Once Saved Always Saved, a man-made doctrine

One of the most critical questions regarding faith is, "What is salvation? How do I attain it?". The Bible speaks clearly of "salvation" but so many preachers that preach misconceptions on what constitutes salvation. The real issue is not really the doctrine, but the free will on whether or not the person is free to stay in Christ till the end or stray from Him and get lost. From the very beginning, Adam and Eve had free will from God and they are given this one command from God as we will read in Genesis 2:16-17 and here's what it says:

Genesis 2:16-17, "He said, 'Of all the trees in the garden, thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou mayest not eat. For on the day you eat of it, thereof, ye shall surely die"

Unfortunately, Adam and Eve, through their free choice did eat of the forbidden tree and got lost eventually (Genesis 3:6-7). The LORD God did pronounced judgment on Adam and Eve, but at the same time promised a Redeemer who will one day break the serpent's head. Even though Adam and Eve are in their state of being saved, they chose not to be saved since they, by their free will, ate the forbidden fruit. So, based on this, ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED is not applicable for them.

Next, when God chose the people of Israel as His own people with Moses and Aaron as leaders, they are in a saved condition. But eventually, they worshiped the golden calf and not the God of Israel, who commanded, "Thou shalt not make strange gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3), and therefore in the end, did not enter the rest that God promised them (Psalm 95:9-11).

Afterwards, came the kings of Israel such as Saul and David. Saul once was obedient to the LORD's commands and one time disobeyed the LORD by not waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice before the battle with Philistia. However, Saul deliberately disobeyed the LORD by sparing the animals and cattle of the Amalekites, to the point that he was rejected and consulted the witch of Endor instead of consulting the LORD and ended up dead in the battlefield at Gilboa (1 Samuel 15, 31, 1 Chronicles 10:13-14).

    "Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22)

Then afterwards came David and Solomon. David was a humble shepherd from Bethlehem who won victory after victory with the LORD's help. He was crowned king who unified Israel and Judah and made Jerusalem the capital city of Israel. He was, "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) but disobeyed God by taking Bathsheba and killing Uriah by putting him in the front line of the battlefield where he is to be killed (2 Samuel 11:14-15). The LORD punished David but eventually repented and his saved condition was restored.

Solomon, on the other hand was saved once. He obeyed his father's counsel to, "serve his father's God with an obedient heart and a willing mind" (1 Chronicles 28:9). He even asked for wisdom from God and wrote the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes which contain sayings for a righteous living before the LORD. Even the queen of Sheba was impressed at Solomon's answers in 1 Kings 10. However, he fell to apostasy by worshiping idols and not the God of Israel which proved by his free choice, he chose to be unsaved (1 Kings 11:9-10).

In the New Testament, there are also examples of people who are once saved but not always saved like Judas Iscariot. He wasn't, "predestined to Hell" as Fundamentalists claim. They use John 6:70 to justify that Judas is already predestined to Hell. But let us read back to John 6:64 and here's what it says:

John 6:64, "'Yet some of you do not believe'. Jesus knew from the very beginning who were the ones who did not believe, and which one will betray Him"

NOTE: Judas wasn't among those, "who did not believe", he was among, "the one who will betray Him". In fact, Judas still had the privilege of being an Apostle like he is able to cast out demons and heal and preach in Jesus' Name (Mark 6:7-13).

However, Judas deliberately betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees who promised Him thirty silver pieces (Matthew 26:14-16) and killed himself, thus being damned (Matthew 27:3-5).

Based on these examples of people from the Bible, what can we conclude about Eternal Security?

1. Eternal Security is not Biblical. There are tons of Biblical evidences wherein a person who is once saved can fall away from the faith like in Romans 11:21-22 and here's what it says:

Romans 11:21-22, "God did not spare the natural branches, do you think He will spare you? Here we see the kindness and severity of God, severity to those who are fallen, but to you, kindness if you will continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you too will be cut off"

and even the book of Hebrews speak strongly on apostasy:

Hebrews 6:4-6, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who had a share of the Holy Ghost, who have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming ages, if they shall fall away to renew them again to repentance, seeing to themselves that they are crucifying the Son of God afresh and exposing Him to public shame"

2. Eternal Security enables Christians to lower their guard.

The Apostles often warn us that the devil is like a prowling lion, waiting for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9), which is why they said this:

1 Corinthians 10:12, "If anyone thinks he is standing firm, let him take heed lest he fall"


3. Eternal Security promotes a "security in sin" doctrine.

Some Fundamentalists are teaching that a person can still sin and stay saved at the same time. But that is not what our Lord teaches. He even said in John 5:14 and here's what it says:

John 5:14, "Afterwards, Jesus found Him in the Temple and said, 'Listen! You are well now! So stop sinning or something worst may happen to you'"

Jesus Himself warned to that person who had been cured after 38 years based on John 5:5 to stop sinning or something worst may happen to him.The Apostle Peter even compared those people who fell away to a dog and a pig as he said in 2 Peter 2:20-22

2 Peter 2:20-22, "If they have escaped the pollution of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and then again caught up by them, the former is worst in the end than it was at the beginning. Better for them to have not known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn away from the sacred commandment given to them. They are only doing what the proverbs said to be true, 'A dog goes back to his own vomit' and, 'A pig that is washed is back to roll in the mud'"

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), even for an unfaithful child of God. That is why, we need to live holy lives for without which, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14) and James emphasized that it is also by works we are justified and not by our faith alone (James 2:24).

To close this up, I will quote Matthew 7:21, Matthew 10:22 and John 14:15

Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven"

Matthew 10:22, "Everyone will hate you because of Me, but whoever endures to the end will be saved"

John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will obey My commandments"

"For the time will come when people will not accept sound doctrine, but will hire for themselves teachers to suit their itching ears. They will cover their ears from the truth and give attention to legends (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Adam and Eve: Symbols only and allegorical?

The accounts of Genesis 1-11

Many people, particularly some Biblical scholars are saying that since the Creation story up to the Tower of Babel, that is, Genesis 1-11 is derived from pagan origin, then, Adam and Eve would not be considered true at all. Can we accept this kind of reasoning? Let us take for example this. Christians are accused of adapting pagan stories like Virgin Birth, Incarnation, Resurrection to Jesus to prove He is God right? Does it mean that Jesus doesn't exist just because Christians adapted stories from pagans? Absolutely not! The only difference is that, Jesus is a historical figure and that those stories like the Virgin Birth were prophecied and was fulfilled in Jesus as Isaiah prophesied:

Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore, the LORD Himself shall give you a sign: a virgin shall conceive and give birth to a Son, and His Name will be called, 'Emmanuel'"

Psalm 110:1, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I put your enemies under your feet'"

In Psalm 110:1, the Messiah in His human nature was the Son of David, but in His divine nature, He is David's Lord. Always remember that symbols can point to reality. Let us take this example: The queen of England is a symbol of monarchy in England. But she is real in a sense that she is tangible, people can see her, they can plead their suggestions to her, etc. The same applies with Revelation 12:1-17, the woman and the dragon are both symbols, but they tell the story of salvation with God as the protagonist. Also in Revelation 13:1-18, the beast is a symbol, but it points out to the Antichrist, "who denies the Father and the Son" (1 John 2:22).

What am I trying to point out here as I say these examples? First, Adam and Eve cannot be mere invention by Moses, the prophets, Jesus and the Apostles. If they are, then we would have to reject three things:

1. Adam and Eve being our first parents.

2. Monogenism, that people descended from one couple.

3. The reality of original sin.

The BIG question would be if they are allegorical, "Why did the Son of God came to the world? What was the purpose of His dying and rising from the dead?" If Adam and Eve are allegorical and not historical in a literal sense, then we would come up with questions as to why God makes lots of "COVENANTS" with Abraham, with the people of Israel, and in the New Testament through Jesus Christ. If we are real Christians and Catholics, we should dismiss any notions about Adam and Eve because even our Lord spoke about Noah, Adam, Eve, Abel as if they are real, actually they are. Common sense, if Jesus is God and God is Truthful, why would He mention something that is not real? 

            "The first Adam came from earth; the Second Adam came from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:47)

Responding to a Born Again member on Catholic teachings

                                            Mary said, "Do whatever He tells you" (John 2:5)

Note that the Born Again's comments are in red while mine is in black.

‎[JESUS SAID :: I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE , NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.!! John 14:6 (KJV). So WHY COMPROMISE??? IF, YOU ARE A TRUE BELIEVER OF THE BIBLE, AS THE WORD OF GOD, YOU ARE A TRU CHRISTIAN BELIEVER !!!!! This Book CAN SEE AND FORSEE !!! The truth. Mary cannot save you!! THE ONLY SAVIOR IS JESUS CHRIST, WHO DIED ON THE CROSS FOR OUR "" sins"" not Mary. GOD IS A SPIRIT !!!!! Rosary?????]

This man/woman whoever he/she is does not understand what he/she is saying. He/she fails to cite one evidence from the Church's teachings that Catholics deny John 14:6 and that Mary is the Savior. We believe God "is the Savior of all, especially of them that believe" (1 Timothy 4:10). Catholics are stating also in the Creed every Mass that it was Jesus, not Mary who died on the Cross. Speaking about the Rosary, the Rosary is in the Bible and the prayers themselves:

Hail Mary,full of grace the Lord is with you (Luke 1:28).Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus (Luke 1:42). Holy Mary(Ephesians 3:5. Apostles and prophets are called,"holy". Why can't Mary be called such?) Mother of God (Luke 1:43) Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death (1 Thessalonians 5:17, James 5:16, 19-20)

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:9-13)

The mysteries of the Rosary:

Joyful Mysteries:

1. The Annunciation (Humility) Luke 1:26-38; John 1:14

2. The Visitation (Charity/Love of Neighbor) Luke 1:39-56

3. The Nativity (Poverty) Luke 2:6-20; Matthew 1:18-25

4. The Presentation (Obedience) Luke 2:22-39

5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Joy in finding Jesus; prudence) Luke 2:41-51

Luminous Mysteries:

1. The Baptism of Jesus (Fidelity to our baptismal promises) Matthew 3:11-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:15-22; John 1:26-34

2. The Wedding Feast at Cana (Faith in Mary‘s intercession and maternal care) John 2:1-12

3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom (Conversion of heart) Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 5:1-16; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 7:21

4. The Transfiguration (Desire to become a new person in Christ) Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36

5. The Institution of the Eucharist (Love of the Eucharist; active participation at Mass); Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 22-25; Luke 22:14-20; John 6:33-59

Sorrowful Mysteries:

1. The Agony in the Garden (True sorrow for sin; repentance) Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46

2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Modesty and purity; mortification or self-denial) Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:16-22; John 19:1

3. The Crowning of Thorns (Moral courage; love of our enemies) Matthew 27:29-30; Mark 15:16-20; John 19: 2-3

4. The Carrying of the Cross (Patience, especially when suffering; fortitude) Luke 23: 26-32; Matthew 27:31-32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26-32

5. The Crucifixion (Perseverance; mercy) Luke 23: 33-46; Matthew 27: 33-54; Mark 15: 22-39; Luke 23: 33-47; John 1917-37

Glorious Mysteries:

1. The Resurrection (Faith) Matthew 28: 1-10; Mark 16: 1-18; Luke 24: 1-49; John 20:1-29

2. The Ascension (Hope) Mark: 16: 19-20; Luke 24: 50-51; Acts 1: 6-11

3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love of God; gifts of the Holy Spirit) Acts 2:1-41

4. The Assumption* (Grace of a happy death; eternal happiness) Revelation 12:1, Psalm 132:8

5. The Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth* (True devotion to Mary) Revelation 12:1, Psalm 45:9, Songs 6:9)

                                          The Rosary helps us to contemplate Christ with Mary

With all these mysteries in the Bible, why say that its not written? Little knowledge of the Scriptures is dangerous as usual. Didn't you know that? The Bible itself is opposed to stupidity when it says Ecclesiastes 7:25,

"I dedicated myself to knowledge and study; I was determined to find wisdom and the answers to my questions and have found out how wicked and foolish stupidity is" (Ecclesiastes 7:25)

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." (Hosea 4:6)

[RELIGION CANNOT SAVE US, PEOPLE!! JESUS IS THE TRUE RELIGION!! Your relationship with Him that MATTERS!! Sorry folks!!]

Clearly, the Born Again didn't know what religion is. It came from the Latin word, "religare" which means "to reconnect". It is synonymous to "relationship". This person should understand that when someone accepts Jesus in his life, he enters a religion which is a relationship. In fact,the Apostle James mentioned a true religion when he said this:

"Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this, to take care of widows and orphans and to keep himself from being corrupted by the world" (James 1:27)

Who am I to follow? The Apostle James who spoke for religion or this 21st century pastor whose teaching does not trace back to the Apostles and teach against religion? Sorry, but I stick with what the Apostle James said because they teach what they have seen and heard from our Lord as Scripture itself says:

"That which we have seen and heard, we announce to you in order that you may have fellowship with us, yea, and that we have fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3)


[JESUS said, before Abraham , I AM, Mary was already at the 14 th generation. THE BIBLE SAYS : FOR GOD NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!! God the Father, came in to this world, clothed in human flesh in the person of JESUS CHRIST. JESUS , GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON ( JESUS ) and the HOLY SPIRIT ARE ONE . JESUS IS IN HEAVEN, SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER, HIS RESIDENCY IS IN HEAVEN MATTHEW 28 :18(KJV) And JESUS came and spake unto to them, saying, ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. ( sorry, Mary is not mentioned)] 

What is the problem with John 8:58? I am not Iglesia Ni Cristo (Manalo) for me to deny Jesus' Divinity. Wait! I must blow my whistle here because you said God the Father became man. The Father Himself is not man nor the son of man that He should repent (Numbers 23:19, Hosea 11:9). When we say Mary is the Mother of God, she is the Mother of Jesus who is God in His humanity. She is not just the mother of Jesus' nature. When Jesus took flesh, His Divine Personality maintained. The Biblical foundation of the THEOTOKOS is found in Luke 1:43 when Elizabeth said, "The mother of my Lord". That means, Mary is carrying the "ADONAI" in Hebrew which is the LORD God. It was Elizabeth who first acknowledged Mary as the THEOTOKOS. Yes, and I believe Jesus has been given authority and dominion since He is the "SON OF MAN" in Daniel 7:13-14 approaching the Ancient of Days. Also, we do not deny the Trinity that the Three Persons are One God which is the Godhead. Also, I don't deny that Jesus has power in heaven and on earth. There is nothing to talk about here, only the Divine Maternity of Mary or the "THEOTOKOS".

                                        We Catholics believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is God!!

                     Even the 16th century Protestant, Martin Luther revered the Blessed Mother. 

    This is only a simple syllogism on Mary. the Mother of God since it tells the Person of Christ.


[Sign of the cross means, CRUCIFY HIM, at ANG Rosarito ay decoration lamang Kuno Christiano bakit ANG mga TAO noon in "" the old and New Testament WALA ako may nakita naggaganon? Kag mag pray gagamitan Rosarito? WHAT JESUS TAUGHT US IS , HOW TO PRAY THE MODEL PRAYER called "" THE LORD'S PRAYER"", AND WHEN YOU PRAY NOT IN VAIN REPETITION.]

Really? Please show me a verse in the Bible that when a person makes a sign of the cross, he is killing Jesus over and over again. The sign of the cross is the sign of God's saving power. In the 1st century A.D., the cross is a symbol of shame and humiliation reserved for slaves. But God changed it to a symbol of faith and hope since the Son of God Himself died on it and won heaven for us. Therefore,we can conclude that:

"For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

And even the Apostle Paul was proud to say this:

"As for me, I boast only of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For by means of His cross, the world is dead to me and I am dead to the world" (Galatians 6:14)
About the "mark of the cross" or the "sign of the cross", haven't you read this?

"And Yahweh said to him, 'Go all through the city, all through Jerusalem, and mark a cross on the foreheads of all who grieve and lament over all the loathsome practices in it.' I heard him say to the others, 'Follow him through the city and strike. Not one glance of pity; show no mercy; old men, young men, girls, children, women, kill and exterminate them all. But do not touch anyone with a cross on his forehead. Begin at my sanctuary.' So they began with the old men who were in the Temple." (Ezekiel 9:4-6)


The Apostle Paul is grieved that there are those who are against the cross of Christ and predicted their destiny through the Holy Spirit of God:

"For many walk, of whom I have told often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things. For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:18-20)

"So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to that old rugged cross and exchange it some day for a crown" (lyrics from, "The Old Rugged Cross", a Protestant hymn)

And about the "vain repetitions", I am not sure if you pray everyday. If you do, please ask yourself if your prayers are "vain" or have a meaningful repetition. First, God doesn't look at the repetition. What matters most is that our prayer must be sincere. Otherwise, we are only paying Him a lip service and thus receive this rebuke from our Lord:

"These men honor Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me. It is no use for them to worship Me since they made man-made rules as though they are My laws!" (Isaiah 29:13, cf. Mark 7:6-7). 

The Lord's prayer is a Biblical prayer since it is taken from Matthew 6:9-13 which Jesus Himself taught. Spontaneous prayer is good but nothing can be better than praying the Lord's prayer. Where can you find the "SINNER'S PRAYER" in the Bible? I do hope you can read the chapter and verse for me. I have shown you already the verses for the Hail Mary. I thought you want to base on the Bible? Why can't you base also your prayers on the Bible like pray the Lord's prayer? Also, our Lord didn't say we shouldn't use that prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

Even our Lord prayed three times in the Garden. Is it a vain repetition?

Are all repetitions condemned by Scripture?

King David, the composer of the 150 Psalms in the Bible

Protestants often use Matthew 6:7 to justify that the Lord Jesus condemned "vain repetitions" and that would mean the Rosary. But what was our Lord forbidding us to do in this verse? Let us look exactly at the verse and see. I will be using the Authorized King James Bible of Matthew 6:7 and here's what it says:

Matthew 6:7 (King James Version), "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

The Lord Jesus condemned vain repetitions, that is, prayers that are not genuine or taken from the heart. The repetition doesn't matter, but how sincere we are to God. Otherwise, we are only paying Him lip service like these people whom He condemned in Mark 7:6-7 and here's what it says:

Mark 7:6-7 (King James Version), "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Not all prayer is vain repetition. What matters is that we mean what we say and not pray for a show.

For example, when Isaiah saw the vision of the LORD, he heard angels singing praises to Him (Isaiah 6:3). The people of Israel were told to pray the "Shema" everyday and to teach their children to do the same (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). The Psalmist kept on repeating the words, "His mercy endureth forever" in Psalm 136. The book of Psalms  contains 150 prayers to God. Even our Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane repeated His prayer to the Father in Matthew 26:39, 42 and 43. The Apostle Paul always give thanks to God through Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:4 and therefore, we need to do the same and pray always in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18. The angels in Revelation and those who were saved gave thanks to God day and night in Revelation 4:8.

    Can you accuse the Lord Jesus of being a hypocrite for praying 3 times in the Garden?

St. Paul himself wrote to the Thessalonians, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

But let us look at 1 Kings 18:25-29. The priests of Baal were praying to Baal; therefore it is vain repetition. Why? First, it is addressed to a false god that doesn't really exist. The same applies in Acts 19:28, 34 when the people of Ephesus were heaping praises to Diana, their goddess.

Our Lord wasn't just condemning "VAIN" repetitons, but prayers that are only for a show like what the Pharisees are doing in  Luke 20:47 and it says in the New International Version:

Luke 20:47 (New International Version), "They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

For those who are criticizing the Rosary. Be mindful of these passages before you make any rash judgment that we do VAIN repetition:

 1 Chronicles 28:9 (King James Version), "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever"

Proverbs 21:2 (King James Version), "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts."

Psalm 139:23 (King James Version), "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:"