ONE ROAD: THE DITCH OF TWO DOCTRINES

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

— Matthew 7:13–14

There are two dominant doctrines today that, while standing on opposite ends of the theological spectrum, somehow manage to lead people down the exact same road —a road that ends in destruction. This article isn’t just another opinion piece. This one’s personal. I’ve walked in both of these doctrines. I’ve lived under the weight of both teachings. And I can say without hesitation: both are wrong. Both are dangerous. And both are tools the enemy uses, crafted by the spirits of pride and ignorance, to pull the sheep away from the Shepherd.

I’m talking about the doctrine of "Once Saved, Always Saved" on one end, and the works-based Hebrew Roots Movement on the other. Different costumes, same performance. One preaches freedom without obedience. The other preaches obedience without freedom. And neither one preaches the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I was raised in a household that checked the religious boxes. Baptized as a baby? Check. Say your salvation prayer when you’re old enough? Check. Show up at church a couple of times a month? Check. That was supposed to be it. Salvation —complete and sealed. There was no fear of the Lord. There wasn’t even a Bible in hand. Christianity was just a title, not a lifestyle.

As a kid, I went through Awana and Royal Rangers. Great programs, sure. They got me into church, taught me verses, and made me feel like I was doing something holy. But underneath it all, the message was the same: once you’re saved, you're always saved. End of story. No need to pick up your cross daily. No mention of enduring 'til the end. Just punch your ticket to heaven and live however you want in the meantime.

Fast forward to my teenage years. I ended up in a mega-church —flashy lights, catchy music, and soft sermons that avoided anything resembling repentance. The altar calls were about “Surrender,” but surrender to what? Repentance was never clearly defined. Holiness was never preached as far as I can remember. The fear of the Lord? Not there, completely absent. And without fear, without reverence, and without the Word, I fell pretty hard.

I dove headfirst into the world: drugs, drunkenness, fornication, porn, and idolatry. And my favorite idol was myself. I destroyed relationships. Wrecked my engagement. Racked up a DUI. Checked into a 90-day rehab, only to use again the day I got out. I wore my chains like jewelry, pretending I was free while I was rotting inside.

Then came the so-called "light." I came back to the Bible —but this time, through the lens of the Hebrew Roots Movement. A well-known teacher in the movement showed Scripture after Scripture from the Old Testament declaring that God's commandments (Torah) are forever. I was still young in the faith, hungry for truth, desperate to please God. And once again, I walked headfirst into error.

I changed everything —stopped eating pork, started keeping Saturday as the Sabbath, swapped the name “Jesus” for “Yeshua.” I tried to earn righteousness. I tried to clean myself up with rituals and rules. But here’s the catch: I was still a slave. No matter how many Hebrew words I learned or how Torah-observant I became, I couldn’t shake the porn. Couldn’t quit the drugs. Always drunk. The law was crushing me. I had exchanged one yoke for another —still heavy, still hopeless, just wrapped in a different religious cloak.

Then something shifted.

I came across a message by Pastor Dean Odle called “Abraham Was NOT a Torah Follower.” And for the first time, I began to see the bigger picture. Torah had shown me that the greasy grace of “once saved, always saved” was a lie. But Dean Odle showed me that the Torah-obsessed Hebrew Roots doctrine was just as false. Suddenly, I realized there had to be a narrow road; a middle ground, not lukewarm, not compromised, but rooted in Spirit and Truth.

That’s what this article is about.

We’re going to expose both of these false doctrines. We’re going to walk through the most commonly used Scriptures each side uses to prop up their beliefs. But more importantly, we’re going to open the Bible and see what it actually says —not what some teacher or system wants it to say.

We’re diving into two doctrines that are really just two sides of the same coin: redemption. And if you’re going to talk redemption, then you’ve got to start with the obvious—why we are no longer under the law of Moses. As stated, some folks still try to push Hebrew Roots movements and Torah observance like it’s the secret sauce to holiness. And they got me for a little bit, which is how I know so much of it. But let’s be real: that’s not what the Word says, and the Word is where we stand.

Now, the first thing you’ve got to get straight is this—the Bible isn’t confused about covenants. It doesn’t stumble over itself. It clearly lays out that there is an old covenant and a new covenant. In fact, it doesn’t just hint at the difference; it screams it from the pages. And the conversation starts way back in the Old Testament with prophecy that points forward to the New.

Take a look at Jeremiah 31:31-33:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah… Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers… But this shall be the covenant that I will make… I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Two things to notice here:

God is explicitly talking about a new covenant. Not the same, not recycled, but new. And He gives the game away: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.”

Fast forward to the New Testament and you’ll see this wasn’t just poetic talk—it was fulfilled. Paul puts it plainly in Romans 2:14-15

"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law… Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness..."

Notice the word “written.” Past tense. Done. Fulfilled. This isn’t wishful thinking; it’s reality. The prophecy of Jeremiah came to pass in Christ, and the New Covenant is here.

But of course, the Torah-observant crowd has its go-to verses. They’ll wave around Deuteronomy 4:40—"keep His statutes forever"—and Luke 16:17—"not one tittle of the law shall fail." They’ll stack it with Matthew 5:17-18—"I came not to destroy the law but to fulfill."

Fair enough. On the surface, it looks like they’ve got a case. God said forever. Jesus said He didn’t come to destroy. Heaven and earth are still in existence. Makes sense on the surface. But God isn't surface-level. He is much deeper than that. This is where most people get tripped up—but the answer isn’t complicated. All it takes is a little study.

Look at what Jesus Himself said in Matthew 26:28

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

That’s the key. The blood. Not just any blood—the blood of Jesus, Who is God in the flesh. Isaiah already told us Who He was: “The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). When He shed His blood, it wasn’t just a sacrifice—it was legal action. That word “testament” is a legal term: a living will and testament. And a will doesn’t go into effect until death. And there is none more legal than the One Who originally gave the law. This will be explained and made clear.

Yes, under the old covenant, the law was to be upheld forever. God didn’t lie. But here’s the part the Torah crowd misses—God had a divine loophole written into His plan before the foundations of the world. The moment Christ died, the old contract was terminated, and the New Testament took effect. The living will of God came alive in His blood. Out with the old, in with the new. This is the simple teaching Jesus gave with us with the "old cloth on a new garment and new wine in old bottles. (Matthew 9:14-17) Old doesn't mesh with new.

Paul hammers this home in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts… written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."

Not on tablets of stone. Not Torah scrolls. But in the Spirit, written on hearts. That’s why every culture on earth, even without reading Moses, knows that stealing, lying, and murder are wrong. That’s the Spirit’s work.

Paul says it again in verse 6

"Not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

The law kills, plain and simple. And it’s not like Paul made that up—he’s consistent: “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56).

But thank God for Romans 8:2

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

That’s the shift. That’s the freedom. When Jesus gave up the Ghost, He wasn’t just dying—He was unleashing the Spirit into the world so every believer could walk in what only prophets and priests once tasted. His coming into the world and His death on the cross was the only way to bring His Spirit into this God forsaken world.

So, back to their favorite verses. Deuteronomy 4:40? Already answered—old contract terminated, new contract enacted. Done. Luke 16:17? Funny how they love verse 17 but skip verse 16: “The law and the prophets were until John.” Until. That word matters. Showing that the law had a cutoff point. Until John. John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened, the Father spoke, the Spirit descended—that was the shift. The old gave way to the new.

And what about Jesus saying He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-18)? The key is that word “fulfill.” In Greek—plēroō means complete. Finish. Bring it to its intended goal. Jesus didn’t come to keep the law running like a hamster wheel—He came to bring it to its destination. And He did. John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." It is finished.

Even Abraham proves this point. Genesis 26:5 says Abraham kept God’s Torah. But Abraham lived centuries before Moses ever came along. So Torah can’t just mean “Mosaic law.” Torah means God’s instruction, His prophetic direction. Which is exactly why Revelation 19:10 says, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Paul settles the matter in Galatians 3:19: “The law… was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” Till. Another time marker. The law was a placeholder until the Seed—Christ—showed up. To claim we’re still under the law is to deny that Christ is the Seed. And let’s not sugarcoat it: that’s a denial of salvation itself. This is why Torah is not just dangerous and a salvational issue, but why God even refers to it as witchcraft in the New Testament. He asks those falling back into the snare of Torah, "Who has bewitched you?". Who put this spell on you? Who took the mighty work of God on the cross and made it null and void in you? Galatians 3:1-2 "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

That’s why Galatians 5:1, 4 hits so hard: “Stand fast… be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage… whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

The law was a yoke. Christ is freedom. The law was death. The Spirit is life. The priesthood itself has changed (Hebrews 7:12), so of course the law changed too.

Now, I haven’t even touched on dietary laws—like how Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:4 that every creature of God is sanctified by prayer. That’s another nail in the coffin for Torah-keepers. We can eat pork, shrimp, and such. Pretty obvious the law has changed. And if the law has changed, then the old is no longer valid. A good question to ask someone who is Torah observant is, “When was the last time you stoned a homosexual?” Why stop there? “When was the last time you stoned your disobedient child?” “When was the last time you had a Levitical priest make an atonement offering for your sins?”

The truth is, they don’t practice the stonings. The truth is, there is no Levitical priesthood anymore. Deep down, they know they are picking and choosing scriptures. I’m not writing this to convince them of anything—I’m writing this in hopes that fellow believers will not fall for their lies.

Hebrews 7:12 — “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”

Honestly, I’m not even halfway done. The scripture is very evident on the matter. The New Testament is jam-packed with verse after verse proving that we are no longer under the law, that salvation is not by works, and that no man can boast in his own righteousness.

Redemption is bigger, deeper, and stronger than the blood of goats. And the Word is not confused on the matter—we are under the New Covenant, purchased by the blood of Christ, sealed by the Spirit, and this is written on our hearts the moment we are born again.

The tragedy is that while some get stuck in legalism, others run off into hyper-grace—preaching a lukewarm, watered-down lie of “Once Saved Always Saved.” And both extremes miss the heart of the gospel. Yes — I said it. “Once saved, always saved” is a false doctrine. Not merely mistaken. It's demonic to the core. A spiritual anesthetic that lulls people to sleep while their souls are at stake. Now, before you mishear me, let me clarify: I’m not saying everyone who believes in OSAS is going to hell. Absolutely not. There are plenty of men and women who held to that teaching but truly loved Jesus, fought the good fight, and are with Him in glory right now. Their reverence for Christ carried them across the finish line. But that lie is purely of the devil. I'll show you.

The first lie the serpent told was, “Ye shall not surely die.” (Genesis 3) That’s the core lie. The serpent didn’t merely ask a question — he lied about the consequence of disobedience and then sweetened the deception with the promise of godhood. The pattern is classic: make you question God's Word, deny the consequence, promise the prize, and watch rebellion bloom.

What does OSAS do in practice? It hands people a free pass and calls it grace. The old maxim “Give an inch, take a mile” describes fallen humanity perfectly. Tell someone their eternity is guaranteed no matter what, and many will stop striving, stop growing, and choke on complacency. They slide back into sin and die in it because, in their mind, why bother leaving the pigpen if heaven’s guaranteed no matter what? That’s the poison. That’s the trap. And in a moment, I’ll show you from the Bible why I’m saying what I’m saying.

But first—understand this: I only speak this out of love. Love for truth. Love for God’s people. Satan has wormed his way into most churches, feeding the same lie he’s been selling since Genesis. He is the father of lies, and his first deception still echoes today. There’s no shame in admitting you’ve been deceived. In fact, it’s the beginning of humility—and God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Now, critics will accuse me of preaching “Lordship Salvation,” — as if obedience is legalism. They’ll say it’s dangerous, that it’s adding works to grace. And my first thought is always the same: If I can’t lose my salvation, why are you worried about me endangering it?

But let us deal with this so-called “Lordship Salvation” right now, just to get it out of the way. These are Jesus’ own words, not mine:

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” — Luke 6:46

It sounds like "Lordship Salvation" is something Jesus had in mind.

You know who never called Jesus Lord? Judas. We know how that turned out. If Jesus is not Lord of your life, don’t fool yourself with a prayer and a promise. Entrance to the kingdom requires Him as Lord, not merely a confession.

"For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." — 2 Peter 1:11

So, when someone tells you “Lordship Salvation” is false, do yourself a favor: run. Anyone who mocks obedience to God is handing you a one-way ticket to destruction. Jesus said it plainly: don’t call Him Lord if you refuse to obey. Obedience isn’t optional—it’s vital, it is key. And your Lord will ask of you what He will, and expect it to be done.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying salvation comes by works. We have already confronted this earlier. We can’t earn it, we don’t deserve it, and no checklist of good deeds can or ever will save us.

Scripture makes the balance plain: salvation is by grace through faith — not by works (Eph. 2:8–9). But remember this: true faith is alive and active; it produces obedience. James puts it plainly.

"Faith without works is dead". (James 2:14,17,20,24,26)

So, what are the “works” James is talking about? Simple: obedience to Jesus. Don’t quench the Spirit. Don’t fight against His voice. When the Lord tells you to do something, even if it makes no sense to the natural mind, you obey. That’s the difference between sheep and goats.

Jesus said it plainly:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” — John 10:27

Notice, the next verse (which OSAS preachers love to cherry-pick) only makes sense if you start here and leave out the prior:

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” — John 10:28

They always quote verse 28, but somehow always manage to skip verse 27. Why? Because the promise of eternal life isn’t for anyone who once prayed a prayer—it’s for those who hear and obey His voice continually.

The Greek word for “hear” (ἀκούω) doesn’t mean just catching sound waves through the holes of itching ears. It means to heed, and to obey, and it’s written in the present tense. I.E., it's an ongoing, continuous action taking place in the present. It's also the same process with the word “follow” (ἀκολουθέω)—to walk after, to become a disciple, also in the present tense. The promise in verse 28 is for those who continually hear and follow. If a life shows no fruit of an ongoing obedience to the one who's been declared to be Lord... Then I'll bluntly state that He doesn't know you, and you are not within Him. Pretty simple.

So let's get back to the main topic... Can you lose your salvation? I say yes, yes, you can fall away and still end up in hell after being born again. The Holy Scriptures contain warnings that treat apostasy as both real and ruinous. To pretend otherwise is to rewrite the Bible into a comforting myth instead of the convicting truth that it is. The stakes are too high for soft theology. After you have read this article, I highly recommend that you open your Bible to 2 Peter 2, and to the book of Jude. Both books say the same thing. Giving the same warning. False teachers will come into the church and teach the false doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved, and will lead the flock into error and lukewarm living, which will result in anguish and hell for those who follow.

Losing Your Salvation...

Scripture has never, nor ever will teach “once saved, always saved.” You can twist verses, cherry-pick, or quote your favorite preacher till your voice cracks, but if the Bible says otherwise... You're wrong. And here’s the kicker—Jesus Himself, in parable after parable, warns us against treating salvation as some one-and-done fire insurance. His parables weren’t some Mother Goose bedtime stories. They were cutting lessons, piercing through the soul and carnal nature on the topics of endurance, obedience, and the danger of falling away.

So before we hit the plain, blunt verses that dismantle OSAS, let’s look at what our Lord and Savior actually taught. Because at the end of the day, you can argue with me all you want—but are you going to argue with Jesus? Not if you claim to be a Christian, you aren't.

The Parable of the Sower and the Different Soils

Jesus makes it plain. The disciples asked Him to explain this parable, and He hit them with this:

“Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13 KJV)

Translation: If you don’t grasp this one, you’re not going to understand anything else I teach. This is the root of all that I teach. It's elementary. That’s how foundational it is.

Here’s the breakdown.

Mark 4:3–9

"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

Sounds simple, right? But let’s let Jesus Himself interpret it.

Seed by the Wayside (Mark 4:14–15)

“The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side… when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”

These are the ones who hear the truth but never let it take root. They don’t convert, they don’t repent, they’re not born again. End of story. Thats all she wrote. Pretty clear cut and evident.

Seed on Stony Ground (Mark 4:16–17)

“These are they… sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time…”

Now here’s where debate comes in. Some argue these people were never truly born again. But look closer. They received the truth. They had joy. They endured “for a time.” They were sown on the rock, and Jesus is the rock of our salvation. I would refer to this as a surface-level salvation.

Think of the kids raised in Christian homes. They know the stories. They’ve seen miracles. They may have even tasted the presence of God. Asked Jesus into their heart and meant it. But when affliction or persecution shows up—when the shallow roots are tested—they fold. They go off to university, get hit with the world’s lies, and come back atheists or agnostics. Why? Because their faith was shallow. It looked alive cause it was for a moment, but it had no depth. Jesus in the parable said that they "endure but for a time..." Jesus also said this in Matthew 24:13: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." These are Christians who were born again; they simply did not go the distance, meaning they will never cross the finish line, which is entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. Our faith must live longstanding until our heart stops beating.

Seed Among Thorns (Mark 4:18–19)

“These are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

This one is huge. Notice the wording—“becometh unfruitful.” That means they once bore fruit. You can’t “become unfruitful” unless you were fruitful in the first place. These people were born again, but over time they quenched the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19). They allowed the cares of life, the lure of riches, and the lust of the flesh to choke them out.

And God doesn’t play favorites. Ezekiel 18:24 puts it bluntly:

“When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity… all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his sin… he shall die.”

If God can forgive your sin when you repent, He can also disregard your past righteousness if you turn back to sin. He is just. He is fair. And He will not be mocked.

Seed on Good Ground (Mark 4:20)

“These are they which are sown on good ground… bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”

This is the goal. Born again, Spirit-led, enduring to the end. Jesus made it clear. Not “the one who prayed a prayer once.” Not “the one who went to church for a season.” The one who endures to the end.

And remember—Jesus said if you don’t understand this parable, you won’t understand the rest. That should make us sit up straight. Jesus was explaining that we are not once saved always saved and that we can fall away and lose our salvation. It's meant to bring fear, because "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..." (Proverbs 9:10)

Other Parables That Shatter OSAS

If that wasn’t enough, Jesus hammered the point home in parable after parable:

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25): The servant was His servant. Yet because he was slothful, the Master called him wicked, stripped him of what he had, and cast him into outer darkness. It's important to note that the servant never earned what he had. It was freely given to him. I.E., our salvation.

The Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matthew 25): Virgins represent the Church (2 Cor. 11:2). The lamps are the Word (Psalm 119:105). The oil is the Spirit (1 Samuel 16:13). The foolish ran out of oil and were shut out. No oil, no entry. They did not persist and keep filling up. They were slothful and neglected their gift of salvation.

The Wedding Feast (Matthew 22): A man slipped in without a wedding garment (righteousness, Rev. 19:8). He wasn’t welcomed. He was cast into outer darkness. Even being at the feast wasn’t enough without holiness.

The Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13): First, the tares (the world) are burned. Then—watch this; veses 40-42 —Jesus sends His angels into His kingdom to remove all who offend. Not just the world, but the compromised within His Kingdom and they are gathered and burned along with the already burning tares.

The pattern is undeniable. Jesus never painted salvation as a guaranteed, no-maintenance, automatic ticket. He warned again and again: stay watchful, stay faithful, endure to the end. "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Matthew 24:13. This scripture will be quoted over and over and over.

And that's because it’s not enough to be called a wheat—you must remain a useful wheat until the harvest.

And it's not just the red letters of Jesus. It's the teachings of the New Testament.

Hebrews 10:26-29 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

Does that really need to be broken down and interpreted? Or can we just let Scripture speak for itself? It’s pretty plain. After salvation, we are held to a standard. And if we refuse to live by that standard, we’ll end up in the same place as everyone else who’s counted as an enemy of God—hell. I know that sounds harsh, but God isn’t playing games. What He asks of us isn’t unreasonable. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t dabble in witchcraft. Don’t cheat on your spouse. Don’t have someone else’s spouse cheat with you. Don’t be a drunk. Don’t have idols. Don’t get wrapped up in fornication.

These are all common-sense standards that even the world frowns upon when they’re done against the world. Someone who isn’t even born again still knows it’s wrong to cheat—that’s why they try to hide it. No matter the culture, nobody respects a thief. The fact is, God isn’t asking much of us. So why do people mock Him, test Him, and then complain that His words are too harsh? The only ones who can’t receive this truth are the ones who are in love with their sin. Their sin has become their idol, and for them, that sin comes before God.

You can read the same truth again:

2 Peter 2:20-21

“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. 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.”

God doubles down on this warning, saying it’s worse for those who know the truth and turn away. The word translated “knowledge” or “known” here is from the Greek epiginōskō — meaning to become fully acquainted. To know something personally and completely. That’s not casual head knowledge — that’s relational knowledge. That’s knowing Jesus Himself (John 14:6). It's after they have come to have this relationship with Him.

The problem with the modern church is that it’s just not biblical anymore. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever — yet for some reason, the church decided to move away from the One who doesn’t change. The church has changed, and God looks down on His bride, asking, "Why are you doing this?" And saying things like "It's like, I don't even know who you are anymore." The church clings to John 3:16 but refuses to look at Revelation 3:16, afraid of what they might see if the mirror is turned on them.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

That was written to a church. Believers. Those in the fold. To be “spewed” out of His mouth means you were in His body to begin with. In Jesus! You can't be spewed out if you were never in it. And that needs to sink in. So He repeats it over and over in hopes it does.

So you see it again, worded differently but with the same message.

Again, written to the brethren — those already in the faith — Paul, along with Silas and Timothy, gave the warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 of a great falling away before the Antichrist appears. And let’s be honest: you can’t “fall away” from something you were never part of. You can’t fall off a ladder you were never standing on. This is where the term apostasy comes from. The Greek word ἀποστασία, apostasía, defined as the "defection from truth" (properly, the state) ("apostasy"):—falling away, forsake.

It's always the same principle. A believer can lose his salvation. Even Paul himself feared this reality. Paul, who spent three years being personally taught by Jesus in the wilderness, still wrote:

1 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.”

See, Paul knew the dangers of becoming a castaway. He knew that if he missed eternal life with Jesus, it would be by his own doing. Nobody can pluck us out of God’s hand — I fully agree with that. But let’s ask the obvious: Who is the one doing the casting away? And by what hand does He cast away? And what must already be in His hand for Him to cast it away? Do you see where this is going?

This is why I use hypotheticls. I like hypotheticals — they cut straight to the point. And when asked correctly, they’ll always expose the difference between a false teacher and a true servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. So here’s one for you:

What if a born-again believer takes the mark of the beast? Do they go to heaven or hell?

Every time I ask this, the “once saved, always saved” crowd says, “Well, if he was really saved, he wouldn’t take the mark to begin with.” Can I just say that that’s an admission of free will right there? And if free will doesn’t exist, then I guess you were meant to read this article, you were meant to feel the turning sword of truth pierce your spirit man, and you have no choice on whether you’ll finish reading this or not... Right?

Joshua 24:15 says, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” The Bible clearly teaches we have the power to choose. It also warns us not to ignore the Holy Ghost. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Quench not the Spirit.” All actions of free will.

So, ignoring the knee-jerk excuse of “that could never happen,”... What’s the answer? Would a true born-again believer go to heaven or to hell if they took the mark of the beast?

The late false teacher John MacArthur once claimed believers could take the mark and still go to heaven. That’s because he refused to let go of his false, demonic doctrine of OSAS. And anyone who ends up in hell because of his teaching — their blood is on his hands. And I can guarantee God will demand recompense for it.

Because the Word of God is crystal clear:

Revelation 14:10-11

“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

The Word says "whosoever". That includes everyone. It doesn’t matter if you were born again. You take the mark — you go to hell. Eternal torment. No sleep. No rest. No hope.

I know for those who started reading this with the OSAS mindset, that it’s a shock to the system when you realize you’ve been lied to by people behind the pulpit. I know it hurts when you find out your friends, parents, or pastors repeated the same falsehoods. But you must understand, most of them didn’t mean to deceive you — they’re just parroting what they were told. Simply repeating the lies they believed. They’ve been programmed on how to read the Word. So to them, until that lens on how to read the scriptures is broken... They will always parrot the lies.

But we can't be upset with this; Jesus saw this coming. We were warned in 2 Timothy 3:13 that people would deceive others because they themselves were deceived. So it shouldn’t surprise us when it happens — He already told us it would.

I don’t know how many more times this can be stressed: this walk is real. There’s a finish line. You can’t get from point A to point B without effort. This isn’t a one-time prayer followed by a return to your old routine. It’s a relationship. A lifelong commitment. This is why there is a marriage supper and a bridegroom. And this just brings about another point to be made to refute emotional arguments you always hear.

How many times have we heard a spouse say before a divorce, “It’s like I don’t even know you”?

Matthew 7 paints the same picture. People calling themselves Christians — doing Christian works. Prophesying. Casting out demons. Performing miracles. And yet Jesus says, “I never knew you. Depart from Me.”

First and foremost, He knows everyone. He formed everyone. Now that that's been said, the logic should come into play.

Who else could perform such works except believers? He was speaking to those in the fold. Those not saved don't cast out demons. It's those whose names were once written in the Book of Life.

Revelation 20:15

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

That verse alone shows how vital it is that your name remains in that Book. If it’s not there, you’re doomed. It’s that simple.

Many have wondered: can a name be removed from the Book of Life? OSAS proponents claim no, but I used the term "once written." How could I say such a thing, and who is right? Two opposing views can't both be correct.

Revelation 3:5

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelation 22:19

"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book."

The fact that Jesus says, “I will not blot out his name,” means a name can be blotted out. The very fact that God says He "shall take away his part out of the book of life" means your name can be removed. You can be forgotten. You can be removed. You can be erased from His memory. Every good work you ever did could amount to nothing.

He keeps His Word — He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. I used this scripture earlier, but what He said in Ezekiel 18:24 still stands:

“But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.”

As I said earlier, no passage in all of Scripture teaches “Once Saved, Always Saved.” None. No verse says you can’t fall away. No promise of unconditional eternal security.

And I haven’t even listed half the verses that back this up. Honestly, I shouldn’t have to. What’s already been given should be enough.

So know this: anyone who teaches otherwise doesn’t have a leg to stand on. False doctrine survives only by staying out of context. It thrives on cherry-picked verses and blind loyalty. And behind every false doctrine, there are only two types of people — those who know it’s false but push it for their own agenda, and those who’ve been deceived into believing it.

I’m not here to judge who’s who. I’m simply here to point out the narrow road — the right path. It's a narrow one with two distinct ditches, one on either side. Works-based dead religion, and hyper grace. Doesn't matter which pit you fall into... The left or the right. The pit is the pit. The pit is bottomless. The pit is an eternal torment. The pit is hell. It's a narrow path.