Posted on 05/17/2015 5:59:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A common question for many is, "Can I lose my salvation?" I've heard both sides of the argument, and only God truly knows a person's heart, but I can share a few thoughts. The reason there is a debate is because the Scriptures teach that salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned, but they also offer warnings about falling away. There should be a healthy tension between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. This issue should not create a spirit of division, elitism, or theological superiority.
One school of thought suggests that salvation cannot be lost, as in losing your car keys, but that it can be left, as in walking away from it. This may be why Jesus spoke of the man who said in his heart "my master delays His coming; therefore, I will turn from living a godly life". When the master returned unexpectedly, the servant was banished because he chose to turn from what he knew to be right.
In another passage, Jesus said, "You have left your first love," when speaking to the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:4). James 5:19-20 adds, if anyone wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, a soul is saved from death. If anything, these Scriptures, and many more, reinforce the fact that we have certain responsibilities.
We should never turn from what we know to be right. Jesus encouraged His followers to be watchful, prepared, and ready for His return. Are we watchful? Are we prepared? Are we ready? (Read Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 21:34.) The Scriptures offer a healthy tension between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility.
The other school of thought suggests that some of those passages are dealing with people who never fully surrendered to Christ. As a result, they fell away. They heard the gospel, but never fully embraced it and turned from their sins; they only had "intellectual" knowledge of salvation. According to this view, the real question isn't, "Can a person lose their salvation" but "Was the person really saved to begin with?"
Titus 1:16 and James 2:14 both conclude that many people "say" that they know God, but deny Him by their lifestyle. I John 2:19 suggests that those who acknowledge Christ initially, but deny Him later, are not saved to begin with: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us."
When it comes to salvation, we all agree that God gets all the glory and all the credit. Salvation is His work. We are never outside of His sovereignty and control: "It is God who makes us stand firm in Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:21). I am convinced, like Paul, "that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing can separate us from God, but we should never ignore the strong warnings about turning from Him.
When we believe the gospel and repent of our sin we "are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession" (Ephesians 1:13-14). These promises are not based on anything that we do; they are based on what Christ did. John 3:36 says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." Jesus adds, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28). Again, "It is God (not us) who makes us stand firm in Christ." For this reason, I don't believe that we can lose it.
Our salvation is guaranteed based on the assurances found in Scripture, but we also must "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (cf. Philippians 2:12). My goal is to be faithful to the command to preach, witness, and proclaim while understanding that God does the drawing, saving, and sealing.
Again, I believe that there should be a healthy tension between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. This issue should not create a spirit of division, elitism, or theological superiority. At the heart of the division is Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Sadly, brother is shooting brother and sister is wounding sister. Have we forgotten how to show grace to those in the Body who we disagree with? Those who believe you can lose your salvation should not chide those who believe in eternal security - "once saved always saved" is by no means a license to sin - it's a belief in God's guarantee. But on the flip side, those who embrace eternal security should not mock those who disagree.
I can hear it now, "But what about Hebrews 6:4-6." It says, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
Based on my understanding of terms such as "enlightened," "tasted," and "shared," they are not necessarily words linked to salvation. Judas Iscariot was enlightenedhe knew a great deal. He also tasted and shared in the ministry of Christ, but we all know his fate. When he fell away, repentance was elusive. His fate was sealed. However, this verse should force all Christians to take inventory.
We all sin and fall short, but the important question to ask is what is the condition of your hearthave you truly repented and believed in Christ as your Lord and Savior, or are you trusting in false assurance? This may be why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?"
Our actions reveal a great deal about our relationship with Christ. A.W. Tozer said: "When people find that after being in the church for years they are not making much progress, they ought to examine themselves and wonder whether they have been truly converted."
Has your heart become so hard as to reject Jesus Christ? If so, you can change that today. I'm aware that I'm driving this point home, but I'd rather err on the side of speaking too much about a committed relationship with Jesus than too little. It's never too late to get back on track: "Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord (Micah 3:7). God is sovereign but man has a responsibility to repent and return.
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Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Lancaster, California, just North of Los Angeles. He just released his 7th book, Desperate for More of God. Shane's sermons, articles, books, and radio program can all be found at www.wcfav.org.
Peter says what????
You do recall they had already believed He was the Son of God....the only condition for salvation.
This certainly seems to be the catholic position as regarding their view on "mortal sins"....in terms of losing it, getting it back, losing it getting it back, etc. That must be a horrible way to live not knowing for sure if you've done something (as if possible) to lose your salvation.
But if that is the case, and if Hebrews 6 is called into play, then the answer is no.....once you've lost salvation there is no getting it back.
Our catholic friends somehow ignore that aspect of Hebrews.
However, those verses in Hebrews 6 are not aimed at the believer. They are aimed at those Jews who had not fully embraced Christianity so they do not come into play for the believer.
The security of the believer is throughout the NT....Ephesians 1:13-14 being one of the strongest positions of security for the believer.
We also have the two writings by John where he indicates he has written these things so we can know if we believe in Jesus we have eternal life.
He forgave Abraham, David, Moses and many, many, many others as attested to in Hebrews 11.
God loves us so much He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Hearts?
For me it's my HEAD!
(Or maybe it's gotten softer...)
Yes DM, good point. Again, nothing wrong with honest debate. People have honest questions. I have questions for those who believe they can lose it. How do they get salvation in the first place? How do they maintain it, if at all? How does one stop being a Christian? Does one decide, that today I am saved and I will go to Heaven, but later today, I will determine they I no longer wish to be saved, and I would rather suffer untold agony, in liquid flame for all eternity? If it is not an instant decision to choose to go to eternal Hell, is it a progression, and if do, which sin do I commit that determines the exact second that I lose my salvation? Let's say, a few months later, I decide I don't want to go to an eternal Hell with all it's many horrors, and I wish to be saved again, and go to Heaven? Can I regain my salvation again, or am I out of luck? Can I regain and lose my salvation an unlimited number of times? Is there an unlimited number of times I can do this, or only a certain number of times, before I am lost and can never get it back again? Serious problems, no?
Nor about Barnabas and John Mark after they split from Paul.
That was lengthy, and I think I lost a bit as I continued to read it. The bottom line: It sounds like you believe that salvation cannot be lost. Did I understand you correctly?
And every ONE of them thar 'others' were Catholics (to hear it told).
I didn't ask for that. I asked you to show where baptism was a seal.
>>Perhaps its your turn now. Would you please show the scripture that says scripture ALONE is the sole source of authority?<<
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
Now, if scripture isn't the only source of proof for what the apostles taught please give another infallible source that shows they taught the assumption of Mary.
Started by JESUS hisself.
Therefore it should have been PERFECT in every way (so I've been told).
True, and that may be WHY Jesus told Lazarus (the unfortunate one) that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets (all written down) to listen to.
Luke 16:31
As soon as you can show Scripture that says TRADITION is ALSO needed to get a person saved.
But while we are waiting...
In SPITE of what the Book (that Rome compiled) says?
HMMMmmm...
I'd think it would be a bit more accurate to state:
Catholics have been taught salvation is a LIFELONG process...
Yes; you MAY say it with certainty; but it certainly does NOT mean that they dis-believed it.
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