When I hear someone talk about the possibility that we could ever stop being a child of God, I think about how the promise of eternal life is given to us by God who KNOWS we are weak and can stumble. But think about it this way, if for some unknown reason, after a person is truly born again, if such a terrible thing happened in their life that they started doubting their faith, would that mean God rejects them? Would our Heavenly Father, who says he will NEVER lose or cast out even one of us, pull back the Holy Spirit from within us and leave us or would he remain drawing us back to him and his arms? When Jesus spoke about the shepherd leaving the flock of 99 to go search for and find the one who strayed away, is he not telling us that we are THAT precious to him and that he will not lose us for eternity? Someone who tries to reject God after he has been born again is going through a tough time, no doubt, but that is not when God hits the road and abandons us, NO, that is when he goes out to draw us back to him. We cannot know what goes on in a person's heart, between him and God. But we can know that the Lord knows those that are his and Jesus said that ALL that the Father gives to him WILL come to him and he will NOT cast them out and he would not lose one. We are saved by grace, we remain saved by that same grace.
Our life in Christ IS a journey and we can rest in the knowledge that God walks with us throughout our life and all things work together for our good. He will never leave us or forsake us - no matter what. Nothing can separate us from his love.
I'll take it a little further...."I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." A beautifull verse to be sure.However the last part always seemed a little enigmatic to me (if that's even the right word to use)..."....and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" If the "work of God" is to "believe on Him whom He has sent" (and it it,John 6:29) then what I think 1 John 5:13 is saying is that if you believe on the name of Jesus then you may know you have life and now you may do the work of God.
Looking back on my earlier post regarding the renewing of our minds it seems that not only "may" we know but it is actually critical that we DO know.It is our starting point in our relationship with God.It made "as a little child" and "a sound mind" and "fear not" and "enter into HIS rest" and "Abba,Father" and "ceased from His own works" and many many more verses jump out from the pages at me.
How many times do we hear the phrase..."I know but it hasn't sunk in yet" ? I'm sure pretty much everyone alive would identify with that to some degree.
With that thought in mind the following verses....
"work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
"Study to shew thyself approved"
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest"
"give diligence to make your calling and election sure"
.....sound a lot like 'get this to SINK IN'
Which then made "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." ...jump out all the more.Thus,,,if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and it SINKS IN to you that God actually raised Him from the dead then you will be saved!
2 Peter 1:10 really goes all the way with this I think...."IF you do these things you shall NEVER FALL" (now there's a guarantee if ever there was one!) What things? making your election and calling SURE!
I'll end by saying practically every prayer of Paul's was that believers would understand,take hold on,comprehend,grasp what we have been FREELY GIVEN.That all of what God has given us would sink into our desperately wicked hearts,past our know it all minds and deep into our spirit to effect our transformation from the most inward part of us to that outward part that the world sees!
pheeew!!! I can take a breath now.I almost turned blue getting that out,muddled mish mash that it is.
Grace and peace to you BB.