Do I Think I Can Lose My Salvation?

https://billrandles.wordpress.com/2019/09/04/do-i-think-i-can-lose-my-salvation/ ^ | Sept 4 2019 | Bill Randles

[caww]

In Romans 8, God goes to great lengths to assure us that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39)...... God so wants to convince His children of ‘the eternality of His love’ for them that He devotes an entire chapter in His Word (Psalm 136) in which every one of the 26 verses repeats the promise, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

...And so, if He ever stopped loving a believer in Christ, He would be lying about His love being “steadfast” and “forever.” If God ever allowed anything to separate one believer from His love, He would be a liar.

[MHGinTN]

++

[plain talk]

You can’t lose what you never had. God exists outside time and space. You were either predestined to be saved or you weren’t.

[papertyger]

If you were not called you cannot claim His gift.

Then how can you be condemned for "tasting" and turning away?

[metmom]

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6:37-39 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

John 10:25-30 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

1 Corinthians 1:4-8 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 5:4-8 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Hebrews 6:17-20 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jude v24 "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy"

1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3156607/posts?page=313#313

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

For which the Greek, from the Byzantine, is:

2Corinthians 1:21-22 ο δε βεβαιων ημας συν υμιν εις χριστον και χρισας ημας θεος ο και σφραγισαμενος ημας και δους τον αρραβωνα του πνευματος εν ταις καρδιαις ημων

The first word in bold above is “bebaion,” the idea of confirmation, frequently used in commercial settings to confirm a bargain. Which of course makes sense of the remaining terms used here, which are also elements of a secured contract.

The second word in bold above is “sphragisamenos,” being sealed is to be marked by the signature, signet ring, or other unique proof of identity, that we belong to God, and this sealing is done by God, who is the one taking action in this verse. We do not and cannot seal ourselves. We do not, by our own powers, have access to God’s “signet ring.”

The third bolded word above is “arrabona,” and indicates what we might loosely refer to as earnest money, but in Hebrew culture conveys more the idea of a pledge of covenant, a security given as a guarantee that the deal will go through, though we only receive part payment at the beginning. See ערב for the related Hebrew stem indicating “pledge.”

[metmom]

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

[MHGinTN]

The answer isa contained in your question. If God invites and you taste the offering but turn away from accept the feast, your turning away is on you not God.

[YogicCowboy]

Well said.

I will (once again on this site) point out that the modern media emphasis upon so-called Evangelicals is upon a vague and ambiguous group that functions as a de facto macro-denomination.

I have attended a (self-described) non-denominational school, for six years (7-12). I have attended pastoral conferences. I have served in the church in two denominations.

As far as I can tell, the “Evangelicals” are primarily a detached group that functionally are Arminian and Anabaptist - with few exceptions.

The “non-denominational” school I attended was almost entirely both Arminian and Anabaptist - both in faculty and attendance. I was an outlier and misfit, being neither, and I was treated with condescension and even, at times, with contempt.

One Southern Baptist male told me emphatically I could not possibly be an Evangelical Christian (even though my denomination had many missionaries, and spent great funds on missions); part of his reasoning was that I would not embrace “eternal security.” That very traditional Baptist attended an “Evangelical” seminary and became a far-left Democrat who embraced many Marxist positions.

I have since then concluded that “eternal security” is a common theme in the so-called Evangelical crowd. It often leads them to a utopian attitude; in contrast to the common media portrayal, although many are traditional, many are not conservative, but “liberal.” Traditionalism does not equal conservatism - or orthodoxy. Think of traditional-but-not-conservative Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter!

This is germane because of the continual barrage throughout the media (including on this forum) of articles on “Evangelicals,” as though they represent the true heart of Christendom in America - and are the most consistently ultra-conservative of all Christian groups. That is false - on both counts.

Further, I seek to restore the term, Evangelical, to its proper usage. Any devout Christian is concerned with the Evangelium: the Gospel, the Good News. Specific denomination and specific theology are tangential to this.

More broadly, I contend that both John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius went too far, in opposite directions, by relying upon purely human logic.

Paradox is not a comfortable thing to human reason, but some truths in Scripture appear paradoxical to us finite mortals.

[metmom]

There were lots of people who followed Jesus for a while and turned away because they were in it for the wrong reasons.

You can get involved in a church, go to Bible studies, serve, enjoy Christian fellowship and approve of the lot of it, without ever having been born again.

That’s tasting and then deciding it’s not for you.

I met some guy once who said to me *Yeah, I tried that born again stuff, but ....* And I really don’t remember how he phrased it, but he turned his back on it and laughed the whole thing off.

I was horrified because I had really finally met someone who would fit in the category of *tasting and turning away*. He saw all that God had to offer and decided to not follow Him but rather his own sinful desires.

THAT is what I believe is tasting and turning away.

[caww]

God does not, cannot and never will condemn Jesus, who we are united with by His spirit..... “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). To reject a believer in Christ, God would have to cast Jesus Himself out of heaven.

So Just as Christ lives within every believer here on earth, so it is equally and breathtakingly true that in one sense believers live in Christ at the right hand of God in heaven at this moment...... we should rest our hopes in the root of our salvation (that is, Christ) and not the fruit.

further....no one God has adopted will ever be ripped from His arms or be sent tearfully away from Him. A heavenly promise for all God’s children is, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And Jesus assures all who trust in Him, “Whoever comes to me I will ‘never’ cast out” (John 6:37).

[Mark17]

Thanks pastor Bill. I look forward to your study. I don’t believe one can lose their salvation either.

[Cvengr]

Don’t confuse inheritance with salvation.

3 mistakes commonly made regarding sin and salvation.

1) The believer is shocked by their own personal sin after salvation, and then thinks “Sin in the life means I am not saved”.

This is a type of arrogant thinking. When God gave us salvation, He knew in advance every sin and temptation we would ever face, and gave us salvation. The answer to post-salvation sin is the same as all sin. We face God, through faith in what Christ provided us at the Cross, we confess our sins to God the Father, through faith in Christ, and we are cleansed and return to fellowship with Him. We may have lost an inheritance or a crown, which may have been available, even predestined for us, but not our salvation.

2) A variation on the above, where the believer sins, and then thinks he couldn’t be saved if he sins or has lost is salvation because his sin was so heinous.

Again this is a type of arrogant thinking. God knew in advance every type of heinous sin we would commit, when He gave us salvation. Our sin indeed may cause loss of fellowship, perhaps some inheritance or crowns, but not the crown of life.

3) Sin in the life means “I must add something to faith for a secure salvation.” This is salvation by works, not by faith alone, lest any man should boast.

Salvation is only as difficult as we make it.
He has done all the work in salvation. All we have to do is to accept what He has already done, and communicate that to Him when we confess our known an unknown sins to God the Father, simply by faith in what Christ provided at the Cross. He does all the rest.

[papertyger]

You can not simultaneously say one got a legitimate “taste” of salvation, but say they were never saved.

Even the Apostle said “...those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come...”

[Mark17]

There is also this, that God will take a person earlier than He would have if they continue in blatant, unrepentant sin.

Do you think that is what happened with Ananias and Sapphira? 😁

[papertyger]

THAT is what I believe is tasting and turning away.

But that is not what is described in Hebrews 6.

[Hostage]

Thanks, I agree. See #30.

Those who keep sinning because they fear no consequence might have a genuine change of heart when dying. Then again, they might not. I believe we are to pray they will have that genuine moment at some point all the way to their last breath.

There was the other criminal crucified next to Our Load. He insulted Jesus saying if He is the Messiah, why then does He not save Himself and them.

We don't know what happened to this other unrepentant criminal but I know we are to pray for the unrepentant and pray for ourselves to repent continually.

Here is a bit of learning for some who might be reading and not know the significance of the criminals crucified with Christ:

There are three cross beams on the Orthodox Cross. The top is the plate and is believed to mean INRI. The bottom is a foot rest but the Orthodox have tilted it up to symbolize the penitent thief St. Dismas who was crucified to the right of Our Lord.

The lower footrest points to the impenitent thief Gestas who was crucified to the left of Our Lord.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Gospel was written. It was written without trying to cover over the nastiness of human nature. The symbology of this Cross shows both sides of the human condition, those that insult Jesus and those that praise Him, those that do not believe Him and those that believe in Him. That condition persists to this day. Nothing has changed.

It's amazing because if the Gospel were false, there would never be written any account of how a Messiah could be mocked. ridiculed, insulted. Yet those that wrote it wrote the truth of what happened. If the Gospel writers were insecure in their belief that Jesus was the Messiah, they would not have written they way they did. They would have played up the miracles, the majesty, the triumphs and never mentioned the suffering, the humility, the scorn.

[Mark17]

I was horrified because I had really finally met someone who would fit in the category of *tasting and turning away*. He saw all that God had to offer and decided to not follow Him but rather his own sinful desires.

I have run into two people like that. They said they tried the Bible/God thing, and said it didn’t work for them. I had no idea what they meant by that, but I wasn’t buying it. This may be exactly what you are referring to.

[metmom]

I think it is.

[papertyger]

I think it is.

Be that as it may, the Scripture is clearly describing interior experiences, while at best what you describe are "social" experiences.

[smvoice]

If we could possibly lose our salvation after we are saved, then we do not have faith that Jesus Christ died ONCE, for ALL sins. It is calling God a liar. Once means ONCE. All means ALL