Seven Passages I Use In Public Debate Against The Perseverance Of The Saints Version Of OSAS

There are two versions of the Once Saved Always Saved heresy. For some the ‘P’ in TULIP stands for Preservation of the saints, for others Perseverance of the saints. “Preservation of the saints” means a truly born-again Christian will be saved no matter how he lives – he is “preserved.” “Perseverance of the saints” means if a Christian falls away, that means he never really became a Christian to begin with – a truly born again Christian will never fall away. Either view is dead wrong because passages that conclusively prove OSAS false are all through the Bible. But following are some of the texts that prove FALSE especially the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved …

Hebrews 10:29 is a great verse to conclusively prove FALSE the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved. These Christians had clearly been saved because the verse says they had been “sanctified by the blood.” But they also clearly were not persevering because now they were trodding under foot the Son of God and counting that blood of Christ an unholy thing – in our vernacular they were spitting in the face of Jesus (total disrespect). And that willful sin would send them to the bad place according to verses 26 and 27 … if they didn’t repent (Luke 13:3).

Another passage that clearly proves the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved is FALSE is Heb 3:12 – “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Those addressed are “brethren.” Verse 1 calls them – “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.” Only a true Christian is a holy (same Greek word as sanctified/cleansed) brother. Only a true Christian has partaken of the heavenly calling. And you can’t depart (verse 12) from a place you’ve never been. So a true Christian can (it is possible to) develop an evil heart, become an unbeliever, and depart from God. And in this case what if the believer changes back to an unbeliever? John 3:36b answers that for us – “he that believeth not … shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” So (1) these are true Christians, that (2) did not persevere, and (3) ended up losing their salvation.

Another passage that proves the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved is FALSE is II Pet 2:20-22. From verse 20 we know for sure those under consideration had truly been born again – only a true Christian has “escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (ESV). But then “they are again entangled therein (in the ‘defilements of the world’ – ptd), and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” If it is worse than the beginning, i.e., before they were saved, then that would mean they are no longer saved, right? The illustrations in verse 22 drive that same point home. The washing of the pig represents the washing of sins off the sinner. The pig going back to the mud represents the saved sinner going back into (living in) the sins of the world (v.20). He is not following up on his repentance commitment made in conjunction with being baptized (Acts 2:38). The point: the washed pig/sinner that goes back into mud/sin is no better off than before they were washed. Three details we learn from this passage. These were Christians. They did not persevere. They therefore lost their salvation.

Doesn’t Rev 3:5 prove FALSE the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved? It implies those that don’t overcome (temptation, persecution – sin) will have their name blotted out of the book of life. So they were in the book of life (saved – Phil 4:3, Rev 21:27, Luke 10:20, Psa 69:28), did not persevere (overcome), and therefore were now out of the book of life (lost). That’s conclusive, right?

James 5:19-20 proves FALSE the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved. We know this passage is talking about “brethren” in Christ because they had “the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2:1), and had a right to pray being “righteous” (5:16,1:5). But now some of them had “erred (‘wandered’ NKJV) from the truth.” So brethren who had once held to the truth (were Christians), now had left the truth (did not persevere). The text says our job is to try to convert them back. If they refuse, their SOUL dies and their sins are not covered. So they were at one time saved, but did not persevere, have refused to return to the Lord, and so are now lost.

II Chron 15:2 proves FALSE the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved. The verse includes “the Lord is with you, while ye be with him” implying that if you quit being with God, He will quit being with you. This is confirmed by the last phrase “if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” So a person who was once with the Lord (saved) can forsake the Lord (not persevere), and if he does, the Lord will forsake him. That is, God will quit being with him (his saved standing with God is lost). True this is in the Old Testament, but doesn’t II Tim 2:12 (“if we deny him, he also will deny us”) say the same thing?

Gal 5:4 also proves FALSE the Perseverance Of The Saints version of Once Saved Always Saved. It reads “… Christ will profit you nothing … Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace” (ASV). The standard Baptist position is a Christian cannot fall from grace, but this verse points out specifically some at that time had “fallen … from grace.”

First, this verse has to be talking about Christians:

• you can’t be “severed” (cut off) from something you weren’t previously joined to

• you can’t fall from a tree (grace) that you weren’t up in to start with

• the verse is written “unto the churches of Galatia” (1:2), “brethren” (1:11, 3:15, 4:12, 31, 5:11, 13, 6:1, 18), “children of God” (3:26), adopted “sons” of God who had received the Holy Spirit (4:5-6)

Second – “falling from grace” in Gal 5:4 refers to falling from eternal salvation

• You can’t be eternally saved if you are severed/separated from Christ, can you?

• You can’t be saved eternally if “Christ shall profit you nothing” can you? Just the opposite – the only way to be saved is by profiting from the death of Christ

So this verse describes those in grace to start with (Christians), who did NOT persevere (by trying to bind the Old Testament law on other Christians), and fell from grace (lost their salvation). It is clear and unmistakable on our OSAS issue.

Baptist preacher Bill Foster wrote “If I killed my wife and mother and debauched a thousand women I couldn’t go to h-e-l-l – in fact, I couldn’t go to h-e-l-l if I wanted to.” Baptist debater Vernon Barr said “Baptists teach that a child of God can do anything he wants to and go to heaven anyhow.” Ask yourself – how are many of Foster and Barr’s listeners likely to start living? Do you see now why OSAS is such a dangerous FALSE doctrine?

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