Once saved, always saved

[Barney]

I have a friend who came to faith in the last year or two.
I'm grateful he came to our Reformed church and not the charismatic one nearby.
He has a passionate personality and is quite big on the conspiracy theories around the globalist agenda ect.. I believe in some of these too.
He thinks that a Christian can forsake heaven and go to hell if they take the mark of the beast unknowingly (can't see why anyone would take such a thing knowingly!).
He thinks the mark could be vaccines or a microchip ect..
I'm thinking once saved always saved. That's Reformed belief isn't it?
And the unforgiven sin mentioned in the bible is not having a saving faith in The Lord Jesus.
I may write a list of verses about this to present to him.
I'm most likely Amill and don't necessarily take the mark of the beast as literally meaning a vaccine, tattoo, microchip..
My main point is that a Christian cannot lose their salvation if it's real.

 

[arapahoepark]

Are you asking a question?
Yes if you are truly saved faith will manifest in fruit. So the once saved always saved is true but incomplete.

I too have come across the vaccine is the mark crowd. Bizarre people. Nothing but newspaper exegetes.

 

[Eyedoc84]

I have a friend who came to faith in the last year or two.
I'm grateful he came to our Reformed church and not the charismatic one nearby.
He has a passionate personality and is quite big on the conspiracy theories around the globalist agenda ect.. I believe in some of these too.
He thinks that a Christian can forsake heaven and go to hell if they take the mark of the beast unknowingly (can't see why anyone would take such a thing knowingly!).
He thinks the mark could be vaccines or a microchip ect..
I'm thinking once saved always saved. That's Reformed belief isn't it?
And the unforgiven sin mentioned in the bible is not having a saving faith in The Lord Jesus.
I may write a list of verses about this to present to him.
I'm most likely Amill and don't necessarily take the mark of the beast as literally meaning a vaccine, tattoo, microchip..
My main point is that a Christian cannot lose their salvation if it's real.

We believe that God preserves His elect. Not the same as “once saved always saved” as taught in pop-evangelicalism where if you pray the sinner’s prayer and “really meant it” it doesn’t matter what you do the rest of your life, you’re in.

 

[Gwallard]

"once saved, always saved" is a great way of speaking about salvation from God's perspective, so to speak: if someone has been saved, they can never lose it. But the problem with the phrase is that we can't see salvation in someone infallibly, though we can see the fruits of it, although incompletely even still. We can't see the heart of faith and whether actions come from a heart of faith changed by the Holy Spirit or not.
So, it's true to say "once saved, always saved," but human eyes don't look to an unchanging salvation event and have faith in that (as if they had God's eyes). We look to an unchanging God with unchanging promises with an unchanging, eternally victorious mediator; so we can be sure of our salvation because it depends upon unchanging promises fulfilled by God, not on us.

That's how I would express it, anyway.

 

[Barney]

Are you asking a question?
Yes if you are truly saved faith will manifest in fruit. So the once saved always saved is true but incomplete.

I too have come across the vaccine is the mark crowd. Bizarre people. Nothing but newspaper exegetes

Sorry, yes. I wanted to know the Reformed consensus on it. Thanks for that.

 

[Taylor]

I wanted to know the Reformed consensus on it. Thanks for that.

I think I’m safe in saying that Westminster Confession of Faith XVII is the Reformed consensus.

 

[Barney]

We believe that God preserves His elect. Not the same as “once saved always saved” as taught in pop-evangelicalism where if you pray the sinner’s prayer and “really meant it” it doesn’t matter what you do the rest of your life, you’re in.

Thanks for that.
I see what you mean. It maybe has an association with churches that are not big on doctrine.
A pop version of Calvin's perseverance of the saints. If I ever use the phrase again I'll explain what it is and what it isn't.

 

[Eyedoc84]

Thanks for that.
I see what you mean. It maybe has an association with churches that are not big on doctrine.
A pop version of Calvin's perseverance of the saints. If I ever use the phrase again I'll explain what it is and what it isn't.

Yeah but it’s not a “version” of Calvin’s anything. The elect persevere in faith and grow in sanctification. Period. In the pop OSAS view, a man chooses for himself and then is saved even if he apostasizes.

 

[Jack K]

So, your friend's idea is that a person can be a true child of God, yet at the judgment Christ will banish him to hell because he unknowingly took a vaccine or got a microchip implanted that turned out to be the "mark of the beast."

I don't think "once saved always saved" is really the biggest issue your friend needs addressed. A better way to help him might be to correct his over-fascination with trying to figure out exactly what items in today's headlines are the "mark of the beast," which means someone should guide him though a less fear-mongering way to read Revelation. That book is meant to comfort believers, not scare them into worrying they might stumble into an eternally-damning mistake at the health department.

But the biggest thing your friend needs to see is that Christ simply is not like that. Jesus isn't waiting around to zap us at the Last Judgment for failing to properly avoid the wolves hidden in our society. If you are one of his sheep, he is your gentle Shepherd and your constant Defender. It is unthinkable that he would just let you accidentally stray into eternal death because you are stupid and deserve it. No, Jesus loves us. He bears with our failings, is eager to forgive, and runs into danger for our sake. Never, ever imagine that such a lowly and loving Savior could banish one of his sheep to hell like that. The loving heart of Jesus is the bigger reason that makes "once saved always saved" true. That's what your friend needs to see.