Sealed Until The Day Of Redemption. Are We?

What keeps a seal sticking to something? Why does the Seal of the Spirit stick to Saints? Seals adhere. They stick. They stay. Unless removed or broken, or if something causes the stickiness to be degraded. What is it that causes the Seal of the Holy Spirit to adhere to the Christian? The Spirit being present within IS the Seal. Does the Seal stick to my corrupt, mortal human flesh? No. The Spirit has no affinity for corruption. Does the Seal of the Spirit stick to my sin or iniquity? Silly. Again, NO. What does the bible say about the seal of the Spirit? Here is Ephesians 1: 12 – 14 "that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. When people fall away from Christ, they experience a catastrophic loss of Seal! They lose salvation. Sounds like an engine problem! But the reality is, that they have destroyed for themselves their access to the Blood of Jesus Christ. Thus, there is nothing left to cause the Seal of the Spirit to adhere to them! The Spirit is not destroyed of course. But the cleanliness that the Spirit had an affinity for is undone. The bond that kept the Seal in that person is no more. See Hebrews 10: 26 – 31. -Author Unnamed-

I am writing this blog because of a request from a reader who wants me to explain my thoughts on these words from a biblical verse from Ephesians 4:30, which states, believers are "sealed unto the day of redemption" and that nothing can break that seal regardless of how much sin they commit after getting saved. It's the "Once saved always saved" mindset. There is another opposing belief often dividing believers. That being, others are convinced you can indeed lose your salvation and that the "seal of redemption" can be broken. I'm going to tell you what I believe, but first I must say up front this will be a very long blog because it is a delicate subject and requires a thorough examination. I will share my personal understanding of verses that will explain why I side with the opinion a Christian CAN lose their salvation after being "saved." I will begin by saying, look closely at this scripture from Luke 12:10, "Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man (Jesus), it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven." (emphasis mine). This verse is saying, anyone in the world (whosoever) can say they don't believe in Jesus, they can reject Jesus, curse His Name, ignore Him, laugh at him, be mad at Him, etc. and it will be forgiven! WHY? Isn't that why Jesus came? To save the lost? To save the unbeliever? To save sinners drenched in sin? They CAN be forgiven; saved, if they repent and come to the Lord. Yet, he (notice singularly 'him') that blasphemes The Holy Spirit SHALL NEVER BE FORGIVEN! To me, THAT'S a seal! To never be forgiven is a locked fate. So let's look at it more closely.

It is very important to understand the verse above. The "whosoever" is addressing anyone in the world ... both nonbeliever and believer. (To the believer: how many times have you failed Jesus and you've been forgiven? I rest my case). However, notice the following warning is now not to whomsoever, but singularly HE that blasphemes the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven. This is referring only to a believer! First, we must define the word blasphemy (the unforgivable sin-Mark 3:28-30). Most people assume it means taking the Lord's name in vain; cursing. I once did. It's deeper than that. To blaspheme is to "execrate" or "denounce." There is only one set of living human beings on this earth that can possibly commit that unforgivable sin. Christians! Why? Because only Christians have been given the Holy Spirit through salvation and faith in Christ Jesus. The world doesn't have the Holy Spirit in their hearts! Christians CAN INDEED commit this unforgivable sin. But now we must define HOW! How can a Christian denounce the Holy Spirit that was given to them? Denounce: discredit, reject, vilify, condemn, call evil. We can denounce the Holy Spirit's power by discrediting His ability to empower us to overcome sin. If you say you are saved, if you say you are a Christian and you say you cannot stop sinning, you are calling the Holy Spirit a liar and rejecting what He promised. It might be a case you love and enjoy your sin more than what you believe He is able to do!

Christians are not perfect by any means. We sin and sometimes struggle against the strength of it. Christians are faced with temptations all the time, but we do not purposely practice sin. We may curse, feel jealousy, find it hard to love others, etc. These are struggles we learn to overcome as we learn God's Word and apply it to our lives. Our hope lies in the promise and power of the Holy Spirit, "But I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16-25). The Spirit does give us the power to overcome constant, purposeful vices! Scripture tells us, "And THOSE THAT BELONG TO CHRIST JESUS have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16). It is when we willfully sin because we say it's impossible to stop a certain vice, say for instance an extramarital affair, that then we are calling the Holy Spirit a liar and a fraud. We discredit Him. The key word here is "willfully." Hebrews 10:26, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, BUT A CERTAIN EXPECTATION OF JUDGMENT, AND FIERY INDIGNATION which will devour the adversaries." Are you opposed to the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you willfully hanging onto and continually committing a sin you like, or perhaps you unconsciously feel even God cannot take it from you ... homosexuality, fornication, sexual perversion? Then you are an adversary of the Holy Spirit, plain and simple.

Further, LISTEN CLOSELY ... "For it is impossible FOR THOSE WHO WERE ONCE ENLIGHTENED, AND HAVE TASTED OF THE HEAVENLY GIFT, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit (did you get that??), and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, IF THEY FALL AWAY, TO RENEW THEM AGAIN TO REPENTANCE, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." I understand this to be speaking of ONCE SAVED Christians. Why? One, they were "enlightened." They "tasted the heavenly gift." Became "partakers of the Holy Spirit". Finally, "tasted the good Word of God." A person cannot be a "partaker of the Holy Spirit" unless they are saved and born again! To understand the Word of God you have to have the Holy Spirit within you because He reveals the truth...He "enlightens" you. I definitely believe Christians, the "enlightened," those with the Holy Spirit, those who have tasted salvation, who know of the world Jesus promised is yet to come, can lose their salvation-Hebrews 6:4-6. The words, "no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" implies a definite loss of salvation under the circumstances I've pointed out. No serious Christian living for Jesus, who is earnest in doing what pleases God will purposely or relentlessly sin because the Holy Spirit gives us the power to identify sin, turn from sin, and overcome sin. It's returning to the "pollution of the world." Read 2 Peter 2:20. How do we escape the pollutions of the world? That verse says "through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." There are so many references to losing your salvation throughout the scriptures. I just can't get around it.

Then we have the warning from Jesus when He said, "Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he that DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Well, who calls Jesus, Lord?? It's not the unbelievers! Jesus is addressing "saved" believers! What is His will? For us to stay out of sin. "Be ye holy for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). You don't think you can attain this? You can't but the Holy Spirit can. Again, are you discrediting the power of God? Once we are saved, if we go back, fall-away, return to our vomit of sin, we are going against the "will" of the Father. We are making Jesus sacrifice of none effect. 1John 5:15-16 states, "There is a sin which leads to death. I do not say that he should pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death." How do we interpret this? With wisdom by the Holy Spirit. If all sin is unrighteousness, then what SIN doesn't lead to death, but one does? Simple. All sin is bad, all sin is unrighteousness. The sin that does not lead to death is all sin forgiven by Jesus Christ when we are saved. The one sin NOT FORGIVEN even if we believe we are saved is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. If you deny the power of God, you will continue to sin upon sin upon sin. For that, there is no forgiveness BECAUSE you knew the truth, you knew what His Word said and promised, you were forgiven but you discredit the Holy Spirit's power, His promise that He can overcome sin and temptation you're faced with. THAT SEAL CAN BE BROKEN!

We have to consider all these scriptures from the Bible. They may make us feel uneasy but I would rather feel uneasy than miss the truth. Then, there is the verse from Revelation which is most disturbing of all. Remember, the book of Revelation is the revealing of Jesus Christ. These are the words of Jesus, He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not BLOT OUT his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels (Revelation 3:5). Two: OVERCOME and BLOT OUT. "He who overcomes." Overcomes what?? SINNING! Yes, we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit within us! Secondly, "I will not blot out his name." Think of that! When you were saved, Jesus wrote your name in the book of Life. Yet He is saying, your name CAN BE BLOTTED OUT! How plain can you get? Look up the word "blot." Your name CAN be erased out of the book of Life. If this were not a possibility why did Jesus say it!? Many are called, few are chosen.

The BOOK OF LIFE is the record referring to Christians alone and not the world. How do I know? Read this carefully, "And I saw (John speaking) the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books (plural) were opened. Then another book (singular) was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead (those without the living, saving grace of Jesus) were judged by what was written in the books (plural), according to what they had done" (these, the unsaved, are judged by the law!). The world will be judged by every law written and what is sad is, not one person on earth has been able to keep the law(s). Their punishment will be harsh. The Christians names are in the Book of Life and will escape judgment under the law because they are safe and secure in Jesus ... 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." Every person reading will have to come to their own conclusions as to whether this scriptural evidence shows that indeed it is possible to lose their salvation. When you consider if he "falls away," if he "falls from grace," if he "becomes estranged from Christ," if he goes against the "will" of God the Father, if he returns again to the "pollutions of the world," if he "sins willfully after having received the knowledge of the truth," if he is guilty of the "sin that leads to death," it all fits together.

In conclusion, Galatians 6:7 says, "God will not be mocked (or dissed, discredited, reviled, abhorred, denounced or despised) by believers that were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift ... namely, The Holy Spirit, only to think that Jesus blood sacrifice on the cross will cover them until the day their physical life ends. "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:13.) My blog is directed at the Church of Jesus Christ (His Body of believers), not the world, not non-believers, not Eastern religions or other faiths.
Until next time,
-Pat-