"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.

ONCE saved, always saved. That is the cry so often heard from many of the pulpits today. "I can do whatever I want, as long as I have accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour. Why I could go out and mow down a crowd of people with a machine gun and if I were to die at that very moment, I would be saved." Many people believe this teaching today, but is it true? Once we have accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour, can we go on living like the world, in open, rebellious sin and still be saved.

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Most people who believe the above teaching will quote the following Bible verse as proof: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38, 39.

Now this is a wonderful Bible promise that God has given us and it should inspire us all. But does it say once a person is born again, it is impossible for him to lose his way and be lost? In fact, is this verse talking about salvation or eternal life at all? No, this verse is clearly talking about God's unconditional love towards man, not unconditional salvation. Salvation is conditional! You might also notice that the word "sin" was not included in the list of things which are unable to separate us from the love of God.

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If we continue in sin, after we have asked Jesus to be our personal Saviour, are we really in a saved relationship, are we converted? "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Hebrews 10:26.

What was the very first lie recorded in the Bible? It was the devil, speaking through the serpent when he was talking to Eve. "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:" Genesis 3:4. The devil has been deceiving people ever since with this lie. "Once you are saved, you are always saved", is another lie from Satan and people have been believing it for years and will be sadly surprised in the judgment...

Let me challenge you by reading the following Bible verses regarding eternal life and see if you don't agree. And remember, we are not talking about an occasional misdeed in a sincere Christians life. We are talking about a person that is living in open rebelliousness against God. A person that is living like the devil. Will that person be in heaven if he has unconfessed or unforsaken sin in his life, even though at one time, he had a saving, loving relationship with God? You would really rather know now before its too late, wouldn't you? The verses below were all taken from the King James Bible.

Only The Pure In Heart Shall See God

• "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3.

• "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.

• "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.

• "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20.

• "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.

• "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22.

• "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3.

• "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13.

• "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:16.

• "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." Luke 10:25-28.

• "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3.

• "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5.

• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24.

• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." John 6:47.

• "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54.

• "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."  John 15:6.

• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." John 12:24, 25.

• "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21.

• "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Romans 2:13.

• "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9.

• "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8.

• "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" 1 Timothy 4:1.

• "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8.

• "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" Hebrews 5:8, 9.

• "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Hebrews 6:4-6.

• "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Hebrews 10:26.

• "But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;" Hebrews 3:13,14.

• "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12.

• "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" James 2:5.

• "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter 4:17, 18.

• "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 2 Peter 2:21,22.

• "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12.

• "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Jude 1:21.

• "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works: or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Revelation 2:5.

• "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:7.

• "...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10.

• "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Revelation 2:11.

• "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Revelation 3:5.

• "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Revelation 17:8.

• "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Revelation 3:11.

• "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Revelation 3:21.

• "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Revelation 21:7.

• "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12.

• "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.

• "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."  Revelation 22:19.

• "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4.

There Are No Shortcuts

Over 58 verses show beyond a shadow of a doubt that we can lose our salvation. It is there in black and white. All of God's promises in the Bible are conditional. If we are going to spend eternity with Jesus, we must be born again, meek, love him, pure in heart, converted, baptized, born of the water and the spirit, do the will of our Father, do His commandments, be an overcomer, be obedient, endureth temptation, etc. There are no shortcuts to heaven... If there were, Jesus would not have had to come to this earth, and die for us. We can trace all of the misery and suffering in the world today back to one person's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. If God were to take one unrepentant sinner to heaven with Him, sin would rise up again.

Did you notice in Revelation 3:5 that unless you are an overcomer, Jesus will blot your name out of the book of life. The book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered the service of God. Jesus bade His disciples, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20. Paul speaks of his faithful fellow workers, "Whose names are in the book of life." Phil. 4:3. Also notice in Revelation 17:8 that our names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, as many people falsely believe. "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Revelation 17:8.

NEW! - One More Important Thought - NEW!

Most people never give this a thought, but if you truly believe that it is impossible to be lost, after you are saved, then you have to completely disregard the verse in Revelation 20:10 that says the devil will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. He has to be saved in the end if you truly believe in once saved, always saved. You see, if Satan could live in heaven as a perfect angel with God and then be jealous of God and be cast out of heaven to this earth and eventually be cast into the lake of fire, and be lost for eternity, what give's us, mere mortal man the right to think it is impossible for us to be lost, when one of God's Holy angels, who rebelled against God, will be lost? Something to seriously think about.

• "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ascend above the heights of the clouds; will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Isaiah 14:12-15.

• "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:7-9.