Ez. 5-7
God had a purpose in the destruction He wrought on His people. Three times in chapter 5 He declares, “I am the LORD”, and seven times in chapters 6 and 7 He says His people “will know that I am the LORD.” He was their God who saved them out of Egypt and who blessed them with all good things. But they forgot Him. They turned to other no-gods and gave them the credit for the blessings and the salvation of God. To say they had it coming is an understatement.
God did not do this to destroy His people, however. On the contrary, He did it so that a remnant would return to Him and once again be His people. He said His remnant “will remember Me…how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from Me…And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed…And they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ez 6:9-10). The knowledge that they needed God, that all they needed was God, and that God freely fulfilled their need was His gift to them…and to us.
1 Tim. 4
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim 4:1). Here is more evidence against the misnomer of “once saved, always saved.” Don’t get me wrong – I believe with my whole heart that we absolutely have assurance of our salvation. We find that assurance in Jesus Christ, our unfailing hope and our sure foundation. Assurance of salvation means that if we build our house on that sure foundation, it will stand.
But I simply do not see that the Bible assures us that once we acknowledge and accept God’s Truth, that we will never then choose to utterly reject it. Do we wander from the path or get drawn into the ditch from time to time? Sure. Do we start to question our faith and question God from time to time? Sure. And there is restoration from all of that. But consciously and intentionally choosing to turn away from God and devote yourself to a lie is a different thing entirely. And it seems to me that, even as His children, God leaves us with that choice.