Text: John 10:27-29
Many Believe the “Once Saved, Always Saved” Doctrine — It would be comforting if it were true
Warnings About Falling Away
- If the righteous do evil, their righteousness will be forgotten (Ezekiel 33:12-13)
- Parable of the sower — rocky soil (Luke 8:13)
- The vine & the branches (John 15:2,6)
- Paul — it was possible for him to fall away & be lost (1 Corinthians 9:27)
- We can receive the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1)
- Apostasy was coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1)
- We are warned against drifting away from what we have been taught (Hebrews 2:1-3)
- Other passages (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-29; 12:15; James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 2:20; 3:17)
Examples of Ones Who Did Fall Away
- Angels (2 Peter 2:4)
- Apostles — Judas (Acts 1:17-18, 25), Peter (Galatians 2:11-14)
- Elders (Acts 20:30)
- Christians — Ananias & Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10), man in Corinth with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5:5), Simon (Acts 8:12-13, 21-23), Demas (Philemon 1:24; 2 Timothy 4:10), Hymenaeus & Alexander (1 Timothy 1:19-20), Hymenaeus & Philetus (2 Timothy 2:17-18)
- Israelites (Jeremiah 3:6,22; 8:5; Romans 11:17,19-22; 1 Corinthians 10:8-12) — examples for us
We Must Remain on Our Guard (1 Peter 5:8; 1 Corinthians 16:13)
God Has Given Us Help to Keep from Falling Away
- His Word (2 Peter 1:10; Acts 20:32)
- The assembly (Hebrews 10:24-25)
- Fellow Christians (Hebrews 3:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:14)
