Once Saved, Always Saved?

I’m excited about this post.  This was a big question I had growing up, and no one could answer it with confidence. So I feel very honored and privileged to have the answer today:

YES!!!  WITHOUT A DOUBT, YES!!

Once saved, ALWAYS saved!

Dad loves you!!!  He is love! He created you because he wanted someone else to love…forever!!

Here’s the truth.  Only Dad can help you.  Only Dad can give you everything you want.  Only Dad can make you feel good, every minute of every day.  He doesn’t want you to be afraid of him; he wants you to feel safe and secure!  He is obsessed with you and loves to tell you how awesome you are.

But you won’t go to Dad if you think he’s mad at you.  Or disappointed; or has forsaken you.  So let’s get rid of that fear!

“Never will I leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5).  Never means never.  But then there’s the argument, “Well, God won’t forsake me, but I could choose to forsake him!”  Really?  You sure about that? 

Let me ask you this question: “Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that his spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16).  How are you gonna kick him out of the house he made inside you? (John 14:23).  Ooh, I know!  Maybe with sin?! 

Haha!!  That would probably draw him even closer (as if he could get any closer)!  The world was full of sin when Jesus came.  “Where sin increased, grace increased even more” (Rom 5:20).  Good luck kicking him out with sin! 

And speaking of sin, what about this verse: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more!” (Heb 10:17).  How could he send you to hell if he doesn’t remember your sins?  You might say, “Well, that’s ridiculous!  Of course he remembers our sins!”  Uh, no.  God is God.  He can do anything he wants.  If he chose to forget our sins, he did!

And what about this verse: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).  You’re a new creation!  You were never going to hell because of what you did anyways; you were going because of what Adam did (Rom 5:19).  Now, you’re going to Heaven (for sure!) because of what Jesus did, not because of what you did!  You’re a butterfly now!  Not a caterpillar.  He made you a new creation; unable to change back into a caterpillar! 

Finally, John 14:16-17 (this is Jesus talking): “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever…he lives with you and in you”.  Dang.  That sounds pretty permanent to me!

Listen, I know why people are focused on eternal salvation, which is why I wrote about it.  But Jesus didn’t come so that we can just go to heaven.  “I have come so that they may have life, and life more abundantly” (John 10:10).  He came so that we can have everything…right now!  If all you’re doing is waiting for Heaven, that’s ok.  But you could be pulling Heaven down here, on Earth!  Things like hearing Dad’s voice audibly, feeling his presence intensely, getting drunk off his Spirit daily, raising people from the dead, prophesying, getting raptured up to Heaven weekly, teleporting around the world, and so much more!

Eternal life is not Heaven, it is knowing Dad (John 17:3).  Increase your confidence of Dad’s love for you so that you can move past the “Heaven/Hell” discussion and experience everything that’s rightfully yours…today!!

Top 10 Lies of Religion: The Finale

God wants to make you feel good; every minute, of every day.

And he’s capable of doing it.

But you don’t go to him for pleasure, do you?  You go to other things.  Things like alcohol, marijuana, or sex.

But who said God didn’t create these things?  You think Satan created alcohol or sex?  Nope.  God created alcohol, sex and everything else.  He also created the desire for pleasure that’s inside you.  He loves to see you happy because you make him happy!  He gave you a powerful mind and a creative imagination, with unlimited freedom and protection to do anything you want!

Satan wants you to believe that certain pleasure-inducing actions are “off-limits”, and if you participate in such things, rejection from God will follow.

Well, God loves pleasure!  So why aren’t you going to him for it?  It’s because you’ve heard lies:

Lie #7.)  You can’t really get drunk from the Holy Spirit.  Love is not a feeling.

Since when is love not a feeling?  Turn on the radio.  Are people singing about doctrines?  Or about how they feel?!  “It was for the joy set before him that he endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2).  Not the “decision” set before him.

And just because you haven’t got wasted off the Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean you won’t.  When the disciples received the Holy Spirit, people thought they were drunk (Acts 2:13)!  So why did the church go to AA meetings and sober up?!  If you noticed, it was the Holy Spirit that got everyone drunk!  Should we have an intervention for him as well?

Lie #8.)  Once you’re a believer, you can no longer do anything you want.

Ha!  I used to think that too.  The truth is exactly the opposite: you can do anything you want, and you will be blameless!  If you’re unsure, read this post, or the New Testament. 

Wake up.  “It’s for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1).  If you want to snort cocaine your whole life, you’ll still be righteous and go to heaven.  If you want to commit adultery 50 times, God will still be pleased with you.  Serial killer?  You’re good!  (I’m talking to believers here, as unbelief is the one and only thing that will separate you from such an awesome, loving Dad.)  (John 3:18, 16:9). 

But why would you get addicted to cocaine, or hurt the wife who loves you, or kill people?  It’s because you think God won’t give you pleasure and has little to do with sex.  And, because you don’t know you’re just like him!  Loving.  Pure.  Clean.  Righteous.  Powerful.  Attractive.  Compassionate. 

  

Lie #9.)  God gives and takes away.

Before you go quoting Job, know that the guy was self-righteous (Job 32:1-2), bitter (Job 37:2), suicidal (Job 7:15), and didn’t really know God (Job 42:3).  Why not quote Paul who had the full revelation: “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29).  God doesn’t take gifts away because “you’re enjoying them too much”.  He loves you!

Lie #10.)  God’s different than me.

Nope.  “God created mankind in his own image” (Gen 1:27).  His son Jesus came down here to be fully man, and to forever emphasize with us on every level (Heb 4:15).  He knows pleasure, and is actually the source for the best pleasure around!!

God gives the most powerful, intense pleasure in the universe.  And it’s all for YOU!  

Pretty awesome, huh?

Top 10 Lies of Religion: Part 3

God wants you to know all about him.  He wants you to know his son Jesus.  He wants you to know his Holy Spirit.  This is your family!  You have a Dad who is very pleased with you; ready to give you anything you want (John 16:23).  You have a best friend named Jesus, who serves you; not the other way around (Matt. 20:28).  And a Holy Spirit who loves to get you drunk (Acts 2:13).

So why are you not interested in your family?  I know!  It’s because you heard lies…

Lie #4.)  Who can know the mind of Christ?  Not you.  Stop asking questions.

Two verses render this question.  The first is 1 Corinthians 2:16, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?”  But keep reading!  “We have the mind of Christ!”  The second is Isaiah 55:9: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  This is simply stating that God has better thoughts; which is encouraging because we have those thoughts now!  Dad’s not into keeping secrets (John 14:26).  The Holy Spirit was given “so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Cor. 2:12).

The lie that God is mysterious brings false comfort after someone dies despite prayers.  So we frantically try to explain it.  But again, we don’t change scripture to match our experiences.  We continue in our relationship with Dad, and we hold onto his promises.  Believers will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.  Period.  End of discussion.

Lie #5.)  People with gifts of healing and prophesy are super rare and super special!

Negatron.  Once again, YOU are the one who is super special!  And as far as gifts go, you have all of them…right now (1 Cor. 1:7).  Why do you even want to grow in these gifts?  Is it because they will prove God exists and loves you?  Well, you don’t have to prove anything.  Dad loves you and is very pleased with you, period.  The enemy is just trying to take your eyes off Dad.

The truth is God doesn’t wait for you to mature, while he talks to other people.  He in fact talks to you right now (most of the time, they seem like just your “thoughts”).  And as for signs and wonders, you’ll get these too!  They’ll happen naturally.  But you don’t get fruit by focusing on fruit.  You get it by focusing on Dad’s love for you.   

Lie #6.)  God’s love is about recruiting.  Not receiving.    

Christianity: The Great Ponzi Scheme!  Once you sign up to become a Christian, you’re told to find more people.  Then those people are told to find even more people.  And on and on it goes.  You’ve got to witness!  But what are you telling people?  “Hey, let me tell you about a God I barely know so that you can join this ponzi scheme and do the same thing?” 

You are not a recruiter.  Dad wants to spend time with you (Eph 3:17) rather than watch you talk to other people.  Once you begin to feel his love and know him better, you won’t be able to contain yourself!  But this will happen as an overflow!  Once again, not something you focus on.

Listen, there’s nothing to do except receive!  God does all the work!  You have an awesome family: Dad, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.  Feel free to know them.  God has made you perfect.  He sees you without flaw!  He loves spending time with you and is always smiling; totally obsessed with…YOU!!

Thoughts?

Top 10 Lies of Religion: Part 1 (Profanity Included)

This post is for real, awesome people who are tired of hearing bullshit.

Although this might come as a surprise, your story is not unique.  It was my story too.  Here’s how it goes:

1.)  You heard how awesome Jesus was; so you went to church.

2.)  You were told you had to do a bunch of stuff.

3.)  Eventually, you stopped going to church.

4.)  You now enjoy life much more.

That last one is not sarcasm.  I honestly believe you enjoy life more since you stopped going to church.  Here’s what I have to say about that decision:

Good for you!  Seriously.  That was probably the best decision you could have made.

Now let me guess why you stopped going to church:

1.)  You’re not self-righteous.  You couldn’t care less about what other people think about you.

2.)  You wanted something real, and you didn’t find it.

3.)  The pastor was always hinting at good works.  Week after week, you felt condemned.  

4.)  It seemed like everyone was acting fake.  You’d rather hang out with real people.

5.)  You’re not an idiot.  You had a lot of questions about God, but no one could give you straight answers. 

6.)  You had no actual relationship with Jesus.

That last one was not your fault.  Why would you bother forming a relationship with Jesus, when he sounded so lame?  People told you that God wants you to worship him, but doesn’t really help with anything.  Screw that guy.  I wouldn’t want a relationship either.

But none of this is true!  If you really knew Jesus, you would know all that was bullshit.  But instead, the enemy fed you the following lies:

1.)  God loves the sinner; not the sin.  He withdraws his presence when you sin.

2.)  Jesus died for you, so now you owe him [with worship, good works and tithings].

3.)  Love is for other people.  Not you.

4.)  Who can know the mind of Christ?  Not you.  Stop asking questions.

5.)  People with gifts of healing and prophesy are super rare and super special!

6.)  You can’t really get drunk off the Holy Spirit.  Love is not a feeling.

7.)  God cares about morals, and desires Christ-like behavior.

8.)  God’s love is very soft.  

9.)  Why talk about Jesus, when you can talk about church!

10.)  Once you’re a believer, you can no longer do anything you want.

Wow, no wonder you thought God was lame.  I would too (and I did).  But don’t worry; it’s not your fault you believed those lies.  The enemy has been at this for a long time now.  His only real objective is to take your eyes off Dad; where all the power, love and freedom is found! 

Next week, I’ll unpack that top ten list I just mentioned.  For those of you who get excited about profanity, please stay tuned in.  Here’s a sneak peek of next week’s post:

Wake The Fuck Up.

Dad is bigger than all this bullshit.  His love is far more intense than you’ve ever felt.  Jesus is real, and if you’ve ever believed in him, he lives inside you.  He’s never left you!  He never will.  You’re stuck with the most loving, powerful person in the universe!  And he wants nothing!  …Except to love you and make you happy.

Stay tuned.  It’s gonna be awesome!!