I found a church that taught the same message that I was used to hearing on the radio. Over time I was able to get involved in the church and became friends with many people as the years went by. This church that I belonged to was from the reformed religion.
This teaching never did make any sense to me when the Bible states in many places that all can be saved! Some verses that prove this are found in: Ezek. 33:11, John 3:15-16; 4:14, Rom. 3:22; 10:11,13, 1 Tim. 2:4,6, 2 Pet. 3:9. Didn't Jesus, during His time on earth, call everyone to repent and believe in Him? Why would He do this if no one had any say in the matter of where they will spend eternity? Didn't the apostle Paul do the very same thing in calling all to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21)?
As far as not being able to lose one's salvation, I was taught that because we are elected or chosen by God for heaven, there is nothing we can do to change that fact. No matter what a person might do during his or her life, nothing can change their eternal destiny, which in this case is heaven.
If a person goes back to their old lifestyle or engages in some other sinful lifestyle, I was taught that they were never really saved in the first place. Even after 5, 10, or 20 years of living a holy life, if they turned from the faith, they never were saved to begin with. What about the many verses from the Bible that say our salvation is conditional? Such as: Ezek. 18:26-27, Mt. 6:14-15, 10:32-33, 24:13, John 15:6, Rom. 8:13, 11:21-23.
Then it happened. It was in the early spring of 1999, on a Sunday afternoon that God in His mercy again opened my eyes to the truth. I was on the internet looking for something to read on eternal security when I was led to Evangelical Outreach. It was there where I first read information that dealt with the issue of conditional security vs. the unconditional security of a believer.
On the upper right side of the home page there was a title called The Believer's Conditional Security. I clicked on the title and I was able to do some important reading. I read the articles: From initial to final salvation, "The carnal Christian," True Grace Teaching vs False Grace Teachings, True Salvation Assurance, and Hell And Who Goes There.
While reading these articles, it was as if a light went on inside my head. Everything finally made sense to me. The questions that I've had for all these past years have now been answered. Praise the Lord! It was at this time that I became a believer in conditional security. I immediately ordered the book by Dan Corner called "The Believer's Conditional Security" where these articles that I read came from. I needed to get in my possession everything I could that would help me to tell others about the false doctrine of the O.S.A.S. teaching.
I thank God Almighty for directing me to Dan Corner's book that clearly explains the truth of what the Bible really has to say about a believer's security. That it is a conditional security, that we must strive daily, that we must endure to the end in order to be saved.
As Christians we must always be on guard of the devil's schemes. We must believe what the Bible says and not what some well known preachers say. Also, it is of the utmost importance to warn all those that call themselves Christians not to be deceived. They must be told of the danger that they are in by believing in the O.S.A.S. doctrine and it is up to us who know the truth to warn them (Ezek. 3:20). We must use our Bibles to show them the truth and pray that God would bring it home to their souls. May our Lord help us in this endeavor for His glory! (IL)
God has used Evangelical Outreach to help this precious soul learn the truth about eternal salvation, but the same can be said about many other people.
Evangelical Outreach
EvangelicalOutreach.org
PO Box 265
Washington, PA 15301
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