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The Bible says that you CAN know that you have eternal life. You may not agree with it, but you cannot honestly deny that it says it.
As John wrote,
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
I agree with the apostle John. If you don't, you don't.
And the believer cannot throw away his own salvation. The Bible affirms the eternal security of the believer.
First he said "May" which is a qualifier.
It means to come to the knowledge of. OK we both agree one can know that. However it also does not mean that one IS saved based on their own feeling of it. That is why we are told.
ASV 2 Corinthians 4:4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.
OK, with all the differing beliefs an contradictory beliefs about this how do we KNOW?
Paul told us how we knew others were saved by God in the past, their works.
No works no salvation.
The verse you keep denying makes it plain.
It speaks of a dead faith.
Now in Scripture Dead means either:
Dead as in not living, thus a faith that has no life, thus no salvation. Not inactive but dead as in lifeless.
Or
Dead as in spiritually dead, separated from God. That is also a faith that does not have any life or relationship with God.They are not joined but separated from God.
Those are the only two uses of "Dead" in scripture so the verse is speaking of one or the other and scripture does not contradict scripture.
Salvation cannot be taken away from us, but it can be thrown away. God does not force us.
KJV Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Those warnings would be meaningless unless we could throw it away.
NIV James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
ASV James 2:17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.
DEAD not inactive.
ESV Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
KJV Matt 21: 28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
ASV James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
Those who feel that a faith without the works of faith saves them are deluding themselves. These warnings are given for a reason, not just to take up room.Am I saved YES. Can I throw it away, YES. Does God want me to, NO, but He will let me if I wish.You too.
Remember if you are correct, I am saved. If I am correct, you could be in trouble.
Please show ANY verse that says you cannot throw your salvation away?
The Bible says that you CAN know that you have eternal life. You may not agree with it, but you cannot honestly deny that it says it.
As John wrote,
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
I agree with the apostle John. If you don't, you don't.
And the believer cannot throw away his own salvation. The Bible affirms the eternal security of the believer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quranic Revelation
Well , I think you should test yourself to know whether you are a true Christian believer or not ?
Mark 16:17-18
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Hmmm... you do know that is one of the most disputed verses?? Verse 18 does not mean we should deliberately handle poisonous snakes as a test of faith. The example from Satan's temptation of Christ makes this clear. Satan quoted an Old Testament promise of protection and demanded that Jesus prove the truth of Scripture and His own righteousness by attempting to commit suicide. We should not try to force God to act in a certain way, and we should not deliberately ask for trouble to see what God will do.
Mark 16:18 promises protection in case of accidents. If a child of God is accidentally bitten by a serpent, he can trust God for deliverance. This harmonizes well with the rest of verse 18, which tells us we can trust God in cases of sickness or accidental poisoning. As an example, when Paul was accidentally bitten by a deadly viper, he calmly shook it off and was miraculously unharmed.
Mark 16:18 also has a spiritual application, promising the believer power over demonic powers. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible characterizes the devil as a serpent. When Jesus gave seventy of His disciples power over evil spirits, He said, "Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19). It is logical to conclude that Mark 16:18 promises both protection against the effect of snake bites and victory in battle against spiritual foes. At the same time, the promise does not instruct us to tempt God by deliberately handling snakes as a test of faith. We should not try to discredit verse 18 in order to ignore verse 17, but we should seek to understand and apply both verses to our lives.
I'm sorry, I have to disagree to a certain point. I could also be interpreting your post wrong?! I think we can figure out whether or not we are going to Heaven by looking at our lives and our walk with God and comparing it to how the Bible says we must live. I think the scripture you quoted can be taken out of context if you don't have good understanding and knowledge about the Bible. There's so much more to salvation other than "believe in the name of the Son of God". That is not the one and only way for us to know our eternal destination. God gave us scripture after scripture. And if we understand what the scripture is truly saying and we commit to a life of living according to the Bible, not just one verse, we can assume where our eternal destination will be.
Eternal life belongs to a person the moment he accepts as true the proposition that Jesus died for His sins and rose again with the result that he simply trusts in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. If you have received Christ as Savior then you can be confident that you have eternal life which can never be taken away from you.
Salvation or deliverance includes;
1.) The fact that you are eternally saved from the penalty of sin which is separation from God, ultimately in the lake of fire, the moment you simply trust in Jesus Christ. The moment you receive Christ as Savior you are imputed with the righteousness of God and declared justified (Romans 3:22; 5:1), you are positionally sanctified (Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 6:11), you are identified with Christ in His death and therefore will live with Christ as both Romans 6:8 and 2 Tim. 2:11 state. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit unto or for the day of redemption which is another guarantee of your eternal security (Ephesians 4:30). These and other things result from simply having trusted in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
2.) You are saved or delivered from the power of sin in your life through the process of Experiential sanctification (1 Thess. 4:1-8; 1 Pet. 1:14-16). This is the ongoing process of being sanctified through spiritual growth and requires commitment on your part. This is different from your positional sanctification by which you are positionally and permanently placed into union with Jesus Christ.
The reason why so many people think you can lose your salvation and that you must work for your salvation is because they don't understand the difference between the above two categories of 'salvation' or deliverance. The first refers to the believer's eternal salvation which belongs to all who have simply believed on Christ, and the second refers to the believer's deliverance from the power of sin during his time on this earth after having believed on Christ. Being delivered from the power of sin does not mean that you won't sin, because you surely will sin. But IF you are growing spiritually you will sin less. Most believer's however do not grow up spiritually and do not become experientially sanctified. However, they still have eternal life.
3.) You are saved or delivered from the presence of sin at the point of physical death, and when in the future you receive your resurrection body you will be ultimately sanctified (Rom. 8:23-29; 1 Cor. 15:35-54; Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2).
Commitment is not a requirement for eternal life. It is if you are to grow up spiritually, but not to receive the free gift of eternal life. And eternal life is free.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." . . . 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
Both Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit say that eternal life is a free gift. And if you can understand that a free gift does not require commitment on your part in order to receive the free gift then you can understand that eternal life does not require commitment on your part. While growing up spiritually requires commitment on your part, receiving eternal life does not.
Eternal life is offered by God only as a free gift by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. You cannot earn it or deserve it based on works and commitment on your part.
The believer can be confident that he has eternal life and that he cannot lose it because the Word of God says that he can be confident of that.
Hmmm... you do know that is one of the most disputed verses?? Verse 18 does not mean we should deliberately handle poisonous snakes as a test of faith. The example from Satan's temptation of Christ makes this clear. Satan quoted an Old Testament promise of protection and demanded that Jesus prove the truth of Scripture and His own righteousness by attempting to commit suicide. We should not try to force God to act in a certain way, and we should not deliberately ask for trouble to see what God will do.
Mark 16:18 promises protection in case of accidents. If a child of God is accidentally bitten by a serpent, he can trust God for deliverance. This harmonizes well with the rest of verse 18, which tells us we can trust God in cases of sickness or accidental poisoning. As an example, when Paul was accidentally bitten by a deadly viper, he calmly shook it off and was miraculously unharmed.
Mark 16:18 also has a spiritual application, promising the believer power over demonic powers. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible characterizes the devil as a serpent. When Jesus gave seventy of His disciples power over evil spirits, He said, "Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19). It is logical to conclude that Mark 16:18 promises both protection against the effect of snake bites and victory in battle against spiritual foes. At the same time, the promise does not instruct us to tempt God by deliberately handling snakes as a test of faith. We should not try to discredit verse 18 in order to ignore verse 17, but we should seek to understand and apply both verses to our lives.
Oh, for crying out loud. Just read post #29 which I just now posted. You will either understand it or you won't.
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