The Seal of God
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Ephesians 1:13-14
“When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory”
Many Christians will interpret this scripture in their support of the OSAS teaching, claiming that we are sealed until the day of redemption. Therefore, to them, this is proof that salvation can never be lost.
There are several things we need to carefully consider in this scripture, without reading into it or assuming things. First, what we have here is a scripture of promise for God’s keeping power through this life until the day of our redemption in heaven. It shares God’s provision for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and His promise to always keep us protected “in Him”.
The promises of God are always given to believers to show His part in the new covenant with mankind. These promises are given only to those who are “in Him”, and remain in Him until the end. There is nothing in this scripture that speaks these continued promises to those who fall away back into sin. Nothing in this scripture states that salvation is unconditionally, eternally secure! This can only be read into the scripture when it isn’t there at all.
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Being "marked in Him with a seal" is an inner work of the Holy Spirit as we walk in the spirit and continue in Christ daily. This is the promise to the faithful believers, not to any who later walk away from the faith or live in disobedience to God's commands.
The Mark and the Seal
What is the mark and the seal? It is the Holy Spirit! When we give our lives to Jesus through faith and commit to walk in obedience to His commands, we receive the Holy Spirit as our helper. Those who walk in the spirit will always have this mark and seal on them that others will see. It will be evidence through the transformed life after we have been born again. And it will be evident through the fruit of the spirit that we begin to bear. A mark is like a sign or a label to tells those who see it, that we are believers in Christ. The seal is the Holy Spirits presence within us that transforms us. To assume that the Holy Spirit cannot and will not ever leave us is to assume that He can never be quenched (1 Thess. 5:19), can never be grieved (Eph. 4:30), can never be resisted (Acts 7:51), can never be lied to, and thus the person can never be judged (Acts 5:3-4), the Spirit can never be insulted (Hebrews 10:29), and that He would never depart from us (Is. 63:10, Ps. 51:11, 1 Sam. 16:14).
The Holy Spirit is very personal in His relationship with believers. He can be hurt, resisted, quenched, insulted, and will even depart from those who continue with such a rebellious behavior who refuse to repent. In such a case of His departure, a person can no longer be under His protection, if He is not even there with them. In such a case, the seal is broken, having been corrupted and deteriorated from within. We have complete protection from forces outside of us. Yet if we allow things to get inside (or always had them inside and refused to deal with them and allow God to take them from us), then corruption can eat away at the seal and destroy us from within. Just like a cancer eats away at the body and destroys it, sin, when not dealt with, will eat away at the soul.
It has to be assumed by those holding to the OSAS teaching that the mark and the seal can never be removed from the believer, and will be on them until the time of redemption, without any conditions. This is not what we are told in this scripture. The idea of there being no conditions is added to it by their own flawed theology. The purpose of the scripture is not to teach an unconditional eternal and unchangeable salvation. The purpose is to express the security we have as believers who abide and continue in God's goodness.
The mark and the seal are only on those who are “in Him” and remain in Him. To think that a person can never fall away from faith and no longer be “in Him” is an assumption they make, which is not included in this scripture. The focus in the scripture is to share God’s faithfulness to His part in salvation to all who “remain in Him” and “continue in His love”.
In John 15:4, Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine.” The argument will typically be that this is only speaking about bearing fruit, and not about salvation. The problem with this idea is that it is talking about being “in Jesus” (or our soul being connected to Him). If we are not remaining in Him spiritually, then we are no longer “in Him” at all. And this is who this promise in Ephesians is to; to those who are abiding in Him, and who are continuing in Him. To assume that a person who is in Christ can never again not be in Christ, goes against many other scriptures.
Hebrews 10:26 says, “For is we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins”.
This is not saying that the sacrifice of Jesus itself loses its power, but that the application of it cannot be effective based on a prevision repentance and commitment to Him. There must be a new repentance in order for the sacrifice to apply to new sins committed. We know He is ever present to make intercession for us when we sin; but He never does that without our participation and willingness to repent.This doesn't mean that if we sin, then we die a minute later without the chance to repent that we would go to hell. It's about the heart and our willingness to repent, versus the rebellion and sin that many people live in. Grace is with the repentant believer who knows they need Jesus and His forgiveness daily. Grace is not on those who think grace covers their known rebellious sins without any desire to repent.
A willful sin in this scripture is speaking of knowingly rebelling against the commandments of Christ, choosing to allow sin to reign in our lives as our master. It is more than an ignorant mistake that can be a sin, which we immediately repent of. It is a falling into sin with no intension of repenting. In such a case there can be no cleansing and forgiveness of that sin. And when repentance is refused, sin is justified in a persons mind, they attempt to continue in sin – sometimes even still claiming to be Christian. Yet the reality is, they have fallen, and they have not gotten back up. They have stripped themselves of grace, doing things their own way, refusing God’s way.
Romans 11:22 says, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God. Sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off”.
To be cut off from God is as serious as it can get when talking about salvation! He is our salvation! If we are cut off from Him, then we certainly cannot be saved. Yet he is speaking to Christians here, warning them that they can be cut off if they fall away. So he says, “provided that you continue in His kindness”, then and only then can we have the promises of eternal life and have the mark and seal upon us.
Continue in His love.
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In John 15:9, Jesus said, “As the Father hath loved Me, so I have loved you; continue in My love”.
The love of Christ for us is continuous and will always be there for us. As Romans 8 tells us, nothing can separate us from His love. Yet will still have to continue in His love! He loves the whole world according to John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2. Nothing is going to change His love for us or for the world or sinners whom He died for. His love will always be there, we can count on that! This just assures us of God’s love and faithfulness. It does not assure Him of our faithfulness to Him. This is something we have to work out ourselves. He has given us all we need in order to do that, so its not of our own works, but of His work in us – as we allow Him to have our whole heart and life. We must choose to continue in His love!
Every relationship requires two parties to do their part in maintaining it. To remain in Him and continue in Him and His love and goodness are responsibilities given to us as our part of the relationship. He is sure to always be faithful to keep His part. However, Him doing His part can never make up for us not doing our part. Our failure to do our part continuously, without repentance, shows a condition of the heart that we simply are not willing to deal with. It is an act of rebellion to His commands, thinking we know better or can do just find without obeying Him.
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We can always count on God being faithful to His Word. However, that may not always look like we want it to look. In 2 Timothy 2:11-14, it says the following:
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11. This is a trustworthy saying:
If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
12a. If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
b. If we deny him,
he will deny us.
13. If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.
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Verses 11 & 12a start off with great promises of His faithfulness to give us life and to one day reign with him. Then verse 12b says if we deny Him, He will deny us also. Thats not so reassuring of the Unconditional salvation teachings. What about the seal?! How can we be sealed unto the day of redemption, yet denied by Him in the end? Simple. If we deny Him by the way we live, refusing to obey His commands, He will deny us also. He then says in verse 13, "if we become faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is". Who is He? He is the Almighty God who cannot lie.
Many people think this scripture teaches us that He will remain faithful to save us and keep us sealed not matter what we do, even being unfaithful to him. This is not saying that at all, but is saying very much the opposite. It says He cannot deny Himself. How would He deny Himself? He would deny Himself by going against anything that He promised - whether it is good or bad. He promised good things here to those who die with Him and endure hardships for His names sake. Then He also promised that if we deny Him, He will deny us also. He must remain faithful to both the good and the bad as He promised, or He would be denying His own words.
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The Holy Spirit
Will the Holy Spirit leave a Christian if they return to sinning and refuse to repent? The OSAS people will say no, but this goes against the warnings to Christians in the Bible (Ephesians 5:5-7; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19-21). Those warnings are not to sinners or false Christians in the church who haven’t gotten saved yet. The Apostles only wrote to Christians. Yet they tell them that no immoral person will inherit the kingdom of God, while warning them to not give themselves to such sins. Why tell them this if they are saved eternally and unconditionally? If nothing can prevent them for making it to heaven in the end, then why tell them this? Clearly Paul said that anyone who commits immoral sins will not make it, which had to include the people he was writing to. Otherwise, his writing to them about such things is pointless.
Romans 8:13 tells us, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live”.
Again, writing to Christians, he is speaking to them directly, telling them that if they live to please the flesh they will die, and in order to live, they must put the flesh to death and live after the spirit. The topic here being death and life, the OSAS people will assume that the Christian can only have life and cannot die spiritually. Yet Paul here warns of the certain possibility of dying spiritually if they follow after the flesh. The life we have in Christ is contingent upon our willingness to crucify the flesh and walk in the spirit. It is not an absolute, unconditional guarantee! Simply put: "If you (Christians) live after the flesh, you will die". If the seal was an unconditional guarantee of eternal salvation, then he would never say such a thing. We must put to death the deeds of the flesh in order to live and have life in Him. And life in His is our eternal life also!
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If a Christian falls back into sin, the scriptures tells us that they will die if they do not repent, choosing sin over righteousness. There are really just too many scriptures to share about this fact. The warnings are given to the Christians concerning life and death; not rewards or a loss of them (as so many people try to explain). This has nothing at all to do with losing rewards, but is all about losing life! The only life there is to mention here is the eternal life we have in Jesus. This cannot speak of physical life. If that were the case, then everyone would be dead because of their sins committed after salvation. This is the spiritual life that only Jesus can give. Life is in the Son! And if we become disconnected from Him through rebellious sins, no longer abiding in Him or continuing in Him and His love, then we are disconnected for salvation.
The Deposit guaranteeing our salvation
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The deposit is the Holy Spirit, which he says is a guarantee of our salvation. Too much is read into this by people, assuming it is a promise of unconditional eternal salvation – no matter what! Yet it says no such thing. It is a promise to save eternally. However, there is nothing unconditional in the text at all. It is a promise to the faithful who abide in Him and continue in His love, from a faithful God who will complete in us what He began - as long as we allow Him to.. Those who endure through life, separated from the world and fleshly living, walking in the spirit – being led by the spirit; they are the ones these promises are given to. Only they have this conditional guarantee.
Having the deposit of the Holy Spirit is a powerful picture of God’s goodness in our lives. It seals the deal for us – as long as we continue in His goodness. This is what the scriptures tell us. We must stop reading unconditional ideas into scriptures that have conditions. Israel made this mistake, thinking they should be blessed by God and that He should keep His promises to them, when they broke their part of the covenant and worshipped false gods. Christians do the same thing when they serve sin or the flesh while refusing to walk in the spirit, yet claiming to be saved eternally and unconditionally.
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The downpayment made by Jesus to guarantee our salvation is His work of atonement that applies to us through faith. We live a short time in this life before we go into eternity. A downpayment is given when something cannot be fully bought and paid for yet. Although scripture does tell us that "we were bought with a price", this is to explain that we cannot do whatever we want to without any concern, but must do what God has commanded us. These figurative financial terms tell a story about what was done for us and how it affects us. We have to be careful how far we take figurative words like this. Taking them too far will lead to false teachings, since people take them farther than the Bible does. The deposit is showing a temporary condition, in which full payment is always made later. Otherwise, there would be no need for a deposit if payment is made in full. The deposit simply guarantees our place in Christ and that He will always be there for us to do whatever He has promised. Yet we have to be faithful to do our part also.
What is a Seal?
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A seal in bible times had mostly to do with the seal that was put on a letter that was sent by a king. The seal proved authenticity, so the receiver knew it was truly from the king and not someone else. Anyone could have a seal, and if the receiver knew their seal, they could still know it was from them.
The seal was a glob of hot wax (sometimes clay), that after the letter was folded up, was placed over the folder area and hardened to keep it from opening. Kings would typically use their ring to press down on the soft wax or clay, which would harden after a few minutes. This would assure that it was not opened and read by the person delivering the letter, since the seal would arrive unbroken.
When Jesus puts His seal on us (the Holy Spirit), we must arrive in the end unbroken and undefiled by the world and the flesh. Nobody can break this seal! However, this is only a metaphorical way of describing how Jesus will keep the faithful unto the day of redemption. No outsider could break the seal, yet the one delivering could. Of course, the penalty would be death for such a crime. We are the carriers. And we have free will. There is nothing in scripture or even logic that would suggest that a seal cannot ever be broken, but only that it must not be broken. It must arrive unbroken, or it would be unacceptable and untrustworthy.
If foods are put in a jar, a bag, a plastic container, or a box; they are sealed inside of them and sold in the stores, so we can take them home and open them at our convenience. The foods are protected and preserved for us by the sealing process. If the seal was broken at any time, the food would spoil, grow mold, or become stale. Then it would no longer be eatable. The question then is, can the seal of God on us be broken? The only way it could would be if we broke it ourselves.
No force in this world can break the seal of God on His people! However, because we have all been given free will, we can damage it ourselves. This was not a part of the scriptures, because it wasn't the point of them. The point was only to show God's protection on us from the outside forces. We still have to choose righteousness, to walk in the spirit, to die to the flesh, and to seek God. If we don’t pray, feed our spirit, read the Word of God, and be filled with the Holy Spirit; then we will begin to die spiritually. This can be like a crack in the seal that slowly worsens. This is not God’s doing, or the work of the forces in this world, but our own doing. We can allow corruption to get in and burst the seal, just like a spoiled can of food can explode.
You might think that this is just some example I came up with in my own mind that is not in this scriptures. Well first, the idea of unconditional eternal security is not in this scripture in Ephesians either, or anywhere else. I am only following the biblical example of a seal and how they worked. Yet I am not alone on this. The Churches in those days and the leaders after the Apostles also had this understanding.
Abiding in the ship, and in Christ
In the gospel of John, chapter 15, Jesus told His disciples that they needed to remain in Him. This is something we have to do in order for Him to remain in us. Look at the scriptures for yourself:
1“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.6Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
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Jesus starts by telling them that He is the vine, and His Father is the gardener. The Father is the one taking care of Jesus and all that is attached to Him. He prunes the good branches that are bearing fruit. This means that He is cutting off any bad parts of Jesus' followers as He purifies them and makes them holy. This is great and wonderful to know! God is on our side, helping us and cleaning us up to help us to grow in Him. We need to see these wonderful parts in the scriptures and encourage one another with them. Yet there is more there that we also need to acknowledge that brings some balances.
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He didn't just talk about the branches that bear fruit, but also spoke of those that do not bear fruit. Let's be honest and truthful here. Nobody can be considered to be a branch in Jesus (the vine) without first being connected to Him and part of Him. This is speaking of a a connection in a real and powerful way, and is not just talking about an acquaintance, or what all OSAS believers like to say, "those who never got saved to begin with". Although there are certainly people in churches who play the part who have never been truly saved, this is not the case with many who fall back into sinning. And it definitely is not the case in this passage in John.
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These branches that Jesus said bear no fruit will be cut off, cast forth and burned. The branches are people in this parable, as Jesus said, "you are the branches". Yet some branches are cut off from Christ. The Apostle Paul spoke os a similar situation in Romans 11:22, were he says, "Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off". Here we have believers who are being warned not to boast in their salvation, The Jews who rejected Jesus were cut off for their unbelief in Jesus. This shows the severity of God with His judgment of sin and rebellion to His truth. His kindness is shown to us, because we have humbled ourselves to receive Him and His truth that was given through Jesus. Yet in all of His goodness shown to us, Paul warns them to be careful and to watch their own hearts, lest they get themselves cut off also. This was not some empty warning, and it was not referring to rewards or anything other than salvation through our connection with Jesus. We have the responsibility to remain in Jesus, to continue in His love, and to humbly guard our hearts from pride.
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Stay in the Ship!
In the book of Acts, chapter 27, we read the story of Paul when he was being transported to go before the Emperor for trial. He was being boarded aboard a ship and he warned the captain, ship owner and centurion with him that they shouldn't go to sea, as there would be trouble. They did not listen to him and set out to sea anyway. They soon ran into a heavy storm in which the ship was being tossed around and everyone aboard feared for their lives. They began to throw cargo and equipment overboard to lighten the load as they franticly worked to saved the lives of everyone on board. An angel appears to Paul and told Him that nobody on the ship would lose their lives, and every one of them would be saved, but the ship would go down. What a wonder comfort and promise from God! The promise of salvation and life!
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Not long after this, as the storm continued to beat down the ship, some men decided to lower a life boat to get into it and leave the ship in hope of making it to land. Paul saw this and he told the men in charge what they were doing, and he God told Paul that if these men leave the ship they would die. The men in charge cut the ropes to the life boast and nobody left the ship.
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What happened to the promise of God that not one person would die? This was the promise of God, and God cannot go back on His word. This would be the argument of any OSAS person. Yet here, after being promised that not one person would die, they are now being told that anyone who leaves the ship will die. The condition is not hard to see now. Yet it wasn't given when the promise was given. God gives us many great and wonderful promises. Don't ever assume that a promise doesn't have conditions just because they are not given. Conditions are all throughout the scriptures and should be assumed always.
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The condition is clear, they had to remain on the ship. If they left the ship, they would die. In the same way, we have the promise of God's protection from evil through the seal upon us. Yet there definitely are conditions to this promise! We must remain in Jesus! If we don't He won't remain in us. This is simply what the scriptures say.
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Many will say, "Romans 8 says nothing can separate us from the love of God!" Yes it does. First, this is the love of God, which He has for the whole world (John 3:16 & 1 John 2:2). Then, we we go back to John 15, just a few verses later in verse 9, He tells the disciples "continue in my love". We all have the love of God available to us, and we receive His love through salvation; but we have to continue in His love daily. If we do not continue in His love, then we simply are not in His love anymore. We are no longer experiencing it through an ongoing relationship like we once did, possibly because of sin.
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The seal of God is a great promise for the believer, but it simply is not an unconditional guarantee of salvation, but rather very conditional. We must remain in Christ, continue in His love, and keep ourselves from worldly corruption that can cause spiritual death on the vine - which will lead to being cut off. Many people have been cut off while thinking they are still on the vine. Maybe they technically are. After all, Jesus said there were unfruitful branches on the vine that had not been cut off yet. Maybe God is giving them time? Or maybe the actual cutting off is something that happens at the end of our lives. How and when doesn't really matter, but only the fact that Jesus said it does and will happen matters. This is not an interpretation of the scriptures. It is simply what the scriptures say. Don't try to read something else into them. Don;t allow false teachers to tells you the clear and simple truth isn't true. Believe the scriptures! Take heed!
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The early Church concerning the Seal
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We need to realize that the early Churches and the leaders of the latter first century up until the end of the 3rd century all lived around the same times, spoke the same languages, and likely understood bible doctrines far better than we do today. Although early Church writings are not scripture, a few of them were actually accepted as scripture in those days, until the Roman Catholic Church decided for us what should be scripture and what should not be. I am not saying they were wrong with their choices, but only that we trust a corrupted Church to give us the scriptures, yet we want to toss aside some writings that the churches before them accepted as scripture (who were not corrupted at all doctrinally) – simply because we don’t like what they have to say (which agrees with the scriptures, just not with doctrines of men).
Some early writings were accepted as scripture, while most of them are only church history and confrontations of the Gnostic heresies. Yet one thing a few of the Church fathers wrote was the fact that all of the churches everywhere believed the exact same doctrines, and none of them disagreed. This is very different from todays church! Their writings are very consistent, and clarify the truth taught in the bible. They can really do well in explaining some things that people misunderstand, and settling doctrinal debates – for anyone who would care to listen. They are very clear about the OSAS doctrine! The purpose here is not to share all of those quotes, but only to talk about the one topic of the seal. Let’s take a look at what they had to say about the seal.
The Quotes.
The Shepherd of Hermas was a mid second century writing that was well received by the churches and was quoted by some of the 2nd and 3rd century church fathers. It is a writing of visions and mandates given to the shepherd concerning the spiritual condition of the church and how many had become very laxed and unfruitful.
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The Shepherd of Hermas 6[72]:3 "I say unto him, “Sir, now then show me concerning those that have given up their rods, what manner of man each of them is, and their abode, that when they hear this, they that believed and have received the seal and have broken it and did not keep it sound may fully understand what they are doing, and repent, receiving from thee a seal, and may glorify the Lord, that He had compassion upon them and sent thee to renew their spirits.”
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He speaks here of Christians who had believed and received the seal, but they had broken it by not keeping it pure themselves. There is a personal responsibility that we have to maintain what God has given us. We do this by HIS power, not our own. It is only our choices, but His Spirit that keeps us, as we pray, read and study the scriptures, live out the life of faith, and actively pursue Christ daily. The people are told they need to understand what they are doing and repent.
Clement is mentioned in the bible as a first century disciple of the Apostles. Some believe that the Corinthian church wrote the book of 1 Clement. 2 Clement is uncertain, but still bears his name. The writing is consistent with the first book, and very consistent with other church fathers writings and what al the churches believed.
2 Clement 7:6 “For as concerning them that have not kept the seal, He saith, `Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be for a spectacle unto all flesh“.
2 Clement 8:6 “So then He meaneth this, Keep the flesh pure and the seal unstained, to the end that we may receive life.“
Clement says the same thing about mans responsibility to keep what he has been given pure and undefiled. Some did not keep the seal, and therefore judgment would follow their decision. He tells of a definite loss of salvation is the seal is not kept pure and unstained. We must keep the seal by keeping the flesh pure and unstained (by sin), and only then may we receive life.
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Scriptures to consider:
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
Right before these verses, the Apostle Paul explains that we all build on the same foundation of Jesus Christ, but some build with strong enduring materials that fire won’t hurt, and others build with hay and stubble that will burn up = yet they will still be saved. So, the first part is about works that we do and the rewards that are gained or lost at the judgment. But now he is taking it a step further, as he says that if we defile the temple (which is our body, with sin), this goes beyond good or useless works. This is a defilement of the flesh. Sin corrupts and deteriorates like a cancer, defiling what was once holy. A total defilement and corruption of something is its destruction. And if we destroy the temple of God, then God will destroy us also.
People will attempt to teach that in context this is only about rewards from good works or the loss of them through bad works. As shown, the context changes when it afterwards talks about the temple being defiled, and not just through bad works on the foundation of Christ. These are two completely different issues. And to be destroyed by God cannot refer to discipline only. There is a vast difference between a spanking and destruction.
To destroy in the Greek means, “to corrupt, spoil, destroy, ruin”. The text literally tells us that if we corrupt ourselves through sinning, then God will destroy us in hell. Both words “Corrupt and destroy” come from the same Greek word used in this scripture. Ultimately, it refers to eternal damnation for all who live ungodly, specifically of the fallen Christian in this text. When the seal is broken, it is because corruption got in through the choice to sin, and as repentance is refused by the individual.
Galatians 5:19-21, ”Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The Apostle gives a limited list as an example, which does not exclude other sinful lifestyles. Notice that he did not mention after listing these different sinful choices in his addressing the Christians, that this does not apply to them because they are sealed? The Apostles never used such language in any of their warnings. He very plainly speaks here that those who do these things, whether they have never been saved or they are one of the Christians he is writing to, such people will not inherit the kingdom of God. The inheritance of the Kingdom of God is not just a reward they will miss out on! It is salvation itself. Jesus said those who are not born again will even see the kingdom of God. These are the same people, whether once saved or never saved.
1 Corinthians 15:2 says, speaking of the salvation that Paul preached to them, "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain."
This is one of many scriptures that use this conditional word, “if”. He says, “if” they keep in memory what he preached to them 0 then and only then will they be saved. He preached Jesus crucified for our sins, and that through faith in Him old sinful lifestyles are passed away and everything becomes new in Christ, as we are transformed. Forgetting the freedom Christ brought us to will lead to sinful living, if we forget how He set us free.
James 5:19-20 says, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins”.
Understand the language here. He says, “if any of you do err from the truth”. It is clear that he is talking to and about the brethren, the fellow Christian believers. He says that if they were to fall from the truth, and someone was to reach out to them and convince them of their error so that hey repent, then they would be saving a “sinner” (a fallen brother who fell from salvation) from their own error that was leading them to death, hiding a multitude of sins that would have condemned them for eternity.
Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
This is very simple language here. If we sow to the flesh we will reap of the flesh corruption. Since sowing to the Spirit leads us to reaping life everlasting, the corruption spoken of can only lead to the second death. Life or death are the only options.
I John 2:4 "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
1 John 1:6 – 7 also says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
John is not addressing people who may have never gotten saved to begin with. Although this can be the case with some people, John is talking to the brethren here. He even includes himself in the comments to them by saying “if we”. Therefore, he could just as well say, “If I say I have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, I am lying and the truth is not in me”. He certainly knows that he is a true believer and follower of Christ. Yet he includes himself in the possibility of falling away into sin and deceiving himself. It isn’t that he lived in fear of falling away and losing salvation, but that he understood the power od deception and sin for all who give themselves to it.
Hebrews 12:15 says, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."
Many Christians live carelessly, thinking there is nothing that can keep them from being saved. So they have no fear of sin. John warns us to be diligent in our faithful service to God, lest we fail the grace of God. We can be confident that God’s grace will never fail us – as long as we do not fail the grace of God through sinning.
2 Peter 2:20 – 22, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
Peter is laying out here the Christian life of escaping the pollutions of the world. This is salvation, as it is exactly what Jesus does in us as told in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The old is passed away, and all becomes new. You can’t escape the pollutions of the world without everything becoming new in Christ. He says it would have been better for them to have never known “the way of righteousness”. You can’t possibly know the way of righteousness, without being made righteous by Christ. It is also impossible for this to refer to just a religious experience only with self-righteousness. The only possible interpretation here is to refer to a true believer who was truly saved, who fell away back into their old way of living.
All of these scriptures speak to those with the seal of God on them, the “born again” believers. Unbelievers who have never been saved to begin with, but who have only accepted the idea of Jesus and the gospel message, are not the ones in view here at all. Paul warned Christians of falling into the works of the flesh, in which they will not inherit the kingdom of God. What good would it do to warn the believers of something that doesn’t even apply to them? To “believe in vain” doesn’t apply to people who believed, but didn’t actually get saved. He is talking to Christians who fell back, making all their conversion a vain work of repentance, since they turned back to sin. Yet James says that if we convert one of those believers who fell, back to faith, then we save a sinner from death. This is the fallen Christian who falls into sin, but is afterwards led to repentance. They went from being saved, to falling, then back to repentance – PREVENTING the loss of salvation. In such a case a multitude of sins is removed, and the seal is strengthened again.
How many Christians have you known who got saved and delivered, changed their ways of living and walked by faith and grew in Christ and became fruitful; who years later fell because of a divorce, a death in the family, financial devastation, or lust for a person or money? I have known too many! Anyone who denies such a thing is blind or a liar. Anyone who has been around for any length of time has seen this. Yet many who want to believe in the OSAS teaching will insist that these people either never got saved to begin with, or they are still saved today. Neither of these ideas line up with anything in the scriptures, unless they are read into the scriptures.
Many people who fell did not fall completely away from the faith like many others did. Instead, they remain in the church and attend weekly, while they returned to sinning at the same time. Their sins are often never confronted by preachers or church members. They will often try to justify their sinning by their proclaimed love for Jesus. After all, love is greater than anything, right? Therefore, their sins can’t affect them eternally. This is not at all what the bible teaches!
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” 1 John says above, that if we say we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we are liars and the truth is not in us. This is speaking of those who go to Church regularly and claim to love Him, but do not obey Him. This doesn’t mean they never got saved (although it could be the case with some), but just that they didn’t continue in faith that leads to obedience.
Jesus also said in Matthew than many will come to Him on judgment day and say “Lord, Lord...” with a list of things they had done in His name, and He will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you”. In Matthew 25:12 He says, “I do not know you”. The tense really doesn’t matter. It is just a matter of being known by Him or not.
It is a true reality that Christians can fail the grace of God and fall from it. Peter mentions some who escaped the sins of the world (which can only happen through Christ Jesus), who later got entangled with sin again. They turned from righteousness after having fully known it and lived it. He says that it would have been better for them to have never known the righteous ways. How can this be, unless they lost the salvation they once had? This is only possible through a broken seal, because of the corruption of their own choice to sin and rebel against God’s commands.
Conclusion:
The seal is not a biblical teaching of support for the unconditional eternal security of the believer. It is a promise of protection for the faithful believers who abide and continue in Christ and in His love. It is a one-sided view of salvation, showing God’s part and His faithfulness to keep the faithful believer secure in Him, and it does not include mans part in continuing and abiding, since that is not the point of the scripture. Unconditional and unchangeable eternal security can only be assumed and read into the text. No early Churches ever taught or believed as many teach today concerning the seal. If we truly “Rightly divide the Word of Truth” as instructed in 2 Timothy 2:15, this means we will compare scripture with scripture, and never use scripture against scripture. When we consider what so many other scriptures teach us about the possibilities of falling into death and separation from God, then we can understand how a one-sided view of the seal can never work.