Sanctified But Not
Saved?
Consider the following passage, in which Eternal Security proponents will have to say that the person who does this was never saved:
“26: For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27: But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,
which shall devour the adversaries.
28: He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three
witnesses:
29: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood
of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done
despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30: For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his
people.
31: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Hebrews 10:26-31 KJV
We argue semantics first, since it was just “knowledge of the truth” received, and it doesn’t explicitly say they were saved. This is true, but when we hit verse 29 we run into a serious roadblock. This person had been sanctified by the blood of the covenant at one point and yet treats Jesus in this manner at some point in the future. So now we are left with a sanctified person who somehow was never saved, so that we may fit the Bible to the doctrine rather than the other way around.
So is someone who has been sanctified saved? Let’s see some other passages that include the word, starting earlier in the passage:
“7: Then said I, Lo, I come (in
the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8: Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering
and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest
not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are
offered by the law;
9: Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10: By the which will we are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11: And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins:
12: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat down on the right hand of God;
13: From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14: For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.” Hebrews 10:7-14 KJV
We see the word twice here, the first usage indicating salvation. Now the second usage would seem to say that once sanctified, always perfected, so we have an apparent contradiction within the chapter, since willful sin after being sanctified sends you to the judgment that is for God’s enemies (unless of course you repent). However, the usage of “are” indicates that the person is sanctified now, in a present tense form. Thus we would conclude that the willful sin at a later time will undo the sanctification and therefore the perfecting as well. This is consistent with the Bible, because in other words…
“But when the righteous turneth away
from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the
abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness
that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet ye
say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O
house of
One scripture backs up another scripture, and the message is clear that you cannot turn from your righteousness and make Heaven, you will surely die. Eternal Security is not equal.
But let us press on to further prove that sanctification means salvation:
“9: But we see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with
glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings.
11: For both he that sanctifieth and they who
are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is
not ashamed to call them brethren,
12: Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of
the church will I sing praise unto thee.” Hebrews 2:9-12 KJV
“And such were some of you: but ye are
washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” First Corinthians
“15:
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16: But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for
this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which
thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17: Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom
now I send thee,
18: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts
26:15-18 KJV
Faith in Jesus sanctifies you and gets you forgiveness of sins. Don’t treat it lightly, for by doing so you wind up back on the road that most will take. It doesn’t mean that you were never saved, and it doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to always be saved. Real faith in Jesus guarantees that you are saved now, but it is not the guaranteed pass to Heaven that Eternal Security teachers make it out to be, no matter how good it sounds.
The so called “problem passages” really are problems. They are death to the doctrine. So wonderful a salvation, so evil a doctrine.