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Is it possible to fall away? There are verses about the fruitless branches which are trimmed off and burned in the fire. Are these branches christians who fell away, or people who were never saved?
Yes, it's very possible. One could have repented, journeyed for a little while, and then turned back to the world and its sins. Some might say that this person was never saved, but the Bible says:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved - Romans 10:13
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness - 1 John 1:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved - Romans 10:9
Yes, it's very possible. One could have repented, journeyed for a little while, and then turned back to the world and its sins. Some might say that this person was never saved, but the Bible says:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved - Romans 10:13
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness - 1 John 1:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved - Romans 10:9
I don't see anywhere in scripture where an individual becomes a new creation, all things have passed away and now realizes how exceedingly sinful sin is and then return to live a lifestyle of sin. I just can't believe a Christian can go back to his old ways, if that individual does then they were never saved to begin with.
Mark 4
14 The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Mark 4
14 The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
I love the parable of the sower. It explains the false converts.
This has been argued SO many times. "Once saved, always saved" is always going to be argued. I believe one can fall away and could have truly been saved before. I don't buy this "they were never saved to begin with" argument because many people, good Christian people, do fall away. It's unfortunate and it's not up to us to decide what their destiny is.
The question is....do they still have faith? Have they denied Christ? Are they just sinning? If they still have faith and believe, still believe in Jesus and trust in Him then they will come back. If one has not denied Jesus then I think they may still be saved even if they have backsliden. But I'm not sure about that....but then there's this verse:
John 10:29
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
So what does that really mean? It means that I think we should worry about our own salvation because that's all we have control over.
I love the parable of the sower. It explains the false converts.
You call them false converts, but the Word says:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation - Romans 10:9:10
If you meet this condition, then you are saved at that moment in time. You will remain saved so long as you don't commit willful sin.
You call them false converts, and some may be, but the Word says:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation - Romans 10:9:10
If you meet this condition, then you are saved at that moment in time. You will remain saved so long as you don't commit willful sin.
I agree with that. You are saved only once. The bible says we can sin for a season but we have no idea how long a season is. We all struggle with sin and our flesh but that is a wonderful sign that we are saved because the warfare is evident; the conviction is there but if a "Christian" goes back to living in sin and feels no conviction or remorse-no spiritual battle one must question were they ever saved in the first place?
Hebrews 6
4 For it is 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.
This "once saved always saved" is damnable heresy.
Yes I believe one can fall away and many of us may be able to relate to that..and have been wonderfully and lovingly welcomed home again..Much as the story of the the prodigal son teaches us..
Hebrews 6
4 For it is 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.
This "once saved always saved" is damnable heresy.
"Onced saved always saved is not heresy".....it could fall under abhorrent teaching but not heresy. The consensus in once saved always saved, the God that saves you keeps you. We don't have the power to save ourselves and we certainly don't have the power to unsave ourselves.
There is no possibility of these verses referring to losing salvation. If you use this verse to prove salvation can be lost well then you have a problem because you would have to admit that you could never get it back again.
This is about people who have been given the truth and they understand the truth and instead of getting on their knee and wailing at the cross they reject the truth thus taking the side of the people who nailed Him to that tree. They fell away from the truth not their salvation and because they fell away then salvation is unobtainable.
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