OK guys, this is the last time I'll respond in this thread. As has been noted, things are getting a bit heated, and while that is OK to an extent, I think we are coming close to the place where we all have to say (or at least me) that we have stated our positions and let conclusions be drawn.
Briefly, before I walk through Bav's primary objections to OSAS, let me comment on Adam. Listen, Bav. God never
declared Adam righteous. Show me in the Scriptures where He did. I can show you where He declared Abraham righteous (Gen. 15:6), and I can show you where we are declared righteous (Rom. 8:30). Adam was created in a state of moral
innocence, not moral
perfection. In other words, he did NOT have a sin nature, and at the time of his creation, he had no sin in him. Therefore, he was morally innocent. That is
very different from moral perfection, which is what we will be in the New Creation. A Morally Perfect being
cannot sin. It goes against their very nature to sin. Please note that while Adam did not have a sin nature, he equally did not have a divine nature (as did Jesus Christ). Look at James 1:14. God tells us that sin tempts the desires already existing
in us. What did Satan tempt Adam to? Easy: independence, autonomy, and self-government. Adam had a desire within him to "be his own god.' If he did not, then he would not have sinned, for he would not have been tempted. However, the existence of that potential restricts us from applying to Adam the term "moral perfection." Adam had what we might call a neutral nature, neither divine nor sinful. Today, we have sinful natures. Jesus had a divine nature, which is the reason He was able to live without sin.
So, AGAIN, you still have to provide a precedent for your position. You haven't done it, and I guarantee you that you can't.
Now:
First, let's clarify "Once Saved Always Saved." I have said this before and it was overlooked. What we are dealing with, more accurately, is "Once Justified Always Justified." It is EXTREMELY important that you see that, Bav. Observe:
1) Those whom God justifies are considered righteous before God (Rom. 4:5). As you are aware:
- “justification” “to justify,” in a legal sense, the declaring just or righteous. In Biblical literature, δικαιουν, dikaioún, without denying the real righteousness of a person, is used invariably or almost invariably in a declarative or forensic sense. (ISBE)
2) Righteousness is not
real righteousness. That is, we are not literally righteous, but God
chooses to view us as such. (see ISBE's article on justification, 3.5.b., esp, "This is shown further by the fact that it is the ungodly who are justified (Rom_4:5), and that the justification is a reckoning or imputation (logízesthai) of righteousness (Rom_4:6, Rom_4:22), not an infusing or making righteous.")
3) This righteousness is reckoned or imputed by grace (Rom. 4:6).
4) This grace is received through grace alone, and not by works (Eph. 2:8-10)
Now, to be declared righteous is to be justified of sins. That is, God makes a legal decree: Not Guilty. Those who are justified are adopted as Sons of God (Rom. 8:15, Eph. 1:5). Those who are the sons of God are no longer under the Law (Gal. 4:5). We know that the Law does not save, but that grace saves--in fact, the Law can only condemn! (Rom. 3:20)
So, picture what we know so far: you have come to faith in Jesus Christ, confessing with your mouth that He is Lord and God, and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, as per Rom. 10:7-10. What happens? God, through His grace and His grace alone declares all your sins, past, present, and future, as paid. Jesus Christ has become the propitiation for all of them (Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10). Therefore, you have overcome the world (1 John 5:4). We know you have overcome because you have been "born of God" (1 John 5:4).
What, then, does that say to us if we are "born of God?" Rev. 3:5 tells us that he who overcomes will not have his named blotted out of the book of life. Remember who overcomes: he who has been born again! So, if we have been born again, we have overcome, and if we have overcome, our names
will not be blotted out of the book of life! This is undeniable. It is straight Scripture, Bav.
What, then, do we say about the Book of Life? Rev. 20:15 says that anyone who is not in that book will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Why? Because they will be judged from the other books, that is, the books of their works, and their works will show them guilty. However, those in the Book of Life will not be guilty for their works, because their works have already been paid for by Jesus Christ through His justification of their sins through their faith in Him!
Therefore, we conclude that future sin in the life of the Christian does not prevent him from being saved, for there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). ALL sins have been atoned for. Therefore, we are forced to ask ourselves this question: how can one be unjustified once he has been justified? We will note that no where in the Scriptures, not ANYWHERE, is a justified man declared unrighteous. This is because it cannot be done! Why? Because justification is not the work of man--it is the work of God, and what God has done, man cannot undo.
You ask what of the man who removes his faith in Jesus Christ. I say that he cannot be renewed to the state of repentance (Heb. 6:4), and his state now will be worse than it was prior to being justified (2 Peter 2:20). Why is it worse? Because, like Saul, God has rejected his service in this life, and he has been turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (1 Cor. 5:5). It is a horrible state, one of deep shame. But, this does NOT unjustify him. How can it? Even that gross sin has already been forgiven! If not, then that means that God changed His mind, and He clearly has not done that!
You argue that OSAS (better, OJAJ) allows a person the right to "keep on sinning." I have adequately shown that it does not. If a person does keep on sinning, then he loses out on the sanctification process. He can no longer lay up treasures in heaven, so he is worse off than the unbeliever who still has a chance. He is still, though, justified. That means he is still in the book of life, and that means he still has a place in heaven.
It is, therefore, absolutely essential that we understand the relationship between justification and salvation. You cannot assume that salvation results from sanctification. That simply is not true. It is the measure of your glorification that will result from the process of sanctification (2 Cor. 5:10. Note, this is a reference to the judgement of Christians. See also 1 Cor. 3:15).
In conclusion, then:
1) Justification is a one time, irreversible declaration of God that seals one's place in heaven.
2) Sanctification is the ongoing process through which the believer is turned more and more into the likeness of Christ. The measure of this sanctification equals the measure in which one will be glorified. This process may be halted by death or the loss (that is, rejection) of one's faith.
3) Glorification is that final state in which the work of salvation, began in justification, is completed. Some will be glorified more than others, depending on their exposure to the sanctification process.
Therefore, OSAS IS the proper biblical doctrine.
I could go on to list dozens more references, Bav. I could argue that the rejection of this doctrine can actually land one in Hell. As long as this post is, it isn't nearly as detailed as it should be, but, it is enough to show that, Scripturally speaking, the justification process CANNOT BE REVERSED. You, then, have to answer one simple question:
Can a person justified by God find himself in Hell?
God bless
