Have you received the end of your faith?
1 Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
Peter's story completely debunks much of what is taught as "Once Saved Always Saved". If you ask them what about a believer who denies the Lord many will tell you that guy was never saved. But what about Peter? With Peter he says that as Christians we go through manifold temptations. There was a lot of pressure on him to deny the Lord, the threat was that maybe he would be arrested and crucified also. But these temptations are necessary.
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Peter's denial of Jesus was not the end of the story, that was simply his faith going through the fire. The end of the story is his getting back up after the fall, his continuing to run the race, his ministry as evidenced by this letter, and his embracing being a martyr at the end of his ministry. Everything that happened to him worked out for good and was according to God's purpose to transform him from a man of clay to a precious stone in the Lord's kingdom.
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
The "Once Saved Always Saved" crowd focuses on the salvation at the very beginning of your faith when you pray to the Lord and are washed in His blood. But at that point you are still filled with your opinions, you still have an unrenewed mind, you haven't gone through any trials of your faith, and there is no glory in your Christian life. There is forgiveness, there is a free gift of grace, but no glory. But when Peter was martyred there was a lot of glory, he had gone through a lot of trials, he now had a renewed mind. We can see that the Lord didn't simply save him from hell, He saved his soul.
1 Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
Peter's story completely debunks much of what is taught as "Once Saved Always Saved". If you ask them what about a believer who denies the Lord many will tell you that guy was never saved. But what about Peter? With Peter he says that as Christians we go through manifold temptations. There was a lot of pressure on him to deny the Lord, the threat was that maybe he would be arrested and crucified also. But these temptations are necessary.
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Peter's denial of Jesus was not the end of the story, that was simply his faith going through the fire. The end of the story is his getting back up after the fall, his continuing to run the race, his ministry as evidenced by this letter, and his embracing being a martyr at the end of his ministry. Everything that happened to him worked out for good and was according to God's purpose to transform him from a man of clay to a precious stone in the Lord's kingdom.
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
The "Once Saved Always Saved" crowd focuses on the salvation at the very beginning of your faith when you pray to the Lord and are washed in His blood. But at that point you are still filled with your opinions, you still have an unrenewed mind, you haven't gone through any trials of your faith, and there is no glory in your Christian life. There is forgiveness, there is a free gift of grace, but no glory. But when Peter was martyred there was a lot of glory, he had gone through a lot of trials, he now had a renewed mind. We can see that the Lord didn't simply save him from hell, He saved his soul.