Monday, 27 October 2008
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Can You Lose Your Salvation?
Guest post by Biblerapture
I help teach a basic class in Christianity at my church. This question usually arises after a discussion on the seriousness of sin and a definition of sins of commission and sins of omission, etc. We all have done things we wish we had not done, but some of us have a more sordid past than others.... so forgiveness is tough for some.
I was always of the theological position that since Romans 6:23 says the "wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus", that we cannot 'earn' our way to heaven because it is a gift. Moreover, Ephesians 2:8,9 state: "it is by Grace you are saved through FAITH, not of works, lest anyone should boast"; so I came to the conclusion that if eternal life was truly a gift from God that we received through Faith (Trust) in Jesus Christ, then how could I lose something that was FREE?
The only thing I did was accept the free gift of eternal life and trust in what Jesus did for me on the cross. Even my Faith in Christ was from Him.
Then... I talked with someone much more mature than I. He suggested that the scripture actually supports both sides of the question, and wouldn't it be better to live your life as if you 'could lose eternity', rather than thinking you were okay and not? Now this did not mean adding works to my salvation. He meant making sure we tried to do what we believe God is telling us to do, and not taking risks with sinful choices.
What does your church or your interpretation tell you about the possibility of losing your salvation?
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Comments (85)
Personally, I think we should live that way anyway... out of gratitude to our Lord.
But if we live that way out of fear that we might lose that gift of salvation, we're not truly living our lives selflessly. We're only living our lives again in the hope that we will be "good enough" to get into heaven.
Do you really want to live your life questioning if you've lost it or not? Not sure about your salvation until you get there? Or do you want to live it in security, living your life for Christ because you're so grateful for what He did for you?
@Papillon_Mom@xanga - amen
If it was our responsibility to make sure that we got saved, then certainly we could lose our salvation. However, it's not, never was, and never will be, thanks be to God!
Jesus says, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." (John 10:28-29).
This is taught throughout the Bible: "Consequently, he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)
If Jesus saved you, then He's holding on to you, and even when you stumble, He's not going to drop you!
i've always struggled with this question about losing salvation, but in a different way. I hear both sides in which people argue that it is impossible to lose salvation because you have already accepted Christ as your savior.
I doubt that we should even be afraid of losing our salvation because the whole point is that we should strive to be so caught up with God... we wouldn't even need to worry. Its true what the other people above me have said.. since God has saved us, why would we ever turn away from Him?
i still get mixed up with all this losing/gaining salvation things. Is it possible for a person who was saved to turn back on God... or was that person really saved from the beginning?
I agree with the first comment.
I don't think it's a question of if we can lose it, but if we ever truly received it. Anyone can receive it because it is free, but the bible clear that for the believer there is both - that we have not received salvation as a result of our works, but if we have really received it, it will result in works...and that we are to constantly work out our faith with fear and trembling. If we claim to know God, and yet do not fully surrender our lives to him, we have never really known him - because if we love him, we will obey him.
I like to just look at what the Bible says and see if the topic of losing your salvation is addressed. The Apostle Paul was addressing converted Christians when he warned them to take heed "lest he fall" in 1st Corinthians 10:12. That was admonition to Christians who maybe were thinking they could do whatever they wanted to do now that they were Christians. What could they fall from if it was not the grace of God.
The Apostle Peter was addressing Christians as well when he warned them that "false prophets" would come in (into the church) and many would follow their deceitful ways according to 2nd Peter 2:1-3
Jesus even spoke of those losing their salvation when He spoke of the 4 soils in the parable of the sower. We have to remember that at least 2 of those soil types represent those who at one time believed and obeyed, but let sin take them over.
While fear of losing our soul should not be the motivation behind our love and obedience to God, the Biblical answer to the question is yes...we can lose our salvation.
Is the question of whether you can gain something the same as the question of whether you can lose it?
You can't lose your salvation. Please refer to the verses quoted by Pass_the_Aura above. If we could lose our salvation that would mean that the blood of Jesus was shed to Maybe save us. If we could lose our salvation Jesus would have to die and shed his blood over and over and over again.
Of course you can, which is why we must persevere until the end. Because we can fall from grace, as the Bible clearly says: "For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, Have moreover tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, And are fallen away: to be renewed again to penance, crucifying again to themselves the Son of God, and making him a mockery." - Hebrews VI:iv ff.
Also the parable of the man and the thousands of talents in St. Matthew XVIII is pretty clear about this as well. The "once-saved-always-saved" is about as dangerous a heresy as there ever was.
@sugartomyhoney@xanga - "If we could lose our salvation Jesus would have to die and shed his blood over and over and over again."
Why? Why couldn't we just be reconciled to him after having fallen away? The Bible says that we receive forgiveness if we confess our sins - why does Jesus have to die again to be forgiven? He doesn't.
@oeshpdog2@xanga - Well spoken, friend.
It wasn't FREE. Jesus died. That's not free. And, your faith is not from Him because He gave us FREE WILL. You have to cultivate your faith.
You can't "lose" your salvation like you lose your car keys. However, I think that we can choose to forfeit our salvation by falling away from Christ. There are simply too many warnings in scripture to deny that apostasy is impossible.
Hebrews 6:4-6 And in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
I believe our eternity is secure in that we cannot be stolen away from Jesus. However, in light of these and other scriptures that warn of apostasy, I think we can forfeit our salvation.
Dr. Ben Witherington talks about the Hebrews passage on his blog if anyone is interested, but it's fairly in-depth.
You can't lose your salvation like you lose your keys. God isn't careless. However, it is possible to choose to walk away from God's saving grace. If it weren't possible, it wouldn't be grace, but force.
@Theophilus166@xanga - You beat me to it. I agree!
@MysteriumFidei@xanga - I wasn't saying you could never sin again. Of course we all sin, we all must ask for forgiveness and if you are a believer that forgiveness is granted. What I was saying was that because you continue to sin, as we all do because we are human and not perfect, doesn't mean that you lose your salvation. God's Word doesn't say, once you believe in Christ and his sacrifice for you, you will never sin, and if you do, well, then, you lose your salvation.
@aModernBeauty@xanga - It is free to US. It cost God everything.
Preach the gospel at all times -- If necessary, use words."
Saint Francis of Assisi"actions speak louder than words"
how can you NOT define faith without actions. it is impossible.
Not even with religion.
The actions you do define who you are and what you believe its stupid to try to seperate the two
One more thought: The question of whether you can "lose your salvation" is not whether you can hold on to Jesus enough; it's whether Jesus can hold on to you enough.
Theophilus166 and RuthViola said almost exactly what I was going to say, even down to the analogy!
In an attempt to be brief: We can't "lose" our salvation, and we don't need to fear or worry that something outside of ourselves can take away our salvation or come between us and Christ (or "pluck us from His hand" as one song goes).
That said, the scripture quoted by Theophilus166 is some of the scripture that makes it clear that we can ultimately choose to no longer be His child. We can choose to walk a path that takes us so far from God that we no longer want His salvation. Yes, Christ is able to keep us from falling, but He will also allow us to make that choice. It's part of the package that comes with free will.
If we have fallen away, does that mean we weren't really saved to begin with? Only the Lord truly knows the answer to that question as it pertains to each individual. But the scripture is clear: As long as we remain in Christ we are secure, but we can still choose to walk away from Him and give up our salvation.
I also believe that there are very strong scriptures to support both sides, but my opinion is that if we are truly saved and born again, not just something we thought we experienced at a time in our life, then we cannot lose our salvation. Jesus talked about these kind of people that just have an experience and will even call Jesus Lord, and say to him about how they have prophesied in his name and done many wonderful works. And what does Jesus say to them? I NEVER knew you. He didn't say that at one time they were saved and he knew them, but that he never knew them.
@Pass_the_Aura@xanga - Support that with scripture. God does not contradict himself through His Word and since His Word says we can stumble and fall from grace...I will go with what His Word says. Jesus said..."If you love me, keep my commandments." That applies to us after we obey His plan of salvation. The inspired writers also said in Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restoresuch a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."
That is what God said on the subject...not man.
@Theophilus166@xanga - @RuthViola@xanga - totally agree with you guys.
You can't "lose" your salvation, but you can choose not to keep it... in other words, you can't lose something you already have, but you can choose not to keep it. And that's where free will comes in.
You can walk with God every day, and still at the end to reject Him. Look at Judas Iscariot - he walked closely with the Lord every day and yet at the end, he chose money over Jesus, and in the end, committed suicide. Ask yourself if Judas is in heaven right now or in hell, that'll probably answer your question about salvation.
Every one of the disciples walked with the Lord, not every day they lived sin-free. Jesus continued to teach them, so they would become more like Him - that's what this Christian life is about. We can't be perfect in a moment, but we can be holy in a moment.
It's all about choice.
"The only thing I did was accept the free gift of eternal life and trust in what Jesus did for me on the cross."
-I think you can reject the gift after you've accepted it. It's not a matter of not being good enough or doing too many bad things and consequently losing your salvation; it's about rejecting that gift. Living a life of unrepentant sin is dangerous because it can take you away from God to a place where you reject the gift.
As far as security goes, some of my beef with a "once saved, always saved" position is that you have to be good to prove to yourself that you were legitimately saved in the first place. Because those people who only seemed to have gotten saved were never truly saved in the first place one would say, you have to spend the rest of your life showing that you're not one of those people.
Ultimately, I don't think it's too big of a deal if someone holds that position, but I think it reads some things into certain passages and isn't fair with the warnings in the Bible.
If someone is soundly saved in the first place they can not lose their salvation. The Holy Spirit will keep them. The Father will discipline them and they might fall into sin but not fully and finally. They will be quick to repent like a cat falling in a mud puddle is quick to jump out because it is against its nature. Those who willfully sin will perish. The True and false conversion sermon by ray comfort really helps clear up this issue. Also google 'true and false repentance' by Charles Finney.