Continued from Part 9
Understanding Pauline theology and terminology has never been simple, a reason we have so many interpretations of it and so many denominations. In the interests of keeping the OSAS topic as simple and straightforward as possible, we have tried to tailor this response for an evangelical christian readership. As messianic evangelicals we view this topic a little differently because our focus is the Hebraic world and not the Greek. The purpose, then, of this study is simply to show that there is more than one kind of salvation in view by the apostle Paul and we do not attempt to examine these in any detail beyond dropping some hints here and there. The purpose of this essay is simply to show that the Calvinistic view of salvation is scripturally inconsistent and dishonestly presented.
Playing With Words
Is it technically correct to use the phrase, "Once saved, always saved?" The answer would be "YES." Does this mean the Calvinist doctrine of 'Perseverance of the Saints' is a correct doctrine? The answer to that question is absolutely "NO." Here you will begin to see the deception employed by some Calvinists when they use these words. If correctly understood, this saying is technically quite true as the words themselves stand. However, these Calvinists accompany this saying by asserting that one cannot "lose" his salvation. The deception here is in the words "always" and "lose."
Calvinist Trickery
Calvinists will often argue that a man who has fallen away was "never really saved" because to them a saved man is a man who was already saved and you cannot unsave someone. In other words, one cannot make a past event un-occur and this is of course very true. But then he will conclude that one cannot "lose" his salvation and therefore he will "always" be saved. Thus, he will conclude that a man once he has been saved (through no choice of his own, because he was predestined to salvation) is saved for all eternity. And here is the trickery - an argument formed under false pretenses. First he implicitly defines salvation as an event to make his argument, then in midstream he changes to implicitly defining salvation as a possession or condition ("lose", "have") and declares once saved, "always" saved - you cannot "lose" your salvation.
Different Types of Salvation
There is much we could say about the word trickery employed by the Calvinist here. However, it is far too easy to just go on and disprove the Calvinists claim if we just take a look at the Bible. When the Calvinist is discussing this matter he focuses on the Ephesians 2:8 new birth salvation event in which people are saved from their old way of life being dead in sin. However, the very same word "save(d)" [sozo] and the word "salvation" [soteria] is used in many senses in the Bible. In all cases it means to be delivered from something undesirable. Let us look at the many examples from the Holy Scriptures:
1. Men desired to be "saved" from shipwreck on the sea.
"And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, "Save [sozo] us Lord; we are perishing" (Matthew 8:24-25).
"When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved [sozo]...Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved [sozo]" (Acts 27:20-31).
2. Peter wanted to be "saved" from drowning.
"Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Yah'shua (Jesus). But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save [sozo] me!'" (Matthew 14:30).
3. A woman is "saved" from her disease.
"And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment; for she said to herself, 'If I only touch His garment, I shall be made well.' Yah'shua (Jesus) turned, and seeing her He said, 'Take heart, daughter; your faith has saved [sozo] you.' And instantly the woman was saved [sozo]" (Matthew 9:21-22; cf. Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48-50).
4. Jairus' daughter is sick and dying and needs to be "saved" from physical death.
"Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing Him, he fell at His feet, and besought Him, saying, 'My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be saved [sozo], and live'" (Mark 5:23).
5. The sick were "saved."
"And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were saved [sozo]" (Mark 6:56).
6. A man is "saved" from his blindness.
"And Yah'shua (Jesus) said to him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' And the blind man said to Him, 'Master, let me receive my sight.' And Yah'shua (Jesus) said to him, 'Go your way; your faith has saved [sozo] you.' And immediately he received his sight and followed Him on the way" (Mark 10:52; cf. Luke 18:42).
7. A man is "saved" from demon possession.
"Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Yah'shua (Jesus), and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Yah'shua (Jesus), clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was saved [sozo]" (Luke 8:36).
8. Two crippled men are "saved" from their condition. One through Peter and one through Paul.
"If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was saved [sozo]" (Acts 4:9).
"In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be saved [sozo] and called out loudly, 'Stand up on your feet' and he sprang up and walked" (Acts 14:10).
9. Our prayers "save" the sick.
"And the prayer offered in faith will save [sozo] the sick person; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven" (James 5:15).
10. The Israelites were "saved" from Egyptian bondage.
"Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord saved [sozo] his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe" (Jude 5).
11. Paul believes the Philippian prayers will turn into his "salvation" from prison.
"For I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my salvation [soteria]" (Philippians 1:29).
12. Yah'shua (Jesus) was "saved."
"During the days of Yah'shua's (Jesus') life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save [sozo] him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission" (Hebrews 5:7).
How the Word "Saved" is Used in the New Testament
The Bible writers use the word "saved" in many different ways. So it behooves us to now ask a very, very important question. When we hear the word "saved" we must ask:
"Saved from what?"
From What are We Delivered or Saved?
We must ask just "what" were we delivered from? What were we saved from? Sickness? Shipwreck? What? At Ephesians 2:8 Paul discusses salvation as a conversion event where one is "saved" from his old humanity, his old way of life:
The Perfect Tense of Ephesians 2:8
Now, we must completely understand the verb tense of the word "saved" in Ephesians 2:8. It is the perfect tense which means that the event in question is totally complete and the results of this past event continue to the present time of his writing. Since it is totally complete, there is no more to complete. In Ephesians 2:8 it means "you have been saved." Calvinists will certainly not deny this nor can they since it they often point here to make their claims.
Future Event Salvation is 'Yet to Come'
However, there is much more we need to know which the Calvinist does not want to talk about. Paul repeatedly reminds us of a salvation event which he expects to come in the future. Having been saved by grace from his old way of life (Eph.2:8), Paul has the hope of a future salvation event which he has not yet experienced. In fact, when the word "salvation" and its cognates are used in the Bible, these words very commonly refer to a future event for Christians and not to the new birth salvation event. Notice how all the following occurrences of salvation refer to a future event for Christians:
"Since, therefore, we are now justified by His blood, much more will we be saved by Him from the wrath of Elohim (God). For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to Elohim (God) by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, will we be saved by His life" (Romans 5:9-10).
"For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).
"But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For Elohim (God) has not positioned us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)" (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9).
"He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but for salvation of those who are waiting for Him" (Hebrews 9:28).
"But he who stands firm to the end will be saved....If those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:13; cf. 10:22).
Paul Awaited a Future Salvation Event
Obviously, a salvation event which is not here is a salvation neither yet obtained by Christians or experienced by Christians. Now here is the critical point and you must think about this very, very carefully. At Ephesians 2:8, Paul says that we "have been saved" using a Greek verb tense which means that the salvation event he is discussing is totally complete. It is an over, complete and finished past event and one cannot more fully complete a salvation that is fully complete. However, he also tells us in many places that a future salvation event is yet to come. Thus, there is no other logical way to understand this than saying that the salvation event at Ephesians 2:8 is one event which is fully completed, but the salvation event which Paul expects to come in the future is an entirely different event because he is still waiting for it to come!
OSAS Only Possible After the Second Salvational Event
Once this future salvation event is realised the Calvinist can also say "Once saved always saved" about this salvation event too as he now does concerning Ephesians 2:8. But no he cannot say that he is yet saved with a salvation which is not here yet. He has not yet arrived at this future salvation event and so he cannot say he has been saved on the last day. What the Calvinist does not realise is that being saved from his old way of life (Eph.2:8) is not the same thing as being saved when Yah'shua (Jesus) comes in glory (Mt.24:13). The way he will try to avoid the truth here is to scoot out of this problem by claiming that this future salvation is a "fuller sense" of his salvation, a completion of that salvation.
More Twisted Logic
This is quite impossible for two reasons.
- 1. In Ephesians 2:8, the Calvinist himself makes much noise that the verb "saved" is perfect tense which means it is a fully completed past event. One cannot, by logical definition, more fully complete a completed past event. It is a ridiculous proposal. The Ephesians 2:8 conversion event is referring to a totally complete salvation event. It will qualify you for the Believers' Second Resurrection. The salvation which is to come at the end of the age has not yet arrived and Christians may fall short of that salvation - the Believers' First Resurrection; and
- 2. Paul refers to Christians as "being saved." This is how he literally says it at 1 Corinthians 1:18 and 15:1. Here he means that Christians are in the process of being saved and this salvation (alef or alpha salvation) will culminate at the final judgment when they will have obtained this salvation (taw or omega salvation). Obviously, it is absurd to say we are completely saved (Eph.2:8) while in the process of being saved unless we are talking about two different events. The Calvinist would have you confuse the two into one. But at Ephesians 2:8, Paul uses a Greek verb tense which can be taken no other way. There the word "saved" is a perfect tense which means that whatever salvation he is talking about is totally complete (for the second resurrection) and there is nothing more to that salvation (it's your inheritance, provided you don't fall away). Therefore, when Paul says we are "being saved" he is necessarily referring to another salvation event. And that salvation event is the future event which is yet to come for faithful Christians when Yah'shua (Jesus) returns in glory. That event is the first resurrection. It is for this future event, that we future Christians are "being saved" and why we are told to continue to "work out your own (taw/omega) salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil.2:12). How then can we say "Once saved always saved" about something which is in the process of happening? It would be a ridiculous proposition.
Remain Steadfast in Your First Salvation
The Ephesians 2:8 salvation event concerns being saved from our sins (see Eph.2:1) and our old way of life in the flesh. But being "saved" from our past sins (2 Peter 1:9) is not being saved from the aeonian (eternal) wrath of Elohim (God) on judgment day and this is what the Bible is talking about when it refers to being saved at the end of the aeon (age). These salvation events are two different things. Paul still awaits this future event of salvation and continually reminds everyone to remain steadfast so that they can obtain this end-of-the-aeon (age) event.
The Two Salvation Events
The whole plan of salvation consists of two chief events. For truly regenerated Christians, there is the already completed Ephesians 2:8 conversion event salvation the Matthew 24:13 salvation event at the end of the aeon (age) to come:.
SALVATION = Eph.2:8 salvation event + Mt.24:13 salvation event
The Calvinist Contradiction
Think about it. Even the Calvinist himself implies this understanding when he uses the term 'Perseverance of the Saints.' He himself is claiming that he who has been saved in his new birth salvation event, Elohim (God) will cause to persevere so that they will be saved (future tense) on the last day. The Calvinist himself knows that one must persevere to be saved on the last day. In so doing, he betrays himself, fully knowing that there is a salvation which is a future event yet to come. As he says of his Ephesians 2:8 salvation event, will he now say of this Matthew 24:13 future salvation event, "I am always saved"?
Conditional Present Salvation
If we use our common sense, we can see what the Bible very clearly teaches. When we have achieved either of these salvation events, we can truly say, "Once saved, always saved." Indeed, if we are born again Christians, we have been saved (past tense) from our old way of life, but we have not yet been saved at the end of the age in that salvation event. Born again persons must press on in the faith to be saved at the end. "He who stands firm to the end will be saved." And if we are unfaithful, not standing firm, and in so doing we fall from the grace of Elohim (God), we will certainly fall short of this end-of-the-aeon (age) salvation event. But if we remain faithful to our present condition of grace and so be saved at the end of the age, then we can then too say, "Once saved, always saved."
Exposing the Deception
Thus we expose the deception. The Calvinist has you think of salvation as only that salvation which is being discussed at Ephesians 2:8. And then he claims that you cannot "lose" this salvation by an argument formed under false pretenses. But such games will not get him out of the predicament of explaining how he who is "always" saved in the Ephesians 2:8 new birth salvation event, still needs yet to be saved at the end of the age. He cannot point to Matthew 24:13 and see the words "will be saved" and then claim concerning that salvation that he is "always saved" at the present time since this salvation event is yet to come. And only he who stands firm to the end and does not fall away from Elohim's (God's) grace will be saved with the salvation which Yah'shua (Jesus) brings with Him on that day. And only then, can he say of THAT salvation event, "Once saved, Always Saved." Until then, he is not saved concerning this future salvation event and cannot sanely argue that he is, without also making a mockery of Holy Scripture.
We May Indeed Fall Short of Final Salvation
If nothing else, we only need to see that there is a future salvation event yet to come for Christians. Christians are in the process of "being saved" for that salvation event. No one has yet experienced that salvation and it will not be until Yah'shua (Jesus) returns in glory that this salvation event arrives. We cannot claim to possess something which is not here yet. And so, we who are Christians fight the good fight of the faith, standing firm in Elohim's (God's) grace, so that we do not fall short of salvation on that Day. Having been saved by the grace of Elohim (God) in our new birth salvation events, we fully know from the teaching of our Lord and his apostles that we will indeed fall short of salvation on the last day if we do not hold fast the faith.
Conclusion
Thus the deception is clearly exposed for what it is. The words "Once Saved Always Saved" are a truism. However, the Calvinist uses this truism under false pretenses. It is indeed true that once a person has undergone a new birth salvation event, it is true that he has been saved from his old way of life. But the Calvinist conveniently overlooks the fact that the person who was saved from his old way of life must now live that new life steadfastly in order to be saved at the end of the age when Yah'shua (Jesus) returns in glory. Hence, he cannot logically say he is always saved concerning this future event and will not be able to say so until that event occurs and he is indeed saved, if indeed he stands firm to the end.
The implications of the truths shared here are taken further in our ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED website where you will find more meat put on the theological bones than is presented in this article which we have wanted to keep simple and relatable to an evangelical christian mindset.
Also see Once Saved, Always Saved
More examples in Part 9
Continued in Part 10
