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Can You Lose Your Salvation 1
When inviting people to put their trust in Jesus Christ to renew their lives now and give them eternal life, how can they know that this is a true saying? What surety do they have from God's word that they will have eternal life and that nothing can take it away from them? First of all is there anything that could cause a real Christian to lose his or her salvation? Let's have a look at why it is just not possible that an all knowing God, who knows the end from the beginning, could be so surprised by how someone he called and chose would act, that He would have to renounce his child and send him to hell! In John, Chapter 13, verse 10, we learn this from Jesus in His response to Peter when he refused to let Jesus wash his feet... Joh 13:10 Jesus told him, "Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you."
Relating this to salvation which Jesus was teaching about, we learn this..
1 Joh 2:19. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. Doesn't that tell you that your salvation is sure? You do not have to be saved over and over again! You just need to go to God and receive forgiveness for anything new to you by 'washing your feet'! So, once having accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior and received the Holy Spirit; once having been regenerated and become the new creation in Jesus Christ; and then living by HIS spirit and power according to HIS principles, nothing can snatch you from Christ's hand. Every true Christian is safe following Jesus. Rom 8:1 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Now some might still say, “What if I let down and do something really wrong?” “What if I commit a bad sin?” Well didn't you sin before? Didn't God forgive you and correct you and didn't you both move on? Do you not have the Holy Spirit to guide you and bring you to the stature, the maturity, of Jesus Christ? Look at Philippians 1:6. Writing to the saints, the apostle Paul says... Phil 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit is not going to give up on you! It's not a question of your ability or strength or your perseverance. It's a question of His! And, having begun that work in you He will perform it until Jesus Christ returns! Your character and attitude will be reformed to conform with that of Jesus Christ, day by day! But (you may have heard) isn't our acceptance of Christ only sufficient to remove past sins? Don't we have to keep going back every time you sin to be put back in good standing with God and be saved again? That's not supported by the scriptural evidence! In Hebrews the writer contrasts that Old Covenant type of thinking where new sacrifices were made continually because the offerings could not forgive sin. They only covered it for a while. On the other hand, note what he says in Heb 10:14... Heb 10:14 “For by one offering He (Jesus) hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” See how long they are perfected? It's not just till they mess up again. It's not till the next sin or the next Passover or atonement. God told us this in advance through the prophet Daniel. Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, {for Jesus} to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. And, this is confirmed in Hebrews where we are told that when Jesus Christ came into the world and offered Himself as the propitiation for our sins, the effect of His sacrifice was eternal. “He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” This is the power of the New Covenant. Otherwise you make Jesus' sacrifice of no more effectiveness than that of bulls and goats! Some may say, “Let me see this from statements made of Christ's lifetime.” For you then, let's look at John_3:16 and John 5:24. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You are in safe hands, now and forever. The fantastic thing is that we have that everlasting life starting now! Starting from conversion! It's absolutely guaranteed. This is not to say that our attitude is not always one of humble contrition for wrongs committed. We will always have a repentant attitude, wanting Christ to clean up our words, thoughts, and deeds so that we live according to HIS guide. John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” . Having received eternal life, no-one and nothing can snatch you away from God; No-one and nothing can cause a Christian to leave Jesus.
Now the scriptures do show that some can put themselve into a position
where they cannot be saved.
In Mat 12:22-32, we see it recorded for our benefit that Jesus cast
a devil out of a man that was blind and dumb, and healed him. The
Pharisees who were present were so self-willed and had their
hearts so hardened that even though they were in the presence of God
incarnate and saw Him perform a notable miracle of healing, they instead
would attribute this to the working of the devil.
The reason there was no forgiveness for this blasphemous state of
self deception was because the Spirit of God could not penetrate their
hardened hearts and convict them of their sins and of the truth.
That is why in 1Jn 5:6 we are told that there is no reason to even pray
for those who sin a sin unto death.
People who are in this state will have no concern for their soul at all
and will only scoff at the claims and works of Jesus, just like the
Pharisees who were prepared to spread abroad that Jesus was operating
under the power of Beelzebub or Satan.
But God's children are not like this. They know Jesus as Lord. And because
they accept what Jesus has done for them God will never more be angry with
them!
Isa 54:9-10 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn
that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that
I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart
and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall
My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
In John
10:27-29 we are told by Jesus...
John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal
life and they shall NEVER perish and no-one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all, and no-one can snatch them out of My Father's hand.”
As one of
Jesus's sheep you can see your character above. And notice
the things about His relationship with you – “He
knows you; He gives you eternal life; and no-one can separate you
from Him!” Both His hands and the Father's hands are
circled around you. Your eternal life cannot be safer than that!
AS A CHRISTIAN YOUR ETERNAL LIFE IS SECURE.
And THAT is a hope to share with others! Attlee. Can you lose your salvation? - 1 2 3 4 Conclusion |