No one in his right mind will insist that anyone who is baptized and goes to Church will be saved. Jesus said it clearly in Matthew 7 and 25, many will not enter into the Kingdom of God. Someone said it elegantly: we will be supremely surprised by three things in heaven, first, some that we thought will not be there end up there; second, others that we thought will be there are not there; third, even I am there!
We are reminded that being saved is not of our own doing. Even faith is part of God's grace. Justification by faith is a short saying of the more elaborate, accurate saying "Justification by grace through faith" according to Paul. No sinner deserves to be saved, that is for sure. It is only by the grace of God to save some. As to why God shows his saving grace and mercy to some while showing eternal punishment and wrath to others, it is a divine mystery that constantly unsettles our soul and spirit.
"Saved once, kept forever" is a much misunderstood saying. Jesus says well: those believers who persevere to the end will be saved.
Did Charles Carl Roberts IV persevere in faith to the end? I doubt it, even if he shed some crocodile tears in the end. The ultimate question is: will God save him?
To those whom God predestines and calls to eternal glory and heirship with Christ, God will keep them to the very end, that is the essence of "saved once and kept forever", even though they as saved sinners stumble here and there in their pilgrim journey. It is the sacrificial blood of Christ that saves them from their sin and death. But for those sons of perdition, their sin is not forgiven due to their willful rebellion, disbelief and rejection. Thus while all are sinners, but not all are redeemed by the blood of Christ. This too is very unsettling to those sinners who regard themselves as no greater sinners than the saints (saved sinners) after all. They argue, since all are sinners of similar magnitude, why are some shown mercy whereas others shown wrath? This goes back to our earlier discussion about the divine mystery. We are unsettled, if not shocked, at God's sovereign will.
People are unsettled by the fact that an otherwise "good" guy may lose everything (including salvation) in the end. This just emphasizes the sheer weight of our choice. It makes our life's choice all the more meaningful and weighty. What we choose to believe and do matters a great deal, all the way to eternity. Therefore we are also unsettled, if not shocked, by the dire consequence of our own choice.
God's sovereignty and man's will is a pair of paradox that unsettles our soul.
