StarScream35
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know the true answer to this? It's hotly debated but what's the real answer. Anyone else ponders this?
Does anyone know the true answer to this? It's hotly debated but what's the real answer. Anyone else ponders this?
Great question. I do not know the answer to
this question but I have thought about it a lot and open to what anyone has anything to share. This is the scripture that I ponder about...being blotted out of the book of life...
Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels
John 3:16 : “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Hebrews 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[a] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Interesting answers and I have heard both sides of the aruguments. I'm not sure what to believe. I have read the scriptures and everything is up for interpretation. Sometimes I find myself using the once saved always saved thing as a crutch to commit sin and this is what I want to avoid doing. It's an easy place to get into especially when you feel like you are missing out on things because of being a Christian.
Interesting answers and I have heard both sides of the aruguments. I'm not sure what to believe. I have read the scriptures and everything is up for interpretation. Sometimes I find myself using the once saved always saved thing as a crutch to commit sin and this is what I want to avoid doing. It's an easy place to get into especially when you feel like you are missing out on things because of being a Christian.
Yes you can loose it. There is a doctrine "once saved always saved", but its not biblical, here are some scriptures.
Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Ezekiel 33:18
18When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
Jude:
5I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God
I Cor 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Just a few scriptures
This is truly a hot topic. What do I believe?
Once saved always saved.
Due to the fact that I did not do anything to EARN my salvation (works), then conversely I cannot do anything to UNEARN it (works) Eph 2:8-9.8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast
-Jesus traded his righteousness for my unrighteousness once and for all (for sins past, present, and future) 2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
This is truly a hot topic. What do I believe?
Once saved always saved.
Due to the fact that I did not do anything to EARN my salvation (works), then conversely I cannot do anything to UNEARN it (works) Eph 2:8-9.8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast
-Jesus traded his righteousness for my unrighteousness once and for all (for sins past, present, and future) 2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And Just as Jesus did not need to keep dying for our sins (as the priests in the OT had to continually offer sacrifices), we do not have to keep becoming saved all over again. Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God
-If we lost our salvation then God would not have made provision for us (believers) for when we do sin. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If I can lose my salvation then I live in fear that if I sin, I no longer have eternal life. So since most of us sin regularly (in thought and deed) then at any moment we may die and heaven becomes...the luck of the draw? If I fornicated then got hit by a car and died then hell is my home? No! Becuase it is not dependant on my righteous acts. When I accepted Jesus I was adopted into his family forever. Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
And we know that when we recieve salvation we also receieve the Holy Ghost. The Bible speaks of our sins grieving the holy spirit so dont think we can just sin willy nilly and get away with it.
-As far as getting saved and continuing to live in sin...Paul asked the question, do we sin because grace abounds? Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Meaning should we sin just because we know we are sealed to the day of redemption due to Gods amazing grace? No way! God forbid! Believe me, we will have consequences for the sins we commit...here on earth and in heaven (there are different rewards). And also...being fearful of losing our salvation has not made most of us stop doing the sin...God doesnt tie us to him in fear but draws us in love. He is married to the backslider Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you (Jer 3:14, KJV)
-The Word often talks about not inheriting the kingdom due to different sinful acts...
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)
This is not referring to heaven or eternal life as the kingdom of God, but to the life we live here on earth. Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
-Salvation does not equal living right (if that were the case then anyone who lived a "good" life could go to heaven and wouldnt need Jesus). Salvation is being saved from the damnation we are owed due to our sins. Not because we earned it...but simply because God is so gracious that he knew the ONLY way to guarantee our place in heaven was to let us borrow Jesus' righteousness-cause even our rightousness is as filthy rags Isaiah 64:6 and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Even our sanctification and holiness (trying to live right) is not good enough to secure salvation.
So I do not believe that one who truly believes in Jesus as savior can then lose that salvation. There is a whole heap of things we are not held accountable for once we are saved...THAT is sanctification, sinning less, perfecting our faith. But lack thereof does not mean we are no longer saved. Now I will say this...if a person continues to live a life dedicated to sin after they have confessed Christ then it is possible that they did not TRULY accept him into their hearts (did not recieve salvation in the first place). But this is something that is only known by the person and God. Becuase only He knows the heart for real for real.
I don't expect everyone to agree with that but it is what I understand the Word to say, what we have been taught in my Church, and what I truly believe based on the scriptures.
@CoilyFields - The problem with the "once saved, always saved" doctrine is that no one is truly saved yet. Check out these verses in the bible:
Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Philippians 2:12-13
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. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Obtaining salvation is all about faith. It has nothing to do with works. As long as you do not sin wilfully then you shall be saved in the end. If you do sin wilfully, then you lose your salvation because you are not relying on Christ who died on the cross for the punishment of our sins. We cannot take credit for our salvation. Our righteousness is but filthy rags.
Yes, you can lose your salvation but it is your choice to do it. Sin will separate us from God. If we choose falsehood over truth, then yes.
In society and even on this forum, we have Christians that are soo worried about how they are perceived that they won't stand up and tell people the truth.
I believe that doctrines like this are birthed out of compromise. We don't want to offend anyone with the Truth or the whole counsel of God that we come up with this "oh it's okay" doctrine.
Well I'm sorry I'm not that kind. If I am walking in error, I would want Christians to tell me the truth. If my soul is in danger, then Christians stop being scared to tell folks the truth.
Jesus told the truth and look at what they did to Him.
Paul and the other disciples told the truth and look at what happened to them.
When will we stop being so worried about us and worry about the souls of others?
He that endures to the end will be saved, Paul had to make his flesh a slave so that he would not be disqualified.
As long as we walk with Christ in accordance to the what is true concerning Him and the Word, then we are saved.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 1 Tim 4:1
Now these people were once apart of the faith, they were once saved had departed and gave into deception.
So run from that once saved always saved. We have to continue to examine ourselves, sin is deceitful.
Poohbear
This is definately where we differ (the bolded). Salvation is instant...upon belief and confession. And we sin willfully contantly, in thought and deed. That is why we have to rely on Christs' righteousness rather than our own to gurantee our eternal life.
May I ask? Is your understanding something that is taught at your church? I ask only because this is a subject that we never really discussed at my church growing up and I only learned it when I came to my present church.