Does Willful Sin Prove A Person Is Not Really Saved?

Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

Kindly, I found this disturbing meme today on Facebook, which is blatant false teaching. OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) is 100% biblical. This person no doubt means well, but they are tragically still caught between works and grace (which means they are not born again)...

Blatant False Doctrine

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty.

Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

There is such a thing as a “carnal” Christian (Romans 7:14).

The new birth is a supernatural miracle of God in response to a man's faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13), which has absolutely nothing to do with behavior modification. A believer “should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12b), but just because they don't doesn't mean they are not saved. It means they are spiritually immature or backslidden, but this is a matter of discipleship and not sonship. The Bible is full of sinful saints who failed to please God, shaming the Lord's name and leaving a trail of collateral damage because of their sins. Their lives were a trainwreck! (e.g., Lot, Esau, Jacob and his sons by Leah, Saul, Samson, David and his son Solomon, Absalom, the adulterous man and his father's wife in 1st Corinthians 5:1-5, Demas who loved this present world, Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit, the carnal church at Corinth, et cetera). Need I go on?

Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) said it very well...

"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, “Hebrews”; Zondervan Publishing House; 1959 (p. 117)

That would be a great quote to memorize dear reader.

Like it or not, OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) can be used as a License to Sin if someone chooses to do so. Of course, God will scourge and chastise His disobedient children (Hebrews 12:6-8). Proverbs 3:12, “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” NO ONE has God's permission or blessing to commit sin, just because they are assured eternal life through faith alone in the Gospel, but if they do God's saving grace will abound all that much more. Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

The Apostle Paul admitted that he regularly struggled with sin, doing the sinful things that he didn't want to do (Romans 7:14-25). It is true that only God knows someone's heart (1st Samuel 16:7). The truth is that ALL of God's children still live in sin. We may clean up our life like prettying up a muddy pig, but we are still filthy sinful pigs, even though we may be redeemed and promised eternal life (Romans 6:47).

That is to say, the only righteousness that any saint possesses is the imputed righteous of God, which is obtained only through faith in Jesus (Philippians 3:9). Apart from God's imputed righteousness by faith in Christ, we have no righteousness of our own to please God. Our best works are filth to God (Isaiah 64:6).

I humbly reject the heresy by some preachers who say that a Christian no longer has an old nature. While it is biblically true that every born again child of God has a completely new nature, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God (Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24); it is also biblically true that the sinful flesh and the old carnal nature are also still present.

That is why in Ephesians 4:22-24, the Apostle Paul exhorts the believers in the church at Ephesus to “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” If this were an automatic thing caused by salvation, then Paul would not have exhorted these Christians to put off the old man and instead put on the new man, which is in Christ.

Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688) said these edifying words of truth...

“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the man Christ without and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within, you are not able to divide the Word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the Word of God, and cast stumbling blocks before the people.” —Evangelist John Bunyan

In other words, Lordship Salvation is a lie of Satan. You cannot combine service with salvation without perverting the Gospel of free grace. Faith is the only righteous thing that we can do.

Some corrupt pastors falsely teach that we are not saved by works, but faith works. That sounds nice, but it is simply untrue biblically. While it is true that we are not saved by works, it is false doctrine that faith always produces works. The Apostle James said that faith without works is dead, but it is still saving faith. James writes about being justified in the eyes of men by works, not God. Paul writes about being justified in the sight of God by faith alone (Romans 4:1-7).

I also humbly reject the damnable heresy being today today in corrupt religious institutions like Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College, which says that justification, sanctification and glorification are a “package deal” that cannot be separated. Consequently, these false teachers say that you're not really saved unless you're living a holy sanctified life. This is evil Calvinism dear reader, and it is deadly. John Calvin (1509-1564) is burning in the fires of hell forever, having died in his damnable counterfeit plan of salvation.

So also is Calvin's contemporary (even though they never met) Martin Luther (1493-1546) burning in Hell because of his reliance upon sacramental salvation.

Saving faith does not automatically produce works as perverse Calvinists claim. Many believers will have ZERO works at the Judgment Seat of Christ, evidenced by the man in 1st Corinthians 3:11-15 who was saved, yet so by fire. That is, he barely escaped going to Hell because of his faith. 1st Corinthians 3:15, “If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Clearly then, going to Heaven has nothing to do with human reformation or works. Salvation is the free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Contrary to the message of this meme, just because a professed Christians chooses to live in open sin doesn't mean they don't know God, or that they are not born again.

Neither does it mean that they are in jeopardy of going to Hell. OSAS is absolutely true! You can call it a 'License to Sin' of you want, but the truth is that you and I sin just like everyone else. Just because we may sin less than someone else, doesn't make us any less sinful or more righteous than the vilest sinner in God's sight (James 2:10). Only the precious blood of Jesus sets us apart (1st Peter 1:18-19). We are all horrible sinners and apart from Christ's sacrifice on Calvary's cross, burial and His glorious resurrection from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-6), we'd all be going to Hell to burn forever (Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8).

Thank you for reading my ministry blog. To God alone by the glory (John 15:1-5).