Once Saved Always Saved

Once Saved Always Saved

Ministry Update April 21, 2019

Friday night I witnessed downtown where I open-air preached and handed out some New Testaments. Had a couple of drive by mockers. One said somethings incoherently, but the other one yelled, “Ah, go home.” To which I just said, “God bless you.” While I was bringing the message, a couple came over and stood near me. After I finished up, I went over and talked to them. They said that they don’t go to any church because they don’t believe in once saved always saved.

They heard me as I was finishing up my message, where I added the fact that I was a false convert for 33 years. This wasn’t part of my planned message and I talked about this, paraphrasing Matthew 7:21-23. So when Tyler and Leah said that they don’t believe in once saved always saved, I wholeheartedly agreed with them. She said people believe they are saved and can go on sinning at will and think they are alright because they are once saved always saved. Again, I totally agree with her. In my message, I stated that a saved life is a changed life. I told her that anyone who uses once saved always saved as an excuse to continue living in sin are probably a false convert, just like I used to be.

Eternal Security

Where we differ though is Tyler and Leah believe that you work on your salvation the rest of your life. Leah even quoted Matthew 7:22 and she also quoted Jesus saying, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:5). I politely pointed out to her that I had just quoted these same verses at the end of my message. I believe these verses (I believe all of the Bible) and the Bible clearly points to eternal salvation. You can’t say a prayer and live like the devil, for the devil and foolishly think you are saved. Anyone who does this is still a child of the devil and they do not have eternal life.

But Jesus talked about eternal security in John 10:27-30, John 11:25-27, John 17:3 to name a few. Then the apostle John states that we may know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:12-13). I pointed out to this young couple that all we brought to Jesus was our sins. Our sins that nailed Him to the cross. Jesus does the saving and we come to Him through repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). We can’t earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Not at the beginning and not for the rest of our lives. Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). But make no mistake, when we are truly saved, we become a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). I had a great conversation with the couple and at the end I gave them an invite card to Crossway Baptist Church.

I Guess You Don’t Need One

Before I brought the message and had the conversation with the young couple, I handed out Bibles. A guy and a gal were walking toward me and the young man was holding a Bible. So I laughed and said, “I guess you don’t need one of these since you are carrying your Bible with you.” He laughed too, but to my surprise, the young woman walking with him said, “I”ll take one.” It turned out that Hill City held a Good Friday service at the Gillioz Theatre, so the young man wasn’t the only person walking around downtown with his Bible. Later on I was handing out New Testaments again when an older couple asked directions for a downtown restaurant. I told them how to get there and then offered them New Testaments. He took one and she told me that they would share.

Fun Lunch Hour

The best way to describe witnessing at Missouri State University was it was a fun lunch hour. I handed out 26 What Time Is Purple booklets, 10 New Testaments and several tracts. One student said ooh no when I tried to hand him a booklet and just about knocked over another student while fleeing from me. Another student replied “Don’t want it” when I tried to hand him a booklet. But overall the students were very pleasant and most were receptive to receiving whatever I was handing out. In addition to this, I brought a message about how we have all sinned against God. I love sharing the Gospel, so it truly was a fun lunch hour.

Skateboarder Circles Me Seven Times

While I was open-air preaching, one student skateboarded around me seven times. I don’t think there was any significance to the number seven, that just happened to be how many times he skated around me. He never said anything, but just kept circling. Another student that frequently says “Hello” did so again. I tried to engage him in a conversation, but he didn’t respond and kept walking. But one young lady listened to quite a bit of the message. After I finished up, I handed out New Testaments. She was still sitting there, so I offered her one and she gladly took it.

Not only did she take one, but she immediately started reading the New Testament. After I ran out of New Testaments, I handed out tracts. She was still sitting there, so I went back over to her and asked her if she attends a local church. She told me that she doesn’t, so I invited her to Crossway Baptist Church and told her that we would really like to have her visit us. I hope she does.

(May God bless the booklets, New Testaments, tracts and the message that went forth. These updates are provided to encourage Christians to share the Gospel with others.)