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I am just curious as to what people think about the doctrine of "eternal security". If a person has professed his belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and publicly acknowledged such through the ritual of baptism is he always and forever assured of salvation or can he lose his salvation? If he can lose his salvation, under what circumstances can he lose it? I have seen arguments on both sides. My Bishop believed in eternal security- he says once the Holy Ghost enters the soul of a man, it will not leave that man but rather will try to guide that man on the path of the righteous.
We can't lose it. We can only have it removed from us. We must keep that in perspective. If we say that we can lose it then it means we must have did something to earn it in the first place which is contrary to God's Word. Now if we can have it removed from us then we never earned in the first place as it was a gift. So as long as we have the gift we have salvation. That means as long as the Holy Spirit is in our possession we are sealed to salvation.
Actually working has very little to do with keeping your salvation. Salvation is based on a continual relationship of love If the love dies the relationship dies Can anyone walk away from a relationship ??? Can anyone walk away from a marriage ??? God wont because he is faithful but people do it to each other all the time so why should it be any different in a relationship with God since He is a person/persons It ultimately has to do with loving and staying in love Love is not based on working but abiding in that love and that takes both parties.. Christ said " I will never leave you or forsake you " but that doesnt mean we couldnt forsake Him Possibly even permenantly... Peter forsook Christ but couldnt forsake Him permenantly because Peter loved Him so much Its all about abiding in the love that God has made available to us through Christ
To me salvation is just like marriage Why is the church called the bride and Jesus the groom ?? Because we are married to Christ and marriages stay together because individuals abide in love and yes that takes work at times but the abiding is in and of itself the main factor that keeps the relationship alive Love is ultimately an action of the will If a plant isnt watered it dies and so do relationships with God or anyone else To fall out of love and back into the world is what destroys the relationship/salvation..........MY 3 CENTS
You deliberately reject the sacrifice of Christ when you willfully sin after having been given the knowledge of the truth...this is apostacy.
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, their remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
Compare Heb 6:4 For it impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come;
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance: seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.
...(the warning is that if there isn't diligence in progressing, a falling off will take place, and apostasy may ensue: that if there be lukewarmness in Christian communion, apostasy may ensue.)
No, you can never loose your salvation, Jesus would never take it away.
If Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, and yet we somehow could become unsaved, that would be undoing what Jesus came to do. So He would take us straight to Heaven the moment we became saved in order to insure we didn't loose our salvation.
It salvation wasn't permanent, why introduce the concept of adoption? Wouldn't it be better to describe salvation in terms of a conditional legal contract between man and God.
No, you cannot loose your salvation, but you can loose the joy of your salvation.
OSAS is not a sound doctrine. The Bible clearly issues a stern warning to those who fall away from the faith:
Hebrews 6:
4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame
The above describes a believer, a born-again Christian! In this scenario, where a Christian falls away, does not repent of his/her rebellious condition, but remains that way...then it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.
The key words here seems to be "fall away". What does it mean to "fall away"? If it were not possible for a Christian to "fall away", then why is it mentioned in the Bible? We all know repentance and forgiveness are possible. Except...evidently...in the case of falling away...
There are certain people I have known, who, at one time, made a "prayer of salvation" in a church, then became fallen away....never coming to church again...ever...who went back to their previous old lifestyle of sin the remainder of their lives. Some of them have already died. I'm not saying they are in hell, but I wouldn't care to be in their shoes now. But the Bible scripture above isn't talking about "baby" Christians, but those who were enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, were partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the word of God, and even had some of the powers of the world to come operating in their lives! The people described clearly had time to grow in their Christian walk, but then at some point fell away. It is obvious that they were true born-again Christians, so the oft-quoted saying that they were "never truly born-again" doesn't hold water. They can be compared to a soldier in the army...who at some point turns into a traitor...fighting for the enemy...
If OSAS were true, then we could all just sit back, goof off, be slothful, and still get to heaven, regardless of unrepented sin, backsliding, rebellion, etc. We need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling ...exactly like the Bible says...lest we be found to have fallen away. We are only "OSAS" providing that we do not fall away. The reward (salvation) is to those who endure to the end...
How can you "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" if you're once saved always saved. Sounds like a lifetime of working it out. And if you can't loose your salvation, what is there to tremble in fear about?
DNick: How can you "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" if you're once saved always saved. Sounds like a lifetime of working it out. And if you can't loose your salvation, what is there to tremble in fear about?
BudinAK: If OSAS were true, then we could all just sit back, goof off, be slothful, and still get to heaven, regardless of unrepented sin, backsliding, rebellion, etc. We need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling ...exactly like the Bible says...lest we be found to have fallen away. We are only "OSAS" providing that we do not fall away. The reward (salvation) is to those who endure to the end...
You 2 are right on the money......... We work out our salvation in fear and trembling with humility not pride that we're earning or keeping something through works......... Our constantly working our salvation out it is a reflection of our appreciation for what God not only has done for us but that we desire to be with Him and obey Him.Not some sort of vain imaginative idea that we are earning something over and over to keep it in tact... Relationships are living entities and they are only kept alive through love and constant communion, communication and reciprocation without these they will die most assuredly If we neglect our relationship with God it has the possibility of dying altogether.. Where that point is, is different in each and everyones life and I dont personally really know for myself or want to find out but I think the parable of the sower and the seed along with others including the warning to the 7 churches in Revelation give us a very good idea and a very loving warning.......... I will spew you out of my mouth......... REVELATION 3 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.
Last edited by caucazhin; 11-18-2009 at 11:49 AM..
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