Not O.S.A.S. but O.T.S.A.S !

No doubt the title of this article intrigues readers, but it is  absurdly simple really.

OSAS stands for "Once Saved Always Saved" and is a favourite mantra of people who believe that once a person has made a profession faith, prayed a prayer or gone forward at a Gospel meeting, then that person can never be lost. They quote the promise of Christ in John 10 v 27-28 where our Saviour states that His followers will never perish or be snatched from His hands.  However, there is a problem with that - what about all the people who have gone forward at Billy Graham meetings and then, only months (or even weeks) later completely fall away?

While typing this I was reminded of a man who, while living in the Swindon area, professed faith in Christ as his Lord and Saviour.  For years he was active in the Christian Brethren.  However, he fell away so badly that he now goes on to internet web sites attacking the Bible and writing the most awful things about sincere Christians who genuinely love the Lord.

Or, perhaps, one may highlight the case of Charles Templeton, he preached alongside Billy Graham in the 1940s and many people professed to be saved under his ministry.  As the years went by he fell away and even wrote a book attacking the Bible.  In the above 2 cases, and many thousands more, the proponents of OSAS clearly have a serious problem on their hands.

How do they explain why multitudes of people, who once professed Christ have fallen by the wayside?  If they are honest with themselves they would have to re-think their theology or find themselves making the absurd assertion that such people are still saved, but just "a little backslidden" (?!)

I would suggest they look at the alternative abbreviation in the title of this article viz. O.T.S.A.S - Once Truly Saved Always Saved.

Over the last 41 years that I've been walking with the Saviour it has been my sad experience to witness a number of people fall away from the faith, even some who have, apparently, been zealous for evangelism.  However, as I've pondered their lives, and statements they made before falling away, I came to the conclusion that they were never truly saved in the first place.

It is very easy to make a public expression of faith in Christ, pick up the "jargon" and do the outward things that are expected of a Christian.  Sometimes people make professions of faith because they wish to please a prospective boyfriend/girlfriend that they wish to marry; sometimes it may be because they wish to please their Christian parents, and inside their hearts there is no true work of Grace.

However, this is nothing new - in John 2 v 23 we read of people who said they believed in Christ but He didn't trust their profession because He knew the true state of their hearts.  Moreover, we read this telling comment in 1st John 2 v 19  - "They went out from us but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us".

That statement accurately sums up what I've been trying to explain above.  When people make a profession of faith we naturally rejoice, but we should not be too quick to accept that alleged conversion as genuine until there has been clear evidence of spiritual fruit in their lives.  To put it another way: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating!"

God makes the wrath of man to praise Him - how so?

In Psalm 76 v 10 we are told that God makes the wrath of man to praise Him.  Given that the Bible teaches (in Ecc 7 v 9) that "anger rests in the bosom of fools" how can it be possible for God to use outbursts of anger to His glory?

It's a good question and I would like to suggest 2 answers to it:

Firstly, most people have a strong self-justification mechanism.  They are full of excuses when they do things that are clearly wrong, even when their own conscience tells them so.  However, when, in an outburst of  rage, they do something really extreme, like carry out an act of terrible violence, it's often the case that they find they have gone further than even their own self-justifying mechanism will allow.  

They find that, after careful reflection (especially if they are in prison for their crime, with time on their hands) they realise that they can't find any excuse for the evil they have done.  In situations like that God can speak to them about the truth of their sinful condition and their need of a Saviour.  Perhaps this is why prison ministry is so fruitful.  Indeed, many who have gotten saved have done so after they have been brought face to face with the reality of their lost condition, after committing some terrible act.

Secondly,  down through the annals of Church history, hateful judges have sent Christians to prison simply for preaching the Gospel.  We think of John Bunyan.  The judges in his case vented their spleen against God's servant and sent him to gaol.  He spent 12 years being incarcerated for preaching the Gospel.  The result - "The Pilgrims Progress" which has been the means of many souls being saved and many believers being encouraged in their most holy faith.

Moreover, when Christians have been sent to prison for preaching the Gospel they find that they have a fruitful mission field among their fellow inmates.  A case in point here would be Brother Yun (as recorded in "The Heavenly Man").

So we see, how, even though people will give vent to acts of wickedness when they get into a rage, God is able to use this for His glory and the extension of His kingdom in people's hearts.

God "works all things after the counsel of His own will" - Ephesians 1 v 11.