A question has arisen several times lately so I have decided it's time to discuss it.
Question: Can I lose my salvation?
Answer:A true believer, meaning someone who is one with Christ, who has accepted Christ as Savior in faith, can not lose salvation.
Establishing that one is a true believer is important to understand because if not then of course loss of salvation does not apply one way or the other because it has not been obtained yet. These Scripture verses helped me nail down my own salvation: The whole book of 1 John is pretty clear about who is a believer and who is not and John 10 gives a good picture of Jesus as Shepherd and believers as His sheep.
Understand in 1 John when he speaks of "the one who believes does not continue to sin" he means sinning as a way of life, meaning this is the pattern. Of course we cannot judge the motives of another's heart and we do not know why someone may be sucked in by addictions and such, so read these verses in examination of your own salvation. Search your own heart and motives.
Proof from Scripture that we cannot lose our salvation: 1 John 5:18-20, John 10:25-30. Both of these passages are clear about what true salvation is and that we are secure in salvation once we receive it.
Romans 8:38-39 promises us that nothing can cause God to stop loving us once we are His children. Nothing!
Some say if we hold to the doctrine of eternal security we will be prone to "have a license to sin." However I disagree with this belief because it is obvious to me that anyone who lives under the belief that God's grace and salvation is given as a gift and is permanent, knows that we live for Him out of our love for Him. We love because He first loved us. The understanding of God's great love for me draws me into an intimate, close relationship of trust with Him. Out of this relationship flows a love that causes me to WANT to live for God, not sin because I can. It is exactly the opposite of what the followers of the doctrine that one can lose salvation describes it to be. Even the Apostle Paul had something to say about this in Romans 6:2-6. Read it.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. Please feel free to post comments or ask questions. Email me anytime at julieemoore@bellsouth.net.
Question: Can I lose my salvation?
Answer:A true believer, meaning someone who is one with Christ, who has accepted Christ as Savior in faith, can not lose salvation.
Establishing that one is a true believer is important to understand because if not then of course loss of salvation does not apply one way or the other because it has not been obtained yet. These Scripture verses helped me nail down my own salvation: The whole book of 1 John is pretty clear about who is a believer and who is not and John 10 gives a good picture of Jesus as Shepherd and believers as His sheep.
Understand in 1 John when he speaks of "the one who believes does not continue to sin" he means sinning as a way of life, meaning this is the pattern. Of course we cannot judge the motives of another's heart and we do not know why someone may be sucked in by addictions and such, so read these verses in examination of your own salvation. Search your own heart and motives.
Proof from Scripture that we cannot lose our salvation: 1 John 5:18-20, John 10:25-30. Both of these passages are clear about what true salvation is and that we are secure in salvation once we receive it.
Romans 8:38-39 promises us that nothing can cause God to stop loving us once we are His children. Nothing!
Some say if we hold to the doctrine of eternal security we will be prone to "have a license to sin." However I disagree with this belief because it is obvious to me that anyone who lives under the belief that God's grace and salvation is given as a gift and is permanent, knows that we live for Him out of our love for Him. We love because He first loved us. The understanding of God's great love for me draws me into an intimate, close relationship of trust with Him. Out of this relationship flows a love that causes me to WANT to live for God, not sin because I can. It is exactly the opposite of what the followers of the doctrine that one can lose salvation describes it to be. Even the Apostle Paul had something to say about this in Romans 6:2-6. Read it.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. Please feel free to post comments or ask questions. Email me anytime at julieemoore@bellsouth.net.
7 comments:
I am sooo thankful that I am "SIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED" meaning that NOTHING...not ONE thing I will ever do in life will cause God to stop loving me or remove my assurance into heaven. Of course, that means that it does NOT in any way give me "license" to live however I choose to...
If we truly have God in our hearts and have truly "ACCEPTED" Him as our saviour, then we should do just the opposite and CHOOSE to live our lives the way that He teaches us in His word. He has given us the BEST instruction manual we can ever have and that is HIS WORD the Bible.....Thank you Jesus for giving us your word and offering the BEST hope we can ever have or ask for!! (HEAVEN & ETERNITY with YOU!)
I agree with you totally. I know since being saved, I do still live in the flesh. I begin to think and walk in the flesh, and the difference for me now is I am pulled and drawn back to God. I can no longer live in sin day by day, sinking deeper. His Spirit is with me. He has taken me by the hand and allows me to only go a certain distance before He pulls me back to Him.
I do agree with you for the most part the average Christian cannot loose their salvation. However....one can "loose" or "give back" God gift of salvation. It's called reprobate or depraved. In Rom 1:28 Paul is talking about believers that no longer believe. They have hardened their hearts to God and His truths. These people are very few and far between because they have to to know God, His truths and His word well enough (far more than the average believer) THEN that person gives it all up. Knowing full well what he is doing.
Also, in Mark 3:29 Jesus is speaking and explaing that if ANYONE (bel or unbel) "whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has (not "had") forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." This person can never ask Jesus in their heart and have salvation later on in their life.
I do know there are more scriptures about this however not many. It's not talked about in most church's so most people would have no idea this is even in the Bible.
Can you explain what it means to "blaspheme the Holy Spirit"? I thought this was to reject the Holy Spirit. In rejecting Him an unbeliever would be saying no to salvation, so in this case He would be speaking to an unbeliever rejecting Christ. So an unbeliever cannot lose salvation since he/she did not have it in the first place. Maybe I'm not understanding "blaspheming the Holy Spirit". Also in Romans 1 I'm not sure these people were ever believers. it never mentions Christ, just that they knew there was a God because He made Himself known and they knew He existed but they chose not to glorify Him. And instead they worshipped idols. Because of this God has released His wrath on them in the way of allowing them to destroy themselves. I don't think they were ever believers.
I'm looking to find it - there's not a lot about it so it might take me a little bit. But I do believe that a Christian can choose to no longer beleive in God at any point in their lives and this action would also be called reprobate. Just as it would be called when an unbeliever with knowledge declines God's grace.
However, I don't beleive that after pentecost God showed His wrath because that's when the New Covenant came into effect and His grace came upon us. There wouldn't be anymore wrath after that.
Good points. I don't believe He shows His wrath either but if you read the verse in Romans 1:18 says "the wrath of God is being revealed..." and it goes on to says that He steps back and allows the godless and wicked to destroy themselves. He doesn't do it Himself because He doesn't have too they are self destructing. It seems to be a "kind" of wrath except He doesn't physically do it just lets human nature take its course. Tha't why I called it wrath in the previous comment.
Love discussing the Bible with you my friend.
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