|
The title is designed to be catchy. Once saved always saved (OSAS) is a component of Calvinism that claims that once a person becomes a Christian he can never fall from God's grace. Once saved always lost (OSAL) is not something anyone I know believes but is the consequence of the teaching of some who, in fighting against Calvinism (and OSAS), have gone to the other extreme.
From my many years of writing and discussing "OSAL" with others I have come to the conclusion that those who insist that one is lost if there is any sin in his life that he has not learned of and confessed, base their misunderstanding and misapplication on one passage. And the ironic thing is, that passage is right in the middle of passages that teach the opposite. The passage is 1 John 1:9, which says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." What is the truth being presented here? It is that God forgives us "if" we confess our sins – not "when" we do so. Some brethren have errantly concluded from this passage that no sin is forgiven UNLESS it is confessed. This notion has so many problems that it is seen by those who know the truth as being irrational and absurd – because to believe this doctrine leaves one hopeless unless he thinks he has indeed confessed every sin and has no sin in his life.
Now, it must be understood that this blessing (continuous cleansing) is for Christians only – not alien sinners. Christians are told in verse 7 that "if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
To defend their position on 1 John 1:9, the proponents of OSAL must force the phrase "walk in the light" to support their interpretation of the text. They bring up the phrase "as he is in the light" and endeavor to get across the idea that this means something different than "one’s manner of life." Albert Barnes well explained the passage thusly:
"In the same kind of light that he has. The measure of light which we may have is not the same in degree, but it is of the same kind. The true Christian in his character and feelings resembles God."
Those who contend for the "OSAL" (explained above) doctrine don’t really believe it. They are often heard to say that "God looks at the life" or "God is merciful and gives men time to repent," etc. And they are exactly right. But what they refuse to accept are the passages that teach this. They must FIRST give up their view of the teaching in 1 John 1:9. What seems obvious is that this text simply teaches that we are to be in the habit of confessing our sins as opposed to denying them, and that ONE IS DENYING them if his confidence is based on his thinking that he has confessed every sin and repented of it. Verses 8 and 10 shed additional light on this disposition.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive 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.
One more thing. These brethren minimize sin by arguing that behaviors that are sin are not. One brother, after being convinced that he misapplied a passage and asked if he sinned, stated, "That was just unfortunate." Things that we all do that are sin – like sins of ignorance, inadvertent sins, and sins of omission – are dismissed as not being sin. This erroneous teaching affirms that these acts don't have to be repented of and confessed (because they are not sin) - only things like lying, adultery, murder, etc., are considered to be sinful. These teachers refuse to consider that there are different kinds of sin and that even the "little" things that we do, or don’t do, are indication of "missing the mark" (sin). This attitude, brethren, is what is undeniably condemned in 1 John 1:9.
The "argument" most used by those promoting OSAL is just a question: "What sins can we commit that we don't have to repent of and confess?" This is not an argument at all. It is a foolish question. Christians don't seek to discover what they can get by with - they endeavor diligently to learn and to conform their lives to the word of God that they might continually "walk in the light" and thus be continuously cleansed of ALL sin by the blood of Christ.
I'm confident that many of the guys that teach this hopeless doctrine don’t really believe it. They say things that indicate they do believe it, yet they refuse to debate it with a proposition that accurately reflects that for which they contend, yet they say things that indicate they DON’T believe it. I have recently come to the conclusion that some hold to their error and refuse to come over to the truth on this issue because they fear each other. The first one to do it would be berated, ostracized, and blackballed.
|
