Once Saved, Always...

He has perfected forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14
There is a misconception often found among believers in Christ. We know we are saved by faith but for some reason we have the idea that we have to work hard at keeping ourselves saved. As a result we have a constant concern that if we do not work hard enough at being faithful and outwardly holy, God will be unhappy with us; we may even think we have to pray all over again for Jesus to save us. And if we know we have truly failed Christ, well, who knows how it will all shake out in the end? It might be compared to that old argument between Calvinists and Armenians. One side says once saved, always saved. The other side says you can even “unsave” yourself. One thing to consider is that if a believer can never be assured of his salvation in Christ, he will be unsure of the progressive work of sanctification in his life; he will not understand what God is doing when things get difficult and how to view sin when he fails. He will always wonder if God is unhappy with him or if he is no longer a believer. Consequently he will not grow in his walk in Christ as Christ intends. The believers that received the letter to the Hebrews were not unlike us in that outlook. The writer of that letter explains to them that one reason they are not very mature as believers is because they are not sure of their salvation (Hebrews 5:11-6:12). They were not very discerning either because of their lack of assurance regarding their salvation. They were not very committed to the Scriptures. They had not grown much and they did not understand how the sanctification process worked. So by the time we get to chapter 12 the writer is explaining to them the “why” of a life of struggle. He is speaking to people who know they have been redeemed. This passage is best described as the daily reality of God-given struggle. God’s plan for His own is struggle in order that they will properly grow in their relationship with Him and be fit to live with in Heaven. This is a passage that, when studied responsibly, will yield amazing insights into the why of daily struggles, pressures, frustrations, inconveniences, interruptions, and even pain. The point to be made with Hebrews 10:14 and 12:1-15 is that struggle is proof I belong to God and that He is deeply in love with me. Instead of “once saved, but always wondering,” we can assuredly say: “once saved, always growing.” The struggles of life are the evidences that one truly belongs to Christ, is deeply loved by Him, and that Christ is presently active in his daily life.