By Jim Mettenbrink
The tendency of mankind is to make God into a good ole boy, who overlooks our wretchedness. And thereby fostering an easy road to heaven. How often do we hear that salvation is via the sinner’s prayer by popular figures who believe Jesus is God? “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life.”? And by that, you are saved? During a Bible study with a man about 10 years ago, showed me that prayer he had written in his Bible at the behest of a man who believed that was all there was to be saved.
On Youtube, a popular apologist for God, Jesus, and the Bible believes that once a person is saved, he/she can not lose his/her salvation. He set forth that a person who is saved and walks away from the Lord has eternal life, but loses his sanctification. Huh? Please explain that. Some years ago, Charles Stanley made a similar claim, stating that one can not lose his eternal life, but will lose his reward by living in sin. Explain please– from God’s word! This belief is a tenet of Calvinism – Perseverance of the Faith – better known as “once save always saved.” Ultimately this begs the question can a believer in Jesus as the Savior, claiming to be a Christian, i.e., who now has eternal life, then walk in sin and be saved? What say the Bible?
The apostle John wrote to Christians, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 Jn 1:6). Fellowship with God vs walking in darkness! Fellowship is a harmonious partnership. In his letter to the sin-laden Corinthian congregation, the apostle Paul admonished, “For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (1 Cor 6:14). Answer: None!
Now read, 1 John 1:6 again. The next verse is the contrast – “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1Jn 1:7). So walking in darkness a person lies to himself. Literally, damnable lies! Verse seven sets forward that only by walking in the light a person’s sins are forgiven. So no fellowship with God means no forgiveness. How can one have eternal life when he is not forgiven?