Author’s note: While preparing for the speaking session at the Branson Prophecy Watchers conference Saturday December 7, 2024, my topic “Rapture Ready!” brought me to revisit this article. I wrote it a number of years ago, but never has the topic been more relevant than at this late hour of the Church Age.
We are on the very cusp of looking our Lord in His omniscient eyes when He calls believers into His presence at the Rapture. What does it mean to be “worthy” in our God’s holy eyes?…
Lately, emails and articles I’ve been receiving are trending toward the thought that Christians not living exemplary lives as believers will miss being taken in the Rapture of the Church, should they not be fully “repented up” and ready to go. These will be “left behind,” as the LaHaye and Jenkins novel title puts it. First, it is perhaps best to consider what is meant by the “exemplary life” in terms of prerequisites for making it to Heaven in the Rapture.
Those who insist that one must be living the exemplary life usually frame that as “living a life of holiness” or “living righteously.” By this, I presume they mean for the most part that one must be doing “good works” rather than living life in the “broad way” along which the pedestrian world moves. I would, of course, agree that the born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ should be doing exactly that every day. There’s no question that God’s Word calls us to that model for life while upon this fallen planet.
However, the question is now raised—and it is closely akin to the question raised whenever the declaration is made that one can lose one’s salvation: At what point does one “lose” salvation? What particular “sin-point” is reached that causes the salvation meter in Heaven to go “TILT,” removing the sinner’s name from the Lamb’s Book of Life? Or, for our purposes here, at what point does one sin enough to be taken off the list of those who hold tickets into Heaven, who will be lifted to be with Jesus Christ in that millisecond known as the “twinkling of an eye” when Jesus calls: “Come up hither!” (Revelation 4:1-2)?
Those who believe the names of the redeemed can be removed from the Lamb’s Book of Life, of course, use the following Scripture as one that prove their position is true: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5).
This is proof, say the “conditional security proponents,” that one’s name can be removed from the Book of Life. But, let’s have a closer look to examine whether this is true.
Those who hold that believers’ names can be erased from this blessed Book of Life insist that the born-again must “overcome” sin. In their belief dictionary, this means we must stay sin free—that is, either live above sin or stay continually “repented up” in order to keep our names in the Book.
They miss the point entirely as to who actually does the overcoming. It isn’t the believer who overcomes all sin, but the Lord Jesus who died in order to take sin away from those who believe so that we are no longer separated from God the Father in the eternal sense. This is seen, for example, in the following: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5).
It is simple belief in the Savior who takes away the sins of the world that makes us overcomers. We still sin and come short of the glory of God, but His precious blood shed at Calvary covers all of our sins–past, present, and future. We overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil–all sin in this earthly sphere–only by belief in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). Our overcoming is only through God’s great grace, through faith. We can never overcome by our own power.
When we sin, we break fellowship with our Lord, but we never break the eternal, family relationship. We do the following to take steps toward making right the sinful break in fellowship that we have caused. First, we must realize and admit that we are not sinless, because repentance cannot truly be made unless we confess that we have sinned. Upon such confession and repentance there is given blessed remedy: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
God’s Word shows us that our salvation and our ability to overcome is totally based on what Christ did for us and our faith in Him alone. This brings us to the matter of “Being Rapture Worthy.”
Going to Christ when He calls as Paul outlines in 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and given by John in Revelation 4:1-2, is a salvation matter. We know that from the overall gospel message and from the total context of God’s dealing with His family. Remember when Jesus prayed that beautiful prayer to His Father, as the Lord faced the cross (John 17)? Read it again, and you will see that it is absolutely clear that born-again believers are forever secure in the Father’s hand, based upon what Jesus did on the cross.
We know with absolute certainty that we are once and forever in God’s family because of the words of the One who created all that exists: “My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).
Paul confirms that the Rapture is a salvation matter as follows: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).
The Rapture will be Christ keeping us from the hour of temptation or Tribulation (read Revelation 3:10). The Tribulation is the time of God’s wrath–to which Paul tells us we are “not appointed.” However, there are many who insist that Christians who haven’t properly confessed their sins will go through that time of God’s wrath (and the entire seven years of the Tribulation will be God’s judgment and wrath). These use the following verse to make their case: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
The key word they hold forth as relevant here is the word “worthy.” Does this word not mean that we as born-again believers must be good enough to stand before Jesus in that raptured throng? Does this word not mean, therefore, that if we fail to live up to God’s standards while on this Earth, we will (at some point in God’s holy view of what it takes to fall from being Rapture ready) lose our ticket in that translation moment, thus not be taken when the shout is heard, “Come up hither!”?
Like in examining the issue of salvation, in looking at the term “overcoming,” we now look at the word “worthy.” What does it mean to be “worthy,” as given in this Rapture example? Again, the answer is wrapped up in the same name as before: “Jesus.” Jesus is the only person “worthy,” in God’s holy eyes, to be in the heavenly realm.
Remember what Jesus said to a man who addressed Him as “Good Master”? “And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God” (Luke 18:18).
Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, was not seeking to chastise the man for addressing Him in this way. The Lord was confirming through this question that He is indeed God, the only good, the only righteousness. Righteousness is the only ticket to Heaven–either through the portal of death, or through the Rapture. Only through Jesus–being born again into God’s family through belief in Him–can a person enter the heavenly realm.
Jesus spoke to this all-important matter by addressing Nicodemus: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
God’s Word says about fallen mankind: “As it is written, There is none righteous no not one” (Romans 3:10) and, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
So, Jesus is the only person “worthy” to enter Heaven. It is through Him that any of us are worthy to stand before Him in that heavenly realm. That is the truth found in the Scripture in question.
On a less magnificent scale, the word “worthy” in this passage means that we should be in a constant mindset of prayerful repentance. We should always want to be found “worthy”–cleansed of all unrighteousness, as stated in 1 John 1: 9, so that we will hear our Lord say to us on that day, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
Terry James Prophecy Line 
I have never been able to resolve this in my own mind. I have seen pros and cons on OSAS. Since Terry James is a lot more expert on the Bible than I am, his assertion that OSAS is the “real deal” gives it much credibility for me. So does this:
John {10:27} My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: {10:28} And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.
But questions remain for me:
Are some people like the seeds sown on rocky ground who believe initially and then fall away or like those among thorns whose belief is choked out by the world?
Were either of these ever really saved in the first place and then lost – and how could we ever know for sure since we can’t read someone else’s mind?
I’m still trying to sort these questions out.
Anyone out there have some views to share to help me out?
Hi Ed, the key here is those who are truly born again. If ANYONE is ever truly born of the Spirit, they can not be unborn…ever. This is a one and done ‘transaction’.
The problem is, as you mention, the tares (unbelievers) who are in the Church, and claim to be born again, but are not. That is why in the parable of the wheat and tares you mentioned, Jesus said the workers must not go into the field and try to sort them out before harvest, because they might uproot the true wheat (Believers) along with the tares. This scripture is Matthew 13: 28-30 The problem is, as you mention, the tares (unbelievers) who are in the Church, and claim to be born again, but are not. That is why in the parable of the wheat and tares you mentioned, Jesus said the workers must not go into the field and try to sort them out before harvest, because they might uproot the true wheat (Believers) along with the tares. This scripture is Matthew 13: 28-30 “The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
We usually learn after some spiritual maturity, that we aren’t able to see the heart, only the Lord knows men’s hearts. BUT, if anyone who claims to be a Believer is living in an open, sinful state (the clear example is in 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 where someone who claimed faith but was fornicating with his father’s wife) that person must be immediately rebuked and if they don’t repent, they are to be put out of the church and turned over to Satan. In this story, if the man was not truly saved, he would have resisted the rebuke, and continued in his sin. But, upon further reading, it sounds like he did turn away from that relationship and repented. Hence, he was a true Believer who had fallen into grave sin.
One of the biggest problems in the Church today is that we (especially church leaders) ignore grievous sin among those who claim faith and allow that sin to spread like poisonous leaven throughout the body. No, we aren’t to go around searching for, and picking at the specks in our brother’s eyes, but we are commanded to call out sins that bring shame upon the name of Christ. It is very hard to do, but do it we must; firmly, and in love, in order to save that person from the fire. Matthew 18:15 says “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” There is additional instruction if they resist and refuse to repent, and they are very likely a tare, not wheat.
Not intending to belabor the point, but the apostle Peter deals with the problem of false believers in the church. He draws a detailed picture of how these pretend believers operate so true Christians can discern their methods and messages and avoid falling victim to their destructive heresies. Peter emphasizes the severity of the situation: “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit’ 2 Peter 2: 21-22 NKJV.
These false believers were acquainted with Jesus Christ’s work in the church enough to understand the basic principles of discipleship, but they had resisted coming to true faith and repentance 2 Peter 2:17-20. Like many religious people, they had intellectual knowledge about Jesus but not heart-level, experiential knowledge that would cause them to fully surrender their lives in obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Romans 10:1-4, says they refused to obey Christ’s command. Luke 9:23 “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ Instead, they had gone right back to their old sinful ways. To illustrate, Peter cites Proverbs 26:11 “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”
So, hopefully that helps you understand that church discipline is to protect the Church, and sort out the unbelievers who cause damage and who disgrace the name of the Lord. They create a great deal of confusion about the core theology of the faith and lead others astray. There are so many false converts in the church today, and an extreme lack of Church discipline, that the world doesn’t even know what a true Christian looks and lives like. This is all part of the Last Days apostasy.
True Believers can, and do, fall into serious sin. But they can not be eternally lost. Note: God often disciplines Christians who continue in serious sin. He will not be mocked and the consequences for Believers who refuse to turn from their sins can be quite serious, even to the point of death (Ananias and Sapphira are extreme examples) so they can no longer bring reproach on the body of Christ.
Once truly saved, always truly saved is a Biblical promise, but that doesn’t exempt Believers from the earthly consequences of their sins.
Maranatha!
Thank you very much for the time and thought you put into your response. I remember you once told me that there is much rejoicing y the angels in heaven over a person who truly repents and that they wouldn’t if that person could be subsequently lost. That was a very good point and I had forgotten it.
What you said here about how a person responds to correction can show us if they are rally save or not, and whether they willfully refuse to turn themselves around. By their fruits, you will know them, right?
Thanks again for taking the time to comment on my inquiry.
You, my friend, have a real gift!
God bless.
Jesus is coming soon . . . maybe next year in New Jerusalem!
You are welcome Ed, and you are always so gracious!
I wish I knew how to edit my posts once I’ve made them. In this one, I repeated a paragraph when I made a typo correction, and didn’t catch that. It made a long post a REALLY long post.
Yes, the angels rejoicing is another way for us to know that when a soul is saved in Christ, they are saved forever.
And fruit is something that usually takes a long time to grow, so we must use care and love in our corrections.
God is so patient with us, knowing we need a lot of different kinds of messages to really understand what He is teaching us. Just like a loving parent with their children, hmmm…seems like I’ve read that somewhere! 😉
Hugs
Not good at proofreading myself, Robin, so no worries. The mind sees what it thinks is there, even if it isn’t. I’ll blame it on age. Gotta be some upside to getting old, right?
I think the parable of the soils is more about the process of how God’s word works in the life of a person to bring maturity and fruitfulness. As I look back on my own walk, there were times when it could be described by any of these different soils depending on where I was at in understanding God’s word. Even the rocky soil was part of the process where you hear the word but its meaning is distorted or stolen by the enemy. But the Spirit of God is relentless and gradually brings understanding and fruitfulness as the gardener cares for soil which starts out rocky and eventually is fertile and fruitful. So believers see these cycles of struggle but the Spirit works to bring forth fruitfulness. It’s a life long process. So that’s the parable of the soil.
Regarding salvation, we are God’s children when we repent and conned to faith. God doesn’t disinherit his children but instead disciplines for their maturity and growth. Once you are in the family nobody can snatch you out of His hands. Not even you. Because God is a good Father and gives you eternal life. If we could lose our salvation (which Messiah equates with eternal life), then life is not eternal is it? When you have those moments, I’d suggest Romans 8, the whole chapter. But here is the sum of it:
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,
“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Thanks very much, A. Clark. Your points are well-taken. As I think about it, despite Israel’s rebellion, God promised that it would ultimately come around and have a glorious future.
When it comes to individuals, some never wise up, but for those who do, be it early in life or later, his promise of eternal life, once made, is likewise permanent.
I do believe I’m finally at the place where the idea of OSAS is more likely than not, thanks to Terry, Robin, and you.
Much appreciated!!
God bless.
Amen!
The church needs this message Terry. I’m glad you went over it again.
I am dis-appointed with your views regarding that the rapture is for everyone claiming to be a Christian, by doing good works, attending church regularly and being Holy. The scripture strictly says on numerous occasions that we must continue in the Faith and continue to believe in faith.
Why would Jesus warn us about the ability to being deceived? if we could not being deceived? Rev:3:10 tell us to endure, to persevere so we may be counted worthy. Saying a prayer of salvation is just not enough, we need to continue in the faith. Your teaching is a misleading and false.
Let’s the bible speak for itself. Heb 4:1-3 Heb: 6:4-8 2Tim: 2:12 1Tim: 6:20-21 Luke 21:36 Heb: 10:26-27 Heb: 12:15 Heb: 6:4-6 Heb: 3:14
The doctrine of once saved always is a doctrine of demons.
Shalom
Pierre
Thank you Terry. My mind was on this last night before I slept finally. This brought it all home just now. Thank you Sir