“Once a king or queen of Narnia always a king or queen of Narnia”

“Once a king or queen of Narnia always a king or queen of Narnia”

commentary on eternal salvation by grace through faith in Christ;

Recently I was watching catholic tv. And a man was speaking. Apparently he was a former protestant who decided to become catholic. He was belittling the protestant notion of “once saved always saved”. This teaching states simply that once Christ has bestowed salvation upon a person it is an eternal salvation that can not be lost. I listened to this man speak and all I could think is “what a moron”! I never knew that roman catholics believed that you could loose your salvation. As if it was something to be lost and regained like a battle with weight. To me it has always been so simple. Either your saved or your not. I should have pieced together that the church of rome believes that you can loose your salvation. Often I have heard on movies nuns and priests telling children that they are “backsliding into the fires of hell”. I thought it was pure scare tactics. I didn’t know the roman church had so much in common with the Baptist church. What an odd notion. This means they believe that the children have reached salvation, that they are on the road to that mature, deep abiding relationship and walk with God, that leads to perfection. Only the children themselves and God could know this. I suppose they think the children were saved due to some ritual like baptism or first communion instead of by the grace of God. Maybe they think it takes the rituals to bestow the grace of salvation. But it takes only a prayer, and total surrender of your soul to its creator. The main problem of roman Catholicism besides worshiping mary as a goddess, and setting up a man (the pope) as a divinely appointed leader of the whole church, is that roman catholics believe in majikal formulas. “say ten hail mary’s and four our father’s” and you will be absolved of your sins. This is ludicrous. All God requires is a repentant heart and for you to ask to be forgiven, and for you to forgive people when they need it of you; even if they don’t ask for it. No majikal formula, no ritual can save you. One is saved by asking God to save you, and by the grace conferred through faith in Christ.
What was this man on tv. Talking about? The more he spoke against “once saved always saved” the more I knew it was the truth. It is like he was calling Christ an “Indian giver”. If you misbehave God will take your salvation away; God will take your toy away! That’s what this man wanted people to believe. Yet I know that God never goes back on his word. His promise, his love, his faithfulness, and his salvation endures forever. God is a God of truth. He is not a liar. He is not a mere man (like the pope) that he should deceive us. Though I acknowledge that one can be saved and go through periods of doubt, wandering, misunderstanding, and darkness. One can “back slide” into living in deep sin. But if a person is really truly saved, then they will not be able to remain in darkness. They will be convicted to live correctly, and they will helped and uplifted by God to do just that. If a person can completely disregard God after being “saved”, then I must conclude through common sense, plain reason, and what Christ told us through scripture, that their salvation was never real to begin with but instead it was mere lip service.
However Christ’s redemptive work on the cross was eternal without end! His work was and is and will be all sufficient, and perfect. God does not take it back, and to suggest that he does is the worst kind of arrogant blasphemy. It suggests that our sin, and our nature is more powerful than God’s salvation. The true Christian knows better than to believe this folly. I myself was saved when I was three years old. But for years after that I walked far from God; wandering, and searching, and religion hoping. I thought that God hated me, and I was in turn angry at him. Yet I never stopped believing in, or knowing God, though he felt far away. Through events, and inner conviction I came back to the faith. However this would not have happened if I wasn’t saved to begin with. I was saved at age three and no one can tell me differently or convince me that I was not. Though I was saved I didn’t during that days of my wandering, participate in my salvation, or enjoy most of the benefits of a deep abiding relationship with God, until coming back to the faith in high school.
I have always found it funny that we refer to our religion as “the faith” when it is something that we know is real and true. Faith is good for new Christians, but I as a mature Christian have a knowing beyond faith. I have experienced God first hand and I now know his power. When I began to write this God spoke to me about “once saved always saved”. He quoted to me a line from the famous c.s. lewis book, “the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe”. The scene is the crowning of the four chosen children. Aslan who represents the Christ is crowning the four children, which is symbolic of salvation, and preparation for entering “Aslan’s country” (heaven) at the end of their reign (life). They are made royal, and given “thrones”, which represents Christ’s appointing each of his children not only to a seat at his heavenly banquet table, but our assignment to a certain task, vocation, ministry, or calling. Then he declares to them for all to hear and bare witness, “once a king or queen of narnia, always a king or queen of narnia”! He was telling them that they were forever his children, bound to him in eternal salvation, love, honor, and duty!
So with all certainty I can declare to you the truth!
“once saved, always saved”!