I spent many years fearing that I would lose my salvation, that I would do something that would cause the LORD to give me over to a reprobate mind,lived in fear of Hebrews scripture where it is written that if we willfully sin after we receive the knowledge of the truth etc. etc.
Friend, what you said below contradicts what Heb 10:26 is saying, unless you explain them to harmonize. Maybe you do below, I haven't read it all yet.
In Ephesians chapter 2 Paul writes that by grace we are saved through faith and THAT(being saved or "that" salvation) is the gift of GOD not of works so that no one can boast.This is the scripture that clarified for me that HE saved me and HE keeps me saved.
Yes, Eph 2 is the sugar stick for this whole doctrine of OSAS. However.....if it was being interpreted wrong, adn it is not saying that there is NOTHING we MUST do, in reaction to God's commands to be saved, then it's worth looking at the verse, compared with other NT verses on the subject of obedience, and the consequences for NOT obeying:
Remember, the Bible does NOT contradict itself. Therefore if have passages that do, either we revise our understanding or we study until we get them.
Yet if we have to twist the meaning of plain passages to fit our interpretation of one passage, then we are not being honest with scripture.
A good rule of interpretation is to let the easy to understand passages interpret the harder ones, and not the other way around.
So concerning Eph 2, what exactly is Paul saying here:
Is he telling us salvation is a gift, so no obedience is required to receive salvation or it is not a gift but debt?
Consider this before you say, exactly!
Look at the context:
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: <------ implies that the Eph were now obedient:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) <----when "ye were" as he said "in times past ye walked...", notice the past tense, and notice the fact that those who disobey are children of wrath, does that ONLY apply to non Christians?
Also notice that while they were sinners, Christ died for them, that means all sinners, yet this does NOT mean that we continue AS sinners, that is not what grace teaches us - see Tit 2: for what grace teaches: obedience.
Lets keep reading:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith(faith does not mean belief alone) and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:<-----Paul is making it clear to them that nothing they did (past tense) deserved God to send Christ to die for them while they were sinners.
It was complete free and was a gift. Does this mean that nothing we can do (present tense) will cause us to receive/not receive this gift?
God sending Christ to die for there world was because of his mercy, his love, and his grace toward the world while we were all sinners.
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. <------No one has the right to say, Because I am so righteous God sent his son to die for me. No one can ever "boast" that, because none were righteous. This is all this context means. It has completely NOTHING to do with our obedience to God in order to receive salvation.
Obedience is the duty of all men, but especially the Christian. This message in this context is telling the EPH do not think they were so righteous God sent Christ to die for them, nowhere does it give the message obedience is not required. In fact if it did it would contradict much of the Bible, where we are told to obey or perish.
This is the same message God gave Israel when he brought them into the promise land, (another gift that was undeserving):
Due 9:4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee. 5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land:
What is God saying here, that NOTHING they did deserved God to give the land he freely gave them. Would this message imply that Israel did not have to obey God, and nothing they did would cause them to lose the land?
Can you imagine if
false Israelite teachers took this passage and said
"see, the possession of this land is a free gift, nothing we did deserved it, so that means nothing we do can cause us to lose it.
So if we sin against God, he will chastise us, but he will never take away the promise land..."
Sound silly? But that is exactly what men today are doing to Eph 2.
In fact, Israel lost the promise land due to disobedience, are you aware that Israel, the promise land, was a type, and the anti-type today is Israel/God's people = the promise
land/heaven. These lessons teach us the physical type, that is countered by the spiritual anti-type.
Eph 2 is the exact same message God was telling Israel, no
where should we ever get the idea we do not have to obey God to go to heaven because we did not deserve God sending his son to die, that should be all the more reason why we should obey him, and why he said, "if ye love me keep my commands".
Paul is not contradicting himself, he also wrote the Gal church and asked them "
who bewitched you that you could not obey the truth?" Because that doctrine is a trick of false teachers.
Heb 5:9 he became the author of the eternal salvation unto all them that obey.
Please dont do as others and try to turn this into" Do you obey God at all times" "do you ever sin", that is a straw man argument and cheap ploy to try and destroy credibility, to destroy the message and is evil.
No I am not perfect, yes I fall like everyone else in area's, yet that is why God gives to us repentance. Not so we can abuse it as I will sin now and repent later, but if we fall, we repent (stop that sin) and pray and ask for forgiveness.
Yet if we choose not to repent, then we continue in that sin, we cannot expect forgiveness. We cannot think I can live in this sin, because Jesus died for sins, ALL sin, and knows I am not perfect, so it's okay that I struggle with this, but I am still saved.....that is wrong and goes against much scripture.
Heb 10:26, this passage is about
unrepentant sins and should be taken very seriously.
Dont let other try to convince you it's only about returning to the law of Moses because that subject is discussed, read verses 26 and the 4 verse after that one, that argument is easily shot down
He says "if we SIN willfully" not if we "return to the law" then in the next verses he contrasts the penalty of those under the law, with the penalty of those that are Christians and turn there backs on grace.
Which he shows deserves a more severe punishment than those under the law of Moses:
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses 'law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace
He shows that unrepentant sin, after knowing the truth, is despising the spirit of grace.
Why is that? Because Grace does not teach us it's is okay to sin
because Jesus died for it.
I have never heard any OSAS person
explain these verses in any way that makes sense, the message is just too plain a child can understand it.
It is despite to the Spirit of grace, because what does grace teach us?
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world
Rom 6:1-f.:
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein
Some try the "dont you know Romans was talking about those who tried to say that it was okay to sin because it glorified God more and showed his grace, therefore it's not saying we cant live in sin....."
I say to that AND??????
Does that change the message?
Does that change what answer to the question "shall we continue in sin that grace will abound?" - in other words that grace will cover our sins?
Again a clear and plain message.
Heb 5:9 and being made perfect he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
This is why we have so many warnings, if we could never lose Grace,(salvation) then their would be no reason of Paul warning us not to receive the grace of God in VAIN:
II Cor 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain
Now before the usual hate mob attacks me with all kinds of lies and straw men arguments, read the post, dont start the "are you saying your sinless?" I covered that above, or the you dont trust in the finished work of Christ", because that is just a poor attempt to make it sound as if by me sinning it shows I trust Christ more knowing I can sin and not lose salvation - which is the same message Paul was dealing with in Rom 6, and answered that for you 2000 years ago.
We must not only believe, but have faith. And faith requires obedience or you cant say you have faith.
Luke 17:10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do
Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man
Obedience is NOT a work
, it is our duty, and if any think we do have to do our duty to receive salvation, they have been mislead.
Many on here are mislead on purpose, because they like what sounds good, convenient, and others are simply in error as the Gal were tricked into thinking they did not have to obey the Gospel of our Lord:
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you