An interesting debate rears its ugly head sporadically in our congregation and it disturbs me on many levels. We have debated that there is a possibility that one could loose their salvation. Now, don’t run from the room with your arms above your head in a panic!!
I believe, right up front, that you cannot loose your salvation. If you have made a true confession of sin and asked for forgiveness and asked Christ to live in your heart, you are saved! I don’t see anywhere in the Scriptures where it states that Jesus died on the cross for us but….
In John 3:16, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes on Him will not die but have eternal life.” No stipulations there.
John 6:40 “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life.”
John 6:47 “I tell you the truth, he who believes has eternal life.”
John 8:12 “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:34-36 “Jesus replied ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” Meaning that if you believe that Jesus can make you feel free and have hope about life and your future, you will be a member of the family of God and a member of the family is always a member of the family. No matter what you say or do, you are always a member of your earthly family. We get one mother and one father and they are ours for life.
John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
If the power of salvation were so feeble, it would not be strong enough to sanctify (or set apart) an unsaved spouse and make children of a Christian parent ‘holy’ by association. I Corinthians 7:14
Romans 10:9-14 Confess and believe and you are saved. Simple and yet so very powerful!
I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. Many of us have continued to make mistakes after we became Christians and some of our mistakes (sins) are big. Sometimes it can be hard to stay where we want to be and doing what we want to be doing because Satan has always been really good at convincing us otherwise. Paul talked about this and it is a comfort to me that even Paul had trouble with this. It doesn’t give us license to do wrong, but we have to be real about it and know that being saved doesn’t make us perfect or set us up on a pedestal where nothing can get to us. We just have the power within us to quantify our earthly life and guarantee our eternal destination. We have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us, as Christians, and to help us and even to pray for us when we cannot pray ourselves. (Romans 8:26-27)
So I encourage you to dwell on the joy and peace inside your heart that is a wonderful treasure and seek out ways to share it with those around you rather than dwelling on the legalities that humans tend to cloud a picture with. You have a strength inside you that parted the Red Sea, if you have believed in Jesus! What more power could you ask for and how much stronger a staying power could we ask for.
I believe, right up front, that you cannot loose your salvation. If you have made a true confession of sin and asked for forgiveness and asked Christ to live in your heart, you are saved! I don’t see anywhere in the Scriptures where it states that Jesus died on the cross for us but….
In John 3:16, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes on Him will not die but have eternal life.” No stipulations there.
John 6:40 “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life.”
John 6:47 “I tell you the truth, he who believes has eternal life.”
John 8:12 “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:34-36 “Jesus replied ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” Meaning that if you believe that Jesus can make you feel free and have hope about life and your future, you will be a member of the family of God and a member of the family is always a member of the family. No matter what you say or do, you are always a member of your earthly family. We get one mother and one father and they are ours for life.
John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
If the power of salvation were so feeble, it would not be strong enough to sanctify (or set apart) an unsaved spouse and make children of a Christian parent ‘holy’ by association. I Corinthians 7:14
Romans 10:9-14 Confess and believe and you are saved. Simple and yet so very powerful!
I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. Many of us have continued to make mistakes after we became Christians and some of our mistakes (sins) are big. Sometimes it can be hard to stay where we want to be and doing what we want to be doing because Satan has always been really good at convincing us otherwise. Paul talked about this and it is a comfort to me that even Paul had trouble with this. It doesn’t give us license to do wrong, but we have to be real about it and know that being saved doesn’t make us perfect or set us up on a pedestal where nothing can get to us. We just have the power within us to quantify our earthly life and guarantee our eternal destination. We have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us, as Christians, and to help us and even to pray for us when we cannot pray ourselves. (Romans 8:26-27)
So I encourage you to dwell on the joy and peace inside your heart that is a wonderful treasure and seek out ways to share it with those around you rather than dwelling on the legalities that humans tend to cloud a picture with. You have a strength inside you that parted the Red Sea, if you have believed in Jesus! What more power could you ask for and how much stronger a staying power could we ask for.
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