In contradiction to scores of New Testament scriptures, it is believed in many Christian circles that salvation is a “one-and-done” event. That is, if someone believes in Jesus at any point in their life, that one-time event seals their salvation for eternity, regardless of whether they continue in faith or obedience.
The basis of that faulty idea is a faulty understanding of salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-10). “One-and-doners” claim that grace, by definition, is unconditional, and thus there can be no conditions attached to salvation that is “by grace.” But nothing could be further from the truth. Saving grace is clearly not unconditional, but rather, conditional, according to Ephesians 2:8-10. There we are told that the condition of saving grace is faith. If saving grace was unconditional, salvation would not require faith.
And that is precisely why we so often read the original apostles encouraging believers to “continue in the faith” (Acts 14:22; Col. 1:22-23), “remain true to the Lord” (Acts 11:23), to “not grow weary of doing good” (2 Thes. 3:13; Gal. 6:9), to “hold fast to their confession” (Heb. 3:6, 14; 4:14; 10:23; 1 Cor. 15:2; Rev. 2:12; 3:11), to run with endurance the race that is set before them” (Heb. 12:1), and so on. And I’ve just given a small sampling of New and Old Testament scriptures that affirm that redundant biblical theme. When people tell me that they believe in “once-saved-always-saved” (or “unconditional eternal security”), I want to ask them, “Are the Old and New Testaments in your Bible?”
As the title of this short article suggests, if salvation is a “one-and-done” event, there really is no need for pastors or churches. All that is really needed are evangelists to proclaim the gospel. Then, once people are born-again, their salvation is secure, regardless of whether they continue in faith or obedience. So, there is no real need for Christians to grow spiritually (as they might if they attended church services), because they are surely destined for spiritual growth when they get to heaven. In fact, if they did grow spiritually or live holy lives before they got to heaven, it could actually be a hindrance to the one-and-done gospel, as unbelievers might be misled into thinking that spiritually maturity or holiness is necessary for inheriting eternal life! So, it would actually be better if no Christian grew in spiritual maturity or lived a holy life before death. That way, it is likely that more people will be “saved” through the “one-and-done gospel of grace” to join the ranks of the “eternally secure.”
“But,” you might ask, “wouldn’t churches be a good place for pastors to at least proclaim the gospel every Sunday, so that Christians could bring unsaved friends to hear the gospel and be saved? Every sermon could be 100% evangelistic.”
The trouble is that church buildings, utilities, and pastors all require money, money that generally is given in offerings by those who attend the services. When unbelievers observe those collections, it might mislead them into thinking that if they become Christians, they will be expected to give money to support God’s work, which could mislead them into thinking that they must do something to get into heaven besides just believe the gospel for a minute or two. They might be misled into thinking that saving grace is conditional!
Along those same lines, it would be best if sharing the gospel was done only by evangelists. If average Christians share the gospel, that could mislead unbelievers into thinking that God might expect them to share the gospel if they became believers, which could mislead them into thinking that saving grace is not unconditional. And that is one more reason why there is really no need for churches or pastors. If Christians invited their unsaved friends and relatives to church to hear an evangelistic sermon, it could mislead those unsaved people. They might wrongly think that being a Christian involves inviting others to church, and thus wrongly think that salvation is, at least in part, by works, and therefore salvation isn’t a “one-and-done” event.
All of this is to say, if you believe salvation is a “one-and-done event,” you should not attend church, financially support a church, invite unsaved people to church, grow spiritually, read your Bible (as you might grow spiritually if you did), or obey any of Jesus’ commandments, otherwise you will be sending the wrong message to the unsaved about the truth of the one-and-done gospel. Doing any of those “works” could mislead unbelievers into thinking that God requires what He does not actually require, since salvation is by “God’s unconditional grace.” If you really want to win a lot of unsaved people to the one-and-done gospel of God’s unconditional grace, you should actually live as sinful of a life as you possibly can. That way, you’ll be sending the right message about God’s unconditional grace to unbelievers. You’ll be showing them that you believe that you can’t forfeit your salvation, because it is all by God’s unconditional grace.
All sarcasm aside, I suspect you may know that both pastors and gatherings of believers are very biblical. And the primary reason for both—from a biblical standpoint—is to help believers stay on the narrow path to eternal life, since the idea of “unconditional eternal security” is not only nonsense from a biblical standpoint, but actually is heretical. And it is utterly tragic that no “one-and-done” pastor even understands his primary responsibility before God. Here’s what Scripture says to genuine spiritual leaders:
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you (1 Tim. 4:16, emphasis added).
Pastors who advocate the one-and-done gospel (in contrast with Paul) are certainly not paying close attending to themselves and to their teaching, and they are certainly not ensuring salvation for their flocks. Rather, they are misleading their sheep and lulling them into spiritual slumber. And could such misleading pastors possibly be “ensuring salvation for themselves”?
Here’s another sobering scripture for both pastors and their flocks:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account (Heb. 13:17, emphasis added).
Was the author of those words trying to convey that pastors should always monitor the emotional health of their flocks, something for which they would one day give an account? Or did the author have something eternal in mind, knowing that Jesus warned, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matt. 16:26, emphasis added), and He also warned His closest disciples, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28, emphasis added).
How many pastors see themselves as those who are given responsibility to keep “watch over the souls” of their flocks, something for which they will answer to God? Pastor, imagine God saying to you at your judgment, “You misled your congregants to believe that they were unconditional eternally secure, so they imagined that obedience was optional. You did the exact opposite of ‘watching over their souls.’ You actually helped ensure their damnation.”
It is not just pastors who are responsible before God to watch over the souls of fellow believers. We should all encourage one another to walk circumspectly and be on the lookout for any whose faith might be falling:
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end (Heb. 3:12-14, emphasis added).
James similarly wrote to all the believers in his day:
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19, emphasis added).
These passages have virtually no application in many modern churches, because they blatantly contradict their false doctrines. Many believe that no true Christian can “fall away,” and if one does, that proves he was never a Christian. Others, who do believe that true Christians can fall away, don’t believe there is any danger when it does occur because of “God’s unconditional grace.” (One vocal advocate of that particular heresy was the late Charles Stanley, pastor for 49 years of Atlanta’s First Baptist Church, and who served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.)
I’ve gone long enough in this intended short teaching, so I’ll stop here. Please understand, I’m not trying to win an argument. I’m trying to save people from hell. I already know that most professing Christians will reject what I’ve written, even though they can’t refute it biblically. As John Wesley often said regarding his rejected sermons: “I’ve delivered my own soul.” He believed he would give an account to God for every sermon, and if he ever held back the truth, he believed that his own soul was in jeopardy. We need more like him.
