I was baptized as a child. Doesn’t that guarantee I’ll go to heaven? This question, mostly from inactive Christians, is a conundrum. (conundrum: [noun] an intricate and difficult problem, a question or problem having only a conjectural answer, Webster’s). Is once saved, always saved, Scriptural? Jesus own words were: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. My Father and I are one (John 10:27-30). Support seems here, but overlooks Jesus’ prerequisites for these assurances and they are; “hear my voice …., they follow me”.

Continually examining Scripture soaks us in God’s word and reveals much, just as He intended (yes, this is Scriptural). Hearing the parts we like and ignoring the words inconvenient to beliefs steered by prevailing culture will not grow us ‘in Christ’ nor bring us to the ‘riches of His glory’. This is a big deal to me and would think so for any professed Christian. Jesus also said: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:4-6).

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Jesus was the self proclaimed Son of God. Let that sink in a minute……. Do you believe that or believe differently? If differently then your position is that Jesus was a liar and you have thrown ALL the value Scripture has out the window. If you believe He is who He claimed to be, a logical question is; ‘Would a God who was changing the rules of grace for all mankind give us conflicting instructions’? I think not. These verses declare; He knows us, He is willing to guide us and we can, by our free will, believe in Him and follow Him. To follow Jesus is to abide in Him. Both passages say we have much to gain, including bearing fruit and eternal life. John’s verse adds Jesus’ additional admonitions that we have much to lose if, again by our free will, we feel we are better off to not follow or abide in Him. To be continued…….This series will continue under the title, ‘Cheap Grace’.

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is in harmony with God’s protected words written thousands of years before Jesus walked the earth. Spoken through Moses or spoken by Jesus, the messages are the same; Grace is free, but it is not cheap. The Bible tells us we must confess our sins before him, repent of these sins and live in confirmation of this

 

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