At this point we need to consider the two major schools of doctrine—the Calvinist school and the Arminian school. The Calvinist school says that everything is a matter of God’s grace, selection, and predestination. According to this school, once God has selected and predestinated us and we have been saved, there are no problems; once we have been saved, our salvation is secure for eternity. The Calvinist claim that we shall never perish has a strong basis in the Lord’s word in John 10:28-29. According to these verses, a saved person cannot perish. Calvinism undoubtedly has a ground in the Bible for saying that once we are saved we are saved for eternity. But when Calvinism says that since we are saved for eternity there can be no problems, it goes too far. Although it is good to know that we have been redeemed and reborn, we should not say that since we have been redeemed and reborn we can have no problems. It would be foolish for a child to say that since he has been born, there are no problems. Any child who says this is a most foolish child. Yes, we have been reborn, but there may be many problems.
The Arminians believe that a saved person can be lost again. Using portions of the word such as Hebrews chapter six, the Arminians insist that people who have tasted the heavenly gift and who have been partakers of the Holy Spirit may fall away, may have no opportunity to repent, and may be like the land that is burned, meaning that they are lost. The book of Hebrews contains five warnings such as this. The Arminians misuse these portions of the Word concerning God’s punishment or chastisement of His children, considering it as perdition, as being lost once again. They use these portions to support their teaching that a saved person can perish again.
The Calvinists, unable to reconcile these portions of the Word with their teaching, say that the persons mentioned there as being tasters of the heavenly gift and partakers of the Holy Spirit are false Christians. But it is ridiculous to say this. They say this because it is their only way of escape. Neither they nor the Arminians have been able to reconcile the portions in the Bible regarding God’s punishment of His children, because they have not seen the matter of prize and punishment in the kingdom. This matter of prize or punishment in the kingdom is the bridge between Calvinism and Arminianism.
Let us now look at this from a biblical point of view. Since we have been chosen forever, once we have been saved, regenerated, and have received eternal life, we can never perish. The eternal life will keep us. Two mighty hands, the hands of the Lord and of the Father, will uphold us, and we shall never perish (John 10:28-29). But this does not mean that we should be loose about committing sins, for we shall be chastised, punished either today or in the coming age, for whatever sins we commit. God is righteous. If His children commit sin and do not care for His will, they must suffer chastisement, punishment. If you do not care for His will in this age, you will miss the kingship as the reward in the coming kingdom. We must give heed to this warning.
What an enjoyment will be there in the coming kingdom! The harvest Sabbath! It will be better than the present growing Sabbath. The growing Sabbath of the church life today is the means by which we may be ushered into the harvest Sabbath in the coming kingdom. If we neglect today’s Sabbath in the church life, we shall miss the next Sabbath in the coming kingdom. If we are careless and commit sins, we shall suffer God’s punishment. But this does not mean that we shall be lost again.
Hebrews 6 proves this. Verses 7 and 8 say, “For the earth which drinks the rain which often comes upon it and brings forth vegetation suitable to those for whose sake also it is tilled, partakes of blessing from God; but bringing forth thorns and thistles, it is disapproved and near a curse, whose end is to be burned.” The earth may produce vegetation or thorns. The thorns may be burned, but the land will still remain, having suffered a loss. Likewise, the believers can never be lost, but all that they bring forth which is not according to God’s economy will be burned. Whatever we do that is against the will of God will be burned, but this does not mean that we shall be lost.
At this juncture let us consider 1 Corinthians 3:12-14. “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.” The believers are God’s farm (1 Cor. 3:9). Whatever we grow that is wood, hay, and stubble will be burned. But if our work abides as gold, silver, and precious stones, we shall receive a reward, a prize. However, if a man’s work is burned, he shall suffer loss, but this does not mean that he will lose his salvation. The following verse says, “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire” (Gk). This verse is very clear. A saved person may suffer loss, but he will not lose his salvation; he will be “saved as through fire.” Do you want to be “saved through fire”? If you ask me what the fire is here, I would say that I do not know. More than thirty-five years ago, an older Christian friend was arguing with me saying, “How could a saved person still be saved through fire?” I answered, “I don’t know, but the Bible tells us so.” Then he said, “Here it does not really say ‘by fire’ but ‘as by fire’ or ‘as through fire.’” At this point another elderly brother injected, “Even if it is ‘as by fire,’ it can still cause you to suffer.” Whatever this fire is, I know that it is not good and that I do not want to experience it. Since we have this word in 1 Corinthians 3, we should not say that as long as we are saved everything is all right. Everything may not be all right. Our work may be burned and we may be “saved as through fire.”
When some heard me preaching along this line, they condemned me, saying that I was teaching the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. The Catholic teaching of purgatory, which uses 1 Corinthians 3 as the basis, is much different from the pure Word of God. According to the Catholic concept of purgatory, if you commit sins and die, a relative may shorten the time you spend in purgatory by paying a certain amount of money to the Catholic Church. This teaching is devilish. What I am teaching is the pure truth from the pure Word.
First Corinthians 3 says that we need to build properly: according to God’s divine nature—the gold; according to Christ’s redemption—the silver; and according to the work of the Holy Spirit—the precious stones. We need to build according to the Father’s nature, the Son’s redemption, and the Holy Spirit’s transforming work. But if we build according to the flesh, the self, and the worldly way, that will be wood, hay, and stubble. There is a great difference between building with gold, silver, and precious stones and building with wood, hay, and stubble. If you build with gold, silver, and precious stones, you will receive a reward. But if you build with wood, hay, and stubble, you will suffer a loss, yet still be saved. This is neither Calvinism nor Arminianism but the pure Word of the Bible.
In addition to God’s gracious salvation, there is the matter of receiving a prize or suffering a loss. Only those who receive the prize will participate in the coming Sabbath, the harvest Sabbath. Those who gain the prize will enjoy the better Sabbath in the millennial kingdom, and those who suffer loss but who are saved as through fire will miss that Sabbath. How we need to press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and go on positively. In addition to salvation, there will be the prize of this high calling, which will be the harvest Sabbath in the coming kingdom. This is our mark, our goal. If we would reach this goal, we must pass through the church life. The church life is the way for us to reach the goal.