The person who is persevering in his faith is partaking of Christ now and is saved now....How does the emboldened part mean they never believed before?....You can see 'holding fast' is in fact about the matter of salvation. You yourself just pointed that out above about vs.14. Your argument being that genuine believers do, and always will hold fast in faith etc..
I already thoroughly made my points in posts #115,341; #115,585 & #115,680 in regards to Hebrews 3, Hebrews 10 and Jude 1:5. If you are still convinced otherwise, then I cannot help you any further, but you will never convince me otherwise. You can speculate all you want and try to change
did not believe in Jude 1:5 to
"previously believed, but don't believe anymore" all you want, but I just take it for what it says,
DID NOT BELIEVE. I've heard certain people in the NOSAS camp also try to change
"I NEVER knew you" in Matthew 7:23 into
"I once knew you, but don't know you anymore" in order to accommodate NOSAS, but I'm not buying that either.
I did not suggest in any way shape or form that the one talent slave/servant was once saved but now is not.
I'm actually shocked to hear you say this!
I typically hear those in the NOSAS camp say the one talent "servant" was saved because he was called a "servant," but then he lost his salvation because he did nothing.
There's no indication that he ever believed in and served the Master. I don't recall ever using this passage to defend against once saved always saved.
We actually agree that there is no indication that he ever believed in and served the Master.
I did talk about how putting the talent 'in the bank' and letting them bring the increase to it illustrates how evangelism is actually the very least thing you can do with the knowledge of the kingdom. It's far greater and more beneficial for you yourself to bring increase to the knowledge of Christ you have received in your own life.
As I mentioned before. The third servant had been given a talent according to his ability and the opportunity to believe and bear fruit in accordance, but chose to reject it by burying his talent in the ground.
Christ warns us of the MANY who will have ministry works, but no personal works of obedience and will think those ministry works somehow mean they have a relationship with Him and can enter the kingdom, but Christ will turn them away and say he never knew them.
Works of obedience flow from a relationship with Jesus Christ out of faith. Now in regards to Matthew 7:21-23, I will never forget, prior to my conversion several years ago while still attending the Roman Catholic church, I read Matthew 7:22 and thought to myself, WOW! These many people accomplished ALL OF THAT, "prophesied in His name, cast out demons, and did many wonderful works" but that still was not "GOOD ENOUGH?" Then I thought to myself at that time, how am I going to "top that" and be "good enough?" Such is the mindset of someone who believes that obtaining/and or/maintaining salvation is based on works.
Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. *John 6:40 - For
my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
These many people (unbelievers) in Matthew 7:22 had the
wrong foundation. They were
trusting in their works to save them and NOT IN CHRIST ALONE. Jesus
NEVER knew them which means they were
NEVER saved. Their hearts were not right with God, so their "attempted external obedience" (apart from the righteousness of God which is by faith and the blood of Christ) was stained with sin. *Seeking salvation by works is not the will of the Father.
John 17:3 - And
this is eternal life, that they may
know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. The term "know" implies intimate, experiential knowledge, through a relationship with Him, not merely theoretical knowledge.
These many people in Matthew 7:22-23 were not true converts. *Without faith it's impossible to please God no matter how many alleged wonderful works that these many people set out to conjure up through the flesh in a vain effort to obtain salvation based on works. This is why Jesus referred to these many people as
"workers of iniquity." God does not see the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus (Romans 4:5-6; Philippians 3:9) in unbelievers, but He see's all of their sins which remain and have not been washed away by the blood of Christ.
And, of course, there's the source of the 'never knew you' argument in once saved always saved.
"I
NEVER knew you" in Matthew 7:23 settles the argument for me that these many people were
NEVER saved.
But it's only one half of the argument.
Here we go again. Fear and bondage to IN-security is no way to live the Christian life.
We see in scripture that God did know the Galatians, yet they turned away from Christ in unbelief and were warned of losing the benefit of Christ in justification. So, even people who God did know can fall under the same condemnation as those who God never knew.
Temporarily getting side tracked by legalistic teachers is not the same thing as permanently turning away from Christ in unbelief. Stop jumping to conclusions. The present tense of the word "justified" implies that these Galatians were contemplating justification by the law. They were getting side tracked by legalistic teachers. "You who are trying to be justified by the law have fallen away from grace,"
but had they fully come to that place yet? Galatians 3:3 reads: Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? The middle voice implies "making yourselves perfect" by means of self effort.
The present tense indicates that the action is in progress and that there is still time to correct the error.
If these Galatians lost their salvation and it was a done deal, then why didn't Paul simply say you "lost your salvation" and I'm done with you? Instead, in verse 10, he said -
I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. Why would Paul have confidence in these Galatians if they lost their salvation and it's all over for them? In verse 12, Paul uses hyperbole, As for those
agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!