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 enlightened—he 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 heart—have 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.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Most texts used for OSAS pertain to believers being believers, such as Jnb. 10:27, which is not in dispute, nor should it be allowed that one who denies the faith (1Tim. 5:8) by impenitent willful sin can lay claim to having saving faith. But whether God will chasten all such to repentance "that we should not be condemned with the world," (1 Corinthians 11:32) is the issue.
The strongest text favoring that God will do so as necessary (not that this is always the purpose of chastisement) in my opinion is,
"And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." (John 6:39)
Which is usually coupled with,
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)
And which will be true, as God will glorify chosen souls, but the issue is whether all who were called will cooperate with the Father's will, or be like those who were called to the wedding feast which was prepared, but went their ways (Mt. 22:1-10) as Demas did, having loved this present world. (2Tim. 4:10)
Romans 9-11 in particular, seems to deny that such could, while other texts clearly warn believers as believers against effectively becoming unbelievers, and forfeiting what faith appropriated. Which is a faith (which God granted, having drawn the soul, opened his heart, and granted repentance) that is counted for righteousness on Christ's account, not the merit of our works, (Rm. 3:10-4:7) yet which faith effects characteristic obedience (and repentance when convicted of not doing so, as David exampled) toward the only worthy Object of saving faith (which faith God rewards, as Heb. 10:35 states, in recognition of what it effected by God's grace). By which fruit one is justified as being a believer, and in the light of which Paul knew the Thessalonians were elect, (1Ths. 1:4), while the absence of such fruit, or the contrary evidence, testifies to not, or not longer, being a believer.
And as it is a living obedient faith in the Lord Jesus that constitutes saving faith, then "when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:32) If simply believing the promise of forgiveness by faith in Christ constituted saving faith, abstract from believing in a Lord who died and rose to save us from sin and to live for Him, then damnation would not result if God did not chastise us to repentance,
The strongest texts supporting that believers, as "stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1Pt. 4:10) "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (1Pt. 1:5) can choose to deny the faith and forfeit what is obtained, begins with Galatians 5:1-4, which addresses believers who had the Holy Spirit, (Gal. 4:6) and were set free and walked in the holy liberty of the Spirit, (Gal. 5:1; cf. 2Co. 3:17) and sternly warns them that "Christ shall profit you nothing" if they submit to the Judaizers, which preached salvation by law keeping (versus faith which works to fulfil the righteousness of the law: Rm. 8:4), thus going back into bondage, and making Christ of "none effect,." being "fallen from grace" which they were in. Thus forfeiting what faith obtained, which was by God's grace.
Likewise a close examination of Hebrews makes it clear it is written to believers, exhorting them to "hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end," as only those who do so belong to the house of Christ, "lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Hebrews 3:9, 12,14), and drawing "back into perdition" in impenitent sinning, in contrast to those who do not draw back, but "believe to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:25-39).
There is nothing hypothetical about either, and which danger is corespondent to the anxiety of Paul, that the Thessalonians, which had "became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost," having "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God," (1 Thessalonians 1:6,9) had received the grace of God in vain by succumbing to temptation. Thus he says "I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain." (1 Thessalonians 3:5)
To argue such texts were written to a mixed multitude is simply untenable in context, and the only thing i think a OSAS proponent can do in response is to propose that such warning are hypothetical, leaving such warnings as being means of motivating repentance, by God's grace and credit, as He works in those He possesses. But i believe that it cannot be honestly denied that the above warnings are written to believers as believers, and warns them against departing from the living God, falling from grace, and making Christ to profit you nothing," to "become of no effect unto you," drawing "back into perdition."
He apparently knows the truth, whereas you only have unwarranted fideism in a mirage. Whatever you and/or your church have done cannot grant him justification from his Sin and sins before The God. Only his irreversible commitment to the Jesus of the Bible pursuant to regeneration in the spirit by The Word of The Holy Spirit can do that.
(1 John 3:9)
I will simply have faith in Christ. And no one can snatch me from his fingers.
Once you are adopted into Jesus Christ, you can not be un-adopted...God will drag you all the way home with you kicking and screaming if he has to...
You are born and cant be unborn.
And if you are born-again you cant be unborn-again.
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 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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.”
See ,that is not "faith" in God, that is faith in your church
No where does the scripture tell us Baptism seals anyone with the Holy Spirit.. and there is no such thing as "confirmation " in the NT
It is our faith alone in Christ for our salvation that seals us.. your son has no "seal" if he has not trusted in Christ
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,(Eph1:13)
Ephesians 1:13-14 make it clear the believer is saved as they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance.
That sums it up pretty well...
Yes.
Yes; Scripture that seems to be on BOTH sides of this 'argument' can be found.
Purty much my conclusion as well.
Well; if a person believes this; it's NOT because of something he read in the bible!
It's always a LACK OF FAITH that does them in.
Heck!
Sin ain't no FUN unless you do it WILLINGLY!
There's that DO again...
It is indeed a gift; but any gift can be rejected.
TADA!
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 Have moreover tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 And are fallen away: to be renewed again to penance, crucifying again to themselves the Son of God, and making him a mockery.
Again...context is key in understanding the word....
An understanding of how adoption was viewed in legal terms in the Roman Empire only reinforces this concept.
The one adopting the child willingly did so.
The adopted child was taken out of their prior circumstances and all old debts were cancelled.
They assumed all of the liabilities of the child.
The child took the adopted family name.
The child was entitled to receive their share of the inheritance of the family.
A witness attested to the status of the adoption.
Has not God done the same for us....even more so?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.