Posted on 05/31/2017 1:41:09 PM PDT by ealgeone
Question: "Can a Christian lose salvation?"
Answer: First, the term Christian must be defined. A “Christian” is not a person who has said a prayer or walked down an aisle or been raised in a Christian family. While each of these things can be a part of the Christian experience, they are not what makes a Christian. A Christian is a person who has fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and therefore possesses the Holy Spirit (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8–9).
So, with this definition in mind, can a Christian lose salvation? It’s a crucially important question. Perhaps the best way to answer it is to examine what the Bible says occurs at salvation and to study what losing salvation would entail:
A Christian is a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). A Christian is not simply an “improved” version of a person; a Christian is an entirely new creature. He is “in Christ.” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be destroyed.
A Christian is redeemed. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18–19). The word redeemed refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid. We were purchased at the cost of Christ’s death. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase of the individual for whom He paid with the precious blood of Christ.
A Christian is justified. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). To justify is to declare righteous. All those who receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and “un-declare” what He had previously declared. Those absolved of guilt would have to be tried again and found guilty. God would have to reverse the sentence handed down from the divine bench.
A Christian is promised eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Eternal life is the promise of spending forever in heaven with God. God promises, “Believe and you will have eternal life.” For a Christian to lose salvation, eternal life would have to be redefined. The Christian is promised to live forever. Does eternal not mean “eternal”?
A Christian is marked by God and sealed by the Spirit. “You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14). At the moment of faith, the new Christian is marked and sealed with the Spirit, who was promised to act as a deposit to guarantee the heavenly inheritance. The end result is that God’s glory is praised. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to erase the mark, withdraw the Spirit, cancel the deposit, break His promise, revoke the guarantee, keep the inheritance, forego the praise, and lessen His glory.
A Christian is guaranteed glorification. “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). According to Romans 5:1, justification is ours at the moment of faith. According to Romans 8:30, glorification comes with justification. All those whom God justifies are promised to be glorified. This promise will be fulfilled when Christians receive their perfect resurrection bodies in heaven. If a Christian can lose salvation, then Romans 8:30 is in error, because God could not guarantee glorification for all those whom He predestines, calls, and justifies.
A Christian cannot lose salvation. Most, if not all, of what the Bible says happens to us when we receive Christ would be invalidated if salvation could be lost. Salvation is the gift of God, and God’s gifts are “irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). A Christian cannot be un-newly created. The redeemed cannot be unpurchased. Eternal life cannot be temporary. God cannot renege on His Word. Scripture says that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Two common objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation concern these experiential issues: 1) What about Christians who live in a sinful, unrepentant lifestyle? 2) What about Christians who reject the faith and deny Christ? The problem with these objections is the assumption that everyone who calls himself a “Christian” has actually been born again. The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a state of continual, unrepentant sin (1 John 3:6). The Bible also says that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he was never truly a Christian (1 John 2:19). He may have been religious, he may have put on a good show, but he was never born again by the power of God. “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16). The redeemed of God belong “to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4).
Nothing can separate a child of God from the Father’s love (Romans 8:38–39). Nothing can remove a Christian from God’s hand (John 10:28–29). God guarantees eternal life and maintains the salvation He has given us. The Good Shepherd searches for the lost sheep, and, “when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (Luke 15:5–6). The lamb is found, and the Shepherd gladly bears the burden; our Lord takes full responsibility for bringing the lost one safely home.
Jude 24–25 further emphasizes the goodness and faithfulness of our Savior: “To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
Apologies for the double post. Not sure what happened there.
Why pray to a sham “deity” concocted by the mind of man? Is Jesus, the Christ, not sufficient to your desire for a Way to the Throne of God? Why devise another?
I keep wondering why Roman Catholics do so.
Supposedly.
Just a story, an unsubstantiated account.
Prove it. I asked for validation and evidence that this is so with links to support the claims and as of yet have not seen any.
The only conclusion to be reached is that they don't exist. So all that Catholic tradition is then based on is hearsay.
I realize that you have rejected His Church and teachings.
No, I have not rejected the church that is the body of Christ. I am part of it.
What I have rejected is Rome's teachings and specious claims to be the ONE TRUE CHURCH that Jesus Himself established.
There is precious little in Rome''s sordid history that gives credence to being the Bride of Christ. They certainly don't even follow the Bible they claim to have written.
Church discipline for immorality is non-existent, at least for the clergy, or rather especially for the clergy, and since they continue to give pro-abortion and pro-homosexual politicians and members communion in violation of their own claims and teachings, their teachings have proved to be nothing more than empty verbiage.
*Official teaching* is meaningless if it's not followed in practice.
Good luck, you may need it.
I don't do luck. I have Jesus and I am safe in HIS hands. I don't need anything else.
It is no personal opinion when you can watch someone bow down before a graven image.
That is a clear violation of the second commandment, for the whole world to see, no matter how Catholics want to justify the sin.
FR is hanging up something fierce these days.
It’s FReepathon time, dontcha know?
They devise another because they think they can get out of Mary what they can’t get out of God.
If they pray to Him, He won’t answer, but Mary is the tender, doting, compassionate mother, unlike the harsh, condemning, nit-picky, judgmental God they believe in.
In short, they don’t believe God or trust Him to hold to His promise to hear and answer our prayers HIMSELF.
Or, yer toast-ed, as in 🔥 😀😃😁
**How do you know if you’ve lost your salvation?**
When one makes the choice to turn their back on God, they know it.
The rich young ruler came to Jesus, wanting to know what to do to receive eternal life. The Lord asks him if he has kept the commandments, to which he replies that he has. The Lord tells him to do more. The young man went away sorrowful. Sorrowful, because he knew that he was not willing give up his way for God’s way.
When God reveals his way, choices are made.
When the long lost book of the Law was found, an already faithful (in what he knew) king Josiah, made a choice. The right choice.
Apollos was mighty in the scriptures, fervent in the Spirit, yet was shown the way of God more perfectly,....by a couple of tent makers. He made the right choice.
Paul reminded king Agrippa of the story of Jesus Christ, and that the king was surely aware of it, since it was “not done in a corner”. Paul’s witness left the king with a choice. He made the wrong choice.
As far as a true believer slipping into sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
When I was a Catholic, I was told we lost our salvation, if we committed a mortal sin, and got it back after going to confession to a priest. It's been more than 40 years since my last confession to a priest. I was always afraid the priest would retain my sins, as I really had some racy mortal sins. They never did, they just gave me more our fathers and Hail Marys, after confessing some of the more severe mortal sins.
I was probably committing 200 mortal sins a day, maybe more. I was a very bad catholic. I enjoyed committing mortal sins, because I figured I could live like hell, then just go to confession. I was just doing what came naturally: sinning. 😀😱
Not wanting to be argumentative.
Isn't committing a sin turning our back on God?
I'm talking about a person who says they're a believer in Christ in this discussion.
I agree the believer has an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.
Placemarker
Your comments: “ The Roman Catholic continues to look for a sign.
If, as Roman Catholicism claims, the elements should actually taste like real flesh and blood.
That no one has recoiled at the taste of the elements we can conclude the RCC claim is false. “
The true disciples and Catholics have faith in the words of Jesus and 2000 years of the Sacrament of the Eucharist that Jesus initiated at the Last Supper.
So you did not dispute the facts, except for taste. So you presume to tell Jesus how to do the Transubstantiation?
So you are God now! An arrogant attitude that presumes to have the knowledge of God is a pretty serious sin.
It is still your personal uninformed opinion. Even if you don’t admit it. You can’t possibly know if someone is committing a sin from a bow. You do not know their intention.
Judge yourself.
BTW...are you willing to take up the challenge regarding Mary?
If Catholics believed this they would know the Last Supper is done in memory of Him.
So you did not dispute the facts, except for taste. So you presume to tell Jesus how to do the Transubstantiation?
No. Roman Catholics are the ones who've read something into the text that isn't there. That eisegesis. It leads to bad theology as we see in the RCC belief in the Mass.
ROTFLMAO
Proving again the Roman Catholic is the first to resort to profanity.
Why? You just dispute all facts that are presented to you.
Your mind is already made up and your opinion is more important to you than the Truth.
I am more concerned that you will die on the side of the devil even if you deny it in your postings.
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