“I do however, believe I am free to walk away from Him...”
I am just telling you what we believe. And it is based on scripture. I wish I could quote the verses, but I’m not a minister. I’m sure that our pastor could do so.
Frankly, I am not sure why God would have such a rule, but according to the scriptures, he does. That’s his prerogative. The whole of salvation is no different. We don’t deserve it. But he gives it to us in any event. It’s based upon his love for us. We’re not worthy. But he is, and that’s his rule.
I’m not sure our beliefs are really any different from yours, except perhaps in theory. I’m not sure that Adam and Eve walked away from God. They sinned, but we all sin. Sin is not the issue. Faith is the issue. Sin is something we try not to do because God tells us not to do it. If you do it willfully, then maybe you never really believed. Why else would you do it willfully... if you really did believe?
The real question (if you’re a Baptist at least) is why faith is so important. I’ve wrestled with that question for a long time. I don’t think I truly understand it, but thee scriptures are very emphatic that it is, and who am I to question it? God may have his reasons. He may simply be trying to distinguish between those who want to have a relationship with him, and those who don’t. But irrespective of his reasons, he sets the rules, and it is up to us to decide whether we will play by his rules, or pay the consequences.
“contstantly warns us of loss of salvation.”
Where? I would be very interested in such a verse.
God offers Salvation, and salvation is not something we could accomplish, so He must be the Author and Finisher (that’s scritptural). He has promised Salvation in return for our acknowledging our inability to accomplish it and our trust in Him to do it. If we could not accomplish the Salvation, because He has pormised to be author and finisher, only He can accomplish Salvation. Satan cannot defeat Him so your salvation cannot be taken from His hand, even by you once you are in His family,because it is His Spirit in you, the earnest of your promised inheritance, that testifies you are Saved, Have been Saved, and will be Saved. How powerful would His promises be if you could abrogate once you accpet that which He promises?
satan walked away. so did 1/3 of the angels. Free will is free will. We sin, that is a seperation from God. We must ask his forgiveness and confess our sin. Should one choose not to do that, we can walk with him no more as well.
As to salvation, he offers it to us. He died for you and me. We can choose to accept or not. We can choose to continue in his grace or not. Most sins committed by christians are not those which would seperate fully. They are due to our fallen nature, such as a loss of temper or some other thing, these are not intentional. Intent is the key to making sin truly seperate us from God. It must be grave matter, and intentional, with forethought. If you had time to think about it, even for a split second, and it was a subject of grave matter, and you said you don’t care, your doing it anyway, that is a serious, or mortal, sin. This removes santifying grace from our lives until we repent, confess, and have true contrition for that sin. God gives us limitless opportunity to return to Him, up until the moment of death. His mercy is his justice, and his justice is his mercy, praise be to God!
We are not far apart on our belief. I only pointed out that one can, in fact, forfeit their salvation by choice. I guess the word lose freaks people out. No one can earn it, deserve it, or warrant it. This is the reason we baptise infants. There is no truer gift than one that is not asked for. Infants did nothing but be born and brought to God for his Gift of Salvation. They do not have a list of items to complete first, as that would mean works are performed. If you have to believe, confess, ask, and then be baptised, you tried to earn it, IMHO. That is why Jesus was circumscised at 8 days old, as are all Jews. They are Jews by the very fact that their parents are, much as Catholic babies are catholic by the very fact that their parents are. Jesus came to fufill the law, not change it. If babies were part of it for Jews, then they would be for Catholics as well. This however, is another topic.
As to faith- the definition of faith is important to understand in order to see its relevance in Gods plan. Faith is believing in something, unseen. The very nature of faith is important considering all that Jesus was going to ask of his followers. Remember Thomas, when he was not present in the upper room when Jesus first appeared. He said he would not believe unless he touched his wounds and saw him? Well, Jesus said blessed are those who believe without seeing. He knew we, not He, would need our faith in order to sustain us. He knew what was coming; how the martyrs would be thrown to the lions, crucified, drawn and quartered. Even now, when the world is such a mess- faith sustains us. Faith that the Eucharist is Him coming in the flesh to sustain us each week. Faith that the apostles who saw him in the flesh had it no better than us for it. He who promised he would be with us always, until the end of the age. Faith is what it all hinges on. Logical, reasonable, sound reasons for knowing Jesus is Lord, and being able to give an account for your belief.
did you ever try to sell something you didn’t believe in? A car, a product? You can always tell when the salesman doesn’t believe in what he is selling. No faith in his product. That is why you can always tell a false christian- if you listen. They worry about money, power, ect. They don’t believe in Christ. Don’t worry, his sheep know his voice :)
As to the loss of salvation verses. I will make a list and privately email you as this is Waaaay too long already.