Apostasy 101

[DeighAnn]

7 hours ago, Chris1975 said:

Correct. The favourite go to verse by the once saved always saved community is the following: Roman 11v29 ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Then they claim it in the following way: I repented, believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and am now saved.

And this is true. So long as you CONTINUE in the faith (many scriptures can be provided upon request).

But because of the legalistic claim to the above verse, they say that once the gift of salvation is given it cannot be lost.

But we need to look at the surrounding verses around Romans 11v29 to see if this is IN FACT what the Lord is saying. Lets look at it:

 

Romans 11

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own ^[f]opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And so all Israel will be ^[g]saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
²⁷ For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

²⁸ Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰ For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, ³¹ even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. ³² For God has ^[h]committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

 

- so what can be clearly seen here is the CONTEXT in which this is written.

-It is written about ISRAEL as a corporate body. It is the promises made to the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel).

-It means that God has not forgotten Israel even though they rejected the Messiah who came. Thus salvation was opened to the Gentiles. But God has NOT forgotten them, because of His promises according to Election (to Israel). He too will restore these NATURAL BRANCHES at the appointed time, once the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

So we cannot apply this to the case of an individual believer, who turns back from God after having believed. This one is not saved. Nor can we apply this to a person who once believed but now wilfully lives in unrepentant sin. This one is not saved.

 

I think something that is getting lost is the OSAS,  is that God offers the gift to those who come "to abide, to obey, to follow, ect".  Somehow it seems these things are being put forth as "maintenance" to keep the gift when in reality all those things are put forth as a necessary part of Accepting in the beginning.