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To piggy-back on Mike555's post, there are so MANY scriptures that promise 'Eternal Life,' It's unclear what part of "Eternal Life", some folks have such difficulty understanding.
Also, our omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The notion that God might grant someone Salvation and Eternal Life, ... only to later discover He had made a mistake and later needed to rescind the 'gift' ... is impossible.
That's true John. The very character and nature of God precludes the possibility of the believer losing his salvation. And God's plan of salvation is grace which means that it all depends on Him. All we 'do' is to accept as true the fact that Jesus died for our sins, and rose again. By recognizing that we can do absolutely nothing meritorious for our salvation, and therefore placing our trust in Jesus Christ, we receive eternal life which is stated to be a free gift. We simply receive it through faith. And once we have eternal life, it is ours forever.
I think some people are so afraid of being able to lose their salvation, perhaps because that's what their church teaches, that they simply are not able to be objective about the issue and will reject out of hand anything which threatens their belief.
Only to those who don't understand the grace of God and what the Scriptures state about the reality of the believer's eternal security.
Once a person has trusted his salvation to Jesus Christ he is saved from the penalty of sin and enters into a saving relationship with God forever. He cannot lose or walk away from his salvation. Here is the reason why.
When we believe in Christ we are entered into union with Jesus by means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in which we are identified with Jesus in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session. And Scripture tells us that having died with Christ we will also live with Him. This is a promise. It is a guarantee of the believer's eternal security.
Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4] Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5] For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6] knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7] for he who has died is freed from sin. 8] Now if (Greek 1st class condition - it is assumed to be true) we have died (aorist tense, indicative mood - denotes action that occurred in the past time) with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him (future tense),
Romans 6:3-8 tells us that believers have been baptized (the reference is to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Not to the ritual of water baptism which simply illustrates what occurs at the point of salvation) into Christ's death [v.3] and therefore identified with Christ in His death. As a result of having been united with Christ in the likeness of His death we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection [v.5]. If (and we have) died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.
The believer's position in Christ, having been identified with Him in His death and resurrection, is both the start of a new spiritual life now as well as a guarantee of a future physical resurrection in Christ. Accordingly, the believer should not let sin reign in his mortal body (Rom. 6:12). However, the way the believer lives experientially has no affect on his permanent position in Christ. He has been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection and will therefore live with Christ. He is eternally secure.
A similar passage to Romans 6:3-8 is 2 Timothy 2:11-13.
2 Tim. 2:11 It is a trustworthy statement: For if (Greek 1st class condition - it is assumed to be true) we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12] If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 13] If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Verse 11 speaks of the guarantee of the believer's eternal security. Having died with Christ (identified with Him in His death by means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit) we will live with Him.
Verse 12 speaks of the rulership privileges given to believers who endure in their Christian life. This speaks of eternal rewards. Not eternal security. The believer who comes to deny Christ will be denied rulership privileges. He will not be denied eternal life.
Verse 13 again guarantees the believer's eternal security. Even though a believer may prove to be faithless, he is a part of the body of Christ and Jesus cannot deny Himself.
Colossians 2:12-13 says the following.
Col. 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13] When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Not only will we be resurrected in the future, but as believers we have been made alive (spiritually) now. Believers have eternal life in the present.
Ephesians 2:6 tells us that the believer has been raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenlies in Him. Being seated (positionally) refers to the believer's session with Christ at the right hand of the Father. Believers are positioned spiritually in heaven, where Jesus is. Therefore, when the believer dies physically his soul and spirit will be Christ in heaven.
Eph. 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6] and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7] so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
We cannot work for our salvation. It is a free gift. Eternal life is by grace through faith and not by works. Since you can do nothing to earn eternal life, you can do nothing to lose it, including walking away from it.
Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9] not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Works should result in the believer's life, but they are not the means of receiving eternal life.
Sin is not an issue since Jesus already paid the penalty for all of our sins on the cross.
1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Hebrews 10:10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11] And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12] But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
Therefore we cannot be condemned for our sins. Sin can result in discipline in time, and in loss of eternal rewards, but not in loss of eternal salvation.
Believers who choose to live in sin may not inherit the kingdom which speaks of rulership privileges and other rewards in the kingdom, but he will inhabit the kingdom.
It is by grace through faith that the believer has been saved and is eternally saved. Not through any effort on our part. Even the believer who becomes faithless is saved as shown by 2 Timothy 2:13.
Of course, I realize that none of what I said above will make any difference to most of those who think that eternal life can be lost. Many won't even make the effort to try and understand it. They will simply react to it. But perhaps it will get through to someone.
Notice that most of the quotes are not by the son of man whom he claims for his saviour. Jesus specifically said to remain in His word.
John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 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,a is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.†(John 10:27-30)
However, I don't agree with the doctrine personally and believe that salvation is a road, not a lightswitch.
They forget it does not say you can't jump out of His hand. God is known to be very openhanded.
Notice that most of the quotes are not by the son of man whom he claims for his saviour. Jesus specifically said to remain in His word.
John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
He also gets the verses wrong.
2 Timothy 2:12-13 12 if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us: 13 if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.
God will save those who are faithful and not those who deny Him, which one can hardly do (in context) unless they knew Him. He keeps His word, which is:
So what do we have to do to lose our salvation? Can you tell me? Make sure you cite chapter and verse.
2 Timothy 2:12-13 12 if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us: 13 if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.
So what do we have to do to lose our salvation? Can you tell me? Make sure you cite chapter and verse.
John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
John 6:53,54
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;
he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
Now explain how that says we can lose salvation?
Quote:
John 6:53,54
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;
he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
OK? and? How does that state we can lose salvation?
2 Timothy 2:12-13 12 if we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us: 13 if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.
How do we endure? How do you deny him? Does it mean once? Twice? Three?
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