All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

Losing Salvation?

Description:
If you could not give up your salvation voluntarily, then once you become saved you could then go ahead and do whatever you wish. You could steal, murder, cheat, lie, never pray, reject the scriptures, lead others astray, blaspheme God from morning to night - do anything that is sinful, rebellious, and against the laws of God. And you could do all this never confessing and never repenting. To believe that "once saved, always saved" is believing that one has a "license to sin" after the person is born again."

LOSING YOUR SALVATION -http://robertwells.tripod.com/losingsalvation.html

YOU CAN'T LOSE YOUR SALVATION OR HAVE IT TAKEN AWAY BUT.......

When you were saved you turned to God. Turning to God means the you have committed your life to trusting and obeying God. In John 1:6-7 it says, "If we claim to have fellowship with Him, yet we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, purifies us from all sin."

According to this text, "If we walk in the darkness, then we do not live by the truth." If our heart is not repentant when we sin, if our attitude is one of disobedience to the Laws and Commandments of God, if we turn away from God, if we live a life of sin, if we decide the effort to lead a Godly life is not worth it, if the actions of our lives indicate that we no longer desire to be one of God's children, then we don't lose our salvation, and salvation isn't taken from us, but we through our own free will, take our salvation and give it back to God. We tell God we don't want it. We give it up!!!
Ezekiel 3:20 "If the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before them, they shall die".

If you could not give up your salvation voluntarily, then once you become saved you could then go ahead and do whatever you wish. You could steal, murder, cheat, lie, never pray, reject the scriptures, lead others astray, blaspheme God from morning to night - do anything that is sinful, rebellious, and against the laws of God. To believe that "once saved, always saved" is believing that one has a "license to sin" after the person is born again."

So ask yourself this question. What is the only way to gain eternal salvation? There are a great many verses that tell us the answer. Below are just two of them:
Ephesians 2:8-9 "By this undeserved kindness, indeed, you have been saved through faith, and this not owing to you, it is God's gift."

1Peter 1:5 "Those who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed on the last day.

God makes salvation completely available through Jesus Christ - and not only to specific individuals, but to all who will receive and believe in Jesus Christ as savior. Jesus made this very clear when he said, "Whoever believes in me would not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) The word "whoever" includes everybody. No person is excluded from the opportunity to believe and receive everlasting life.

Your relationship with God, as well as your eternal salvation are based upon faith. Faith that Jesus Christ is who, and what He says he is. And thus if you are committing those sins mentioned in the above paragraph, then you simply don't believe who Jesus is. A person practicing the above sinful actions, certainly indicates that the person no longer has any faith or belief in Jesus Christ.

In other words you can not walk in the darkness unrepentant and still hold onto your salvation. Keep in mind that repentance is much more than stopping the very act of committing those sins that you are asking forgiveness for. Repentance is actually the act of turning away from doing those sins, of not committing them anymore, of changing your life in such a way as you no longer want or desire to commit those sins. You are the one who decides whether to walk in the light or the darkness. God gave you the free will to make your own choices. If you decide to walk in the darkness then your salvation will not be taken away from you, nor will you lose your salvation. No, what you will do is give up your salvation. You will be telling God that your salvation "is not worth the effort it takes to walk in the light". That you do not wish to have his gift of eternal salvation. That you want to make it through this life on your own without any help from God. That you will follow the ways of the world rather than the ways of our Lord. So your own free will determines whether you are going to keep your salvation or give it up. God allows your eternal future to be in your own hands.

Since your own free will is what determines your eternal destiny, then it is very important to note that God will not force anyone to come to him. He is not going to get down on his knees and beg you to believe him, trust him, or accept him. Nor will he force you to love him or demand your obedience. The choice is up to each one of us whether to surrender our lives and our hearts to God or to refuse his love and his blessings. If you don't want any part of Jesus Christ then he is willing to accept that decision since it was made by you through your own free will.

Our Lord did tell us that once we are saved, once we are looking to him for everything, once we have surrendered completely to him, then no one could snatch us away from him.
John 10:28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
So you can't be snatched way, but you sure can walk away.

There are a great many examples of this in the Bible but my favorite is in the book of Mark. It has to do with the story about the time Jesus arrived by boat to a town where he met a demon possessed man who was living in a graveyard. (You can read the entire story in Mark 5:1-21, and it is a great example of people exercising their free will and possibly putting their eternal salvation in jeopardy).

The Bible mentions that this demon possessed man was unusually fierce and dangerous, so much so that the townspeople could not even use the roads in fear that they would be harmed or even killed by this demon possessed man. The demons who resided in this man recognized Jesus and even talked with Jesus, and they knew that Jesus had the power to expel them from the man. So the demons seeing a herd of pigs in the distance, told Jesus that if he was going to expel them from this man, then would Jesus allow the demons to enter into the herd of pigs. So Jesus expelled the demons and the demons left the man and entered into the pigs. Suddenly the pigs realized something was terribly wrong and every single pig rushed over the cliff to their death. The pigs evidently realized that they would rather be dead than to have those demons living within them.

Now the pig herders saw all this happening and they went to the town and told everyone all the details. Verse 17 tells of the townspeople response. "Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area." So the response of the townspeople was to tell Jesus to get out of there because they were holding Jesus responsible for the destruction of a whole herd of pigs. They were furious at Jesus because of this economic loss. All that these people could do was to scream at him because they no longer had this herd of pigs. So you can see that the people's only concern was the economic loss of the pigs.

What is really interesting is Jesus's response.
Jesus didn't try to explain to the townspeople that they no longer had to worry about this very dangerous demon possessed man. That he was no longer a threat to their safety. Nor did Jesus ask them if they wanted to know why this formerly demon possessed man was now able to sit there quietly, fully dressed, and in his right state of mind. Nor did he try to tell them that if he could expel demons from this man, then just think of the demons that he could expel from the rest of the townspeople. Neither did Jesus ask the people if they wanted to find out more about this man who could expel demons or why he even did what he did, or why he even came there in the first place. And Jesus certainly didn't argue with the people that the price of the pigs was rather small compared to their peace of mind and their eternal future. Jesus didn't even ask these people if they wanted to learn about the one who sent him. Jesus didn't do any of these things because he could see that the only thing any of these people really cared about was the economic loss of the pigs. They had their minds all made up and money was the number one thing in their lives. They exerted their free will and told Jesus to leave town and leave town now. They had exercised their free will.

Using their own free will, those people wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Their only interest was in worldly things and because of that, they told Jesus to hit the road and go some place else and kill pigs. Jesus knew exactly what was in their hearts, and that their minds were closed to anything that Jesus had to say. So what did Jesus do? Jesus simply turned around, boarded the boat and proceeded across the water and went into his own city. Without a word, he simply turned and left, and very possibly took with him their eternal salvation.

John 15:1-2 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit".

John 15:6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned".

1 Corinthians 10:12 "Therefore let him who thinks he is standing, beware, that he does not fall".

0 members like this

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carla on August 27, 2010 at 8:59am

1Cr 3:1 Dear brothers and sisters, [fn] when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. [fn]

1Cr 3:2 I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger. And you still aren't ready,

1Cr 3:3 for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord.

1Cr 3:4 When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I prefer Apollos," aren't you acting like those who are not Christians? [fn]

1Cr 3:5 Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why, we're only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

1Cr 3:6 My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow.

1Cr 3:7 The ones who do the planting or watering aren't important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow.

1Cr 3:8 The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work.

1Cr 3:9 We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God's field, God's building--not ours.

1Cr 3:10 Because of God's special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

1Cr 3:11 For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have--Jesus Christ.

1Cr 3:12 Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.

1Cr 3:13 But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value.

1Cr 3:14 If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward.

1Cr 3:15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.

1Cr 3:16 Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in [fn] you?

1Cr 3:17 God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.

1Cr 3:18 Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world's standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God's standards.

1Cr 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, "God catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness." [fn]

1Cr 3:20 And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are worthless." [fn]

1Cr 3:21 So don't take pride in following a particular leader. Everything belongs to you:

1Cr 3:22 Paul and Apollos and Peter [fn]; the whole world and life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,

1Cr 3:23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Permalink Reply by Bruce on August 28, 2010 at 4:40am

Once turned to God we are saved - however remaining righteous is a constant battle - we must stay close to God - some will sin again and need to recommit and receive forgiveness, eventually becoming totally righteous. Those that continue to sin without eventual change of behaviour are not saved and wear the consequences of their actions. God knows what is truly in our hearts and he knowws those who have not fully goven themselves to him. We therefore need not judge each other, but need to concentrate on ensuring our own salvation through faith and appropriate action

Permalink Reply by RoyW on August 28, 2010 at 6:37am

Bruce,

I respectfully disagree with this statement:

Those that continue to sin without eventual change of behaviour are not saved and wear the consequences of their actions.

I really don't think this is what you intended to convey. However, since some will read this statement knowing they have a habitual sin in their life that they have never been able to overcome, they are not saved. Neither you or I will ever overcome all the sin in our life. We will always be desperately in need of God's grace and mercy.

Some have overcome some of their sin and begin to feel pretty good about themselves. They look at others who have yet to overcome that same sin and begin to think that they should also have overcome that sin. I'm sure you agree that no matter how much of your sin you have overcome, you are no more righteous on that day than the day you were given the glorious gift of salvation.

From start to finish, our only righteousness in in Him. We never achieve any in ourselves and cannot take any credit whatsoever for even a minute part of our salvation. It is ALL because of Him.

Only through Him,
Roy

Permalink Reply by forgiven on August 28, 2010 at 10:20am

I must agree with you Roy.. Jesus paid the entire price for my sins, because It was a greater price than I/we could afford. But I also agree with Bruce's meaning....we cannot 'continue' knowingly/willingly in sin. Even though we ourselves are not 'Holy' in ourselves and our doing...God still asks us to 'be Holy' as 'I Am Holy'. We must 'abide' in Him...not 'abide' in the things of the world, the sins of our past. We 'should' change...and/or 'allow' 'Him' to change us. We are 'willing participants'. If we 'accept' Salvation....it is an 'agreement' a 'contract' more or less....we should not just put it/ our Salvation up on a shelf...or 'bury it in a napkin'...we should 'bear increase'.

Permalink Reply by RoyW on August 28, 2010 at 4:15pm

Forgiven,

I have a question for you. Let's suppose a person has a habitual sin such as overeating. Overeating results in a person being overweight. Some people really struggle with being overweight. They want to gain complete control of their appetitie but seem to continually fall off of the bandwagon. When a person goes to the cupboard to get a snack even though they don't need it, are they in danger of losing their salvation?

Please explain this contract you are talking about. I know this does not offend you since you look pretty slim. But, give me a few minutes with you and I think I could find a sin that you continually participate in. You don't want to but invariably you will have those things you just have not been able to overcome. You know when you do those things that they are wrong but you do it over and over again.

I guess I am tired of all the self-righteousness that exists in the body. People think that because they have overcome certain sins, this somehow promotes them to a position of being somewhat righteous. I am saying that you will never get there until He takes you home.

You say "We should change and/or allow Him to change us." By this I am assuming that you have made some progress which is good. However, I am pretty convinced that you still have a long way to go. You will always have to be totally dependent on His grace if you still have one small sin still residing in your life. If not and you have already overcome all sin in your life, I stand corrected. I must admit that I have a long way to go. I still have to give Him 100% of the credit for my salvation.

No one I know has put their salvation on the shelf. Some are more advanced maybe than others but they all are still needing Christ and His grace. I'm thinking you are in that same position and find yourself from time to time commiting sin that you know you shouldn't do. I hope not to offend. You may have already arrived and I am wrong in my assumptions.

Your name - just a forgiven sinner - tells me that you don't think you are above knowingly and willfully sinning. I think you better be praising our Savior for forgiving us of all our sin.

I doubt if many will agree with me here but I am guessing that if everyone would be honest they would admit they are still struggling in at least some areas of their lives.

God bless you
Roy

Permalink Reply by Bruce on August 28, 2010 at 11:39pm

Roy
i think that if someone offers an opinion in regard to sin and its continuity, it does not mean they are self righteous -

Permalink Reply by RoyW on August 29, 2010 at 10:06am

Bruce,

Forgiveness in Jesus is a most wonderful experience. We are absolutely and totally forgiven of all our sins. The only reason we are saved is because of Jesus. O, I know some people have been successful in overcoming a few of their sins, but they are still desperately dependent on Christ for their salvation. I have no problem when people talk about their sin and how they need Christ's help in overcoming their sin. The problem I have is when people start putting pressure on others telling them that they need to overcome their sin.

When you say that we need to overcome our habitual sin, I know you haven't done that, yet you are putting pressure on others to do that even to the point of indicating that they might not even be saved if they haven't done so. I contend that you have no right to tell an individual that they might not be saved just because they haven't been able to overcome some habitual sin in their life.

Jesus came to save the weak. Those who pretend they have righteousness in themselves are missing the entire point of the Gospel. I believe it is possible for a person to go through their entire lives not being able to overcome their sin and still be saved from their sin. I know that puts me in the minority on this site.

Since you have not being able to overcome your sin, why are you putting pressure on others to overcome theirs? It is time for us to quit giving ourselves praise and begin to praise Him in everything.

You are probably like me - been able to overcome some sins but unable to overcome others. If I am missing it in your case then I stand corrected. I think it is time for us to stop pretending to those who are struggling with sins that maybe we have already overcome (however, you are always still vulnerable if you are not careful) and encourage them in Christ wherever in their Christian walk they find themselves.

What do you think?

A brother in Christ,
Roy

Permalink Reply by Bruce on August 28, 2010 at 11:35pm

point taken

Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on September 1, 2010 at 3:50pm