Satan, a master strategist, is an expert in renting a space in the head of man. When he attempts to do this in a believer’s head, the purpose of the rented space is to give the devil a foothold (a leverage) in the life of the victim. In this way, Satan can exploit that foothold at a time that he believes he can inflict maximum damage.
In some cases, this is usually at the tail end of a believer’s life or ministry. For some, it may be at the zenith of ministerial success; and for some, he simply comes visiting his rented space whenever he wills.
For Jesus, Satan made his last attempt towards the end of His life. We see the account in John 14:30, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me”.
This was Satan’s last scan to see if there existed a space through which he could penetrate Jesus, and execute his havoc.
Thankfully, there was no space, Jesus had been watchful throughout His ministry. So, he could confidently affirm that Satan “…HATH NOTHING IN ME”. Thus, Jesus completed His assignment on earth with joy.
If we are to complete our assignment with joy too, it is important that we heed the admonition in Ephesians 4: 27, “… Neither give place to the devil”. We can paraphrase this to read “Don’t allow the devil to rent ANY SPACE in your head/heart”.
For when Satan rents a space, as an astute investor, he would ALWAYS visit for the dividends of his rental. In Acts 5, Ananias was so careless that he ALLOWED Satan to fill his heart – huge space rented out to the devil! (verse 3)
There are many ways that Satan can rent a space in a believer’s head/heart. It may be through a besetting sin, or through a false belief system - usually false doctrine(s).
This article is focussed on the latter – particularly on the false doctrine of Once-Saved-Always-Saved (OSAS).
This satanic doctrine is spreading rapidly in our days. If we look at the doctrine, there are a few traits that are peculiar to Satan that is also common with ALL the advocates of this doctrine.
The first of these is SCRIPTURE-TWISTING. The first time we encounter the concept of Scripture-twisting is in the Garden of Eden, when Satan twisted God’s words to derail Eve.
We also saw him deviously twisting the Scriptures to entice the Second Adam during the temptation that followed Jesus’ forty-day fast.
So, Scripture-twisting is Satan’s forte to confuse and derail mankind. Please consider this: have you ever seen an OSAS advocate that does not CONSISTENTLY twist Scriptures? It is impossible. That is clue number one.
Clue number two is deeply embedded in Satan’s personality – and that is STEALING. His mission is to steal, kill, and destroy, as Jesus told us in John 10:10. This thievery, Satan’s personal signature, is at the heart and foundation of the OSAS doctrine.
For it is only A THIEF that will lay total claim to the prize ever before taking part in a competition – particularly, when the rules of the competition forbids this.
I do not make this claim in a vacuum. I make it in the full context of what the Bible makes very, very, very clear – IT IS ONLY A BELIEVER THAT CONTINUES TO THE END THAT SHALL BE SAVED.
It is NOT all believers that start the Christian race that will complete it successfully. Some will fall along the way for various reasons relating to choices they make, or do not make, according to God’s word.
Thus, the consummation of salvation is completely dependent on CONTINUING IN THE FAITH, through grace, to the end. There are dozens of Scriptures that make this point abundantly clear.
We see this right from when Jesus was laying down the conditions of discipleship in Luke 9:23. “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The meaning is clear – carrying the cross to follow Jesus is a DAILY endeavour.
The word ‘DAILY’ speaks of continuity. John 15:6 makes it clear that a man that does not CONTINUALLY abide in Christ will be CAST OFF AS A BRANCH (meaning he was previously a branch in Him as indicated in verse 2). That speaks of continuity.
Speaking to His disciples about the end-time in Matthew 24, Jesus told them in verse 13: “But he that shall ENDURE UNTO THE END, the same shall be saved”. In Revelation 2:10, he told the church in Smyrna, “… be thou faithful UNTO DEATH, and I will give thee a crown of life”.
In Revelation 2:25, He told the church in Thyatira to “… hold fast TILL I COME”. All these speak about the imperative for CONTINUITY for salvation to be consummated.
Furthermore, ALL the Apostles that wrote the Epistles in the New Testament also stressed continuity. The most poignant is from the Apostle of Grace himself, Apostle Paul. Hear him: “… to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: IF YE CONTINUE in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel….” (Colossians 1:22-23). Please note the conditional phrase ‘IF YE CONTINUE’ in the passage.
He repeated exactly the same theme, using the same conditional ‘IF’ in Hebrews 3:6,14. Apostle Paul was emphatic that standing before Christ on the Last Day is contingent on continuity in the faith TILL THE END.
Please also see 1 John 2:24, 28; Romans 11:21-22; James 1:25; 1 Peter 1:13; Jude 1:21; etc. They are all saying the same thing in different ways – continue, abide, keep yourself in the love of God, etc.
The OSAS advocates will twist new meanings into ALL THESE SCRIPTURES, and claim that the consummation of their salvation is irrespective of what they do, or how they live.
Now, let us look at one of the roots of this satanic error. OSAS advocates believe that the imputed righteousness of Christ is their ultimate ticket for eternal security.
This is a false hope! The imputed righteousness of Christ is NOT an end in itself! It is a means to an end. And this is that end: righteousness is imputed to us, by grace, to empower us to do the will of God on earth.
So, DOING THE WILL OF GOD IS THE REAL GOAL (remember that one of the opening themes of the Lord’s Prayer is ‘thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven’).
The imputed righteousness of Christ, along with all the other elements of grace that we enjoy, is ONLY a means to that end!
The Bible is very clear on that point. It is the believer that does the will of God that abides forever (1 John 2:17). It is the believer that does the will of God that shall enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21).
So, it is NOT enough to receive the grace of God and hop off rejoicing that we are AUTOMATICALLY saved forever - it is the purpose that the grace is deployed for (fulfilling the will of God) that really matters. This is the lesson in the Parable of Talents.
The servant that got the talent (grace), but DID NOT deploy it for the intended purpose of trading (fulfilling the purpose) was CAST INTO HELL FIRE. Please think about this carefully.
This is why Apostle Paul was earnest in praying that the Colossian church may be filled with THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WILL in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col 1:9). That is the key to entering the fullness of our inheritance in God in Christ Jesus.
There is a general aspect of the will of God. And there is a personal aspect. I’ll focus on the latter. The personal aspect of the will of God for every believer relates to the purpose for which he is created. It is a definite and specific purpose that relates directly to the Kingdom of God.
The fulfilment of this purpose is the life-long pursuit of every believer. It does not come to believers automatically – IT IS AN EARNEST PURSUIT.
This is the ardent pursuit that led Apostle Paul to pen Philippians 3:12, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: BUT I FOLLOW AFTER, IF THAT I MAY APPREHEND THAT FOR WHICH ALSO I AM APPREHENDED OF CHRIST JESUS.” Every believer is apprehended by God for a purpose.
Woe betides the believer that does not FIND AND FULFIL that specific, clearly defined purpose; deceiving himself that once-saved-forever-saved.
The fulfilment of our purpose relates directly to the cross of Christ. For it is through the cross that we tap into the vast resources of divinity to fulfil purpose (1 Corinthians 1:18).
God will NOT carry this cross for us – though He will abundantly supply the grace to help us. It is OUR individual cross. This is why Jesus used the words ‘HIS cross’ in Luke 9:23.
It is both a personal and personalised cross. And so we MUST carry it DAILY, and CONTINUE to carry it till death.
This is what it means to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2). Please read that passage to see how it relates to the will of God – for that is where Christ is leading us.
Believers that sit on the coach of ‘all-my-sins-past-present-and-future-have-been-forgiven’ hoping for a free ride into eternity will be shocked on the Last Day. For they have been deceived by the twister and thief – Satan.
This is why Satan is renting a space in their heads with this doctrine. It is to shield them from receiving THE TOTAL PICTURE of the revelation of God. Satan emphasises ONLY ONE SIDE OF GOD to them.
This is precisely what he tried with Jesus when he urged Jesus to jump down from the top of the temple because angels will carry Him (Luke 4:10).
In other words, he was telling Jesus, “You are safe, God will not allow you to perish” (the earliest form of the ‘once-saved-forever-saved’ lie).
Please note how Jesus flipped the coin and HIGHLIGHTED THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ELEMENT, “YOU must not tempt the Lord your God’.
It is a two-sided coin; God’s part and man’s part. (An important part of man’s part is that he MUST continue till the end for the salvation to be consummated).
It was by balancing the two sides (God’s part and man’s part) that Jesus escaped the tempter. But, sadly, in our days, many believers have been deceived into thinking that they have no part to play whatsoever; that once they have been saved, they remain saved forever! This is the space that Satan has rented in their heads.
This rental is a SATANIC STRONGHOLD (which is why it is very difficult for OSAS advocates to come out of the deception).
Until that stronghold is broken, and the space recovered from Satan, he has a legal right to that space, and he will keep coming back to use it for his purpose – whatever he decides, whenever he decides.
So, in an OSAS advocate, in which other ways will Satan use this space? When will he come to use the space? Only Satan himself knows! It is like giving a blank cheque to Satan!
This warning is NOT aimed primarily at those that have already rented a space to Satan by believing the OSAS doctrine.
Rather, it is for those that are today walking in their shadow, drinking from their fountain, toying with the OSAS error in their hearts.
There is a good reason why God warns us through Apostle John to FLEE COMPLETELY from peddlers of errors and heresies (2 John 2:10).
Satan is a master trickster, his subtlety knows no bounds, and he knows how to capture believers that allow him to gain an inch in their heads/hearts.
Please do not fish in his waters, for he is plotting to rent a space in the head/heart of those he wants to kill and destroy.
Please be watchful, and remember the words of the Bible: “Give no place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). It is a matter of choice.
Thanks for reading, God bless you.
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