One of the greatest assaults made upon “the faith” is Calvinism. One of these days I will spend the whole week looking at the so-called “TULIP” that constitutes Calvinism. TULIP is an acronym for Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. It is the last one, the perseverance of the saints that I am going to consider tonight. The doctrine is sometimes called the “once saved, always saved” doctrine and it makes apostasy impossible.
The gospel of Christ is hindered by this false doctrine. The purpose of the gospel is not only to save people but also to help them remain in a right relationship with God. One way that it does that is by warning saints about apostasy.
1 Corinthians 10 is a great example of this. The first twelve verses are a warning to the saints at Corinth that they could stumble and fall. The saints at Corinth seemed to be the first Christians to adopt a “once saved, always saved” mentality. While it was not their official doctrinal stance that they could not fall from grace, they were living and acting like it was. They did not believe that their current sins put their relationship with God in any jeopardy. They were wrong. Paul confronts them about it in 1 Corinthians 10. He begins by showing them that God’s people in the past lost favor with Him (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). Notice what Paul tells them after giving the examples of the Israelites of old.
1 Corinthians 10:6 (ESV)
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
Why give these saints examples of people not pleasing God and, therefore, being overthrown if the same thing could not happen to them? Paul continues to give specific acts of sin committed by these saints of old (1 Corinthians 10:7-10). Notice again how Paul applied this to the saints at Corinth.
1 Corinthians 10:11–12 (ESV)
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
The Corinthian saints needed to know that they could fall so that they would change their ways. Today, we see many people who claim to be Christians living sinful lives yet believing they are still pleasing to God. A rap artist gets a Grammy award for a song filled with sinful lyrics and the first thing he does on stage is give praise to God. Why? He thinks he is in favor with God and that his award is proof of it. His sins, in his mind, are inconsequential because there is nothing he can do to fall from grace. That is what he has heard his whole life.
Calvinistic churches do not teach people it is okay to sin. Most of them do the very opposite, warning their congregations about sin, but their admonitions are toothless. In the end, according to Calvinism, their sins do not affect their eternal destiny. Even if it is not the intention of the preacher, this leads people to continue sinning, something “the faith” condemns (Romans 6:1-2). It is possible to fall from grace and the bible specifically tells us so.
Galatians 5:4 (NKJV)
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
These are Paul’s words to the false teachers in Galatia. Due to their teaching concerning circumcision and the law, they had fallen from grace. This is what Paul, by the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote. When man teaches something that is the opposite of what the bible says, it should be clear which one we should choose—we must choose the bible every time.
Not only does the Bible tell us we can fall, but we have many examples of it in the New Testament. Ananias and Sapphira fell from grace (Acts 5:1-10). Simon, a man who believed and was baptized into Christ, fell from grace (Acts 8:9-25). Hymenaeus and Philetus fell from grace (2 Timothy 2:17). Demas, a man who at one time was a companion of Paul, fell from grace (2 Timothy 4:10). I could go on, but I think these examples make the point. Not only do the scriptures specifically tell us we can fall from grace, but they also give us several examples of that happening.
We must teach what the Bible teaches and in doing so encourage people to be faithful until death (Revelation 2:10), because to fail to do so leads to the damnation of the soul.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.