All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Losing Salvation?
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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".
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Permalink Reply by forgiven on
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King James Bible
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. -
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Bless you Linda. I pray that you are healed of whatever discomfort you are having. Through it all....never forget how much He loves you.
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Linda, if you have turned to the Lord, and handed over your sins to Him, those sins are forgotten. If God will forget your sins, why are 'you' holding yourself accountable. He already paid the price for you.....all you need is to come to Him with a sincere heart and 'Believe'. If you are ill, it is not because of your past sins, you have a new life now and all that is 'washed away'. Jesus was asked whether a man was lame because of his sins or his parents.....Jesus said it was neither, but to glorify God. (something like that; I did not look it up) Be blessed, just keep beleiving and get well. You are dearly loved.
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Hi Linda Ruth,
You have recently been on a Spiritual high....My personal experience is that after experiencing those 'high's'..a 'low' always follows.. God is still God and you are still His child. Persevere.. God will never let you go. I pray that you will not be sick any longer... Please know, sick or not, God will strengthen you...and He is using you because you have surrendered to Him. Flesh is flesh and Spirit is Spirit.. Just because you are sick in the flesh, does not mean you are sick in the Spirit. I know this sis after going through my open heart surgery. When you are sick you have the ability to shine the light of Christ far more brightly then when your health is tip top shape.. It is then that you truly know of your need for Him.
Be encouraged sis.. it is in the struggle that we are strengthened.. You are a blessing.. Take time today to count your blessings in your life.. Your beautiful family is #1--and your husband who knows the Lord.
Blessings, Carla -
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Permalink Reply by RoyW on
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Carla,
Your post to Linda is right on. Praise the Lord for this great insight.
Roy -
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Romans 8
Life through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[d] 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Paul is making a contrast between sinful man who is in enmity against God with the man who is led by the Spirit.
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.[g] And by him we cry, "Abba,[h] Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
If we live according to the sinful nature we will die. Is this referring to spiritual death or a death to the abundant life we can have through Christ.
Matthew 16
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
If we do not die to our "Life" and "self" we lose the life we can have in Christ, but if we die to this life and deny our selves then we find the abundant life.
Seek you first the kingdom of God and all else will be added to you. If not you we will be Christians who do not overcome the world and live mediocrite lives. -
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Linda Ruth,
If there is anyone in this entire world that will make heaven their home, it is you. You are absolutely perfect in His sight. Every sin you have ever committed or will ever commit is completely under His blood. He was wickedly beaten and killed that He might absolutely credit you with absolute righteousness. You are a brand new creature in Him. Some day you will throw off that old flesh that causes you to sin and never be disappointed ever again.
Linda, overcome all you can but trust Him for the rest. When you sin, rejoice in Him. When you overcome sin, rejoice in Him. He is your Savior. You cannot ever save yourself, that is why He came. He came to save you and to take you home with Him. If I have ever known anyone belonged to Him, it is you.
He is not going to set you free from your sin, He has already set you free from your sin. Your sin will no longer have any dominion over you. You are so free you are already sailing. Quit worrying about your sin. You are no longer under the bondage of sin, you are under His love, grace and mercy.
You have been born again. You are His child. This relationship with Him has absolutely nothing to do with your works. He took a few extra licks just for you. He would have done it over and over and over again for you. Yet, what He did was enough. It was complete. Your forgiveness is complete. You will never, ever again be judged for your sin. You are free.
You better get through this, young lady. I am crying and so is the Lord. He loves you so much. He literally did take all the penalty of all your sins. We have this most wonderful, beautiful Savior. His love drove Him out of the corridors of heaven, into this evil world, past the Garden when He asked if there were another way, through the courts of Caiaphas, Pilot and Herod, on the road to Calvary, and finally Calvary's hill itself. His love drove Him to endure the hours of unbelievable pain so that all your sins could be absolutely and totally forgiven. There is nothing left for you to do. It is all done for you.
You are His and He is yours. He is not the least disappointed in you. I know you disappoint yourself and so do I but He is rejoicing over you with love. He loves you just the way you are. You couldn't get any more of His love no matter how good you got.
Well, the Spirit is lifting but He came on me pretty strong. He just wants you to know that He is not worried about any of the sin you have not yet overcome. He wants you to trust Him with that and enjoy His wonderful presence.
Roy -
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Dear Amanda,
This need not be a debate.. Can it be a discussion?
Iron sharpens Iron.
In my prayer group this morning there was a discussion where not everyone agreed..but we manage to continue to love eachother, even though we don't always see things in exactly the same light.
I pray that you will see this forum as a place to discuss and not debate...That we may be unified with a common purpose, that God will be Glorified in all we say and do.
Blessings, Carla -
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Permalink Reply by Rod Askew on
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Dear Roy,
You are such a wonderful man of God.
May He bless you abundantly. (Which I know He already has).
Your words are a soothing oitment for the soul.
Good bless you and keep you close always.
In His love
Rod -
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Thank you Rod,
I just want you to know that I am praying for your family. I know God has His hand on you. I pray that your business propers and you all will be in good health. God bless you mightily.
In His love,
Roy -
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Amanda,
I know David has already mentioned this but it is extremely obvious that we only have a free will to a certain extent. If our will goes against His will, ours has to give. You will not be able to override His purpose. Of course, our will is subject to His. You may get to choose some things but the final choice is His. You are putting way too much trust in yourself. It is important to learn to trust in Him and in Him only. If we put trust in ourselves to overcome sin, we will fail. The victory that overcomes is our faith. We trust Him to do what we could never do. Fortunately for us, it is His will that all He has given to Jesus will be saved. Our trust has to be in Him and in Him alone. You cannot and must not trust in yourself. Ultimately, you will fail. In Him we have victory.
Overcoming in Him,
Roy -
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