Featured OSAS Trap

One of the most pernicious doctrines is “once saved always saved”.

It was always known that serious/mortal sin cut a soul off from God and life.

Many holding to OSAS develop rationalisations of sin and become mired in sin, they don’t treat it seriously. “ I’m saved by the blood already, I’ll just say sorry and move on “ won’t cut it with mortal sin. They compound their sin and blindness.

Mortal sins require confession and absolution from an Apostolic Successor as Jesus ministers and ambassadors. Mortal sin estranges a soul from God and requires Christ’s ambassadors to reestablish the relationship, that’s their job.

The breath of Life Jesus imparted to The Apostles for the forgiveness of sin is imparted to sinners who have died because of mortal sin.

“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:21-23

Jesus sent the Apostles as the Father had sent Him with power to forgive sin.

"Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.“

The Apostles in their successors do judge the faithful through ministry of reconciliation, that by confession, they judge forgiven or not forgiven.

“In addition to these there is also a seventh, albeit hard and laborious: the remission of sins through penance…when he does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord.” Origen, Homilies on Leviticus, 2:4 (A.D. 248).

‘God is not mocked.’ God cannot be mocked, nor deceived, nor deluded by any deceptive cunning. Yea, he sins the more, who, thinking that God is like man, believes that he evades the penalty of his crime if he has not openly admitted his crime…I entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one should confess his own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession may be received, while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests are pleasing to the Lord?” Cyprian, To the Lapsed, 28-29 (A.D. 251).

“These are capital sins, brethren, these are mortal.” Pacian of Barcelona, Penance, 4 (A.D. 385).

“For if any one will consider how great a thing it is for one, being a man, and compassed with flesh and blood, to be enabled to draw nigh to that blessed and pure nature, he will then clearly see what great honor the grace of the Spirit has vouchsafed to priests; since by their agency these rites are celebrated, and others nowise inferior to these both in respect of our dignity and our salvation. For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has not given to angels or archangels. For it has not been said to them, ‘Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.’ They who rule on earth have indeed authority to bind, but only the body: whereas this binding lays hold of the soul and penetrates the heavens; and what priests do here below God ratifies above, and the Master confirms the sentence of his servants. For indeed what is it but all manner of heavenly authority which He has given them when He says, ‘Whose sins ye remit they are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained?’ What authority could be greater than this? ‘The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son?’ But I see it all put into the hands of these men by the Son.” John Chrysostom, The Priesthood, 3:5 (A.D. 387).

“All mortal sins are to be submitted to the keys of the Church and all can be forgiven; but recourse to these keys is the only, the necessary, and the certain way to forgiveness. Unless those who are guilty of grievous sin have recourse to the power of the keys, they cannot hope for eternal salvation. Open your lips, them, and confess your sins to the priest. Confession alone is the true gate to Heaven.” Augustine, Christian Combat (A.D. 397).

“Just as in the Old Testament the priest makes the leper clean or unclean, so in the New Testament the bishop and presbyter binds or looses not those who are innocent or guilty, but by reason of their office, when they have heard various kinds of sins, they know who is to be bound and who loosed.” Jerome, Commentary on Matthew, 3:16,19 (A.D. 398).

Binding and loosing Authority means that Jesus confirms in Heaven the judgement of His Apostolic servants on Earth, Jesus granted Authority to the Apostolic servants to forgive sin in His Name.

This is a great joy and gift to the Church, that those who have committed mortal sins can be restored to life and Grace.
They don’t arrive at Judgement without already having received the Apostolic Judgement of His ambassadors on Earth.

 

“Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31



Those who have fallen into sin can go to Jesus through His ambassadors, just as we confess our ailments to a doctor to receive his curative prescription. We don’t hide our embarrassing ailments from earthly doctors, so nor should we hide our spiritual ailments from Jesus spiritual doctors.

Jesus hears your confession through the priest and forgives your sins through the priest.

Once you hear the Apostolic Judgement passed on Earth it is bound in Heaven, you are forgiven of all your sins.

The Apostles judge all the tribes of Israel as Jesus said, their thrones are established by Him.
The Father gave all Judgement to Jesus, and Jesus gave this power to His Apostles to forgive sin in His Name.
“ Just as The Father sent Me, so am I now sending you “.

All Christians who have committed mortal sins should make use of this gift of Jesus to receive the Life of Grace back in their souls.

 

Makes as much sense as “ Once healthy, Always healthy.”

God doesn’t, but we certainly do make mistakes, and continue to do.

We have been saying the same Apostolic teaching for 2000 years.

 

“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20

James is talking to the brethren here, that they can fall away from the truth and go into sin and death. James certainly isn’t assuming no one can be lost or not fall away from the truth and end in sin and death.

Once saved, Always saved is false, it’s deadly.

 

If you don’t believe James here, get a black marker and blot out his words from your Bible.

You certainly don’t believe what he is teaching that the brethren can fall away from the truth and into sin and death.

James isn’t teaching once saved always saved, that’s for sure.

Why would it cover a multitude of sins for the one who rescues a fallen from the truth member of the Church.

Why would James even countenance the idea that a member of the Church could fall away from truth and end in sin and death in the first place.

Once saved Always saved is false, unscriptural and deadly.

 

Don’t skip around it man, souls are at stake. People are in pernicious delusions out there.

I remember a guy who was cheating on his wife, but said it was ok because he was born again, couldn’t lose his salvation.

People need to be warned. The drama of salvation is playing out right now.

I have a terrible dread for these people, they are in for a very rude shock.

If we don’t warn people, their blood is on us as the Lord says.

Ruffle feathers for thine own safeties sake, if not just for the love neighbour.

 

The problem is venial sins lead to mortal sins, Catholics understand this. You don’t have to be living a loose life to be accumulating Judgement and be disqualified on the finish line.

Many are in the habit of absolving themselves in delusion.

God is faithful, He will give the free gift by Grace, but man can squander it and fall away by sin.
This is why Jesus gave a very practical solution allowing for our human frailty, Confession to an Apostolic Successor.
He knew that sheep were stupid and prone to stray so He founded the Apostolic ministry for the forgiveness of sin, Apostolic Shepherds.

 

Ambrose lays it out almost as well as John Chrysostom and note their Scriptural interpretation matches.

“The Church holds fast its obedience on either side, by both retaining and remitting sin; heresy is on the one side cruel, and on the other disobedient; wishes to bind what it will not loosen, and will not loosen what it has bound, whereby it condemns itself by its own sentence. For the Lord willed that the power of binding and of loosing should be alike, and sanctioned each by a similar condition…Each is allowed to the Church, neither to heresy, for this power has been entrusted to priests alone. Rightly, therefore, does the Church claim it, which has true priests; heresy, which has not the priests of God, cannot claim it. And by not claiming this power heresy pronounces its own sentence, that not possessing priests it cannot claim priestly power. And so in their shameless obstinacy a shamefaced acknowledgment meets our view. Consider, too, the point that he who has received the Holy Ghost has also received the power of forgiving and of retaining sin. For thus it is written: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit: whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.’ So, then, he who has not received power to forgive sins has not received the Holy Spirit. The office of the priest is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and His right it is specially to forgive and to retain sins. How, then, can they claim His gift who distrust His power and His right?” Ambrose, Concerning Repentance, I:7-8 (A.D. 388).

 

I think it’s the iron sharpens iron thing or I’m greatly loved, but it’s far safer to assume the former.

Never say never Dave, I still hold out hope.