My Pastor brought up security of the believer and made it abundantly clear that it was not a position that he would even discuss and if he was questioned on it he would get angry because anyone who questions OSAS is saying that Jesus death on the cross was insufficient and even worthless and that is blasphemy. Since he won’t allow questions:
#1. is there anyone who can enlighten me on how someone exercising their free will to turn away from the Lord (after initially being “saved”) is somehow making Christ’s sacrifice in vain?
#2. why someone like myself and my Husband who have been faithful church members for years and considered to be strong, mature Christians will now no longer be thought of as saved/going to heaven (or even Christians anymore for that matter) because we are joining the Catholic church?
So what happens when this Pastor proclaims that the Trinity is false, when he proclaims that the virgin birth is a myth, or any other fact of Christianity he decides does not fit into his own personal and fallible brand of theology? Then “refuses to defend his position threatening to get angry because anyone who questions OSAS (HIS AUTHORITY, HIS INTERPRETATION) is saying that Jesus death on the cross was insufficient and even worthless and that is blasphemy”. At what point does he then become a false teacher or prophet? This is the problem when you have one individual who is basically unaccountable to anyone and goes about as you describe. No governing body without any checks and balances, it’s all about which way the wind is blowing and the flavor of the month and what makes me feel good.
Matthew 7:15-20 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.
Footnote [15-20] Christian disciples who claimed to speak in the name of God are called prophets (Matthew 7:15) in Matthew 10:41; Matthew 23:34. They were presumably an important group within the church of Matthew. As in the case of the Old Testament prophets, there were both true and false ones, and for Matthew the difference could be recognized by the quality of their deeds, the fruits (Matthew 7:16). The mention of fruits leads to the comparison with trees, some producing good fruit, others bad.
2 Corinthians 11:4
For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough.
**Footnote [4] **Preaches another Jesus: the danger is specified, and Paul’s opponents are identified with the cunning serpent. The battle for minds has to do with the understanding of Jesus, the Spirit, the gospel; the Corinthians have flirted with another understanding than the one that Paul handed on to them as traditional and normative.
2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
**Footnote [1-3] **The pattern of false prophets among the Old Testament people of God will recur through false teachers in the church. Such destructive opinions of heretical sects bring loss of faith in Christ, contempt for the way of salvation (cf 2 Peter 2:21), and immorality.
2 Peter 2:21
For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment handed down to them
Jude 1:3
Beloved, although I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel a need to write to encourage you to contend for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones.
