Once Saved ...

For every force, there is a counter force. For every negative, there is a positive. For every action, there is a reaction. For every cause, there is an effect. We see or experience these things every day. Look at these elementary opposites:
Up/Down
Right/Left
Cold/Hot
Man/Woman
Happy/Sad
Short/Tall
I could fill pages of these simple examples! It is the same spiritually. Scripture teaches every person is either saved or not saved. There is a heaven and there is a hell. There is God, there is Satan. The Bible is clear, you are either spiritually dead or spiritually alive depending on whether you've accepted Christ as the Savior of your soul. It doesn't get much more plain than that. Paul told us, "We were dead (spiritually) because of our sins, but God loved us so much that He made us alive in Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5 CEV). I want you to realize something though, really know it. Our faith as believers shouldn't end with the prayer of salvation at an altar although many Christians subscribe to that notion. Many believe after a Sunday altar call and after reciting a short prayer to accept Christ as Savior, their "salvation" is locked in, wrapped up and in the bag. But is it? I am here to blast a trumpet of warning. Too many Christians are turning back into the world and practicing the same sins they brought to the altar to be absolved of! Their mantra? Once saved always saved! They are using that mantra as an excuse to do whatever they please. As Traudi Davis says, 'they make holy-holy on Sundays and turn back into the world Monday through Saturday. Paul told us differently, "For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature" .... (Galatians 5:13 NLT). Simply said, as a believer you've been freed from your sin but don't use the excuse of being free as your ticket to keep on sinning.

Your "conversion" can actually be really alive, in a coma; or even dead! How would you measure that? With the heart. Psalm 51:10 KJV was spoken by King David after he had committed grievous sins, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." THAT should be your mantra! Today and every day you step out into the world that is drenched in sin you should recite that verse. True conversion begins with the heart. The heart must change for the body to be governed. So many Christians "get saved" but are stagnant in their walk with the Lord. They aren't guarding their hearts or filling them with God's Word. In fact, some are willfully defiant to the point there is no change in their behaviors or lifestyles. They were sinners when they went to the altar and are sinners continually afterward. There is no true conversion. No heart change! How is the heart changed?

The heart and mind are mentioned thousands of times throughout the Bible. If we were to go through the many different passages mentioning the heart and mind, we could come up with many different definitions for the heart and mind depending on how each word is used in biblical context. In general, however, the heart refers to the part of a human that controls desires, emotions, hopes, dreams, and other intangible parts of our being. The mind typically refers to the part of a human that controls the intellect, reason, and thoughts. THE HEART AND MIND WORK TOGETHER IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. To have a relationship with God you will have to engage your heart and this is where many "saved" Christians fail! A heart change is not only important but it must be filled up as well after it has been cleansed from sin. Jesus warns us, it is not enough to just go through the process of having one's sins forgiven (once saved always saved). Unless heart reformation CONTINUES and something positive is put in its place, the end might prove worse than the beginning for that person! I'll get to that in a minute. This is what I fear for so many people. It's becoming obvious within the body of Christ (His believers). They get "saved" if you will, then that's it...the mantra begins. There is no effort to read or learn the Word, no desire to change, no desire to pray or have a relationship with the One who died for them, no yearning to fill their heart with virtuous living.


As Christians, it is pertinent we be aware of the evils of neutrality or disinterest in growing, changing, and renewing our minds and hearts on a frequent basis. Once we profess we are saved, cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, we MUST replace the evil that was once in our heart with the Word of God, prayer, commitment, etc. Why? Because once your heart is swept of an unclean spirit or spirits, once they are chased out and the heart made clean by Jesus, that same spirit or spirits that left you will seek to inhabit another soul. If he or they cannot find one, something horrifying happens! That same spirit/spirits WILL RETURN TO YOU and enter you again if you haven't filled your heart with God's Word, God's laws, God's ways, God's righteous living! And because your soul was "swept and garnished" according to scripture, that unclean spirit will not only return, it will bring seven other spirits more wicked than himself to enter you! AND... the Bible says, "The last state of that man is worse than the first." Read Matthew 12:43-45 it's all there! That's the danger of a lazy, uninterested, defiant Christian who returns to their sin yet thinks a simple prayer has locked in some sort of eternal safety for them. They never go beyond the prayer of repentance, but live their lives as they did before, yet believe they are saved. If a true conversion has taken place, it will be seen through a change of heart which in turn is manifested through actions. A clean heart makes for clean hands.


Understand this warning ... whoever prays or has prayed, even years ago, the prayer of salvation and stopped there: never filling their heart with God's Word (Proverbs 18:10), never putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18), never walking in His way through obedience (Psalm 128:1) has an empty heart that is just inviting for the demons to return, and in fact, may have already returned! If we do not make an effort to fill our heart with the things of God, then evil things are likely to return with a vengeance according to scripture. Examples are given throughout the Bible of this happening. Here are a few: 2 Corinthians 12:20-21; 2 Peter 2:20. Too, not filling our heart allows it to become hardened against the things of God. That leads to sinning willfully and resistance against any biblical instruction. Eventually, we close our ears to truth altogether (Hebrews 3:12-13). And the scariest thing of all? It doesn't end there! We can literally reach a point where it becomes impossible to be renewed again by repentance! Christ cannot die another death to cover our willfully defiant, resistant, unruly, disobedient, non-stop sinful living. Read it in Hebrews 6:4-6. Note: I said willfully defiant. Someone who purposely won't stop committing sin after receiving Christ isn't saved at all. There was no true conversion. There is no "once saved, always saved."

How important is it, then, that we do not let our hearts remain empty thus invite the unclean spirit(s) to come back and take up residence in us. Do you know of anyone who calls themselves a Christian, maybe they go to church, teach the 10 commandments to their kids, wear a cross around their neck, yet ... they are willfully defiant and will not comply to God's "rules" for a life that is separated unto Him? It happens all the time. WE MUST sanctify the Lord God in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15) ...by the way, the word 'sanctify' means to "set apart." Separate yourself to Him for His purpose, not your own. Be selective what goes into your mind that in turn can influence your heart to do good or evil. If you are serious, THIS IS THE TEST, "Set your mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-2), "Let the Word of God/Scripture dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16) and follow the example of David after he sinned against the Lord - Psalm 101:3-4 READ IT!). In closing, if you have become stagnant, if you are not filling your heart with good things even if you believe you are saved, then your heart is inviting every evil thing that is in opposition to God and YOU will be in worse condition than before if you do not repent and turn around. PLEASE, please repent of any sins. Confess them before you become so hardened you won't care if you are committing sin anymore! Ask the Lord to cleanse you, to renew both your heart and mind, then come back and dwell under the wings of the Almighty.
Until next time,
-Pat-
CEV Contemporary English Version
MSG Message Bible
KJV King James Version