Topic(s): Christian Life, Denominationalism, Sin

Todd Clippard

The Bible is full of passages teaching us the necessity of faithfulness in order to be saved. Consider for a moment the composition of the New Testament:

1. The first four books (Matthew-John) teach us about the one who came to save us -- Jesus.
2. The next book (Acts) teaches us what to do to be saved.
3. The next 21 books (Romans-Jude) teach Christians how to stay saved.
4. The last book (Revelation) teaches us the destiny of those who remain faithful.

In Matthew 10:22, Jesus said "whosoever endures to the end shall be saved." That seems pretty simple to understand. Consider also that was in the audience when Jesus said it. Question: was Judas saved or lost? For those who teach that one once saved can never be lost, this question presents a huge difficulty.

1. If Judas was saved, he could never be lost. Therefore, one can betray Jesus, then go out and kill himself and still go to heaven. Such also denies the clear teaching of Jesus in John 17:12. BUT!

2. If Judas was lost, then he never was saved to begin with. Therefore, Jesus appointed a lost person to the apostleship, giving him power to work miracles, and commissioning him to preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 10:1-8). Judas was called one of the twelve disciples in this text, and Acts 1 says he was numbered among the apostles. Also, in John 17, Jesus said Judas was given to Him by God. How could this be if Judas was never saved? The very language of John 17 teaches that Judas was a saved person who so sinned as to be lost.

Galatians 5:4 teaches that some Christians had fallen from grace due to their pursuit of justification by the law of Moses. This was written to the church (Gal 1:2).

James 5:19-20 speaks of Christians who err from the truth, but are restored saving their souls from death.

There is overwhelming and irrefutable evidence against the doctrine known as "once saved, always saved."