John McAurthor and OSAS

[thessalonian]

I don't very often hear old Johnny Mac, but today I caught his Grace to You program. In it he was asked if one has to believe in Once Saved Always Saved. He said the doctrine was "a defining issue of Christianity". He said it was the key element of salvation doctrine, even more so than redemptoin. Now I take that to mean that he believes you are not a Christian if you do not believe it. Thoughts?

Of course I find it rather interesting also that he does not believe that anyone on earth is an infallible interpruter of scripture and so, since he is not, he could be wrong about the doctrine. Now if one has the potential of being wrong about a doctrine that says your %100 assured of your salvatoin, I see a problem. Even if you are 95% certain that your scriptural interprutatoin is correct, you are 5% uncertain that you are %100 percent assured of your salvation. Therefore you do not really have complete assurance.

[Brother Adam]

I find it fascinating how many Protestants read a few pages of their Bibles or a theological book and are suddenly experts telling the whole world how to get saved. Christ tells us that the teachers will be judged stricter than others. That should scare people. It scares me. It makes me want to be absolutely sure about what I am teaching.

[MichaelFilo]

Brother Adam is a faucet of wisdom. He's not the source, but he sure does let it flow.

God bless,
Mikey

[thessalonian]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Jan 28 2005, 03:45 PM'] I find it fascinating how many Protestants read a few pages of their Bibles or a theological book and are suddenly experts telling the whole world how to get saved. Christ tells us that the teachers will be judged stricter than others. That should scare people. It scares me. It makes me want to be absolutely sure about what I am teaching. [/quote]
Amen bro. James 3 is where your at.

Jas.3
[1]
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.



[14] But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be FALSE TO THE TRUTH.
[15] This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
[16] For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
[17] But the wisdom from above is FIRST PURE, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, WITHOUT UNCERTAINTY or insincerity.

Blessings

[Justified Saint]

Protestants tend to draw the lines of salvation rather boldly as well as ignorantly. For many its dispensationalism and rapture theology. For Calvinists the "dividing line" (to borrow James White's term) is predestination. Classical Protestantism is all about exhausted modes of theological discourse and this legacy is clearly still a strong force today. Adherence to certain beliefs will invariably result in a kind of efficacy of belief, so they say.

[Guest Bryan]

You guys are misinterperating MacArthur. He does not believe a person must believe in Perserverance of the Saints to be saved.

[url="http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/70-19-6.htm"]An Answer From Biblebb[/url]

[quote]But, I think it would be going too far to say someone who holds an Arminian view, or anyone who holds an Arminian view, is, by virtue of that view, not a Christian. I think there are people who just don’t understand rightly those things, but who know they’re sinners and who cry out in their sin for the Lord to save them. They don’t understand how what they’re doing works together with the great purposes and power of God, and consequently can’t give God fully the glory He deserves for all of that, but they could be genuinely saved, by hoping in Christ and Christ alone. -MacArthur[/quote]

Bryan
SDG