Chapter 10
Grace, The True And The False
The study of grace is extremely important regarding the believer’s security. Unfortunately, the word grace (charis) is not a term that is concisely defined in the Scriptures, as we might like it to be. Because it isn’t, some have been misled about its meaning. Strong defines grace as:
acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).[1]
Nonetheless, there are still ways in which we can more specifically learn what grace is and what it isn’t. As with other Biblical topics we must consider many Scriptures to get a more accurate understanding. Let me prove this to you as we begin with the most commonly cited grace passage:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:8-10, KJV).
But later in this same epistle, the same grace teacher also wrote:
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them (Eph 5:5-7, NIV).
Similarly, let’s consider Rom. 11:6, another key grace passage often cited by the OSAS proponents:
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work (KJV).
Just like before, in the same epistle written by the same grace teacher, we have Rom. 2:7-9:
To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (NIV).
Because of the way many understand grace today, they would either unconsciously discount Paul’s words in Ephesians chapter five and Romans two or would tend to label them legalism, bondage, cultic or some sort of work’s salvation.
From this inability to reconcile the grace of Eph. 2:8,9 with Eph. 5:5-7 and Rom. 11:6 with Rom. 2:7-9, it should immediately be obvious that something is seriously wrong with the present-day gospel of grace, as it is commonly understood.
Let’s take a look at what is being taught about grace and its connection with OSAS.
Grace As Taught Today
As far as multitudes are concerned, grace is exactly what the following teachers have declared it to be:
And I think about how many people sit in churches week after week after week and never hear anything about the blood, never hear anything about the cross, never hear anything about the grace of Almighty God. You see, it isn’t just good news. It is good news about Jesus Christ, who paid our sin debt in full to a holy God who required death for sin and the shedding of his blood, satisfied that requirement, and made it possible for you and me to be accepted in the eyes of God and to be eternally secure in him. That’s why he called it the grace of God.[2]
To deny the eternal security of the believer is to challenge the eternal character of the riches of divine grace, and to assume that the very Son of God may fall in Whom we stand.[3]
Thus the doctrine of eternal security might be said to be the keystone of the arch of the doctrines of grace, or it might be likened to the warp of a fabric of which the other doctrines of grace are the woof. Take out the doctrine of eternal security and the arch falls, or the fabric falls apart.[4]
What the gospel does is to assure us that we are saved, eternally saved, by sheer grace, through faith alone.
It is because we believe in salvation by grace through faith without works that we can rest our case so confidently. The gospel on which “once saved, always saved” rests is by grace, through faith alone.[5]
What grace it is that can give us not only forgiveness and eternal life through faith alone but also guarantee that the Giver will never renege on His gift! Nor can we ever give it back even if we try![6]
But when you make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you enter into a system that depends entirely on God. That’s why Eph. 2:8,9 says for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. Grace means that it all depends on God. Grace means that God is not compromised by giving you something, apart from your merit, apart from your ability and apart from your works. So grace becomes a major issue in the doctrine of eternal security.[7]
Once a son, always a son. Once you are born into the family of God, you will always be a member of the family of God. You cannot change your spiritual birth any more than you can change your physical birth. You may desire at some time to change your family. Perhaps you have been the recipient of discipline; perhaps there have been some hard feelings; yet it is impossible to change the family into which you were born physically. In like manner, and much more important, you cannot change the family into which you were born spiritually. The moment you believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior you were born into the family of God. At that point you became a child of God, and for all eternity you will remain a child of God. This is the grace of God! There is nothing you can do to alter it.[8]
All confusion on the subject of eternal security would disappear from your mind if only you could become clear on the meaning of grace. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by works. We are not saved because we are good, nor are we lost because we are bad. A man who is truly born again is safe forever and is as sure of heaven as if he had already been there ten thousand years. He may fall into sin; and since the flesh in the believer has not been changed a bit and is as corrupt as ever, he may do very evil things. David, for example, was guilty of adultery and murder after he became saved.[9]
From all that, it should be apparent how the version of grace we are being flooded with today is inseparably linked to OSAS. In fact, the five points of Calvinism (TULIP) are labeled the doctrines of grace.[10]
Let’s compare OSAS grace to God’s word so we can see how Scripturally sound it is. This will be done with a series of questions. Below is the first question.
Does True Grace Have Us Hold On?
And just this very week, somebody in explaining this to them said, ultimately as if they did not hear anything I said, “Well, pray that I’ll hold on.” Hold on to what? And I say this, my friend, believe me, I would not be critical for anything in the world. There’s not anything for you to hold onto. You know why? Because the omnipotent hand of a loving Father has you in a dual grip. God the Father and God the Son have you in his hand, in their hand. And my friend, whether you let go or not hasn’t got anything to do with it. The Bible nowhere says, “Hold on.”[11]
Tens of thousands of professing Christians in the United States alone must have heard Dr. Stanley give that teaching related to OSAS. He teaches that the Bible does not say we are to hold on. His rationale for such is that God has us in his omnipotent grip. Therefore, regardless of us holding on to his hand or not, we will continue to be held.
Is such really the message of the Bible or a subtle and dangerous distortion of the truth, even though it sounds good and seems to exalt God?
[One might wonder how one can be held in a dual grip by the omnipotent God and still have his faith completely shipwrecked, as Stanley is convinced by Hodges can occur.[12] Surely to him and other OSAS proponents this is reasonable!]
Without a doubt, the inspired writers of the New Testament knew that God is omnipotent, but did they come to the same conclusion as Stanley did about hold[ing] on? If the OSAS teachers of our day are right about grace, then we should never read of even a single Scripture which tells the believer to hold to anything.
Furthermore, according to statements made by other OSAS teachers, holding to anything would automatically remove grace from its identity as grace and place it under the heading of works. Again, is this what the original grace teachers suggested or is this a distortion of the true grace mentioned in the Bible? Remember now, Dr. Stanley, and his grace message linked to OSAS, said the Bible nowhere says, “Hold on.” Let’s test his teaching with Scripture:
Does True Grace Say Hold?
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples” (Jn. 8:31, NIV).
By which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain (1 Cor. 15:2, NKJV).
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim. 6:12, NKJV).
But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the
rejoicing of the hope firm to the end (Heb. 3:6, NKJV).
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end (Heb. 3:14, KJV).
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession (Heb. 4:14, NKJV).
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (Heb. 10:23, KJV).
But that which ye have already hold fast till I come (Rev. 2:25, KJV).
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Rev. 3:11, KJV).
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17, NIV).
At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10, NIV).
The OSAS grace message does not and cannot allow for the believer to hold on and even flatly denies that the Bible teaches such. In contrast, there are numerous clear passages which show that it is our Christian responsibility to do so. The reason for this vast difference will become more apparent as we read on.
Before we consider another aspect of true grace and its relationship to human responsibility, let’s review the aforementioned Scriptures regarding hold.
● Jesus’ disciples hold to Jesus’ teachings!
● To be saved and not believe in vain, we must hold firmly to Paul’s gospel.
● We are to take hold of eternal life.
● We are God’s house, if we hold to our courage.
● We are to hold to the end the confidence we had at first to share in Christ.
● We are to hold firmly and unswervingly to the faith and hope we profess.
● We are to hold on to all that we have until Jesus returns.
● We are to hold to our testimony of Jesus.
Dear reader, don’t ever be intimidated to openly profess the importance of a Christian holding on. Don’t ever let anyone convince you that it is not in the New Testament for the Christian or is not under the umbrella of grace. You have multiple Scriptures on which to stand.
Does True, Biblical, Saving Grace Say Make Every Effort?
Please ponder the words make every effort in the following passages as they were unhesitatingly given by the Lord himself and other true grace teachers, as revealed in the Bible. This is the ultimate standard we are to compare all teachings to as we test their soundness (2 Tim. 3:16,17 cf. 1 Thess. 5:21). If we understand true grace, as they did in first-century Christianity, we should not hesitate to proclaim the same:
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to (Lk. 13:24, NIV).
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (Heb. 4:11, NIV).
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14, NIV).
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge (2 Pet. 1:5, NIV).
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him (2 Pet. 3:14, NIV).
Again, please note the words of Jesus as you just read in Lk. 13:24. The Lord said we are to put forth an agonizing, continuous effort until we actually enter through the narrow door, that is, into the actual kingdom. The same Lord Jesus who gave us Jn. 3:16 and Jn. 10:27,28 told us this!
In contrast, the grace teachers of our day are saying something different:
Be confident of your security in Christ. It does not depend on you, your efforts, or your feelings.[13]
The believer does nothing to secure his or her salvation. According to His own purpose, God secures it for us. The believer cannot secure it and certainly cannot keep it.[14]
If I must do or not do something to keep from losing my salvation, salvation would be by faith and works (italics his).[15]
The very gospel itself comes under attack when the eternal security of the believer is questioned. Placing the responsibility for maintaining salvation on the believer is adding works to grace. Salvation would no longer be a gift. It would become a trade—our faithfulness for His faithfulness.
This is a far cry from the good news Jesus preached and Paul heralded.[16]
While present-day grace teaching, that is linked with OSAS, will tell us we better not be making any effort (or the like) to maintain our salvation, the Holy Bible clearly teaches something diametrically opposed to that, as just shown! Again, this shows there must be something seriously wrong with the grace message of our day!
Does True Grace Teaching Declare Keep And Strengthen Yourself?
Similar to us holding and making every effort, the words keep and strengthen also reveal the real grace of God, as it conflicts with the counterfeit:
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning (Lk. 12:35, NIV).
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (Jn. 12:25, NIV).
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood (Acts 20:28, NIV).
So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man (Acts 24:16, NIV).
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11, NIV).
. . . keep thyself pure (1 Tim. 5:22, KJV).
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees (Heb. 12:12, NIV).
Keep your lives free from the love of money . . . (Heb. 13:5, NIV).
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world (Jam. 1:26,27, KJV).
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen (1 Jn. 5:21, KJV).
Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 21, NIV).
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God (Rev. 3:2, NIV).
While OSAS teachers place all of the responsibility of us being kept and strengthened on God alone, the Lord Jesus, Paul, John, James and Jude taught otherwise! With all these verses in mind we can conclude that we are kept by God as we keep ourselves and we are strengthened by God as we strengthen ourselves. If it was solely left up to God, everyone would be perfectly kept and perfectly strengthened. That would mean there would never be any shipwrecks of the faith or people who would need spiritually strengthened in any way.
What Is The True Grace of God, According To The Apostle Peter?
It seems that the Apostle Peter shared the same concern that both Jude and Paul had about false grace teaching that existed back then (Jude 3,4; Eph. 5:5-7). Peter wrote:
I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it (1 Pet. 5:12, NIV).
That verse is a very important summary verse to Peter’s entire first epistle. He stated that his epistle, as a whole, is the true grace of God. Therefore, to get a fuller understanding of what the original apostles taught about grace, we should especially examine this epistle.
The following is what the Apostle Peter said about the true grace of God, as it existed in first-century Christianity and was written to Christians. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “This is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.”
. . . be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed (1:13).[17]
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance (1:14).
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1:15,16).
. . . Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear (1:17).
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart (1:22).
. . . rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind . . . crave pure spiritual milk . . . (2:1,2).
. . . abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul (2:11).
Live such good lives . . . that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God . . . (2:12).
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority . . . (2:13).
For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men (2:15).
. . . do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil; live as servants of God (2:16).
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king (2:17).
. . . die to sins and live for righteousness . . . (2:24).
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble (3:8).
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult (3:9).
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech” (3:10).
Turn from evil and do good . . . seek peace and pursue it (3:11).
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer . . . with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience . . . (3:15,16).
. . . since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves with the same attitude (4:1).
As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires . . . (4:2).
. . . be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray (4:7).
Above all, love each other deeply . . . (4:8).
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling (4:9).
. . . use whatever gift he has received to serve others . . . (4:10).
But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ . . . (4:13).
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good (4:19).
. . . be submissive to those who are older . . . clothe yourselves with humility . . . (5:5).
Humble yourselves . . . (5:6).
Be self-controlled and alert (5:8).
Resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith (5:9).
We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8,9), kept and strengthened by the Lord (Jude 1; 2 Thess. 3:3). We can add nothing to the finished work of Christ (Heb. 10:12). However, according to the Apostle Peter, there are some basic Christian responsibilities that do exist under the umbrella of the true grace of God, which cannot be adding works to grace, making salvation by faith and works, or denying the infinite work of Christ, as some would falsely accuse. Otherwise, Peter was in error and teaching falsehood by telling the Christians to do or be all of the aforementioned things, and then at the end of his letter, stating that this was the true grace of God in which Christians were to stand fast.
Apparently Peter had a vastly different understanding of grace than many do today! Again, Peter wrote that his message is the true grace of God, as opposed to all others who might make the same claim. Dear reader, answer this question for yourself: Are you stand[ing] fast in Peter’s type of grace—the true grace of God or some counterfeit under the name of grace?
Does True Grace Teaching Allow The Sexually Immoral In Heaven?
Now we are really getting down to a relevant issue of our day—sexual immorality! But more than just being relevant, by answering this question we can distinguish the true grace from the one that is a license for immorality (Jude 4). Does true grace teaching (and the true grace teachers) allow the sexually immoral into heaven?
The following quotes are what the OSAS grace teachers have been communicating to the world regarding this issue:
Bob George:
And as Paul said, “All things are permissible, but not all things are profitable.” So is committing fornication permissible? Yes. Is it profitable? No, it isn’t.[18]
Charles Stanley:
It is not lying, cheating, stealing, raping, murdering, or being unfaithful that sends people to hell.[19]
Neither do we become unsaved by acting unsaved.[20]
John MacArthur:
Yes, someone says, but can’t Christians put themselves outside God’s grace? What about those who commit abominable sins? Don’t they nullify the work of redemption in themselves? Don’t they forfeit the love of God?
Certainly not. . . . it’s preposterous to think that we can forfeit it [salvation] by anything we do.[21]
John MacArthur’s Ministry:
Secondly, you asked about occasional sexual sin or getting drunk. Again, these sins cannot cause a true believer to lose his salvation.[22]
John Ankerberg:
But Christians may still lose rewards in heaven. Indeed, we can only wonder what some Christians will feel like and experience on that day when they lose those heavenly rewards because of the spiritually numbing and other consequences of fornication or adultery while on earth? It will certainly be an infinitely poor exchange—losing eternal rewards in heaven for a few fleeting moments of sexual pleasure on earth.[23]
Zane Hodges:
Paul does not say, as lordship teachers so often do, that his readers should question their salvation if they become involved in sexual impurity.[24]
. . . there are no more cowards, no more idolators, no more liars—except those who have been consigned to the lake of fire! But what about born again Christians who have done these things? To be specific, what about wise Solomon who ended his life with defection from his God and with idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-10)! The answer is that they will all be in the presence of God as citizens of the eternal world. And whatever their failures on earth may have been, these are gone. If they had been liars, they are liars no more. If idolators, they are idolators no more. For now they are immortal and sinless. They are conformed to the image of God’s Son. How did they come to this place. By the grace of God.[25]
Chuck Swindoll:
Do you realize the scandal I am declaring? If given full reign, our flesh will come across exactly as those who are not even born again. That explains how a Christian can steal and lie. That explains how a Christian can lack integrity and commit adultery and turn against the very things he or she once taught.[26]
Donald Cole:
Caller: Yes sir. But some people are telling my children once saved always saved. And I’m trying to make my son realize that his father is living in sin and until he repents that he won’t be on his way to heaven.
Cole: Well if he was a genuine believer before he moved in with this other woman, then he is indeed on the way to heaven and he will never get off the road to heaven.[27]
Hal Lindsey:
Now, that’s not to say there won’t be those who will condemn us and accuse us of having “fallen from God’s grace” because of some behavior which they’ve judged as being wrong, and perhaps, really was wrong. But nothing, not even wrong behavior, can ever cause God to condemn one of His children again (italics his).[28]
Dave Hunt:
Salvation is the full pardon by grace from the penalty of all sin, past, present or future; . . .[29]
The man who had ‘his father’s wife’—a terrible sin— didn’t lose his salvation thereby. . . .[30]
John R. Rice:
David committed sins of murder and adultery. We must condemn his sins. They were bad. But David’s sins were under the blood of Christ, and in the fiftyô€€Žfirst Psalm, the prayer of David shows that he had not lost his salvation, but the joy of salvation.[31]
J. Vernon McGee:
Q. I thought I was born again when I was fifteen years old. I felt happy and secure in Christ. But over time, sin surely crept in, and I went the downward path. Three marriages, adultery, lies, drinking. Was I born again? What do I do now?
A. . . . The very fact that you are disturbed indicates to me that, when you say you were born again at fifteen, you are accurate.[32]
Erwin W. Lutzer:
Recently I spoke to a homosexual who believes he accepted Christ at the age of twenty, only to plunge into a life of wanton immorality. . . . Whether or not he was a child of God during those days of heedless carnality (who of us knows for sure?), he lost fellowship with his Father.[33]
Charles Ryrie:
. . . sin does not cause us to lose our salvation.[34]
William Pettingill:
If a sinning saint refuses to confess his sin, then God must deal with him. In 1 Corinthians 5 there is an instance of this kind.[35]
Robert Morey:
The eternal security of the believer arises out of the necessity and nature of the atonement. . .
That the saints do not ultimately fall away from grace or into sin does not mean that Christians don’t fall into sin many times in their life time. Abraham lied, David committed adultery and murder, and Peter denied the Lord![36]
In contradistinction to all those OSAS teachers, the following quotes from the Lord Jesus, the Apostle Paul, Jude and God himself must be placed under the heading of true grace. These Biblical communicators were the original grace teachers and the highest authority from which one can draw (2 Tim. 3:16,17)! It is their teachings which should be studied and meditated upon to know if true grace allows the sexually immoral in heaven or not.
The Lord Jesus Himself:
For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’ (Mk. 7:21-23, NIV).
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood (Rev. 22:15, NIV).
The word outside in Rev. 22:15 refers to being outside of New Jerusalem. This is another way of saying the lake of fire, since these are the only two eternal destinies.
The Apostle Paul:
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9,10, NIV).
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21, NIV).
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them (Eph. 5:5-7, NIV).
Jude:
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire (Jude 7, NIV).
The Sovereign God from his throne:
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death (Rev. 21:8, NIV).
While the popular grace teachers previously cited (and many others not mentioned here) say grace does allow the sexually immoral in heaven, the real grace teachers of the Bible categorically say no to the same exact question! This makes two completely opposite answers to the same question, which speaks volumes as to the incredible, critical and irreconcilable differences between today’s popular grace message and the true grace taught in the Bible.
All of these Scriptures are clear in conveying God’s truth about the sexually immoral (and the like) not entering the kingdom unless they repent.
Especially note Rev. 21:8. There we observe the loving Father did not say the sexually immoral, if ever previously saved, would still enter his kingdom at the expense of their rewards! Nor did he say the people who once believed but afterwards became sexually immoral would still enter the kingdom based on Jesus’ work on the cross. He said they would all go to the lake of fire! This means the only hope the sexually immoral have, even if previously saved, is to repent of such or be thrown into the lake of fire. This is consistently taught from the gospels through the book of Revelation. This is what God wants mankind to know about sexual immorality.
Which Grace Message Will You Believe?
Make no mistake about it, there are two grace messages available to choose from just as there was in first-century Christianity. But only one stresses holy living and persistence in doing good to the point where it is necessary to see the Lord and get eternal life:
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14, NIV).
To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life (Rom. 2:7, NIV).
Moreover, Paul wrote of true grace:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11,12, NIV).
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace (2 Cor. 1:12, NIV).
Please note, to live in accord to God’s grace is to live in holiness and sincerity!
Dear reader, make the right choice about the grace of God that brings salvation. While it is your choice, it is also your eternity. This is one subject you and your loved ones can’t afford to be wrong about!
One grace message can’t allow you to hold on, make every effort, keep or strengthen yourself. Furthermore, that same grace message, based on OSAS, allows the sexually immoral, drunkards, greedy, etc. in heaven if they ever had a past moment of true faith. The bottom line conclusion of OSAS is:
Both Christians and non-Christians can be adikoi (bold emphasis his).[37]
Some OSAS grace teachers even say that all of your sins—past, present and future—were forgiven at the point of salvation, thereby removing the need to forgive others, confess to God and repent for subsequent forgiveness and cleansing after initial salvation. In contrast, Biblical grace teaches the exact opposite as proven elsewhere in this book.
The seriousness of sexual immorality, as taught by OSAS teachers, is as far from the truth of God as the lake of fire is from the kingdom of heaven! Please ponder this statement and the consequences of being wrong about this.
We are saved by grace, but it is possible for a Christian under grace to lose his inheritance of the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21), be disowned by Christ (Mt. 10:33), have his share in New Jerusalem taken away (Rev. 22:19), and die spiritually if he chooses to live according to the sinful nature (Rom. 8:13) as was exemplified by the Prodigal who became spiritually dead and lost (Lk. 15:24,32).
Also, the same one who gave us the truth about grace as cited in Eph. 2:8,9 and Rom. 11:6 also reported that Christians could fall from grace to the point where Christ will be of no value at all to them (Gal. 5:2-4). All of this corporately is the true grace of God, according to Paul. To declare something different from this is to side with the counterfeit grace message, which is just as much a license for immorality in our day as it was in Jude’s.
How Do We Please God?
According to some, a true believer in Christ automatically pleases God:
All we have to do is please God. And what do we have to do to please Him? Just believe in Him and trust in Him. We don’t please God by all of our works and feverish activities. We please God when we believe in Him and trust in Him. That is the gospel of grace.[38]
Pleasing God in this fashion is also a part of the gospel of grace, as presented to us in our day. In contrast, pleasing God, according to the Scriptures, does not come automatically for a believer.
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it (2 Cor. 5:9, NIV).
Here we learn what Paul’s goal was, which he sought after. That goal was to please God. Pleasing God, therefore, doesn’t come automatically for those who believe in him and trust in him. This we know because Paul was doing that.
In part, Paul would endeavor to please God by the things he would speak or teach.
But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts (1 Thess. 2:4, NKJV).
Elsewhere we learn Paul’s teaching exalted the one and only true gospel. By doing so, he was not seeking to please men, but God.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ (Gal. 1:8-10, NKJV).
Beyond the gospel, Paul’s teachings to Christians included how they could please God by the way they lived. He taught those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God (Rom. 8:8) and holy living doesn’t allow for sexual immorality:
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable (1 Thess. 4:1-4, NIV).
He also taught:
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God (1 Tim. 5:4, NIV).
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8, NIV).
His other teachings also show pleasing God does not come automatically for a Christian:
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier (2 Tim. 2:4, KJV).
But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord; how he may please the Lord (1 Cor. 7:32, NKJV).
Paul even prayed that Christians would please God in every way:
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10, NIV).
How we live after we believe on Christ does make a difference in us pleasing or not pleasing God, in spite of what we are being presented today on this subject, under the heading of grace.
Imputed Righteousness
Another aspect of today’s gospel of grace centers around the following understanding of imputed righteousness:
This is the second aspect of the gospel of grace. First, all of your sins have been taken care of, washed, and forgiven because of your faith in Jesus Christ. Second, God looks at you as righteous because of your believing in Jesus Christ. Apart from what you are doing or not doing, apart from keeping any code of ethics, God is imputing righteousness to your account because you believe upon Jesus Christ.[39]
Such a teaching overlooks the defiling and contaminating abilities of sin even in the life of a believer. While it’s certainly true that we are imputed a righteous standing before God through our faith in Christ, this righteous standing can be destroyed by sin (Jam. 4:4; Gal. 5:19-21; 6:8; etc.).
Surprisingly, people in the Old Testament received imputed righteousness just like we do today under the new covenant! Examples of such are Abraham (Gen. 15:6 cf. Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; Jam. 2:23) and Noah (Heb. 11:7). David also taught of imputed righteousness in his era, the Old Testament (Psa. 32:1,2 cf. Rom. 4:6-8). In spite of this fact though, we read in Ezek. 33:12,13:
. . . “the righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys . . . the righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.” If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done (NIV).
Why then do people under the New Testament think that because imputed righteousness is
our righteousness in Christ (Rom. 3:22; 9:30-10:4; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9; etc.), they can afterwards turn to evil and/or a wrong plan of salvation and not be spiritually affected to a lethal degree? Clearly, such is not the case now. (See Rev. 21:8; 1 Jn. 2:24,25; etc.) Without a doubt, imputed righteousness, according to the New Testament canon, does not mean that a recipient can afterwards live according to the sinful nature and not die (Rom. 8:13) or sow to please the sinful nature and not reap destruction (Gal. 6:8)! Also, Paul wrote that we could, because of accepting a wrong plan of salvation, fall from grace and be alienated from Christ to the point that he is of no value to us at all (Gal. 5:2,4)! Paul, who often wrote of imputed righteousness in Christ, also gave these other Scriptures without contradicting himself and his grace message!
Shall We Continue In Sin?
Finally, with all of the aforementioned data in mind about grace, it should be obvious that OSAS proponents have misinterpreted Paul’s statement, shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Let’s consider the context of that verse:
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Rom. 6:1,2, KJV).
Please note that Paul gives his answer to this question about sinning so grace can abound. His answer is a clear and definite, God forbid (or No)!
It appears that the question cited in Rom. 6:1 was an argument used by Paul’s opponents, since what is implied by the question is the opposite from Paul’s answer (v. 2) and his teaching in general about grace (Titus 2:12; 1 Cor. 6:9,10; etc.).
Did Paul Preach License?
How some can refer to the Rom. 6:1 passage for support of the OSAS gospel of grace which allows the immoral in heaven is incredible, but nonetheless has been done and reflects a gross misunderstanding:
Then he turns into the first chapter of Romans 6, what shall we say then, shall we go on sinning that grace may abound? Lloyd Jones says, if people don’t accuse you as Paul anticipated them accusing him there of preaching license because of the clarity of proclaiming the gospel, you haven’t proclaimed the gospel clearly enough yet.[40]
It is possible that some will argue, “Let us continue in sin that grace may abound.” The apostle Paul was criticized for this very thing (Rom. 6:1). Any doctrine of grace which cannot be so misunderstood is not a biblical doctrine of grace.[41]
Paul certainly wasn’t anticipating people of accusing him of preaching license! License was the false grace message the early Christians fought against (Jude 3,4), including Paul (Eph. 5:5-7). Paul repeatedly taught the extreme importance of holy living for salvation’s sake (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Thess. 4:7,8). Again, his grace message, which certainly does not imply license, is concisely stated in Titus 2:11,12:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:12, NIV).
A different OSAS proponent similarly stated:
Sin does not stop the flow of divine grace or remove the past gifts of grace; in fact, it is sin that stimulates grace. It is because of sin that grace is manifested. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Ro 5:20).[42]
Paul unequivocally taught Christians that if they sow to please their sinful natures, they will reap destruction as opposed to eternal life (Gal. 6:8). So again, the OSAS teachers, though popular, are teaching something about sin and grace that does not parallel Scripture! The question remains, which grace message will you believe?
Does Grace Prevent Falling?
One final aspect of grace must be touched upon. Does the grace of God prevent a Christian from falling from grace? W. Boyd Hunt thinks it does:
Christian theology affirms that though hypothetically man can fall from grace, since he remains free as a Christian, experientially the grace of God prevents it. A biblically grounded faith is confident that God’s faithfulness prevails over our faithlessness.[43]
To disown Christ is to become faithless (2 Tim. 2:12,13). This truth coupled with what occurred to the original apostles, that is, they all fell away on the same night, refutes W. Boyd Hunt’s teaching about our faithlessness:
Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’” (Mt. 26:31, NIV).
Scripture clearly proves that falling away is not merely hypothetical, as some OSAS defenders say.
Two Versions Of Grace: First the True, then the False
I. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul:
“It [the grace of God] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:12, NIV).
II. (OSAS teachers)
“It
Ponder This . . .
The grace message of OSAS can’t allow you to hold on, make every effort, keep or strengthen yourself. In fact, it is absolutely irreconcilable to these Scriptural truths. Beyond this, it would go so far as to say that those who teach such are declaring “works” for salvation, “legalism,” or some other similar thing.
Furthermore, that same grace message, based on OSAS, allows the sexually immoral in heaven. In contrast, Biblical grace teaches the exact opposite! We must, therefore, be dealing with two different grace messages, but only one is from God!
Remember this, the seriousness of sexual immorality, as taught by OSAS teachers, is as far from the truth of God as the lake of fire is from the kingdom of heaven!
Because of the close link between OSAS and its corresponding grace message, we automatically know if OSAS is not true, then the grace that it is based on is also untrue, since they are inseparably linked.
OSAS in general generates a dangerous, false security among its adherents as it attempts to explain away the most serious warnings found in Scripture (Mt. 10:28; Gal. 5:19-21; Rev. 22:18,19), sets one up for a fall (1 Cor. 10:12) and opens the same up for the arrogance mentioned in Rom. 11:20.
----------------------
Notes
[1] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon, 1976), Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 77, #5485.
[2] Charles Stanley (Atlanta, GA: In Touch Ministries, 1993), Grace: God‛s Second Chance, The Gospel of the Grace of God, audiotape #6, RC283.
[3] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Salvation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971, Renewed 1945, Eleventh Printing, 1976), p. 97.
[4] J. F. Strombeck, Shall Never Perish (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1991), p. 32.
[5] R. T. Kendall, Once Saved, Always Saved (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), p. 53.
[6] Charles C. Ryrie, So Great Salvation (Victor Books, 1989), p. 144.
[7] R. B. Thieme, Jr., Doctrines/Eternal Security,
Book of Life, lesson 138-Rev. 3:5b, 1981 Revelation, 5/27/82.
[8] R. B. Thieme, Jr., The Prodigal Son (Houston, TX: R. B. Thieme, Jr. Bible Ministries, 1974), pp. 5, 6.
[9] William L. Pettingill, Bible Questions Answered (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 1979), pp. 91, 92.
[10] New Geneva Study Bible, NKJV (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), p. 2,040.
[11] Charles Stanley (Atlanta, GA: In Touch Ministries, 1990), Eternal Security: You Can Be Sure!, audiotape #3, MH190.
[12] Charles Stanley, Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure? (Oliver-Nelson Books, 1990), p. 91.
[13] Robert P. Lightner, Sin, the Savior, and Salvation (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), p. 247.
[14] John MacArthur, Jr., God: Coming Face to Face With His Majesty (Victor Books, 1993), p. 32.
[15] Stanley, Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?, p. 4.
[16] Ibid., p. 192.
[17] All verses in this list are from the NIV.
[18] Bob George (Dallas, TX: People to People), 11/16/93.
[19] Stanley, Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?, p. 70.
[20] Ibid., p. 71.
[21] John MacArthur, Jr., The Love of God (Word Publishing, 1996), p. 159. [Please note, though MacArthur often seems to teach holy living for salvation‛s sake, this quote as well as others clarifies his teaching.]
[22] Personal letter dated 1/10/94 sent by Bryan Johnson, a counselor from John MacArthur‛s ministry.
[23] The Ankerberg Theological Research Institute News Magazine (Chattanooga, TN: The Ankerberg Theological Research Institute), June 1995, Vol. 2, No. 6, p. 4.
[24] Zane Hodges, Absolutely Free! (Dallas, TX: Redención Viva, 1989), p. 94.
[25] Zane C. Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege (Dallas, TX: Redención Viva, Fifth Printing, 1988), p. 123.
[26] Chuck Swindoll, Clearing The Hurdle of Carnality: Selections from 1 Corinthians, audiotape CHH 5-A.
[27] Donald Cole, Open Line, Know You‛re Saved/Eternal Security, air date: 11/11/88.
[28] Hal Lindsey, The Liberation of Planet Earth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1974), p. 163.
[29] Dave Hunt, CIB Bulletin (Camarillo, CA: Christian Information Bureau), Vol. 5, No. 6, June 1989, p. 1.
[30] Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, July 1996, p. 3. [Hunt‛s statement here was written in regard to the sexually immoral man in 1 Corinthians 5.]
[31] John R. Rice, Can A Saved Person Ever Be Lost? (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1943), p. 16.
[32] J. Vernon McGee, Questions and Answers (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), pp. 166, 167. [The clear implication to what McGee is saying is that this woman was saved all along while she was an unrepentant adulterer, liar and drunk. This is the only conclusion to which we can come since McGee taught OSAS.]
[33] Erwin Lutzer, How You Can Be Sure That You Will Spend Eternity With God (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996), pp. 131, 132.
[34] Ryrie, So Great Salvation, p. 143.
[35] Pettingill, Bible Questions Answered, p. 92.
[36] Robert Morey, The Saving Work of Christ (Sterling, VA: Grace Abounding Ministries, Inc., 1980), pp. 235, 236.
[37] Joseph C. Dillow, Reign of the Servant Kings (Hayesville, NC: Schoettle Publishing Co., Second Edition, 1993), p. 70. [Adikoi means wicked!]
[38] Chuck Smith, Why Grace Changes Everything (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1994), p. 102.
[39] Ibid., p. 33.
[40] The White Horse Inn radio broadcast, The Doctrine of Assurance, 9/3/95.
[41] Dillow, Reign of the Servant Kings, p. 603.
[42] Robert Glenn Gromacki, Salvation Is Forever (Chicago: Moody Press, Third Printing, 1976), p. 79.
[43] Basic Christian Doctrines, Edited by Carl F.H. Henry (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979), W. Boyd Hunt‛s chapter, The Perseverance of the Saints, pp. 238, 239.
