I believe in Christ. I have been a Christian since July 31, 2002 - almost seven years. But I've always wondered about my eternal security. If I were to die tomorrow, would I really end up in heaven or would I end up in hell? I'm not one to believe that it's possible to lose your salvation. I believe that once you have prayed the salvation prayer and mean it, you are saved.
My problem is this: I am a former self-proclaimed Hindu. Many years ago, at the age of nine, was my initial "acceptance" of Christ. As the years passed, it became more and more obvious that my early "conversion" hadn't been real. I eventually got into Hinduism, really getting into it in about 2000 or so.
Then in 2002, I went to a week-long Christian church camp. Even though I considered myself to be Hindu, I never went to the Hindu temple to make sacrifices or pray or anything like that. Instead, I still hung around the Christian church - even though I hated Christians. So either way, through attending Christian services, I ended up going to Bible camp for a week.
During that week of camp, I attended a class called "Anything Goes" which was a question-and-answer thing. One of my questions was "If you believe in God, but decide you no longer believe, do you still go to heaven?" Long story short, that question was pulled from the hat one night during class. I understood his basic answer to be no, and that even if you return to God and choose to believe again, you're still not saved. It won't do you any good to accept Christ a second time, as you will be rejected.
I remember finding one of my friends in the chapel sanctuary after class and telling her what I had been told, saying that I might as well continue to be a Hindu because accepting Christ a second time wouldn't do me any good.
I ended up accepting Christ a month after camp. But either way, this issue still haunts me seven years later. Anyone have any answers?
Comments (67)
haha, no one really knows. Everyone seems to interpret the bible in their own way so go ahead and do so yourself.
The Bible says - If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. If you confess your sins God is faithfull and just to forgive and cleanes from all unrighteousness - I know from experience a person can have more than one conversion experience. It sounds like you were saved but just lost your faith for a while. I don't think you lost your salvation and I think you got your faith back again. The same thing pretty much happened to me. Keep Believing what the Bible has to say untill you are absolutley sure you are saved if you have any doubts.
If you realize your initial "conversion" wasn't real, there should be no fear now, regardless of whether "eternal security" is true.
I have found "eternal security" to be overused by Chrisitans who want to justify immoral living, or general apathy, so that it takes some of the responsibility for godly living away.
I personally believe that Hebrews 6 and 10 speak strongly against the idea of "once saved, always saved."
From Hebrews 10:
26For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Based on that description, I would say that one who completely rejects his faith, and remains in rebellion at the moment of death has effectively "lost" or more appropriately "rejected" his salvation.
If, however, as you say, your initial conversion was not real, and you hadn't actually accepted Christ, you could hardly have profaned the blood of the covenant by which you were sanctified - if you had never been sanctified.
Take heart - and trust God. Don't put your faith in the doctrines of man, but in the faithfulness of God.
-- Dave
I think that person who answered the question did a great harm.
As long as there is life in your body, you have hope for salvation. God is merciful above all else. Jesus died just so that you could say, "God, I trust you, and I know that I am going to be with you after I pass from this life."
That's for anybody. The salvation Jesus offers is for anybody.
Even if you abuse it all your life, but are one day, later in your years completely convicted, and completely sorrowful, and completely honest, God will hear your prayer. God never gives up on you. Don't you give up on God.
Be blessed sister :)
Christian doctrine holds that to be saved one must be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Baptism imprints the soul with an indelible mark. This mark of salvation is the New Covenant. It cannot be revoked.
God will always take us back.
But just saying "I believe," is not enough. One must repent of her sins and be baptized in order to be saved.
@merely_a_christian@xanga - I agree. All the apostasy warnings in scripture don't make any sense if you're saved the moment you decide to trust Jesus and there's nothing you can do to lose it. That's not to say salvation is by works; rather, it's a free gift that can be accepted and then rejected later on.
@brownize221@xanga - I'm sorry if my response caused any harm, but I don't see any harm in quoting scripture that is relevant to the question.
It may not be an easy thing to accept, but it's right there in black and white. Besides, this was meant as encouragement with a warning - God felt the need to warn us about "falling away" (see Hebrews 6), and all scripture is "profitable for doctrine and reproof."
It's easy to disregard the parts of scripture that we see as "hurtful" or undesirable, but they're there, and they're useful for us in real life, as well as in theological discussions.
no one can answer this. no one here can say whether you really "repented" or "believed" or any of those deeply personal things. its all speculation thats why you shouldnt listen to people who try and tell you whether you are going to heaven or not. trust the divine. you know your soul better than anyone on earth so trust in your heart and instincts. do you know the spiritual? do you know love? ultimately do you know god? only you know. holy texts can be manipulated and interpreted differently. only you know your soul
I think for all the loving, saving bullshit those sorts of hypocrites say, this is the worst.
Your relationship with your religion is your own. Plus, I'm not of the frame of mind that people should follow any religion without questioning the fundamental beliefs. You're questioning the religion, but not in the way I personally like to do. I wouldn't question whether I'm saved or not; I'd question if I'd follow a religion that told me I wasn't when I had reestablished my relationship with whatever they believed in.
Personally, I'd say you're "saved". Earth is a test run for the afterlife, to prove what you can and can't do. I think God would like it if people left and came back to Him, like in your case, than not. You have ultimately decided that you do believe in Him, that you do like Him better than another religion, and that you "submit yourself to Him" (whatever that means. I hear other people use it and figured it'd look good here. Personally, I'm not a fan of submitting to a god that I believe is fundamentally equal to us).
I think you're in the clear, at least for that. You may have other things He doesn't like and may toss you in the rubbish pile for, but not that.
Also, what about "born again Christians" and those crazy re-do virgins?
whether Christian or Hindu the key is to have a lot of love and compassion for everything and everyone in your heart.
Jesus said that the one who comes to Him He will in no wise cast out. If you've truly come to Him with a sincere heart of belief, in you are no longer trusting in anything else to save you but His blood, then you are saved.
John said, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." We can KNOW. I John 5:13. I would encourage you to read through I John. The book is full of tests to see whether we are truly saved, e.g.-what do we believe about God? how do we treat the brethren? how do we view our sin? It's a book of assurance.
Also read through the book of Hebrews. I admit there are some troubling passages in there regarding eternal security there as @merely_a_christian@xanga said (at the end of Heb. 6 we read about Christ being the sure and steadfast
anchor in the veil, the forerunner. At the end of Heb. 10 we read the
phrase we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed). We have to remember that we were not saved by our works in the first place and we are not kept by our works either. As you look into Hebrews, you will see the wonderful work of Christ to save to the uttermost.
Rom. 8:1: Paul can say w/ assurance: there is now therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Ever.
Rom. 8:29-30: For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Our salvation is all of God from beginning to end. It is all to His praise, honor and glory!
If you have true genuine faith that Jesus is the Son of God, died for your sins on the cross, and rose again the 3rd day, then you are saved and will go to heaven. If your faith is genuine, you will trust God as he leads you in his will.
Part of what makes faith real is enduring to the end. Along the way, Believers backslide into a lot of things. Whether hinduism, drugs, that no-good-for-you ex girl/boy friend, whatever. Any sin can be forgiven, except not being willing to be forgiven (blasphomy against the Holy Ghost: rejecting Christ when the Holy Ghost is trying to get you to receive him).
In you're case, you started as a Christian, backslid into something else, then returned to Christ (obeying the Holy Ghost). If you're faith is true (as it appears to be) you will endure in the faith till the end. Yes, you will sin every day until the end, but in Christ it is forgiven.
That's it. You're saved. It's not as complicated as people sometimes make it out to be.
I find the once saved, always saved idea amusing. People say that they can be certain that they are saved, though many people who once thought that they were in that group ended up walking away (and it's claimed that they were never really saved in the first place). This leaves people having to live a life that proves they are genuinely saved.
If someone starts to follow God, lapses, and comes back, I think God is game. If you want me to elaborate, send me a message and I'll do so.
We're only human. God knows we make the wrong choices and we get confused. You came back, so that's what matters.
@LoBornlite@xanga - What about someone who believes but doesn't have a chance to be baptized prior to death? You are espousing and preaching a very dangerous--AND FALSE--doctrine! Be careful.
If you fall away from God and go astray he will always take you back if you ask his forgiveness and genuinely believe in him. Zechariah 1:3, "Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty." Jesus tells several parables of the lost. Have you read the parable of the prodigal son? He went astray from his father but his father accepted him back with loving arms. It's a parable that describes God. He is always longing for the 'lost' to return to him. He loves you and will always welcome you back - and there will be much rejoicing in heaven when you do.
-Heidi
@JosephParsons@xanga - He got it right. stillooking2find.xanga.com is also right. The thieves on the cross did not get to be baptized. Yet Jesus told one he would be with Him in paradise.
The only unforgivable sin is total rejection of the Holy Spirit. That is not permanent either; if you decide to repent, embrace, and accept the Holy Spirit and the gift of salvation aftr rejecting it, that door is ALWAYS open to you.
IMO, no one knows the true condition of our hearts and souls but God.
If you know deep in your heart of hearts that you are a Child of the King, then you are. But that is between you are God.
Don't let anyone ANYONE make you question your place in the kingdom.
Seek confirmation from God, not from man.
Are the fruits of your conversion evident? If so, what are they?
All who are of the Spirit bear the fruit of the Spirit.
Do you prepare the ground of your heart for the sowing of the seed? If not, you'll be lacking in mature fruit.
Although I believe that God has brought me into His fold, and adopted me by the spirit of adoption, I still pray for His salvation. -- it's a continual process, a continual walk with God, a continual seeking of Him.
Remember - sinners are the only ones who receive salvation. :o) That's fortunate for me, because I'm a sinner. Remember too that the Christians which Paul wrote to were pagans, idolaters, homosexuals, and fornicators, but he reminds them:
And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Good and upright is the LORD,
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. ---Psalm 25
Remember that repentance is not just turning away from sin - it's turning toward God.
And remember, endurance is the mark of the true Christian - "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed." (John 8:31)
He is your life, and the length of your days.
I was in the exact same position as you except I was a self-proclaimed Wiccan.
After being a Wiccan for several years, I converted back to Christianity. I believe that if you accept Jesus for the second or seventieth time, you are accepted as a Christian.
@stillooking2find@xanga - What about someone who believes but doesn't have a chance to be baptized prior to death? You are espousing and preaching a very dangerous--AND FALSE--doctrine! Be careful.
Catholic doctrine that answers your question is as follows:
1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.
1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery." Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.
The doctrines of the Catholic Church have Christ's mercy and compassion at heart.
what a weird thing to tell you. i've never heard anyone say that, ever, and i've heard some pretty weird doctrinal statements. i personally would say that's bunk.
Friend, Salvation comes from faith in God.
A child can be raised in any faith, believe in that tradition, after all we are raised in the faiths of our family.. God will not send a man to hell, just because he didn't know of any other avenue to God. Forget about religious dogma.. God is not bound by the laws of the church, and If your belief in god is solid and true then heavens doors are open to you.. even if your raised a buddest, a hindu, or a person from the deep jungles of south american that has never heard the name of christ, or of God. Living upright, doing what is right in the eyes of god..