That is the question. Are we saved for eternity or can we lose our salvation by slipping up somehow?
Before I suggest an opinion, maybe we should look at what the Bible has to say. (The preponderance of scripture is what we should look at. In other words, if you can only find one or two verses that seem to indicate one thing, you should allow the preponderance of scripture to override that to some degree.)
Ephesians 2:8 and 9 says: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast."
If we could work for our own salvation, why did Jesus need to die on the cross?
Romans 10:9 and 10 says: "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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Salvation happens in the heart. It is by faith. It's not a mental experience. It's what you "know" in your heart between you and God.
John 1:12 and 13 says: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
John refers here to being "born again", which is a spiritual rebirth. (I have personally experienced this rebirth, along with every other truly born again believer. Have you?) This is a work of God. We don't have any power over our own salvation except to accept it. Do we have the power to lose it?
Jesus said in John 3:3 "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
This tells us the reason why God sent His Son. He sent Him because He loves us! AND so that we can believe in Him and not perish! That was the whole purpose of the crucifixion. We should try to get a deep, deep understanding of what the crucifixion really means to us as humans on this planet. Salvation is a gift of God strictly of love and mercy which is so invaluable that nobody could ever attempt to pay the price.
No ritual, no animal sacrifice, no gold or self-punishment can earn the salvation of our souls. There is only one sacrifice that paid that price and that was the death of God's pure Son, Jesus Who suffered torture and mocking hanging on a cross with His arms outstretched to the world.
Once you have received such a marvelous gift, do you think God would take it back? Do you think you can do something so wicked to change God's mind? If you do think that, you must also think that you were somehow "worthy" to receive salvation.
And, I honestly believe that that is the trouble with many so-called Christians today. They think that their own righteousness has some kind of effect on God. What a JOKE.
Our own righteousness stinks. In fact, it's worse than our sins. Our own righteousness is sin, of course, but it's a blind sin.
John 5:24 says: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
In Romans 3:20, Paul said, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by FAITH of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
God doesn't much care who is a bigger sinner, who has the worst weakness or who is cleaner than the other guy. It really doesn't matter to God. Why not? Because we are all filthy. The only good thing about us is Jesus. It's the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sin. Nothing of ourselves.
The only thing we're supposed to be learning is how to hear from God and obey Him. (He's not going to tell you to do something evil.) Other than that, anything we do right is only because of the Spirit of God living in us. It's a wonderful thing when God is pleased to dwell in human beings so weak and sinful as ourselves.
Romans 5:8 says: "But God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
We were sinners when Christ died for us and WE STILL ARE.
Don't allow yourself to be deceived into thinking that you are not a sinner. You are. We all are. We are all sinners and some of us are sinners who are saved by grace and faith.
Salvation is not something that starts in your mind or ends in your mind. It's not something your mind can even fully comprehend because God's love is greater than our comprehension.
Salvation starts with God. It's a spiritual thing that happens in our hearts and souls. It has nothing to do with our minds. Therefore, nobody can judge another person's salvation. Take care of your own salvation.
Some people misunderstand when Paul says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." and they think that means we're supposed to somehow help God with our salvation. BAH! God doesn't need our help. Once we are saved, God has finished that part. We no longer have to worry about death or going to hell. We have eternal security.
But, some people have what I like to call "eternal insecurity". They worry that they will lose their salvation. My question to them is, "How?"
What is the one or two things that you could possibly do that would cause God to take away your salvation?
Most people immediately think, "MURDER!"
Murder is a crime in today's society. But, come to think of it, today's society makes exceptions, doesn't it? Guns are put into the hands of young men and women and they are taught how to kill, then sent off to another country to commit murder. (In my eyes, and this is my opinion; calling someone "the enemy" doesn't excuse you from being a murderer.)
I John 3:15 "... and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
There's a verse that would suggest that if you commit murder, you don't have eternal life. And it may look to some people that there is a possibility that a Christian would lose his salvation if he committed murder.
Yet, I also believe there are truly born-again Christians who become soldiers. These days they may not even know who they kill or how many are killed by their modern weapons. Do they lose their salvation every time they kill? (I think it must be a terrible, excruciating experience if a truly born-again believer ends up in a position where he must obey the order to kill someone! I'm not for killing.)
Thank God for His mercy. Some day, we will all be completely mind-blown by the extent of God's mercy!
That's what this life is all about: discovering the extent of God's love and mercy! In fact, it's the whole duty of man to believe in God. And salvation is by our belief, by our faith. And our faith is also a gift of God. So, if you don't believe you are saved, you probably aren't.
If you have the love of God dwelling in your heart, don't hide it under a bushel. Don't quench God's Spirit. He's a much bigger God than any of us can comprehend. Spread the joy, people.
That leads me to another question, ha. "If people can lose their salvation by 'committing some unforgivable sin', does that mean that born-again Christians will have to continually evangelize the world over and over, re-winning souls to the Lord of all the souls who have lost their salvation? It would be like putting water into a cup with a hole in the bottom, wouldn't it?
Like Mr. Amazing Man said, "Sometimes I just wish they'd STAY saved!"
Well, I just don't think that God is that silly that He would get us saved and then take it back on account of how naughty we are. He already knows how naughty we are. AND He knows exactly what we are going to do every minute for the rest of our lives. I mean, come on, God knows the past, present and future, doesn't He? He also knows who is going to be saved and who is NOT.
I hope you're one of the ones who is! I am! And I'm not saying that I haven't backslidden or doubted God or even pushed God away sometimes and I may do it again. I'm just saying I was born again. I'm not getting unborn. I don't even think it's possible. Not matter how hard I try to be BAD. That's how merciful God is!
