Time is running out!
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An Article Explaining Salvation through Doctrinal Theology
By Phil Kassees
By Phil Kassees
Are you on the road to Heaven or Hell?
Many people around the world, and especially in this country (The United States of America), believe that if they attend a Church and if they are pretty much a good person, then God will one day welcome them into Heaven. There are also those who believe if they repeat a sinner's prayer, and get baptized that they are now a Christian and their salvation is secured.
There are many unconverted people in the Church today who believe themselves to be saved because of these and many other types of misunderstandings and false doctrines. With the absence of the teaching of: Holiness, Righteousness, & The Fear of the Lord from so many at the pulpits today it should be no surprise to those of the Faith; if one were to suggest that 70% to 80% (if not greater) of those who attend Church will not be entering into Heaven.
The fact is, if those belonging to the group mentioned above were earnestly and diligently seeking the Lord through faith & obedience, they would have been converted (born again) and the Spirit of the Lord would lead them toward an understanding of Holiness, Righteousness & The Fear of the Lord. The Bible speaks about people falling under a delusion; the delusion the Bible speaks of in 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12 is False Teaching. These people believe themselves to be okay with God and believe that God is okay with them. However, unless these people truly repent in the Lord they will find themselves on Judgement Day in the category spoken about in the Bible in Matthew 7:21-23 where they will say: "Lord, Lord" and the Lord will say to them "I never knew you." These people never backslid away from the Truth because they never really had the Truth. They were walking not in the Spirit, but in the Flesh (Romans 1: 28-32). That's why the Lord says, "[he] never knew them" they were just Church goers.
One must first have true faith to fall away or turn away or depart from the faith. One cannot fall from a position that he or she never had. First, we need to be certain they were truly in the Faith. It is written in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "that we are to examine ourselves to see whether we're in the Faith." Second, if we are truly in the Faith we must continue in the Faith by abiding in obedience through the knowledge of God's word. It is written in Hosea 4:6 "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Below, is a short description of the four types of people that I have come across while teaching the Word of God.
Many people around the world, and especially in this country (The United States of America), believe that if they attend a Church and if they are pretty much a good person, then God will one day welcome them into Heaven. There are also those who believe if they repeat a sinner's prayer, and get baptized that they are now a Christian and their salvation is secured.
There are many unconverted people in the Church today who believe themselves to be saved because of these and many other types of misunderstandings and false doctrines. With the absence of the teaching of: Holiness, Righteousness, & The Fear of the Lord from so many at the pulpits today it should be no surprise to those of the Faith; if one were to suggest that 70% to 80% (if not greater) of those who attend Church will not be entering into Heaven.
The fact is, if those belonging to the group mentioned above were earnestly and diligently seeking the Lord through faith & obedience, they would have been converted (born again) and the Spirit of the Lord would lead them toward an understanding of Holiness, Righteousness & The Fear of the Lord. The Bible speaks about people falling under a delusion; the delusion the Bible speaks of in 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12 is False Teaching. These people believe themselves to be okay with God and believe that God is okay with them. However, unless these people truly repent in the Lord they will find themselves on Judgement Day in the category spoken about in the Bible in Matthew 7:21-23 where they will say: "Lord, Lord" and the Lord will say to them "I never knew you." These people never backslid away from the Truth because they never really had the Truth. They were walking not in the Spirit, but in the Flesh (Romans 1: 28-32). That's why the Lord says, "[he] never knew them" they were just Church goers.
One must first have true faith to fall away or turn away or depart from the faith. One cannot fall from a position that he or she never had. First, we need to be certain they were truly in the Faith. It is written in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "that we are to examine ourselves to see whether we're in the Faith." Second, if we are truly in the Faith we must continue in the Faith by abiding in obedience through the knowledge of God's word. It is written in Hosea 4:6 "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Below, is a short description of the four types of people that I have come across while teaching the Word of God.
1.
The
Unbeliever
(The ungodly who live their lives, according to their own desires)
When people hear the Gospel and don't believe they are called 'unbelievers' or the 'ungodly.' Unless there is a change in the unbeliever's heart through faith, thus being born again, their soul's destination will be in a place the scriptures call 'Hell.' Some, if not many of these unbelievers (now thinking they're right with God) end up attending a church and becoming part of a congregation. They may experience an increase in knowledge but not in spiritual understanding. These unbelievers professing themselves to be believers are then considered hypocrites as they bear the name of Christ in hypocrisy. They have become the 'Tares among the Wheat' (Matthew 13:28).
2.
The Christian
(The saints who are abiding in obedience by faith in Jesus Christ)
The Christian
(The saints who are abiding in obedience by faith in Jesus Christ)
When people hear the Gospel and believe by faith they are called Christians or Saints. The evidence of one who is truly a Christian is not that they declare themselves to be so. The evidence that one is truly a Christian is based on their faith, evidenced by that individual's Spirit-led lifestyle. Does that individual bear fruits of repentance and walk in obedience working out their salvation? If so, these individuals are saved by grace through faith. They are "sealed by the Holy Spirit," and if they continue in the faith without breaking the seal of their salvation, then their souls will enter into a place the scriptures call 'Heaven.'
A doctrine that many in the Christian community have embraced is Calvinism (John Calvin 1509-1564 A.D.) which teaches that one's salvation is secured once you come into the faith (once saved always saved.) For the person who truly believes and continues in the faith, this statement would hold true, but for those who truly believed and fell away this would be false. The effects of this doctrinal error actually removes 'Free Will' out of the equation of salvation.
It's clear in the scriptures that one can depart from the faith (lose their salvation); God has chosen all who have heard the Gospel for eternal life. Yet, we still have our own free will to walk in faith and persevere in the faith through obedience, or turn away from the faith and live in disobedience going back to our former ways. In the latter case, if there's no repentance, the person has committed 'apostasy' (departing from the faith) a type of blasphemy.
3.
The Backslider
(Christians who are living in disobedience)
The Backslider
(Christians who are living in disobedience)
These people are in danger of losing their salvation through 'willful sin' (Hebrews 10:26). If this person truly repents, then God can renew their salvation. In this case, the person is not a Castaway they only erred or turned from the Truth and then through godly sorrow repented. If this person continues in willful sin without true repentance he/she will lose their salvation. In this case, the person would be a Castaway or Reprobate. The difference between the 'backslider' and the one who has 'departed from the faith,' is that the 'backslider' is still under grace by their faith and the other individual has already 'departed from the faith.' According to God's Word in Jeremiah 3:14 "God is married to the Backslider." This means, if one backslides, he or she has exercised their Free Will in disobedience. Yet, God has not left them, they have left God. If they do not eventually return by repentance through obedience, then they themselves have fallen from the faith.
Let me share an illustration: I met a man that needed to go home to New York, but at the time he was in Florida. I gave him a bus ticket because I knew he desired to go home. He did nothing to receive the Bus ticket; it was a gift from me to him. He got on the bus and eventually the bus left, if he abides while on that bus, he will soon be home. It's a done deal, he has the ticket it's a guarantee. The bus is predestined to go to New York but if this person who was chosen to receive the ticket changes his mind about going home, and does not abide on the bus, he left the bus on his own free will. The bus driver will not be held responsible for this person exercising his free will to get off the bus. The individual will face the consequence of not going home by not abiding on the bus. The bus that was predestined to go to New York will still reach its destination with or without him. In this illustration, Florida represents the world: giving him the ticket represents the person extending grace, the bus ticket represents the Holy Spirit, New York represents Heaven, the bus represents the body of Christ (I.e. The Church), the road is the Father, and the driver represents Jesus. The person that was on the bus and got off and never got back on represents a person that was a 'true believer' who has drawn back, departed from the faith & committed apostasy. This person was once saved by Grace and fell away. People that fall in this category indeed fell from grace and shipwrecked their faith. They have most certainly lost their salvation.
Let me share an illustration: I met a man that needed to go home to New York, but at the time he was in Florida. I gave him a bus ticket because I knew he desired to go home. He did nothing to receive the Bus ticket; it was a gift from me to him. He got on the bus and eventually the bus left, if he abides while on that bus, he will soon be home. It's a done deal, he has the ticket it's a guarantee. The bus is predestined to go to New York but if this person who was chosen to receive the ticket changes his mind about going home, and does not abide on the bus, he left the bus on his own free will. The bus driver will not be held responsible for this person exercising his free will to get off the bus. The individual will face the consequence of not going home by not abiding on the bus. The bus that was predestined to go to New York will still reach its destination with or without him. In this illustration, Florida represents the world: giving him the ticket represents the person extending grace, the bus ticket represents the Holy Spirit, New York represents Heaven, the bus represents the body of Christ (I.e. The Church), the road is the Father, and the driver represents Jesus. The person that was on the bus and got off and never got back on represents a person that was a 'true believer' who has drawn back, departed from the faith & committed apostasy. This person was once saved by Grace and fell away. People that fall in this category indeed fell from grace and shipwrecked their faith. They have most certainly lost their salvation.
4.
The Hypocrite
(Those who profess Christ with their lips but reject him in their hearts)
The Hypocrite
(Those who profess Christ with their lips but reject him in their hearts)
These people are also known as the 'Tares among the Wheat,' 'False Converts,' 'Fake Christians,' 'Children of the Devil,' etc. These people are self-deceived, and in turn, they deceive others. They cry legalism at every corner of obedience. These unconverted people can not discern the things of the Spirit of God. One must first be 'born again' to discern spiritually. Those who are 'hypocrites' see the spiritual things of God as foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14). They deceive many by cloaking themselves in the banner of religion for personal gain. Many of these people believe they have been saved, so much so, that we read about this group of people in the scriptures (as I have already written above in the introduction concerning Matthew 7:21-23) where they will say, "Lord, Lord" and Jesus will say to them, "I never knew you." They may even say, "They're saved by Grace" and twist scripture to validate their claim, not understanding that conversion is based on grace through faith made evident by a changed life. You're a 'new creation' in Christ. However, these people make excuses for their sins and live in them, without true repentance, and living in disobedience of God's word. They're reprobates concerning the faith and cause many new converts with a lack of knowledge to backslide.
*Take note:
It is not God's will that anyone should perish. God has chosen through His saving grace to reveal a measure or degree of light (The Gospel) in each person's life. God in His Providence (infinite wisdom and knowledge) has revealed to some a lesser and some others a greater measure of light. All People will be responsible and accountable as well as judged (their conscience bearing witness) according to their obedience by faith to that measure of light that was given to them.
It is not God's will that anyone should perish. God has chosen through His saving grace to reveal a measure or degree of light (The Gospel) in each person's life. God in His Providence (infinite wisdom and knowledge) has revealed to some a lesser and some others a greater measure of light. All People will be responsible and accountable as well as judged (their conscience bearing witness) according to their obedience by faith to that measure of light that was given to them.
Focus on the Truth
A series of articles concerning biblical topics written by Phil Kassees in the year 2001.
These pieces are written in layman terms and are a response to questions brought to us by customers who are not familiar with doctrines of the Bible.
These pieces are written in layman terms and are a response to questions brought to us by customers who are not familiar with doctrines of the Bible.
THIS GENERATION IS... SLEEPING
This generation is sleeping (Spiritually) through one of the most amazing times in history, but unlike the times in the past, they will not have the opportunity to look back and realize it.
The time is now, to hear the voice of the Lord & come out of all false doctrines & heresies.
Repent and Believe!!
-Phil Kassees
This generation is sleeping (Spiritually) through one of the most amazing times in history, but unlike the times in the past, they will not have the opportunity to look back and realize it.
The time is now, to hear the voice of the Lord & come out of all false doctrines & heresies.
Repent and Believe!!
-Phil Kassees
