Biblical Doctrine on Salvation

Over the course of time, I have often heard it preached and taught that “once saved, always saved” is nothing more than a lie from the Devil. That should a Christian backslide or sin without repentance; hell will be his everlasting home. The problem with that is it is not what Scripture teaches, nor is it what the Apostle Paul preached. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about it. After all, we’re suppose to “study to shew ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

The Scriptures were written primarily to teach doctrine. This is apparent from 2 Timothy 3:16 which says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine…” The very first purpose that God had in writing the Bible was to teach sound doctrine. The Bible tells us that in the last days they will “heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” and they will not endure “sound doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Having said that, let’s look at the word “salvation.”

The Hebrew and Greek words for “salvation” imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing and soundness.” ‘Salvation’ is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification.

Salvation as we know it, and is written, is in three tenses:

The Christian has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin (Luke 7:50; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; Eph. 2:5-8; 2 Tim. 1:19) and is safe.

The Christian is being saved from habit and dominion of sin (Rom. 6:14, 8:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 2:19-20; Phil. 1:19, 2:12-13; 2 Thess. 2:13), and,

The Christian will be saved at the Lord’s return, from all bodily infirmities that are the result of sin and God’s curse upon the sinful world (Rom. 8:18-23; 1 Cor. 15:42-44), and brought into entire conformity to Christ. (Rom. 13:11; Heb. 10:36; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 John 3:2).

Salvation is by grace through faith, it is a free gift and wholly without works. (Rom. 3:27-28, 4:1-8, 6:23; Eph. 2:8). The divine order is: first salvation, then works. (Eph. 2:9-10; Titus 3:5-8). A person becomes born-again [saved] when he believes the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4). In Romans 10:9-10, and 13, Paul explains how to believe the Gospel. The first thing is to confess Jesus Christ.

When you confess something, you admit or believe that it is so. When a man gets saved, he will confess Christ as the only way he can get to heaven; that Jesus Christ died for all his sins, and confess to God that he is trusting Christ alone for salvation.

Many Gospel tracts quote 1 John 1:19 as part of the plan for salvation. They equate the confession of sins mentioned in that verse with the repentance that should occur when a sinner trusts Christ as Savior (Acts 20:21). Yes, a man must realize that he is a sinner and under the judgment of God. There is no way that a man can trust Christ without admitting that is so. But when a man gets saved, he doesn’t need to confess every sin he has committed to get saved.

Repentance before salvation is a turning from a state of being. Before salvation you are a sinner under the wrath of God. At salvation, you turn from that state of sin to receive Jesus Christ and become a son of God. Repentance after salvation is different from repentance before salvation. After you are saved, you are no longer a sinner; you are a saint who commits sin. There is a difference. As a saint, you do not repent to receive Christ. You are already in Christ, and no longer under the wrath of God.

After salvation, you turn from your sin to the service of Jesus Christ. (Eph. 4:25-26). But having sinned, you have also broken your fellowship with God (see Hab. 1:13). To restore that fellowship you must go to the Lord and tell Him exactly what you have done that was wrong. So you are not repenting of being in sin, because no saved person lives in sin (see Rom. 8:8-10); a saved person lives in Christ. You are repenting of committing sin. So, 1 John 1:9 has nothing to do with salvation at all.

Therefore, to become a child of God (get saved), you “confess with thy mouth the LORD Jesus [not your sins]” and “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.” (Rom. 10:9-10). The resurrection makes the atonement efficacious; bringing a change on our lives. If all Christ did was to die for sin, then you could not apply the atonement to yourself. Paul said, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” 1 Cor. 15:17). Without the resurrection, the best for which you could hope would be Abraham’s Bosom.

So there are no ifs ands, or buts about it. If a man confesses Jesus Christ with his mouth and believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ in his heart, the promise is “thou shalt be saved.” That is how you believe the Gospel.

That’s all there’s to it. But how do you believe in your heart? What is heart belief? He says in verse 10, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” How can you know you are believing with your heart and not your head?

You can tell that you are believing with your heart when you rely on a thing; you trust in it: you lean on it. That is your heart belief. Belief of the head is knowing about Christ; belief in the heart is trusting in Christ. You are relying on Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell. That is heart belief.

Now, how can a Christian be sure of his salvation? Romans Chapter 5, verse 2, “By whom we also have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” The “grace wherein we stand” is salvation. Before salvation your official standing was judgment and death. But when you came to Christ through faith in what he did for you, your standing became grace and life. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36).

Salvation cannot be lost. Period. As previously discussed, salvation is a free gift. And Romans 11:29 tells us that the “gifts and calling of God are without repentance (irrevocable) (see also Romans 5:15-19, 11:6).

There are scores of other Scripture which hold true to this fact:

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:30).

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)

My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (John 2:9).

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Holy Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Gal, 3:2, 3:14).

John 14:16 says He’ll abide with you forever.

For by grace ye are saved through faith; and not that of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9).

Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37).

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. (Acts 16:31).

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise. (Eph. 1:13).

“after that” – literally, having believed. The Holy Spirit is Himself the seal. In the symbolism of Scripture a seal signifies:

a) A finished transaction (Jer. 32:9-10; Jn. 17:4, 19:30)

b) Ownership (Jer. 32:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:19; and,

c) Security (Esther 8:8; Dan. 6:17; Eph. 4:30)

The Apostle John stressed the importance of eternal security when he said in 1 John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye [the Christian] may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Now, there are verses out there which are preached to substantiate that salvation can be lost. But they never look to the scripture before, or after the verse. It is easy to take a verse and make it mean something else. A text taken out of context is a pretext. Here are some popular examples.

Philippians 2:12 tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” People like to use this verse to mean that one must “work at” their salvation; that we won’t know if we are saved until “the end.” When Paul says to the born again child of God, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” he is careful to add, “for it is God which worketh in you.” (Phil. 2:12-13). The born again believer has the Holy Spirit in him, trying to make him Christ-like and trying to make him be what God wants him to be. In view of this, the Christian had better work out his salvation (it didn’t say “work at it”) “with fear and trembling,” because God is working inside the believer’s body.

Another example is Hebrew 6:4-6. “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 (v.4), And have tasted the good word of God, and all the powers of the world to come (v.5), If they should fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to shame (v.6). In these verses, enlighten [not saved] is Photizo in Greek, which means “metaphorically, of spiritual enlightenment; to make..see.” Tasted in Greek is Geuomai, “to cause to taste;” to give one taste of (like a sample of).

These passages are a warning to those who have been instructed and even moved by the Holy Spirit but have never committed themselves to Christ.

The entire passage turns on the word “better” in verse 9. If all that is written in vv.1-5 were equivalent to salvation, there could be nothing better. Moreover, if one could lose their salvation because of unrepented sin, then it would be axiomatic that Jesus did not die for all you sins, which would also be repugnant to God’s word.

“But he that shall endure unto the end shall be saved.” (Acts 24:13). This verse has been used to prove that a born-again, blood-bought, New Testament Christian will die and go to hell if he does not hold out faithful to Christ ‘til the end of his life. This mortal absurdity could only have come from one place. It would have to come from some group who rejected the future application of Matthew 24 for a period of time called “The Great Tribulation,” preceding the Second Coming. That is, it would have to come from an amillenial or premillenial group who believed in apprehending the promises to Israel for the church.

Note please:

No one’s life is being discussed (24:14)

It is the end of a period of time, not an individual’s life (24:14)

There are no Christians present (24:3)

The land being discussed is Palestine (24:16)

The audience addressed are Jews (24:1-3)

They are then observing Old Testament Law (24:15-20)

They are worshipping in a temple in Jerusalem (24:15; 2Thess. 2)

They are spiritual Jews (Romans 2:29)

The Christian already has a promise that he will endure to the end if that is

what is under discussion (1 Cor. 1:7-8)

The Second Coming follows the “end” in this passage, and not the DEATH
of the believer.

It is therefore apparent that Matthew 24:13 has nothing to do, directly or indirectly, with the salvation of anyone in the age of grace, and it was never intended to be used by anyone, under any condition, for any purpose, in that manner. Like Hebrews 3:6, 14, a period of time is being discussed, and this period of time is defined in the immediate context so that there can be no possible latitude in applying this verse.

The very next verse [14] defines “the end” and yet every preacher in the country absolutely refuses to read it. Verse 14 locates “the end” as the end of that period of time, herein the “gospel of the kingdom” is preached. Since this gospel is not the gospel of “the grace of God” (1 Cor. 15:1-6) given to the Christian (Gal. 1:11-12) by the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 2:16), it most certainly would have no bearing on the life of any Christian who lived in Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Siberia, or the Indies, from Pentecost to Rapture.

“He that shall endure unto the end” is plainly a reference to a law-abiding Jew in Palestine immediately proceeding the Advent of the Lord Jesus, and no amount of distortion could ever make it apply to anything else, unless the distorter had a motive in perverting the word of God.

Also, the passage in Matthew 7:21-23 has often been used by the salvation-by-works crew to prove that a born-again Christian can “lose it.” However, only a slight study of the context would eliminate any such conjecture. Jeremiah 14:4 identifies the prophets of Matthew 7:21-22 as self-called and self-deceived. There are no “Christians” present here. The “I never knew you” banishes forever any thought of “Christians” being represented in this passage, for Christ does know the Christian intimately and could never say that He did (see John 10:14-27).

In conclusion, God is faithful. In 2 Timothy 2:13, we read these words, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” Now, look at that tremendous promise. That promise says if a man believes in Jesus Christ (gets saved and is born again), and later the agnostics and skeptics continually talk to him until they talk him out of his salvation, it doesn’t make any difference: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” If you were ever saved, you still are saved.

If you were ever born again, God cannot deny you at the Judgment Seat of Christ. There is no way Christ can point His finger at a born again child of God and say, “I tell you, I know you not whence ye are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” (Luke 13:27). He knew you. There is no way God can take a member of the body of Christ whom the Holy Spirit has put into Christ and tell that member to get out of the body of Christ, for “he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13)

Therefore, the crux to salvation is that it cannot be lost. Why? Because it’s not yours—it’s His. “For by grace ye are saved through faith…not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Let’s be clear—there are no works that will save you. “Not of works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” (Titus 3:5). Many times I heard it being preached how we (the Christian) can go to hell [“lose it”] if we do not repent of a particular sin, or if we don’t spread the Gospel, because we are commanded to in His Word. Sadly, many Christians believe this to be true; and is nothing more than a lie of the devil. You ask, why would Satan promulgate such a lie? To make the Christian ineffective. The more you doubt your salvation, the less of a threat you are to him. When doubt sets in, it’s like a cancer that spreads in your soul, and over time your service to God erodes. It is incumbent for every born again believer to know where s/he is in Christ. Most problems that the Christian experiences comes from a lack of knowledge of who they are in Christ.

Now, where do works fit in? After salvation; the moment you became born again. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide. . .”

Gold. Gold in the Bible stands for Deity. Every time that you worship Christ like he was God, and every time you magnify Jesus Christ like he was God, and every time you praise Him as God, then you lay up gold in Heaven. Silver in the Bible is the price of redemption. When Jesus Christ was sold, He was sold for thirty pieces of silver. When the Jews went into battle, they had to give every man so much silver as an atonement for their souls. Every time you tell a man how to be saved, you lay up silver in heaven. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21). Do you know what is going to happen to a lot of Christians? They are going to get home to heaven and find out they are dead broke at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

What are precious stones? Malachi 3:17-18 says, “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” He said his people are like jewels, precious jewels. Didn’t you ever read, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” (Prov. 31:10)? Didn’t you ever read, “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion” (Prov. 11:22)? Didn’t you ever read in 1 Peter 2 about living stones? First Peter 2:5 says, “lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.”

Saved people are likened unto precious stones. The precious stones are the people that

you have led to Christ. In Zechariah 9:16, the saved people are said to be “as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.” Now, that isn’t all. You also have some crown. So when the Christian appears before the Judgment Seat of Christ, he will be judged ONLY for his works (service to the Lord), nothing else. If it passes the test of fire, a reward will be passed out, and it will be in the form of a crown. If your work fails—no crown.

The Bible speaks of five different crowns:

1. Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:1-8) For the expected return of Jesus (The

Rapture)

2. Crown of Life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10) For enduring temptation

3. Incorruptible Crown ( 1 Corinthians 9:24, 26-27) For those who don’t yield after

the flesh

4. Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:1-4) Giving out the word of God

5. Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20) For witnessing—a soul winner’s

crown

Now these crowns (rewards for works) that you earn, and “lay up…in heaven” will determine how you rule with Christ in the kingdom of heaven (Millennial reign). But, (big but here), no crowns, no rule with Christ. “For whosoever hath, to him it shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” (Matt. 13:12). This really is another subject for study, so I won’t go too far into it. I want you to have a good idea where our works comes into play as it relates to our salvation. A Preacher once said, “Works are not the root of my salvation; they are the fruit of my salvation.” Jesus said in Revelation 3:11 that He is going to “come quickly: hold fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” We are suppose to be a people “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10).

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO BE SAVED?

The final question is: Where will you spend eternity?

1) Living with God in a perfect universe forever (Heaven)

2) Burning with Satan in fire and brimstone forever (Hell)

These are the only two options presented in the Bible, and the Bible has never been wrong about anything. If you wish to live with God, then you have to accept His terms. Since you, as a human being, cannot make yourself holy (“Not by works of righteousness which we have done…” Titus 3:5), the Lord is ready to give you His Righteousness (His Goodness) instead, His Righteousness is contained in Jesus Christ, who went to the Cross “to be sin for us…that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ came to save you from hell when he suffered for your sin on the cross. If you receive Jesus Christ as your savior, then you receive a perfect Righteousness and Holiness, so that you can please God and be acceptable in His sight.

Any other attempt to gain God’s acceptance will not work. God “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). That means you have to give up your old way of thinking and living, and turn to God. The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). That is the invitation.

Neither your “church,” your “baptism,” nor your “good works” can save you. You must trust Jesus Christ alone, by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). It’s very simple. Wherever you are, bow your head and pray a simple prayer something like this:

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and unless you save me, I am lost forever. I now come to you, the best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I receive you as my Savior and trust you to forgive and justify me, and present me without fault before God’s throne in the day of Judgment.

If you have done this, then you have made the greatest decision of your life. Don’t be ashamed of this decision. “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:11). God has given you a brand new life. (2 Corinthians 5:17). Live it for Him.

Healing

[size=12]“For the word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

The word of God is alive and powerful. It is alive!

“But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal body (bodies) by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11

There really is no life in the physical body. The life is in the Spirit. This is why when your spirit leaves the body, the body falls to the ground. The life is not in the body, but the Spirit. He will give you life. When the Lord gives you something, we have to receive it.

“It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profitheth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life. John 6:6 [Jesus speaking]

So the words themselves are Spirit, and they are life. So when we speak the words of God, we are releasing the Spirit of God. We are releasing the life of God. Proverbs 20-22 says that the word is health, or medicine, to our flesh. When you or I take God’s Word in, we are taking our medicine. God said that we are created by His Word, and when we take our medicine, we are taking in what we were created out of. So when we stand on the Word of God, we receive our medicine, we receive our healing.

“There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord has spoken unto the house of Israel and all came to pass.” Joshua 2:45

Not a word fails of any good thing which the Lord has spoken. All comes to pass. And I declare that all that I have spoken concerning health and healing will come to pass. Jesus spoke to fig trees, to wing, to the sea; and we need to start speaking life into our physical bodies.

The word of God declares He will give you life through His Spirit who dwells in you. Life is in the Spirit – it flows into the body. God promised to give it, but we have to receive it. (See Romans 8:11)

Matthew 8:3 says that God is willing, and you and I are clean; we are whole. Declare it!

Exodus 15:26 says if you will diligently heed His voice, and obey His commandments, and do what is right in the sight of God; giving heed to the commandment of love, loving others as Christ loved us, none of the diseases which comes upon the world comes upon you.

He is Jehovah-Raffa. Raffa in Hebrew doesn’t just mean healer. Raffa in Hebrew actually means Physician-Healer. The Lord is not just our Healer, He is our Physician-Healer. A healer is someone who shows up after you are sick. A physician is present to help you stay well. Healing isn’t God’s best. Divine health is God’s best.

Exodus 23:25 says He will take away sickness from the midst of you.

Deuteronomy 7:15 says the Lord takes away all sickness and will put no diseases of the world upon you, but will lay them upon those that hate you.

God forgives all our iniquities, and heals all our diseases (Psalm 103:3)

Psalm 107:20 says that God sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from all destructions.

By the stripes of Jesus, we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

God will hasten His Word to perform it. God is alert and active in performing His Word. (Jeremiah 1:12)

Jeremiah 30:17 says God restored health unto us and heals our wounds.

Jesus bore our sins in His own body and by whose stripes we are healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Matthew 18:18-19 says God binds sickness on the earth and looses healing.

Whatever is bound on earth, is bound in heaven, and Whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven.

I have the God-kind of faith. I speak to sickness and say be removed and cast into the sea. (Mark 11:21-23)
Nahum 1:19 declares that this affliction, this sickness, will not rise up a second time. It’s done. It’s over; it is finished.

SAY THIS PRAYER
Holy Father, I come to Your Throne of Grace in the Name of Jesus. Father, Your Word declares that life is in the Spirit, and that Your Word is alive and powerful. Father God, I know that when I speak Your Word, I am releasing the Spirit of God; the life of God.
Heavenly Father, You are my Jehovah-Raffa, my Physician-Healer. And Scripture declares in Exodus 23:25 that You will take away sickness from the midst of me. Deuteronomy 7:15 promises and declares You will take away all sickness and diseases of the world and it will not come upon me. I know that by the stripes of Jesus I am healed.
Holy Father, I bind every form of virus, bacteria, disease, sickness, ailment and affliction in the Name of Jesus. I loose Your Spirit of Healing in Jesus’ Name. I speak health and life into my heart, my lungs, my eyes, my ears, my joints, my legs, my bloodstream, and every organ in my body.

I declare and decree complete divine healing in Jesus’ Name. Father, Your word says in Jeremiah 1:12 that You will perform and stand behind Your Word. And Nahum 1:19 declares the sickness will not rise up a second time.
Thank you Father for Your healing, You love, Your mercy and grace.

-Apostle/Prophet Doug