--> Luke12:43-46
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
Perhaps this servant had the same mind-set commonly referred to today as "once-saved-always-saved." Notice in this passage that the servant, upon seeing that his master tarried, *began* to do wickedly. This interestingly suggests that before this point the servant apparently was faithful to his master. Albeit, when the master tarried, this servant was obviously so comfortable with his position and satisfied with himself; undoubtedly he was comfortable enough so as to believe that he could enjoy the pleasures of sin for one brief moment without consequence before his master returned. -But when the master returned unexpectedly and caught the servant in his evil deeds; the master severely punished the servant AND appointed the servant a place with the unbelievers -effectually disowning the servant.
Christians are the servants of Christ Jesus; and from this passage [and others] it can be decidedly ascertained that continuous and/or habitually unrestrained sinning will result in being disowned by the Master and counted as unbelievers if Jesus returns at a moment in which one is engaged in deliberate sin. We are sternly warned in Scripture against acts of deliberate sin{cf. Heb6:4-6 and Heb10:26-31}. Furthermore, God, who does not change{Malachi 3:6}, [and Jesus never contradicted a word God said] expressly declares in Ezekiel 3:20 / Ezekiel 18:24 / Ezekiel 33:12-13 that not even a lifetime of righteous living can deliver one from condemnation if that one dies [devoid of repentance] having engaged in deliberate sin.
To further evidence that OSAS is a damnable myth, draw your attention to Matt7:21-23. Many interpret Matt7:21-23 to indicate that the "many" whom were being rejected were not genuine believers because Jesus said that He didn't know them. This interpretation, however, comes from a lack of consideration for the Jewish culture. Incidentally, the "many" being rejected were *most definitely* genuine believers; e.g. they had professed faith in Jesus{they called Him "Lord"} and they had prophesied, performed miracles, and cast out demons all in Jesus name{something that could not be done apart from faith in Jesus(compare Acts19:13-16)}. "Depart from me I never knew you" is not a denial of acquaintance, but a resolute rejection. In Jewish societies [not just], when a son had shamed his father's name, it sometimes was so severe of an embarrassment to the family that the father would disown the son to preserve the integrity of the family name. A sort of legal suit, then, was often performed before witnesses in which the father publicly announced the son's sin [of which most were already aware] and the son was then disowned by the father; typically speaking words along the line of: "You have disgraced me with your [name of sin(s)]; leave me, you are no longer my son, I never knew you." --THAT is precisely what is going on in Matt7:23. Because the many were guilty of "lawlessness"{see note}and had sullied the Name of Jesus{cf. Heb10:29 (26-31)}, Jesus was disowning them on account of their "lawlessness"{see Note}.
Matt7:21-23 correlated together with Luke12:43-46 teaches that a servant of Christ cannot continue in lawlessness{see Note} and expect to be saved --because the fate of those guilty of "lawlessness" will be the same as the servant who was caught in the act of his sin -i.e. disavowed and cast among the unbelievers.
[Note: Matt7:23 "lawlessness" -cf. 1John3:4 (ESV) "practice of sinning;" -i.e. habitual sins which lack genuine repentance{cf. 2Cor7:10}]
In conclusion, let us take to heart Proverbs16:6 and exercise genuine reverence for God by turning from sin:
-- 6 Wickedness is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord. -HCSB
...when the cat's away; rest assured that "the Cat" will return at a moment that you're not expecting it!!
--Matt 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
