, you have not falling or walk away. The Holy Spirit does not convict those with hardened hearts.
James 2:14-17 Faith and Works
Some OSFA use this to justify works. Not a salvation scripture. This means to actually be helpful to others and not lazy. Some of the name it claim it churches are the world’s worse at saying, “You are hungry well let’s pray God brings you food” even though they have more food than they can eat.
1 John 5:16-17 This Is Written That You May Know
Some sins don’t lead to death. I believe the sin that leads to death is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Any other sin can be forgiven.
Revelation 2:10 Message to Ephesus
Don’t willingly walk away from the faith or you cannot return because the Holy Spirit will no longer convict you. No one asks Jesus into our heart without the Holy Spirit drawing us. We are way too sinful for that.
Revelation 22:18-19 The Final Message
This is a message telling the non-Christian what to expect for perverting the Word of God. This could be a never believing person or a Christian who left the faith willing for whatever reason. Remember, I hold the position if the Holy Spirit is still convicting you, you have not yet turned and left the faith. This specifically pertains to the book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ. Remember the Bible had not yet been canonized. So the reference to “this book” has to mean this one book. That being said you could apply this to any book of the Bible because it is all from the same source, GOD.
Now I need to clarify my position. I do believe Jesus has never lost a soul that the Father gave him. I also believe we can willingly give the free gift back and turn away from God. Giving the gift back is not Jesus loosing anything. The main reason why I believe this is free will. I maintain my free will until I die. When I got save I did not lose my right to choose hell. I believe it is a conscience discussion by the Christian believer to walk away from God. Once someone does that, that person will never return as mentioned in Hebrews 6:4-6. It has nothing to do with works. Struggling with sin is not walking away. A Christian never gives up struggling. How many times you fail is irrelevant. The act of struggling is your born again spirit fighting against the sinful flesh. If you no longer feel convicted for your known sins then you have walked away. It is not possible for the renewed spirit of God in you to ever be okay with the sins of the flesh. In my opinion walking away would equate to the Blaspheme of the Holy Spirit.
Those who feel differently have a really good reason for believing this. There are a lot of scriptures that seem to support both arguments which can be confusing. The OSFA believers simply want to go to heaven and are afraid of accidentally doing something to forfeit their right. They unfortunately never really experience grace just another version of legalism. Some say it is a certain heart condition to remain saved. As long as your heart stays focused on God you are maintaining your faith in God therefore still saved. Let’s follow this through. Let’s say the sin is just a little white lie. If I chose to lie and die in the middle of that sin then what? Technically speaking, every time we sin we have at that moment stop following and focusing on God. It is easy to see the dilemma this view causes.
Jesus said you know a Christian by their actions. If you boil it down to one simple answer what does a Christian look like? As stated in Matthew 22:37-40, a Christian loves God and his neighbor. Loving your nasty unsaved neighbor is a uniquely Christian trait and is not possible unless it is the Holy Spirit in you. Growing in faith and love is a lifelong process. Loving everyone does not come natural but it is possible for the Christian. If you do not reflect these two traits of God, you may be lost. This is why Jesus said some will say Lord, Lord and his response is that He never knew them.
Below is a list of scriptures that have to do with salvation. This is not an exhaustive list but it does contain pro and anti OSAS scriptures. I am not going to dodge the tough scriptures. I will attempt to reconcile these. May the Holy Spirit guide me in my attempt for truth.
Matthew 7:15-23 A Tree and its Fruit.
I believe this means the false Christians in church. Look at their actions. If they look like God, sound like God, they are probably from God.
Matthew 10:22 A Hard Road before Them
Those who don’t willingly walk away will be saved. The life of a Christian is one of sacrifice.
Matthew 13: 18-23 The Sower Explained
I believe this is refers to a Christian who walked away from the faith for different reasons. They won’t come back.
Matthew 24:24 Perilous Times
There are cults who teach about God and Jesus but do not hold to scripture. All cults have similar teachings. They take away the deity of Christ in some form or fashion.
Matthew 24:42-51 Be Ready for His Coming
The OSFA may say if you are saved no matter what how you cannot be ready. My answer is simple. Those who keep on and don’t walk away from God will be ready regardless of how many struggles they have.
Mark 10:17-23 The Rich Young Ruler
Be willing to give up anything for Christ. If you can’t give it up, it owns you and God should be your only owner.
Mark 13:13 Things to come
Endure to the end means you do not willingly walk away but struggle to be holy as He is holy.
Mark 16:16 The Disciples Commissioned
Those who believe and have the opportunity to be baptized will be saved. The thief on the cross was not baptized but went to paradise with Jesus so baptism is an act of obedience but is not necessary for salvation.
Luke 12:47-48 Be in Readiness
Those who do not know right from wrong will be punished but those who know right from wrong and do it anyway will be punished more severe. The conviction of the Holy Spirit can be brutal.
John 1:9-12 The Witness of John
Receive Jesus as your Lord and be saved.
John 3:3-16 The New Birth
Have to be born again spiritually by the Holy Spirit to be saved. Some OSAS say you can’t be unborn so you have to be saved even if you walk away. I disagree. Charles Stanley believes even if you want to leave God after receiving His salvation you cannot. Where is the free will? A born again Christian can chose to walk away from God. As I have said struggling with sin is not walking away.
John 6:28-29 Words of the People
This is used by some OSFA showing the need for works. This is not a salvation issue. This means to be in the will of God in your life.
John 10:27-30 Jesus Asserts His Deity
None except you can ever remove you from your salvation. If you chose to walk away you will be thrown into hell in the last days. As I have said struggling with sin is not walking away.
John 15:6 Jesus Is the Vine
A person who claims to be a Christian who doesn't show any traits of being a Christian is not a Christian. Here Jesus simply removes those who claim to be from those who are actually a Christian. A struggling Christian will still reflect Jesus in some ways. How can you be a part of Christ and not reflect it?
Acts 8:17-21 Philip in Samaria
Simon the magician said he wanted to buy the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was baptized in the name of Jesus but never believe in Jesus. His actions showed his true self. He was never a Christian to start with. It takes more than water in the name of Jesus to be born again. You have to believe Jesus is Lord not just use the church for gain.
Romans 2:6-8 Impartiality of God
OSFA say you have to persevere to the end in order to be saved. To them this proves works. I agree to a point. I think the only work here is too willing to keep struggling against the sins of the flesh. The closer you come to conquering the sins of the flesh will lead to a happier life but just struggling means the Holy Spirit is still in you working on you.
Romans 3:27-30 Justification of Faith
Simply put the only work, if you can call it work, is to be willing to struggle against the flesh. This struggling process will keep you focused on the savior. If you get weak someday and give in to the struggle you have not walked away from God. You simple have failed. This happens to everyone. Jesus died on the cross because we cannot win the fight against the flesh. Only the Holy Spirit in us can give us the strength to be successful in the fight against sin.
Romans 8:12-13 Deliverance from Bondage
This is a verse that states if you walk away from God and turn back to the world you will be lost. How do you know where you stand with God? If the Holy Spirit of God is convicting you, you are in a good place.
1 Corinthians 3:15 Foundations of Living
This verse does not mean salvation. It means to be judged about the things you have done in your life. For instance, did you do works with the right motivation or not? If not, those will not count toward your heavenly award. All awards you receive in heaven will be laid at the feet of Jesus as a heavenly offering. I hope to have many to give to Jesus. He deserves it and more.
1 Corinthians 9:27 Paul’s Use of Liberty
This has nothing to do with be disqualified as a saved Christian. This has to do with being no longer qualified to spread the gospel to others.
1 Corinthians 10:12 Avoid Israel’s Mistake
This verse mean the one who chooses to walk away is will not be saved.
Galatians 5:4 Walk by the Spirit
I do not think this means lose your salvation when you fall from the covering of grace. I think Paul is simply saying you have chosen to become legalistic again even though it is not necessary.
Ephesians 1:13-14 The Blessings of Redemption
OSAS believe you cannot break the seal once it has been given to you. I disagree. I think I have the God given right to decide to walk away at any time by breaking the seal of salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-10 Made Alive in Christ
I will not be able to brag about the gift Jesus paid for on the cross. I expected to fight against the flesh and show His greatness in my life. Unless I chose to walk away I will be saved.
Philippians 2:12-13 Be Like Christ
This is a verse that OSFA uses to justify works. It is not the act of working that keeps you saved. It is the willingness to work out you salvation and not give up and willingly walk away from your faith. A backslid Christian is a Christian who is in an emotional war. The Holy Spirit is convicting day and night. Not a fun place to be. An apostate is a Christian who walked away and said no to salvation.
1 Timothy 4:1 Apostasy
OSFA have it right. Some Christians will lose their salvation because they chose to walk away from God and give back the gift Jesus paid for with his life.
Titus 3:5 Godly Living
We are saved by Jesus’ finished work on the cross. We can chose to leave after knowing the truth but why? Where is there a better place to be than with God? No where
Hebrews 6:4-6 The Peril of Falling Away
I do not like to look at it as falling away. I like to think of it as walking away from the saving faith of the Holy Spirit. Once you have heard the truth, experienced the truth, and walk away you will never come back. How do you know if this is you? If the Holy Spirit is still saying stop sinning, you have not falling or walk away. The Holy Spirit does not convict those with hardened hearts.
James 2:14-17 Faith and Works
Some OSFA use this to justify works. Not a salvation scripture. This means to actually be helpful to others and not lazy. Some of the name it claim it churches are the world’s worse at saying, “You are hungry well let’s pray God brings you food” even though they have more food than they can eat.
1 John 5:16-17 This Is Written That You May Know
Some sins don’t lead to death. I believe the sin that leads to death is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Any other sin can be forgiven.
Revelation 2:10 Message to Ephesus
Don’t willingly walk away from the faith or you cannot return because the Holy Spirit will no longer convict you. No one asks Jesus into our heart without the Holy Spirit drawing us. We are way too sinful for that.
Revelation 22:18-19 The Final Message
This is a message telling the non-Christian what to expect for perverting the Word of God. This could be a never believing person or a Christian who left the faith willing for whatever reason. Remember, I hold the position if the Holy Spirit is still convicting you, you have not yet turned and left the faith. This specifically pertains to the book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ. Remember the Bible had not yet been canonized. So the reference to “this book” has to mean this one book. That being said you could apply this to any book of the Bible because it is all from the same source, GOD.