Friday, February 23, 2024
Ever since the rebellion and fall of mankind in Eden, God’s redemption of man was always predicated on man’s choice of accepting or rejecting God’s provision. That doesn’t agree with John Calvin’s “once saved always saved” (OSAS), but is nonetheless the biblical truth to which Christians must hold. We confirm that truth in the account of Cain and Abel when Abel brought a sacrifice pleasing to God but Cain’s was contrary. When God didn’t accept Cain’s sacrifice it made Cain angry, but God said to him “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Herein we see God’s command for both Cain and us to “rule over it”, sin, by obedience to God. It was Abel’s obedience that pleased God while Cain’s rebellious disobedience displeased God.
That choice is constant throughout the Bible, for God said “I do not change” (Mal. 3:6), and that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Consider ancient Israel who God once called “a special treasure to Me above all people … a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exo. 19:5–6). Yet, when Israel rebelled at the edge of Canaan due to the bad report by ten of the twelve spies sent to spy out the land, God sentenced that generation aged 20 years old and above to death, see Numbers 13 and 14. Later, God’s chosen people again turned to unbelief and rebellion, but this time God gave Israel “a certificate of divorce” (Jer. 3:8) and He has never remarried her! And in direct reference to God giving Israel a “certificate of divorce”, God warns New Testament believers, “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom. 11:22). Herein we see the conditional “if” of God’s nature, and by His unchanging character we have full confidence that what God did in times past He will do again. Even today we see the falling away as many once believing churches and Christians approve the LGBTQ+ agenda of rebellion against God, for “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9).
Here’s why the choice of (Jos. 24:15) God set before us is so important. By faith in Christ and discerning His word we see the world spiraling into increasing rebellion against Christ. We see the wickedness of man is now as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. We discern the signs of the end-times and make it our personal pursuit to believe God who said “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:20–21). If a true Christian believes he no longer has to be obedient and decisively prudent, (as Calvin’s OSAS doctrine permits) and doesn’t repent of sin, overcome unbelief, rebellion, and believes that his salvation is secure no matter his choices, even to rebellious unbelief, thinking he can’t lose his salvation through neglect or departing from His first love for which Jesus said, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:4–5), he deceives himself. And Jesus also said “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [God the Father] takes away” (John 15:2).
Globally, most people are unbelieving of biblical truths and fact that there is coming a crushing entity of total world domination that will rule the world – “a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet” (Dan. 7:7). This unbelief is not only true of the world, but of many Christians without a biblical world view are unable to discern God’s word or the signs of the times, take their ease in that, no matter what they do, no matter the choices they make, or how they live, believe their salvation is secure. Calvin’s false doctrine of OSAS does in fact inspire a lukewarm heart, which will be shocked and offended when the prophet’s fourth beast kingdom arises to absolutely decimate the entire world, and there will be no possible escape from it until the middle point of the 7-year tribulation as detailed in my new book “ON EAGLES’ WINGS”.
One must choose to believe and remain in the truth during the deceits and evils of the 7-year tribulation of total world domination by Antichrist and false prophet, as most pastors and Bible teachers today are themselves not discerning of, and for this reason not able to warn their flocks of the coming spiritual and physical cataclysms that will literally tear apart the fabric of one’s spiritual and physical life unless one has prepared to endure to the end like the five wise virgins of Matt. 25:1–13. That parable, incidentally, is by itself proof that Calvin’s OSAS doctrine is an end-time, comfortable, ear-tickling deception and lie. All ten were virgins, equal to being saved; all ten had lamps with oil, but only the five wise took extra oil in “vessels” to endure the long dark night of the tribulation for they believed the testimony of the master; while the five foolish believing rather that the master’s coming would be earlier than what he said, similar to how pre-trib rapture believers believe Christ will come earlier than He said, which is “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31), deceived themselves by not preparing with enough oil.
For those who choose Calvin’s effortless OSAS, you need to know what his doctrine and belief looks like in real time. It’s important. John Calvin created a doctrine that would absolve him of hating his religious enemies, yes, even to the point of becoming a murderer. Calvin, having risen politically in high esteem in Geneva, had a religious enemy and heretic named Michael Servetus. Calvin petitioned Geneva to have Servetus murdered which occurred on October 27, 1553. This unbiased article details the civil and religious proclivities at the time of Calvin’s and Servetus’s lives. But it matters not what the church and state may or may not agree on, because for the true Christian it matters only what God’s word plainly states, and in this regard we’re commanded to love our enemies, Matt. 5:44, which Calvin rejected, and also that “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). And lest you think Calvin committed Servetus’s murder before he was saved, no, he committed that murder and the murder of others after he had risen to the position of a Christian theologian! So, by Calvin’s evil doctrine, he justified his murdering, and has reportedly never repented of it. If Calvin ever truly repented of his murders before he died, only God knows, and God will judge.
Thus, since Calvin believed he was justified in ordering the murder of his enemies, by that same spirit of lawlessness would not his followers also be emboldened to go along with state mandates when Antichrist issues his ungodly ultimatums of persecution and death for non-conformance to his rule? Indeed, highly probable! Calvin’s OSAS false doctrine is outright rebellion against the “it is written” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10) testimony of God in Christ, and will prove spiritually disastrous when “the son of perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3) increases “the falling away” (2 Thess. 2:3). One can’t fall away from salvation if he never was saved. So, “take your ease” says Calvin’s doctrine “you cannot lose your salvation”! But a very cruel world domination by Antichrist is coming, and it will separate those who actually believe the testimony of God in Christ from those who do not.
Marlin J. Yoder
