Spirit, Soul and Body Part 3

Chapter 9

Once Saved, Always Saved or Born Again, Again?

When I first started understanding this revelation, I wondered, G.o.d, is it like the Baptists say-once saved, always saved? Or is it like the Pentecostals teach-saved, lost, saved, lost, born again, again? I struggled with these questions for a long time. Finally, the Lord spoke to me about it one day saying, "It's not A-once saved, always saved; or B-saved, lost, saved, lost, born again, again. It's C-none of the above!" He showed me that both positions have a partial truth, but the full truth is somewhere in between.

The "once saved, always saved" camp understands that your spirit is sanctified and perfected forever. Since you aren't saved by your own goodness, your lack of goodness can't un-save you. If you confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are born again. Since faith is the issue, sin doesn't cause you to lose your salvation.

Someone might say, "Now wait a minute! I believe if you sin, you lose your salvation. You can't tell me that a person who's committed some grievous sin can go to heaven!"

Even though I would be considered "holy" by most religious standards, I've fallen short in my actions. 1 haven't used profanity, drank liquor, smoked a cigarette, or committed adultery, but I've broken some of G.o.d's laws. I haven't loved people the way I should, neither have I always told the truth. I try to, but I remember being caught lying as a kid. I haven't committed what's considered "big" sins, but I've broken G.o.d's Law!

Plate Gla.s.s Window "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). The Law is like a plate gla.s.s window. You could shoot a BB through it and make a little hole or throw a piano through it and make a huge one. Size makes no difference because the gla.s.s can't be patched. It's broken and must be replaced. If you violate one tiny command, you're guilty of breaking the whole thing!

You might not be transgressing all of G.o.d's commands, but you won't ever be able to do everything He's told you to do. n.o.body always does all of the good they know to do (James 4:17). Therefore, everyone falls short.

Those who say "You have to be holy! You can't have sin in your life and still think you're saved" have to categorize it into "big" sin and "little" sin. They contend, "I'm talking about the big things. You can't tell me that a person who commits adultery and dies in a car accident on the way home with their sin not confessed would still be saved. Surely, they would go directly to h.e.l.l. You can't tell me that an adulterer would go to heaven!" Forgive me for bursting your bubble, but that's religious tradition!

According to G.o.d's Word, there is no such thing as a "big" sin or a "little" sin (James 2:10). Speeding while driving is sin. Romans 13:1-7 instructs you to obey the laws of the land and to submit yourself to the governing authorities. Driving 56 in a 55 mph zone is breaking the command of G.o.d. If you break a little command, you are guilty of violating the entire thing.

The speeder is as guilty of sin as the adulterer. In man's eyes, there is a radical difference between going 1 mph over the speed limit and committing adultery. A speeder and an adulterer deserve different consequences in man's opinion, but in the eyes of G.o.d, sin is sin. Both come short of His standard of perfection. If you keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point, you become guilty of it all.

If the born-again believer who committed adultery and didn't confess it before dying goes straight to h.e.l.l, then so does every believer who has ever sped. If that were true, then n.o.body would make it to heaven because we all come short and fail in many different ways!

Michael Jordan Vs. Couch Potato If you've come short of the glory of G.o.d, you've missed it! Suppose you were in a room with a 20-foot ceiling, and G.o.d said you had to jump up and touch it in order to be saved. If you're Michael Jordan, you might be able to jump 15 feet high and get close. If you're a couch potato, you might only jump six inches and miss it by a bunch. Either way, the end result wouldn't be any different. If you can't touch the ceiling, you can't be saved. Both miss it!

That's the way it is with G.o.d's standard. He doesn't grade on a curve saying, "Do the best you can. As long as you're in the top 10%, I'll accept you, because you really tried." No, either you have to be perfect, or you need a Savior who is!

If you can sin your salvation away, then the only way to heaven is to die immediately after being born again. The loving thing to do with new converts would be to kill them. Then they wouldn't have a chance to sin and lose the salvation they just received. The evangelist who murdered them might go to h.e.l.l, but the new believers wouldn't have time to void their ticket to heaven through sin. Sound ridiculous? It is!

Your spirit has been sealed, sanctified, and perfected forever. Its righteous state doesn't fluctuate with the holiness of your actions and att.i.tudes. Since salvation depends solely upon putting your faith in Jesus and being born again, your sin doesn't affect your relationship with G.o.d. He fellowships with you based on your faith in Christ alone!

Renouncing & Rejecting However, Scripture doesn't teach "once saved, always saved." Several places discuss the possibility of becoming reprobate and losing your salvation. The cla.s.sic example is, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of G.o.d, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of G.o.d afresh, and put him to an open shame" (Heb. 6:4-6).

If a person falls away, there's no more sacrifice. Hebrews 6:4-6 is located in the same context, emphasizing how Jesus' one offering provided your eternal redemption. However, if that one sacrifice is voided, there isn't any other. It cannot be reapplied. You can't be born again, again. Jesus Christ is not going to suffer through that shame and humiliation to die a second time. His one sacrifice was it-forever!

You can make the sacrifice of Christ of no effect by turning to legalism and trusting in your own works for righteousness. "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Gal. 3:1-3).

Salvation is both received and maintained by faith in Christ alone. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering" (Heb. 10:23). You can't sin your salvation away, but you can renounce it. Rejecting your faith isn't easily done, but it is possible. Personally, I don't believe there are very many who do fall away.

Hardened Before someone would ever renounce so great a salvation, they would have to become hardened toward G.o.d (Heb. 3:13-14). Although your spirit is unaffected by sin, your body and soul are. Sin dulls your perception, wisdom, and understanding of who you are in the spirit. If you persist in sin far and long enough, you can come to a place where Satan will try to make you renounce your faith in Christ. However, without being to-tally blinded to the truth, n.o.body in their right mind would ever reject the Lord!

If you renounce your faith and reject G.o.d, you can throw your salvation away. It's not something you just lose, like misplaced car keys. You must deliberately and openly reject it. That's something that takes place over a period of time.

You're saved by the grace of G.o.d, so sinful actions don't Cause >0A tO lose OUY saWaUon. However, sin can harden your heart until you eventually come to a place where you renounce your faith in the Lord (Heb. 6:4-6). If that happens, it's impossible to ever be renewed again to repentance!

This contradicts saved, lost, saved, lost; born again, again. Those who believe you lose your salvation every time you sin, also believe that all you've got to do is confess it and you're saved again. You just "pray through" and come back into right standing with G.o.d. Hebrews 6:4-6 says that can never happen! Either you didn't lose your salvation when you sinned, or if you did-you can never be saved again!

Do You Qualify?

The qualifications listed in Hebrews 6:4-6 are pretty stiff. You should look them over carefully before condemning yourself as reprobate. It's not talking about that time you were frustrated and said "I'm quitting! This doesn't work!" and then backslid into sin. No, it's much more involved than that.

In order to qualify, you have to (1) be enlightened, which means drawn by the Holy Ghost. John 6:44 declares, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." You couldn't have been coerced into making some statement, signing a church roll, or repeating a prayer. Then, after not experiencing a dramatic change, you became tired and renounced it saying, "I reject this. It's not real!" If this describes you, it wasn't a true conviction from the Holy Spirit. You were coerced, not drawn. You went to church because your parents made you, or you were dating someone who had you repeat a prayer. You don't qualify! Therefore, you aren't even held accountable for that so-called "rejection."

You also must have (2) tasted of the heavenly gift, which means you must be truly born again; (3) made a partaker of the Holy Ghost, which refers to being baptized in the Holy Spirit; (4) have tasted the good Word of G.o.d, which means the Word has literally impacted you. You've done more than just put it in your mouth-you've swallowed it, digested it, and benefited from the nutrients and life in it; and (5) you've tasted the power of the world to come, which refers to a Spirit-filled person who has exercised the gifts of the Holy Spirit and is going on to maturity. In other words, you must be a mature Christian before you can actually renounce your salvation.

If a mature Christian rejects the Lord, they can never be brought back to a place of repentance. It's a one-time deal. They're held accountable, d.a.m.ned, and that's it!

Jesus proclaimed that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the one unpardonable sin (Matt. 12:31-32). Yet Paul said he obtained mercy because he "did it ignorantly in unbelief (I Tim. 1:13). This shows that even the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit depends upon whether or not you did it knowingly.

You can't renounce your salvation ignorantly! That's what Hebrews 6:4-6 is saying. You have to be a mature Christian who was drawn by the Spirit, born again, baptized in the Holy Ghost, mature in the Word, and operating in the gifts of the Spirit before you can reject the Lord. Only then are you held accountable!

Too Young to Know Any Better One time when I was a child, somewhere between five and eight, 1 became upset and ran away from home. I took off running but realized my mistake even before I lost sight of my house. Where am I going? What will I eat? Where will I sleep? I love my parents! I might have been angry, but I didn't want to run away. Being too proud to admit it, 1 got caught up in a barbed wire fence on purpose so my brother would catch me (he'd been run-ning after me to bring me home).

Since I wasn't old enough, it wasn't held against me. Even though I was mad and had declared "I don't want to be a Wommack anymore!" before running away, it wasn't imputed unto me. If the police had been called, they would have been on my parents' side because I was so young. I didn't know what I was attempting, nor was I legally able to do it.

However, now I'm old enough to decide. As an adult, I could change my name and make a formal separation from my parents. If I renounced them, the government would back me up, and I could legally reject them.

It's the same thing with renouncing and rejecting salvation. G.o.d knows whether someone is mature or not. He alone knows their heart.

Beyond Hope When someone rejects their salvation, they can never come back into relationship with G.o.d. "And even as they did not like to retain G.o.d in their knowledge, G.o.d gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient...Who knowing the judgment of G.o.d, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Rom. 1:28, 32). Giving them over to a reprobate mind, G.o.d takes away the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

"Reprobate" means "beyond hope." You aren't convicted of your need for relationship with the Lord unless the Holy Spirit is dealing with you (John 6:44). As long as He's dealing with you, you aren't reprobate. However, if someone fulfills the qualifications of Hebrews 6:4-6 and renounces their salvation, then G.o.d takes the Holy Spirit away and they become reprobate. Without conviction, they no longer know they're doing wrong. Not only do they like it, but they like all those who are in rebellion against G.o.d too. Reprobates display a total lack of desire and response toward the Lord.

Are you repenting and sorry for what you've done? Do you desire to be in relationship with the Lord? If so, you aren't reprobate. The Holy Spirit is still dealing with you. You weren't mature enough when you turned your back or fell away. Like Paul, you're forgiven because you were ignorant when you did those things. Praise G.o.d-He's your loving heavenly Father!

Chapter 10.

Fullness Received My spirit was created in righteousness and true holiness when 1 was born again (Eph. 4:24). Then, the Holy Spirit sealed this purity into my brand-new spirit (Eph. 1:13). Any sin I commit now in my physical actions cannot penetrate or contaminate my spirit because it's been sanctified and perfected forever (Heb. 10:10,14; 12:23). My born-again spirit cannot sin (1 John 3:9)!

I have received eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). This doesn't encourage me to live in sin but instead gives me stability in my life and relationship with G.o.d. I live holy because I want to, and if I don't, I know I'll give Satan and other people an opportunity against me (Rom. 6:16). Living holy is definitely more beneficial than living in sin!

G.o.d is pleased with me because of who I am in the spirit (John 4:24). When I do fall short, sin doesn't have dominion over me the way it used to because 1 know now that G.o.d has already forgiven me completely-past, present, and future sins (Rom. 6:14). My spirit isn't stained in any way. Since G.o.d is a Spirit, I must fellowship with Him through who I am in the spirit.

My relationship with the Lord is constant. He's always loving me. He's always pleased with me-the real me, the born-again me, my spirit (Eph. 1:6). That's the part of me that G.o.d loves and that I've come to love. I'm not enamored with my carnal self and actions. I don't like some of what I see, do, and think, but I've come to realize there's a new me. In my spirit, I am thrilled with what Jesus has done, and I place my full confidence in that. Since I walk by the spirit, and not the flesh, I experience G.o.d's peace, joy, and life on a daily basis.

My life is stable. 1 don't feel like I lose everything every time I sin or fall short. I don't think that I need to be born again, again and start the whole growth process over. This concept of "one step forward and two steps back" is totally gone. When I do fail, I just turn from it. I repent and get back on track with what G.o.d's told me to do, knowing that I'm still who I am in Christ and infinitely more in my spirit than I've ever yet been able to appropriate and manifest. That's why I actively and aggressively continue renewing my mind to His Word.

Fruit Unto Holiness "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

First John 1:9 has been traditionally taught that every time you sin, you have to confess your sins in order to receive forgiveness. If that's truly what it means, then this would put a tremendous burden upon you to deal with every sin. Religion categorizes sin, but G.o.d's Word is much more inclusive. Sin isn't only what you're doing wrong, it's also the right you failed to do. Some sins you realize, most others you don't. If you have to confess every sin before it's forgiven, n.o.body could retain their salvation. This just can't be what it means!

First John 1:9 refers to when you first come to the Lord. If forgiveness were dependent upon your confessing everything you've ever done wrong and failed to do right, salvation would be out of reach because you've forgotten too much. This verse instructs the unbeliever to be born again, not the believer to confess every sin all the time. It's how you first come to the Lord. You acknowledge your sin nature and separation from G.o.d in order to bow your knee and receive salvation. You confess that you're a sinner in need of forgiveness and are cleansed from all unrighteousness by receiving your brand-new, born-again spirit.

First John 1:9 can also mean cleansing the effects of sin from a believer's soul and body. Your spirit isn't affected by sin, but your soul and body are. Sin gives the devil a legal right to work his death into your life because you yielded yourself to him (Rom. 6:16). How do you repent of it and get him out? You say, "G.o.d, I was wrong and You were right. I sinned and gave Satan this opportunity. I repent!" By confessing, you take the salvation, the forgiveness, the holiness, and the righteousness that's already a reality in your spirit and never fluctuated when you failed, and draw it out into your body and soul. This literally drives the devil out and takes his place away. The enemy no longer has rights and privileges in your life once you repent and turn from what you've done!

If you understand your eternal redemption, you won't be emboldened to sin, but you'll be freed up to declare, "What a great G.o.d You are!" You'll want to spend even more time with Him. You'll desire to live holy so that nothing will ever dull you or keep you from perceiving these great truths and His love. Understanding your eternal redemption will cause you to live holy.

That's the way it should be! You shouldn't be trying to live holy out of fear of rejection and punishment; you ought to live holy as a result of your salvation. You should have "fruit unto holiness" (Rom. 6:22). Notice how it's a fruit, not a root, of salvation. "Holiness" doesn't produce G.o.d moving in your life, but your external actions of holiness are a result of understanding the righteous nature of your born-again spirit.

Never Separated From His Love!

This has changed my life! It's given me a deep abiding security in my relationship with G.o.d because I know He loves me! In fact, He loves me infinitely more than I've ever yet perceived. After the warm feelings of my miraculous encounter with G.o.d subsided, (because of my actions) I thought, Well, He loved me at one time, but I 'm not sure He still loves me now because I just don 'tfeel worthy. Then I came to realize that my born-again spirit is righteous and holy. I recognized that G.o.d looks at me Spirit to spirit, and He loves the born-again part of me!

I'm His workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10). In my spirit, I'm perfect and pure. G.o.d loves me and I'm never separated from His love. This sheds new light on, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princ.i.p.alities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of G.o.d, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:35, 38-39). In my spirit, G.o.d has already given me His full measure of love. "And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16). I'm full of G.o.d. One-third of me is wall-to-wall Holy Spirit.' And if you're born again, all these things are true of you too!

This knowledge will impact your life and make you feel so pure. You'll be so appreciative of what G.o.d has done that you'll live holier in your actions accidentally than you've ever lived on purpose!

Chapter 11.

G.o.d's Supernatural Faith In your spirit, you have the complete measure of faith. You don't need more faith from G.o.d because you already have all you'll ever need. Your faith isn't small, immature, or in the process of growing; it's already as perfect and complete as the faith of Jesus. You just need to renew your mind and learn to release it!

When I first became serious about G.o.d, I started hungering to see in my life what I saw in the lives of Bible characters. When I read things in the Word, I knew they weren't just for the people back then. Even though I hadn't seen any of those things manifest prior to that time, I knew in my heart they were for me now too. Since faith is what releases the supernatural ability of G.o.d, I began a quest to start operating in His kind of faith.

Of course, I misunderstood a number of things at first. 1 thought faith was something to be obtained. I believed that I had to do things after being saved in order to make G.o.d give me more faith. Because of this, I felt my faith was inadequate every time 1 came up against a problem. 1 just embraced such recurring thoughts as, Faith works, but I just don't have enough of it, and, What I've got is too puny! That was my att.i.tude. However, through this revelation of spirit, soul, and body, the Lord cleared up my misunderstandings about faith and revolutionized my life and ministry!

Faith Was A Gift Too!

Sometimes a pa.s.sage of Scripture becomes so familiar that you can only sec one application of it. Unless you allow the Holy Spirit to shine additional light on that part of His Word, you'll be stuck with only the understanding you already have. I'm not suggesting reading something into G.o.d's Word that isn't there, but I am recommending that you stay humble before your Teacher- the Holy Spirit-as we take a closer look at some very familiar scriptures (John 14:26).

The way you were born again is the way you receive everything in the Christian life-by grace through faith. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is everything G.o.d provided through Christ's atonement; it's not just when you first walk through G.o.d's door by receiving forgiveness of sins and a brand-new spirit. Salvation is everything in His house as well-healing, deliverance, prosperity, joy, peace, love, anything you receive from Him. All these salvation benefits come the same way you were born again-by grace through faith!

Colossians 2:6 agrees, declaring, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." How did you receive Christ? By grace through faith. How then do you walk in Him and enjoy all the benefits of His salvation package? By grace through faith!

Many people interpret Ephesians 2:8 too narrowly by limiting the word "saved" to mean only the initial born-again experience. However, the Greek word for salvation here is "sozo," which includes every aspect of salvation. Therefore, Ephesians 2:8 really says, "For by grace are ye sozo-forgiven of sins, born again, made righteous, healed, delivered, prospered, etc.- through faith" (emphasis mine).

Others miss the fact that it's not only salvation that is "not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9); it's also faith as well. G.o.d not only provides the salvation you need, but He also supplies the very faith you use to appropriate His grace! Both salvation and the faith to receive it are gifts from G.o.d!

G.o.d's Word Contains His Faith You can't receive salvation without hearing the Word. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of G.o.d" (Rom. 10:17). You might not hear it quoted chapter and verse, but the truths and concepts that are in G.o.d's Word must come across your path somehow. You need to know that Jesus died for your sins, and because of His love, He offers forgiveness independent of your actions. His only demand is that you believe.

Faith comes through hearing the Word. How? G.o.d's Word contains His faith. When you receive the Word into your heart, you're receiving G.o.d's supernatural faith. You must hear the Word because that's how you believe and receive.

G.o.d put His faith in His words. When those words are preached, they contain faith. If you will open up your heart, that faith will enter in and produce salvation (1 Pet. 1:23-25). The faith you use to receive salvation is not merely a human faith but G.o.d's own supernatural faith, which came to you through His Word.

It's important to know whether your faith is natural or supernatural. If you believe that your faith is just a human faith, the devil will be able to convince you that it's not very good. He'll tell you it's puny, weak, frail, and small in amount and strength. But when you understand that the faith you're using is G.o.d's supernatural faith, which was imparted to you through His Word, your level of confidence and expectation will rise. It's not only the faith you used to become born again, but it's the faith you use to appropriate everything in the Christian life!

Since G.o.d's faith is a supernatural faith, it produces supernatural results. It has the ability to do things that will take you beyond just the physical realm. If you believe you're using just a human faith for the Christian life, you'll only be able to receive natural results. However, when you realize that it's G.o.d's faith you're using, you'll start experiencing supernatural results!