Murphey- I’m not going to go over all the contentious verses in te bible- I d believe we’ve had discussions on this before even- about different verses that seemed to indicate folks could lose their salvation, but which also were taken out of context, or not considered with the original Greek or Hebrew words- which is essential to understanding God’s word-
Briefly on the branches- the section is talkign about the Jews- as mentioned in my last post- it is talking aobut unsaved Jews being cast away and burned- Jews who claimed to be ‘religious’; but who never accepted Christ- It is proven by the verse you posted below which says there will be those who say “Lord Lord” who will go to hell- or be burned up- Those are hte ones Christ spoke of who when i nheaven say “Lord, have we not prophesied in your name?” and Christ says to them “Depart from Me I never knew you”
Note carefully- He said he “NEVER” knew them- in otherwords, they claimed to be Christians, but they Never accepted Him as Savior- they were CINO’s, Christians in name only- ie unsaved- always-
The bible has a great many verses to prove once saved always saved- and therefore any verses that Seem to indicate otherwise Need to be carefully read because God is infallible and can not lie- When He says that Christ will Never lose ANY of those that God gives to Him- He means just that- a Saved person can Never be lost- Ever=- otherwise God is a liar- If a person can go their whole life saved, then make commit a terrible sin and die doing so- and that person is lost- then Gold’s word is false- Man will Always sin- and even one small sin is enough for a man to lose their salvation IF it is possible ot lose salvation because All sin is grievous to God- not just ‘the big sins’ - All sin sent Christ ot the cross- not just ‘the major sins’
My bible tells me that when a person is saved, —NO— man can pluck that person out of God’s hands- and that includes the man or woman themselves- My bible tells me that —NO— soul given to Christ by God will be lost- None- The verses you cited talk about people Christ —NEVER— Knew, not even briefly- when He said Never, He meant Never- they were never saved- and that is who He was speaking to- the unsaved Jews who were ‘religious’ i n their own minds, but were infact worthless branches in need of pruning and burning-
[[And not the one the Holy Spirit has guided since the beginning.]]
You are giving an opinion and frankly a wrong opinion- My bible is full of assurance of Salvation verses-
[[Do you really think St. PAUL was intentionally speaking gibberish about “working out his salvation...”?]]
Wow- ok- just briefly- again- working out does not mean ‘working for’- it means working out the gifts which are given the CHristian - IF we have to maintain our salvation, then God’s gift of salvation is no longer a FREE gift, but an earned reward- and the bible tells us many times that salvation is never earned- it is given freely- Lest any man should boast- IF we have to maintain our own salvatio n through diligent Christian works and deeds- then we have occasion to boast that WE are keeping our own salvation, and those that don’t lose their salvation (again, making God out ot be a liar when He said NONE woudl be lost.
In John 10:28-30, Jesus says: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”)
IF we have to work for our salvation, then again- even one small sin is enough to break our relationship with God and results in al oss of salvation-
IF we have to work to keep our salvation then what are the lines for keeping it? Not committing 5 sins a day? 10? 1? 20? The man who says he is sinless is a liar- ALL sin is serious- No matter how inconsequential it may seem to someone- ALL sin separates us from God (Remember our talk about being separated but not cut off- a son can separate himself from his parents, but he is always that person’s son- no matter what- by blood- By blood we are Christ’s sons and daughters too- just in a little different manner blood-wise- But We still truly become His sons and daughters complete with all the rights of a bloodline son or daughter)
For more o nthe ‘work out your salvation’ verse- look here:
“If “once saved, always saved” is not true, then by necessity we are saved both by our faith and our works. If we can do sinful things, or not do good things (James 4:17) and lose our security, then our good deeds are a part of our salvation.”
It is simply encouraging them to ‘work out’ what is in them- ie good works, gifts of the Spirit- etc-
“”With fear and trembling” does not imply that if the people do not work out their salvation just right they can lose their salvation. It means that they should work out their salvation with reverential humility and respect for the God whom they serve. Since they are now responsible on their own, they should be careful not to offend God through disobedience. The truly reverent and humble person cares greatly what God thinks of them.”
https://www.authenticlifeidentity.com/daily-devotions/work-out-your-salvation
Note- we should always keep ourselves with fear and trembling because God is a Holy Righteous God, and it should grieve us terribly to disappoint Him- liek hte passage above states-
[[without the many cautioning damnation passages...]]
All of which when carefully scrutinized IN Context, and scrutinized by carefully reading the original words- etc- show that one is not capable of losing their salvation, but rather one should work out what is in them- not to earn or maintain their salvation, but because God has graciously saved us and we should respond with holy reverence to that fact-
Paul spoke to a couple of churches that were severely back-slidden- severely carnal, Like committing ‘really big sins’ as a way of life- He spoke to them NOT as ‘Former brothers and sisters in Christ” but as “Fellow Brothers and sisters in Christ”- They were not working to maintain their salvation, nor did Paul expect them to- He did warn them that they were in danger of chastisement if they didn’t start to obey God- and he did encourage them to remember their first love and get back to it- He spoke to them as Saved people- not as unsaved people who had lost their salvation- That fact too can not be over looked
Again- I’m not going to go over all the controversial verses in the bible- if you don’t wish to believe that Christ will never lose any of His own that are given to Him, then i don’;t know what to tell you- other than do a serious study on ‘assurances of salvation in the bible’ with commentary on the verses-
Wow.. a lot to digest...
Much to respond to..
Need a few days.. medical issues...