There is an OSAS ( Once Saved , Always Saved ) rendering of the allegory of the Vine and the branches that could just as easily come straight from the serpent’s mouth . Lie begets lie !
What kind of Satanic poison can we find in this false rendering when we shine the Word of God through it ? Are there any inclusions in this devilish gem ! ? You better believe it !!!
First , let us read the passage from John chapter 15 : 1-14
Jesus the True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that bears no fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean through the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who remains in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not remain in Me, he is thrown out as a branch and withers. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also loved you. Remain in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 I have spoken these things to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
Jesus says , ” Every branch IN ME “ , V. 2 . There is NO question that this is a Christian , in Christ , to the exclusion of the non – christian, for we have 1 John 1 : 5 :
1 John 1:5King James Version (KJV)
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
And 2 Cor 6: 14 – 16 :
2 Corinthians 6:14-16King James Version (KJV)
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Do you notice the fruitless branch up in the air , being pruned by the worker above ?
Some proponents of OSAS make error at verse 2 in the allegory where the KJV says ” takes away ” ; other versions may read ” cuts off ” . The Greek word there is ” Airo ” in the English alphabet ; it is easily viewable in the Mounce reverse interlinear Greek New Testament on www.biblegateway.com . Clicking on the Greek word will give a window with the definition(s) . You may need to scroll way down to see it . Mounce gives the definition of ” Airo ” as : ” To take up , lift , raise , bear , carry , take away , remove , destroy , kill . ”
So , which definition(s) do many proponents of OSAS like to use ? The one(s) with the MOST ear – tickling potential , of course ! Some of them claim that the fruitless branch is fruitless because it is touching the ground ; that Jesus then bears up or lifts up this fruitless branch so it can be fruitful again ! Sugary sweetness tickling my ears !
Saints , this is spoor of Satan insidiously deposited in the church . Now let’s substantiate that remark .
The text continues , and reveals that the fruitless branch is thrown OUT ( Greek : EXO as in ” exoskeleton ” ) , and into fire . This poses a problem for the false doctrinaires , as it means that in THEIR version , the fruitless branch is still in union with the TRUE VINE JESUS . So , does anyone want to tell me WHERE in the bible that Jesus is consigned to fire ? And what about the fruitful branches attached to The Vine ? Nowhere .
And another thing . The fruitless branch withers . But , if he is still attached to Jesus the Vine , as many OSAS purveyors claim , then is this fruitless branch being poisoned by Christ ? Do branches only become fruitless because Christ poisons His own , withering them ? Didn’t Christ say that abiding branches bear MUCH fruit ? Or does regeneration wither a saint ?
At this point , I hear a voice from Genesis 3:1 , sowing confusion :
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
A lying spirit , the father of lies , has established a stronghold in much of the church ; an imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God ( 2 Cor 10: 3 – 5 ) .
There’s more . Naturally , the telling of one lie often necessitates another lie to cover up the first lie !
So , now the false doctrinaires must explain away or allegorize the fire ! Some of them claim that if a christian stops attending church and gets in the world , that people in the world will throw them in the fire , ” so to speak .” As though it is only earthly social rejection !
Let us remember 2 Thes 1: 6-8
6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Also Is 66: 24
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
The real necessity here is to get hamartiology straight before trying to answer the grand controversy of soteriology .
Hamartiology . The study of sin . Soteriology . The study of salvation . After all , sin came first , before the need for salvation . Right ?
What , exactly, does FRUITLESS mean to the christian ?
That which God MOST wants from the Christian is their HEART . He is a heart GOD ! We see this in the Great Commandment spoken by Jesus Himself in Matt 22: 35 – 40 :
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
James calls it the Royal Law in James 2:8 . Peter calls it The Holy Commandment in 2 Pet 2 : 20 – 21 :
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
And so , dear brothers and sisters , the fruitless branch has NO FRUIT , no , NO HEART FOR GOD ! This saint has forsaken Christ one of several possible ways , most commonly by giving his heart to sin again , choosing sin to SUPPLANT the Lord Jesus Christ in his heart , thereby FORSAKING and REJECTING Jesus ! Making The Blood lower than sin and the sinner ! This one has profaned The Blood from the heart ( Heb 10 ) .
Here is the REALLY Satanic part of OSAS :
It is the direct implication that sin – even killing sin unto death – does not separate between man and God ! Asserting that the fruitless branch is not cut off and taken away ! Oh, wouldn’t Satan and his demons LOVE that ! Let us look at Is 59:2 :
Isaiah 59:2King James Version (KJV)
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Yes , sin separates ! And the fruitless branch has sinned UNTO DEATH ( 1 John 5 : 16 ) and is Taken away . Removed . The PROPER sense of the Greek word ” AIRO ” for this allegory .
1 John 5:16King James Version (KJV)
16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
As I have blogged , the life given here is eternal life in the first part of the verse ; for the brother sinning NOT unto death is NOT being raised from the dead ! Thus , eternity is in view here , the bible is consistent ; sin unto death is eternal death . The brother MUST be Christian due to 2 Cor 6: 14 – 16 . It does NO good to pray about one LOST AGAIN and IRREDEEMABLE , WORSE than the beginning in 2 Pet 2:20 when they were lost initially before receiving Christ , but still redeemable !
See , 1 John 5:16 is not about the lost ; the lost are NEVER advised not to pray for salvation !
Those who assert that God directs and compels the human will to force a Saint’s fidelity need be reminded that we are made in God’s image . Who then , is above God to compel HIS will ? These same people assert that God also predestines the wicked for hell . And , since the O.T. likens sin to whoredom , What would THAT make one who compels sin !!!??? Let us NOT blaspheme God !
The fruitless branch is an ex – christian who committed , from the heart , killing sin . Sin unto death , presumptuous sin reproaching the Lord . Some call it high – handed sin . They have allowed Satan to entice or deceive or goad and torment them into DIVESTING THEMSELVES of their own salvation . That is the only way it can happen ! Putting God down , forcing God to demonstrate that He cannot agree with being lower than a sinner , that He cannot deny Himself . Burning necessarily follows .
Saints , we must work against the false doctrine of the OSAS , eternal security heresy . Such deception gives Satan cover and concealment to easily target deceived , ignorant Saints in positions of vulnerability . Let’s shine the light and burn away the fog of war for our family of faith , to leave the enemy exposed ! Please see other blog posts at www.losingsalvation.com for more details ! And please spread widely through social media and other means ! You will pull a Saint at risk back from fire , somewhere down the line !
Recommended : My other blog post ” The Irrelevance of Common OSAS Rationales .”
.
Thanks for posting this. I now know the truth. Your site proves it. It confirms my fears. I’ve lost my salvation. I could never be good enough. It’s not possible for me to keep my salvation. I mean how can I keep holding onto Christ when I don’t have the strength anymore? It’s extreamly difficult to get out of bed every day let alone obey Jesus no matter what. I know He’s greatly angry with me because I don’t have the strength to keep my salvation. I’m an outcast to my family,the Body of Christ,pretty much everyone I’ve ever met and I guess now to Jesus as well… If you can truly loose your salvation than I know I’ve lost my salvation. There’s no way someone like me could be saved. Please consider yourself blessed that atleast you’re going to Heaven. I’ve dealt with sorrow upon sorrow and grief for pretty much my entire life. This sorrow is the worst in my 20 something years of life though. I don’t know how much more sorrow my heart can take before I die of a broken heart [it is called broken heart syndrome]. If I truly have brugada [one of my grandparents had it and it is heridaitary]… I better get off because I’m starting to feel sick. I thought the Lord was near the broken hearted…
Friend , nothing you have said portrays unforgivable sin . Nowhere do you portray a frank , from – the – heart rejection of Jesus Christ from any type of motivation. Nowhere do you portray a direct blasphemy towards the Holy Spirit . Neither have you taken blatant , defiant unforgivness beyond the grave . The enemy of the human soul , satan ( Author spits ) , has fed you some of his finest baloney . Your feelings do not determine if you are saved . The enemy can oppress us in thought and emotion . But he cannot directly violate our free will to chose God and make other moral decisions ! Neither are ANY of us ” good enough ” to be saved . If we were ” good enough ” , we would have no need for salvation ! Rather , salvation is the free gift of God to any who will believe AND receive Jesus . It is by grace through faith . Grace is God’s unmerited favor . The blog is named ” Losing Salvation ” to help people find it more easily . It is more like this : some Saints DESTROY their salvation by misuse of free will . It is not an accident ! Although , some can destroy themselves quickly through a spirit of offense voiced to God from the heart , not realizing what it will cost them . You may well benefit from proper Christian counseling ; I urge you to seek this soon . But , since I do not know you , I urge you now to make sure that you have initiated the salvation process with a good , comprehensive and sincere prayer for salvation . Some think they are saved just because they grew up in church , or their Granny told them ” Ours is a Christian family ” , or because they ” believe in Jesus ” . Even satan ( Author spits ) believes in Jesus ! I believe in clean water , too ! But that does not necessarily mean that I ever drank any ! So, I urge you to look near the end of my recent post , ” Explicit Dynamics of Unforgivable Sin ” , and pray sincerely to God the detailed , heavy – duty prayer for salvation you find there . Jesus is God . Only His Blood can cleanse sin . He wants to pick up the tab for you , friend ! Let Him . Now . And get in a good church that teaches truth without compromise , but also without condemnation . Get tight with some good strong Christian friends , and keep throwing sin on the ground ! Remember John 6: 37 . Just make sure you do not throw Jesus away !
I’m probably in the danger zone judging by that article. I can’t explain what has caused me to not hear God’s voice anymore. The only thing I can ask is for you to ask the Holy Spirit if there is any hope for me that He will show me. Most importantly pray for my parents,uncles [one has kidney problems not sure how bad],a couple aunts,Chris,Charlie [health problems and needs saved] …God knows each of them. They need Jesus. It’s too late probably for me but there’s hope for them. Christian friends? I only have them from online. There isn’t a church around here that is biblically based.
Brokenheart , I can tell you that in my younger years , I had a few instances of significant back sliding . These times left me feeling cold spiritually , and distant from God . It took awhile to get back close to God again , especially when slow to repent and slow to forgive . I also notice a paucity of God’s Presence if I am slow to obey in doing His will . I am glad to say that I find a nice Presence of God down that path called Obedience ! Keep striving to move closer to God ; repent quickly , fully and sincerely wherever you might need to . Delaying this can greatly extend your restoration time and delay healing . If you read my testimony , you know that I outright lost the Holy Spirit for 4 months of horror ; He was very angry , then very GONE . No mistaking His rage . I do not see where you have crossed that line . Keep the faith ! Engage daily in prayer , Bible study , and praise To God !
God hates sin. There is no place for sin in God’s presence. He is a consuming fire with which sinners cannot dwell. Agreed. God never lies, for He is Truth. Agreed.
However, I think the real problem here is actually a shallow view of salvation.
Salvation does not just mean being delivered from hell or being legally declared right with God. It does mean that, but it means so much more. Salvation means that we are being conformed into the image of Christ (2nd Corinthians 3, Romans 8, 1st John 3). Salvation means that God is giving us His own desires and His own love – that our desires are exchanged for God’s desires. Salvation means that we are being made perfect. And, salvation means that Jesus Christ will not lose one of all that the Father has given Him, but will raise them up on the last day (John chapter 6).
There is, however, no salvation that does not mean that we are crucified with Christ, crucified to sin and the world, and raised with Him (Romans 5, Galatians 1 and 6). Salvation means we are made a new creature whose one true desire is God Himself (2nd Corinthians 5).
I think the whole argument about whether or not is possible to lose salvation would most vanish and cease to be important if people would only realize what salvation is.
Dear Sister , I agree with almost everything you have so well said !
It is surely possible to have a shallow view of salvation ( soteriology ). I don’t think any of us totally get how great Christ’s salvation is !
It is also possible to have a shallow view of sin ( hamartiology ) , especially the TYPOLOGY of sin !
The Bible does not say that Jesus Christ will not lose one of all the Father has given Him . Oh , how I wish that were true !
The Bible DOES say that it is NOT the Father’s WILL that Christ lose any of all that were given Him ! Indeed !
John 6:39-40 King James Version (KJV)
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
So , we must ask , does God always get His will ? He is NOT willing that ANY should perish !
2 Peter 3:9 King James Version (KJV)
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Does God ALWAYS get His will ? Sadly , no . For He has truly given us free will , and some Saints use that to sin in such a way as to create an impasse with God . Willful sin unto eternal death forces God to judge lest He become a liar ! That is the sobering truth . You may wish to read my posts ” Christians and Killing Sin Unto Death ” and ” Explicit Dynamics of Unforgivable Sin ” for more clarification .
I found out the HARD way when I lost the Holy Spirit for 4 months of horror , nearly perishing , only narrowly restored !
I have learned for myself that shallowness in Hamartiology tends towards error in Soteriology !
Be blessed , dear Sister , and be safe !
The Lord wants you FOREVER !
this is a lie, losing salvation is Satanic instead,
If the cut-off branch represents believer that lose his salvation
then how would that ‘cut-off’ branch regain its position in the Vine?
your premise is that the branch were cut-off because they didnt bear fruits,
then how would that cut-off branch ‘bear fruit’ if its already ‘lifeless’ or withered?
In my case, I said something unwise to Jesus but it was not my heart. That is the only reason I could be restored. If it had been my heart, I would have been irredeemable. I am not the only one to lose Holy Spirit and later get Him back. But some saints lose Him forever if they reject Christ from the heart. God knows the difference !