No Apostasy, or Once in Grace, Always in Grace.
By S. Osborn
This is a doctrine much agitated and very sacredly held by many throughout Kentucky and elsewhere. And as we want the truth on every point, and want it all, to profit by, an investigation of this subject will not be out of place. We will introduce some propositions in order to get the subject before our minds. Eternal life is conditional. As proof of this, we cite the words of Christ to the young man who asked him: “Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” His answer is, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matt. 19:16–17. Christ says to his disciples, Matt. 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” And Paul says, “Bodily exercise profiteth for a little time [margin]; but godliness [that is, doing as God requires us] is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” 1 Tim. 4:8. The importance which the apostle attaches to godliness in this life, in order to enjoy eternal life, is set forth in the next verse: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.” Verse 9. Many more texts might be given on this point, but these are sufficient to satisfy the candid, and we do not expect to satisfy any others. Righteousness and obedience must continue until the close of this life, in order to have an assurance of eternal life. We find proof of this in Matt. 24:13: “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” John, by the Holy Spirit, says to the Smyrna church: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Rev. 2:10. Ezekiel makes this point a little plainer. He shows that if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, he will be lost. In Eze. 18:24, we read: “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned shall he die.” To evade this, some say that the death here spoken of is a death unto sin, or conversion. But it will be seen that the reference is to a man after conversion, or after he has been righteous, and fixes two deaths upon him—a natural death and the final one. Verse 26 proves this: “When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.” This certainly shows that unless a man continues in his righteousness as long as he lives, he cannot be saved. Those that are in grace, or in favor with God, have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life, while on this earth. I offer as proof of this proposition Dan. 12:1: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Notice the following points: God’s people are to be delivered, and they are the ones whose names are written in the book, while the names of the others who are not his people, are not written in the book. Paul’s testimony in Phil. 4:3, is to the point: “And I entreat thee also, true yoke-fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.” Christ’s testimony is in harmony with these. After giving the seventy disciples power over scorpions and evil spirits, he says, in Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in Heaven.” Again, Paul says, Heb. 12:22, 23, “But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.” This is sufficient to show that the children of God all have their names written in the book of life when they become his on earth. There is at least a possibility that some of these names may be blotted out. Proof: Rev. 3:5. Jesus, speaking through John to the Sardis church, says: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” This shows that the Lord retains the names of his people on conditions. David is very explicit on this point. Mourning over the persecutions he received from the children of Israel, he says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” Ps. 69:28. This proves some very important points. - There is a book in which the names of the living are written.
- The righteous alone have their names written there, and
- David thought they could be blotted out.
Again Moses, interceding with God for the children of Israel after they had committed such a great sin as to make a calf to worship, says, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” Ex. 32:32. The Lord said in reply: “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” Verse 33. This is too plain to need comment. I will adduce one text of Scripture to show that those whose names are not written in the book of life meet with the second death. Rev. 20:15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire,” which is defined in the fourteenth verse to be the second death. I will now give some examples of the dealings of God with his people, to illustrate the foregoing propositions. The first case I will introduce is that of Saul the son of Kish, who was appointed by God to be king over Israel. Saul was once a child of God, as the following facts will attest: - He was anointed of the Lord. Samuel anointed him. 1 Sam. 10:1.
- God let his Spirit come upon him, and he prophesied.
- He was a changed man.
Verse 6 proves these points: “And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” This turning into another man can refer to nothing but his entire conversion to God. His character for a short time after this proves it. - His sense of his own unworthiness, as brought to view in verse 21.
- His littleness in his own eyes. 1 Sam. 15:17. This is just the character the child of God must possess. Christ tells his disciples, Matt. 18:3, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”
But he apostatized in his rebellion against God’s command to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all their effects. (Read the entire chapter.) Saul’s fall and the consequences thereof are fully summed up in 1 Chron. 10:13: “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it.” Now let God’s word decide on such cases. Eze. 18:26: “When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die;” that is, the second death. This is precisely the case of Saul. He is a lost man; but he might have been saved if he had continued to obey God.