FOOD FOR TEENS : THE TRUTH ABOUT OSAS

There is a gospel making waves now in Christianity that has left a lot of people confused and wondering if the gospel is really the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and this gospel is the OSAS gospel which stands for “ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED.”

Some Characteristics of the OSAS gospel includes:

1. Once a person accepts Jesus as His Lord and Saviour He/she is saved.

2. Once a person is a saved He/she can never be unsaved. That is, a person cannot lose his salvation once he/she gets it.

3. A believer can live as he wants, he’s already righteous and nothing can change it.

4. God will not judge a believer by his works but by the works of Jesus Christ which He wrought on the cross when He died on the cross.

Now, we are going to take a look at these characteristics and see how true they are because it will help us understand the gospel and our role as members of the body of Christ.

1. Once a person accepts Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, He/she is saved. 

Fact check: this is absolutely correct. There is no name under heaven wherein man can be saved except the name of Jesus Christ -- Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10.

2. Once a person is saved, he or she cannot lose his/her salvation.

Fact check: Not true. There is no one scripture that justifies this line of thinking but there are several scriptures in the bible that contradicts this idea. Such as 1st Corinthians 9:27, “But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” This was the mighty Apostle Paul talking about being careful so that he doesn’t become a castaway. This is a salvation that he has already received, as a matter of fact, this was the man who had one of the most astonishing encounter with God, He wrote two third of the new testament, yet he admitted that he needed to keep himself so that on that great day of judgement he wouldn’t be a cast way. To be a cast away means to be rejected.

Hebrews 6:6, “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 God, 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 God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” You see how this scripture is speaking expressly how one can lose so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” My brothers and sisters, to say it is impossible to lose ones salvation is a great lie which is why we must examine ourselves always. 2nd Corinthians 13:5.

3. A believer can live anyhow he/she wants to, he is already righteous and nothing can change it.

Fact check: Not true. A believer cannot live anyhow he or she wants, he must live by the word of God (commandment of God). The righteousness a believer receives in Christ is the righteousness of faith. What Jesus gave us by reason of His death, burial and resurrection was not justification as per right standing but the ability to manifest this new status and nature through our lifestyle. If our conversation directly contradicts the kind of life we claim to have received, then are we liars and are only deceiving ourselves (James 1:22).

You received righteousness in Christ Jesus (1st Corinthians 1:30) so that you can manifest righteousness/godliness to the world. A lifestyle which was once impossible for me to live has now been made possible to us by the simple fact that we have received His life in us and the only way to prove faith is by works. 1st John 3:10, “In this  the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doesth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” I think this scripture describes beyond any reasonable doubt that your action is what proves the stuff you are made of. You can’t say you have the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus yet your lifestyle contradicts this.

4. Lastly, God will not judge a believer by his works by the works of Jesus Chris.

Fact check: Partly true (Let us see the full picture). We have established that the righteousness which is by Jesus Christ is of faith. The only people God is going to condemn are those who do not believe in His Son. John 3:18-19, “He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

To the unbelievers who has refused to accept Jesus as Lord of their lives, their condemnation is guaranteed as long as they remain that way but for those believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and there is no action, no fruit that proves otherwise, I am sorry to inform you, you and that unbeliever are in the same boat. If you try to live righteous in Christ and you find yourself keep slipping and falling that is a totally different case, not when you are unproductive because of lack of trying.

If you read the New Testament closely, repentance always precedes receiving Jesus Christ. Repentance means “I am willing to change from my old lifestyle but I do not have the ability to live righteous of my own self.” This is where receiving Jesus comes in to present you righteous before the father while you manifest this righteousness on the earth. But some people come into Christ without repentance and a desire to change but just as a means to avoid destruction but they continue in their wicked and evil lifestyle. This shows they were never really believers in the first case because faith is proven by works. A tree is known by its fruit, even so the litmus test to prove your righteousness is your works. Are there fruits of righteousness in your life brought about by the Christ life that is in you? If yes, heaven is your destination as you continue on this path but if no, hell and destruction is the destination for such a person. So think twice today and choose the path that guarantees true salvation which is Jesus Christ.

God bless you. See you next month.