Once saved, always saved?

[jeff417]

Would it be correct to say that this “doctrine” was invented by John Calvin? I cannot find evidence of it before Calvin. Thanks, in advance, for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[Brian_Thomas]

Man can still turn his back to the Lord, regardless of proclaimed salvation. If you truly believed in Jesus Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for His children, you would be willing to lay down everything to follow Him and without question.

 

[bmullins]

From everything I’ve read there is no historical evidence of anyone proclaiming OSAS before Calvin. So yes, I would agree that it is something he likely invented, or was a theory that someone he knew/read came up with and he modified it for his belief.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

Would it be correct to say that this “doctrine” was invented by John Calvin? I cannot find evidence of it before Calvin. Thanks, in advance, for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

Calvin’s doctrine would more correctly be known as “the perseverence of the saints,” meaning that if a person is truly regenerate and is one of the elect, he will persevere to the end. If he does not persevere to the end, he was never one of the elect to begin with.

OSAS means that once someone “gets saved,” (i.e., has a genuine conversion experience), he is saved for all eternity, no matter what sins he may commit afterward. (I would say that this doctrine came even later than the Calvinistic concept of “the perseverence of the saints.” It is commonly held by non-Calvinistic Evangelical groups such as most Baptists, Pentecostals, and non-denominational groups.)

Interestingly, I find that although both of these groups would vehemently argue against the Catholic teaching on mortal sin, the practical results of their doctrine are very similar. For example, say we have a baptized Christian who has a conversion experience and professes to be “saved.” Some time later, he falls into serious sin (for the sake of example, let’s say he begins an affair with a married co-worker and refuses to repent). A Calvinist would question whether this person was truly one of the elect. An OSAS person would question whether this person truly “got saved” in the first place. A Catholic would say that he is in mortal sin. Yet all three groups would agree that unless he repents and turns to Christ for forgiveness, his soul is in danger.