Theologians think they are so clever. They are fully aware that the New Covenant Scriptures speak of our salvation in past (Eph. 2:8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5), present (1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15), and future (Rom. 5:9-10; 13:11) tenses. As such, they attempt to distinguish our salvation in this way:
- Past: Saved from the Penalty of Sin (Justification)
- Present: Being Saved from the Power of Sin (Sanctification)
- Future: Will be Saved from the Presence of Sin (Glorification)
Our preachers, "scholars" ("experts"), and theologians, taking their lead from the Gnostics, teach us that justification "refers to the once-and-for-all work in which Yahweh delivers a sinner from the penalty of sin." They essentially teach believers that all they have to do is enter the race, but that they do not have to run it, or that they can leave it at any time, and they will still obtain the prize in the end. Scripture teaches no such thing! They willfully neglect the words of Jesus and the apostle Paul: "the one who endures to the end, he will be saved" and "run in such a way [so] that you may win".
These "leaders" teach believers that all they need in order to be saved is Yahweh's justification, a past-tense action of salvation. In other words, Jesus was wrong. You do not need to endure until the end to be saved. Paul was also wrong. You do not need to run the race, or you can quit at any time, and you will still receive the prize. In other words, these "leaders" of ours are teaching believers that they will all receive Participation Trophies.
Jesus also said, "whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." Paul likewise said, "If we deny Him, He also will deny us." But our "leaders" tell us that because you were supposedly justified in the past, you can deny Jesus in the present or the future and you will be perfectly fine. (They want to defend your faith and say you cannot be lost, until they change their mind and claim you were never saved to begin with. They cannot make up their minds, their theology is so convoluted.) How is their theology and practice any different from that of the Roman Catholics who believe that baptizing children gives them a once-and-for-all entrance into the Kingdom?
Sanctification is essential to salvation. Without it, you have no salvation. "Pursue...holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Our "leaders" treat justification as if it is the be-all end-all of salvation, and that simply is not true. They would do well to actually read and pay attention to the Scriptures, as well as the teachings of the early Christians from the first three centuries. These "leaders" are guilty of the worst kind of using the name of God in vain. They use God’s name—the worst possible kind of name dropping—to elevate their own credibility, and in doing so they are not thinking of Yahweh’s credibility but their own when they bring in His name.
Salvation is a journey. From beginning to end. Past, present, and future. Justification, sanctification, and glorification are all part of salvation. You cannot have one without the others. Leave any one of them out and you do not and will not have salvation. Any preacher telling you otherwise is lying to you. You are not saved just because you repented, trusted Jesus, and obeyed His teachings yesterday. You must be repenting, trusting Jesus, and obeying His teachings today, and continue repenting, trusting Jesus, and obeying His teachings tomorrow. Once again for those in the back who are hard of hearing: "Pursue...holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Every follower of Christ Jesus is called to a life of holiness. No exceptions! This is a command—not a suggestion.
"He chose us in Christ...to be holy and blameless in His sight!" Ephesians 1:4
"God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." 1 Thessalonians 4:7
"God has saved us, and called us to a holy life!" 2 Timothy 1:9
"Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:15-16
Let us observe just some of what Scripture has to say on this issue (apart from all the passages addressing apostasy, which can only occur if you once followed):
"and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you."" 2 Chronicles 15:2
"And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, 'The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.'" Ezekiel 33:12
"You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." Matthew 10:22
"But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."" Luke 9:62
"If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;" 2 Timothy 2:12
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins," Hebrews 10:26
"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them." 2 Peter 2:20-21; see also Matthew 24:13; Luke 17:31-32; John 8:31-32; 15:1, 6; Galatians 6:9; James 1:12; Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:36
Now let us observe what the Christians of the first three centuries taught and believed, as was taught and handed down to them from the apostles:
"We ought therefore, brethren carefully to inquire concerning our salvation. Otherwise, the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, may hurl us forth from our life." —Barnabas
"The whole past time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources of danger. . . . . Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called, we fall asleep in our sins. For then, the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, will thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. . . . And you should pay attention to this all the more, my brothers, when you reflect on and see that even after such great signs and wonders had been performed in Israel, they were still abandoned. Let us beware lest we be found to be, as it is written, the "many who are called," but not the "few who are chosen."" —Barnabas
"[WRITTEN TO CHRISTIANS:] Since all things are seen and heard [by God], let us fear Him and forsake those wicked works that proceed from evil desires. By doing that, through His mercy, we may be protected from the judgments to come. For where can any of us flee from His mighty hand?" —Clement of Rome
"Let us therefore repent with the whole heart, so that none of us perish by the way." —Second Clement
"Let us then practice righteousness so that we may be saved unto the end." —Second Clement
"For the Lord has sworn by His glory, in regard to His elect, that if any one of them sin after a certain day which has been fixed, he will not be saved. For the repentance of the righteous has limits. Filled up are the days of repentance to all the saints. But to the unbeliever, repentance will be possible even to the last day. . . . For the Lord has sworn by His Son, that those who denied their Lord have abandoned their life in despair." —Hermas
"There is but one repentance to the servants of God." —Hermas
"If you do not guard yourself against [anger], you and your house will lose all hope of salvation." —Hermas
"Put away doubting from you, and do not hesitate to ask of the Lord, saying to yourself, "How can I ask of the Lord and receive from Him, seeing I have sinned so much against Him?" Do not reason with yourself in this manner. Instead, with all your heart turn to the Lord, and ask of Him without doubting. For then you will know the multitude of His tender mercies and that He will never leave you, but will fulfill the request of your soul. For He is not like men, who remember evils done against them." —Hermas
"The apostates and traitors of the congregation have blasphemed the Lord in their sins. Moreover, they have been ashamed of the name of the Lord by which they were called. These persons, therefore, at the end were lost unto God." —Hermas
"I hold further, that those of you who have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back for some reason to the legal dispensation [i.e., the Mosaic Law], and have denied that this man is Christ, and have not repented before death—you will by no means be saved." —Justin Martyr
"These men of old time, . . . for whom the Son of God had not yet suffered, when they committed any sin and served fleshly lusts, were rendered objects of great disgrace. Accordingly, what will the men of the present day suffer, who have despised the Lord's coming, and have become the slaves of their own lusts? Truly, the death of the Lord brought healing and remission of sins to the former. However, Christ will not die again on behalf of those who now commit sin. For death will no more have dominion over Him. . . . We should not, therefore, as that elder remarks, be puffed up, nor be severe upon those of olden times. Rather, we should fear ourselves, least perchance, after [we have come to] the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but are shut out from His kingdom. And for that reason, Paul said, "For if [God] spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest He also not spare you."" —Irenaeus
"It was not to those who are on the outside that he said these things, but to us—lest we should be cast forth from the kingdom of God, by doing any such thing." —Irenaeus
"Knowing that what preserves his life, namely, obedience to God, is good, he may diligently keep it with all earnestness." —Irenaeus
"Those who do not obey Him, being disinherited by Him, have ceased to be His sons." —Irenaeus
"God's greatest gift is self-restraint. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you," as having judged you worthy according to the true election. Thus, then, while we attempt piously to advance, we will have put on us the mild yoke of the Lord from faith to faith, one charioteer driving each of us onward to salvation." —Clement of Alexandria
"He who hopes for everlasting rest knows also that the entrance to it is toilsome and narrow. So let him who has once received the Gospel not turn back, like Lot's wife, as is said—even in the very hour in which he has come to the knowledge of salvation. And let him not go back either to his former life (which adheres to the things of sense) or to heresies." —Clement of Alexandria
"It is neither the faith, nor the love, nor the hope, nor the endurance of one day; rather, "he that endures to the end will be saved." —Clement of Alexandria
"God gives forgiveness of past sins. However, as to future sins, each one procures this for himself. He does this by repenting, by condemning the past deeds, and by begging the Father to blot them out. For only the Father is the one who is able to undo what is done. . . . So even in the case of one who has done the greatest good deeds in his life, but at the end has run headlong into wickedness, all his former pains are profitless to him. For at the climax of the drama, he has given up his part." —Clement of Alexandria
"No one is a Christian but he who perseveres even to the end." —Tertullian
"The world returned to sin . . . and so it is destined to fire. So is the man who after baptism renews his sins." —Tertullian
"We ought indeed to walk so holily, and with so entire substantiality of faith, as to be confident and secure in regard of our own conscience, desiring that it may abide in us to the end. Yet, we should not presume [that it will]. For he who presumes, feels less apprehension. He who feels less apprehension, takes less precaution. He who takes less precaution, runs more risk. Fear is the foundation of salvation. Presumption is an impediment to fear. . . . More useful, then, is it to apprehend that we may possibly fail, than to presume that we cannot. For apprehending will lead us to fear, fear to caution, and caution to salvation. On the other hand, if we presume, there will be neither fear nor caution to save us." —Tertullian
"[The Valentinians claim] that since they are already naturalized in the brotherly bond of the spiritual state, they will obtain a certain salvation—one which is on all accounts their due." —Tertullian
"Some thing that God is under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what He has promised [to give]. So they turn His liberality into His slavery. . . . For do not many afterwards fall out of [grace]? Is not this gift taken away from many? These, no doubt, are they who, . . . after approaching to the faith of repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin." Tertullian
"God had foreseen . . . that faith—even after baptism—would be endangered. He saw that most persons—after obtaining salvation—would be lost again, by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for their torches." —Tertullian
"Hoodwinking multitudes, [Marcus, the heretic] deceived many persons of this description who had become his disciples. He taught them that they were prone, no doubt, to sin. However, he said that they were beyond the reach of danger because they belonged to the perfect Power. . . . Subsequent to baptism, these [heretics] promise another, which they call Redemption. And by this, they wickedly subvert those who remain with them in expectation of redemption. As if persons, after they had once been baptized, could again obtain remission." —Hippolytus
"A man may possess an acquired righteousness, from which it is possible for him to fall away." —Origen
"Certain ones of those [heretics] who hold different opinions misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of salvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot be lost." —Origen
"The same reply must be given to them with respect to the statement of the apostle. . . . On whom does He have mercy? . . . He has it on those who are capable of incurring destruction if they did not receive mercy. They will obtain mercy in order that they may not incur that destruction of which they are capable. That way, they will remain in the condition of those who are saved." —Origen
"He who has not denied himself, but denied Christ, will experience the saying, "I also will deny him."" —Origen
"Being a believing man, if you seek to live as the Gentiles do, the joys of the world remove you from the grace of Christ." —Commodianus
"Let fear be the keeper of innocence, so that the Lord, who of His mercy has flowed into our hearts in the access of celestial grace, may be kept by righteous submissiveness in the home of a grateful mind. Otherwise, the assurance we have gained may beget carelessness, and so the old enemy will creep upon us again." —Cyprian
"There remains more than what is yet seen to be accomplished. For it is written, "Praise not any man before his death." And again, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life." And the Lord also says, "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved."" —Cyprian
"You are still in the world. you are still in the battlefield. You daily fight for your lives. So you must be careful, that . . . what you have begun to be with such a blessed commencement will be consummated in you. It is a small thing to have first received something. It is a greater thing to be able to keep what you have attained. Faith itself and the saving birth do not make alive by merely being received. Rather, they must be preserved. it is not the actual attainment, but the perfecting, that keeps a man for God. The Lord taught this in His instruction when He said, "Look! You have been made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." . . . Solomon, Saul, and many others were able to keep the grace given to them so long as they walked in the Lord's ways. However, when the discipline of the Lord was forsaken by them, grace also forsook them." —Cyprian
I ask . . . that you will grieve with me at the [spiritual] death of my sister. For in this time of devastation, she has fallen from Christ." —Cyprian
"He who wills that no one should perish, desires that sinners should repent, and by repentance, should return again to life." —Cyprian
"They should not think that the way of life or of salvation is still open to them if they have refused to obey watchmen. For in Deuteronomy, the Lord God says, "And the man that will do presumptuously and will not listen to the priest or judge, . . . that man will die." —Cyprian
"[ADDRESSED TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS:] Endeavour that the undisciplined ones should not be consumed and perish. As much as you can, by your salutary counsels, you should rule the brotherhood and take counsel of each one with a view to this salvation. Straight and narrow is the way through which we enter into life." —Cyprian
"It is clear that the evil is driven out in baptism by the faith of the believer. But he returns if the faith should afterwards fail." —Cyprian
"Although they forsake the fountain of life, the [heretics] promise the grace of living and saving water. . . . Begotten of treachery, they lose the grace of faith." —Cyprian
"Whoever that confessor is, he is not greater, better, or dearer to God than Solomon. Solomon retained the grace that he had received from the Lord, as long as he walked in God's ways. However, after he forsook the Lord's way, he also lost the Lord's grace. For that reason it is written, "Hold fast that which you have, lest another take your crown." Assuredly, the Lord would not threaten that the crown of righteousness might be taken away if it were not that the crown must depart when righteousness departs. . . . "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved." So whatever comes before the end is a step by which we ascend to the summit of salvation. It is not the finish, where the full result of the ascent is already gained." —Cyprian
"To anyone who is born and dies, is there not a necessity at some time . . . to suffer the loss of his estate? Only let not Christ be forsaken, so that the loss of salvation and of an eternal home would be feared." —Cyprian
"We pray that this sanctification may abide in us. For our Lord and Judge warns the man who was healed and quickened by Him to sin no more—lest a worse thing happen to him. So we make this supplication in our constant prayers, . . . that the sanctification and quickening that is received from the grace of God may be preserved by His protection." —Cyprian
"There is need of continual prayer and supplication so that we do not fall away from the heavenly kingdom, as the Jews fell away, to whom this promise had first been given." —Cyprian
"The quarrelsome and disunited . . . will not be able to escape the crime of brotherly dissension. For it is written, "He who hates his brother is a murderer." And no murderer attains to the kingdom of heaven. Nor does he live with God. A person cannot be with Christ if he had rather be an imitator of Judas than of Christ. How great is the sin that cannot even be washed away by a baptism of blood!" —Cyprian
"What a wonderful providence, how great the mercy, that by a plan of salvation it is provided for that more abundant care should be taken for preserving a man after he is already redeemed. . . . Nor would the infirmity and weakness of human frailty have any resource, unless the divine mercy, coming once more in aid, should open some way of securing salvation, by pointing out works of justice and mercy. So, by almsgiving, we may wash away whatever foulness we subsequently contract." —Cyprian
"You are afraid that perhaps your estate might fail if you begin to act generously from it. Do you not know, miserable man, that while you are worrying that your family property may fail, life itself and salvation are failing!" —Cyprian
"He says, "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved." And again He says, "If you continue in my word, you will truly be my disciples" [John 8:31-32]. . . . So there needs to be patience in order that hope and faith may attain their result." —Cyprian
"Let us press onward and labour, watching with our whole heart. Let us be steadfast with all endurance; let us keep the Lord's commandments. Thereby, when that day of anger and vengeance comes, we may not be punished with the ungodly and the sinners. Rather, we may be honoured with the righteous and with those who fear God." —Cyprian
"Those who are snatched from the jaws of the devil and delivered from the snares of this world, should not return to the world again, lest they should lose the advantage of their leaving it in the first place. . . . The Lord admonishes us of this in His Gospel. He taught that we should not return again to the devil and to the world. For we have renounced them and have escaped from them. He says, "No man looking back after putting his hand to the plough is fit for the kingdom of God." And again, "Let him that is in the field not return back. Remember Lot's wife." . . . So we must press on and persevere in faith and virtue. We must complete the heavenly and spiritual grace so that we may attain to the palm and the crown. In the book of Chronicles it says, "The Lord is with you so long as you also are with him; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." Also in Ezekiel: "The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in whatever day that he may transgress." Furthermore, in the Gospel, the Lord speaks and says: "He that endures to the end, the same will be saved." And again, "If you will abide in my word, you will be my disciples indeed.""—Cyprian
"In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire" [Matt. 3:10]. . . . Even a baptized person loses the grace that he has attained, unless he remains innocent. In the Gospel according to John: "Look, you are made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing happens to you" [John 5:14]. Also, in the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God abides in you? If anyone violates the temple of God, God will destroy Him" [1 Cor. 3:16-17]. Of this same thing in the Chronicles: "God is with you, while you are with Him. If you forsake Him, he will forsake you" [2 Chron. 15:2]." —Cyprian
"He put a seal upon him, for it is concealed as to who belong to the side of the devil and who to the side of Christ. For we do not know out of those who seem to stand whether they will fall or not. And of those who are down, it is uncertain whether they might rise." —Victorinus