Greetings -
Scriptures are from the King James Bible.
Before I did this piece, our Lord gave me Hebrews 12:14, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" Moments, and I do mean moments, after that I sat down to do this post but first I proceeded to check to see if I had any e-mail messages. There was just one new one. What is the subject of that e-mail? "HUNGRY FOR HOLINESS"! When I saw that I was wowed because I had just got finished reading "holiness" from Hebrews 12:14. I haven't yet read the subject e-mail, as I didn't want it to influence what I will express here. But I'm in awe of how rapidly our Lord provided confirmation about the holiness matter.
Many of us have heard it expressed, "Once saved, always saved." But is that truth? If anyone has any biblical evidence to support that, please share it here.
Note: The content below is not relative to those who are newly saved - baby Christians. They truly don't know enough...
My questions:
- Are backsliders lake-of-fire bound if they don't return to the Lord before they pass from this life or if Christ returns and they have not repented? Revelation 21:8 - "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:..."
1 Corinthians 6:9, 10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
- Are carnal/lukewarm Christians lake-of-fire bound if they continue to be carnal? Revelation 3:16, "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
- Is there biblical proof to support, "once saved, always saved"?
These are the scriptures that our Lord gave me:
Hebrews 3:14
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Revelation 22:19
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,...
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.
Titus 1:16
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
John 15:22
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
Romans 1:18-20
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
The Acts 17:30
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Matthew 7:21-27
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name: and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Luke 12:47
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
James 4:17
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Matthew 24:12, 13
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall was cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Matthews 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mark 13:13
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Revelation 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
1 Corinthians 9:27
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Romans 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Hebrews 3:6
But Christ as a son over his own house: whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Note: Here is my response to one of the commenters relative to this post topic:
Greetings -
You are right that GOD is the JUDGE.
Also, I firmly beieve in the scripture in 1 Corinithians 2:15 that says, "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things,..."
I agree that we are not to attempt to determine who might or might not be saved. And I agree that we need to tend to ourselves but I also believe that there is a lot of false teaching being promoted and that people need to know the truths of the Bible.
In particular, baby Christians may inquire about whether "once saved, always saved." Yes, they can seek the Lord through prayer and His Word... When I was a baby Christian, I asked lots of questions of GOD and of His people. I got some very helpful answers, of course from GOD, but also from His people. I asked my mentor the subject question. Her answer was no, not "once saved, always saved." She gave, in essence, what is stated above Matthew 24:13, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Again, I agree that we need to tend to ourselves but I also believe that it is biblical to tend to others in the spirit of love, and as led by the Spirit of the living GOD.
I am deeply grateful that some dear saints tended to me when I was a baby Christian and beyond.
Biblical truths need to be shared because much false teaching is being spread.
Prayer:
Lord, please, I pray for us to remain steadfast in our aim to perfect holiness - 2 Corinthians 7:1. I pray that we will keep being burning lights that shine - John 5:35. Let us move in glorious holy freedom and go and glow firm with You until the end.
Please move upon carnal/lukewarm and backslidden Christians to become fervent for You - with steadfast aim to keep You, beloved Father, as FIRST LOVE.
Thank You, Lord - Amen
ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED?
ReplyDeleteGreetings -
ReplyDeleteI received the below comments, via e-mail, from Rick. He gave his permission for me to post.
On Fri, 7/29/11, Rick wrote:
What came to mind....
Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. KJV
Heb 13:5 your lives should be untainted by love for money. be content with what you have; for god himself has said, <"I will never, never let go your hand: I will never never forsake you. Weymouth
We may let go of God’s hand but he will never let go of ours.
Many get saved, accept Him as Savior, but never make Him Lord. The scripture about never knew you, I believe that this was people doing things in the name of Jesus but they never knew Him personally. Yet most likely they were unsaved, as they had no intimacy with the Lord.
Many Christians have no concept of the spirit of God and that they may get close to Him and follow Him. They walk in a form of godliness but deny the power. Many walk in the flesh and still live for self.
I think of my mom, she was saved days before she died. She had a dream that she was in Heaven walking through flowers in a white robe. She did not really know Jesus, She had no concept of walking in the Spirit. She was not around long enough to die to self. Many are in the same boat. Through ignorance or whatever, they walk as they know. Jesus said that he will never leave or forsake us. He said that he will perfect that which concerns us. If we are not careful, we will put this into works. It is by grace that we are saved, not of works, it is a gift of God. It is His doing , not ours. We must just be obedient to the Holy Spirit whether it is to change us or lead us. God does the perfecting and we just do the submitting. I do think that a backslider is one that had to make a conscious choice to turn their back on God. Though Jesus never leaves them, they leave Jesus. Let God be the judge on this one. I know the Love of God is beyond our comprehension. He knows the hearts of men and why they do what they do.
Second comment from Rick:
...I was just thinking also, that if a person really gets to know the Lord and His love, they would have a very difficult time turning their back on Him. The devil as we know gets in there and deceives. I think of the scripture:
Ho 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
have all received the knowledge?
Blessings
Rick
Thanks to you and Rick for those encouraging words. I think others give up on God because of disappointments--but we need to line up with his will not our will and surrender--I have been struggling with this for the past two years. We must be willing to say as Joyce Meryer says Lord I want to hear from you-- and Lord Please guide me. When I think about the goodness of the Lord despite my trials and how good he has been to me and will be good all the time to me all I can say is Hallelujah!
ReplyDeletePatricia
Oh, you are getting into those controversial ones, aren't you? I personally believe that if a person is saved and then walks away from the Lord and persists is walking away (only the Lord knows the time frame and heart) HE (Jesus) will allow them that choice. Having said that one pastor in Calvary Chapel (which teaches eternal security AND is full gospel - I think quite an unusual combo) said when you look at scriptures about eternal life and check out the word "eternal" in the Greek/Hebrew/ Aramaic it doesn't mean now you have it and then you don't and next month you do again. Eternal means ongoing, permanent, forever. Hum.
ReplyDeleteMy sister believes in eternal security and we spent hours and hours "discussing" this before we got smart and agreed to pray for unsaved family members instead of "discussing". There are many, many scriptures which say to me that God will allow one saved to walk away. She finds just as many which seem to say "once you are saved you will always be saved..."
Sometimes I think it is semantics. Her daughter was saved as a child. As an adult she told her grandma "no, I do not have Jesus in my heart..." She wasn't living for Him. My sis says she never really was saved to begin with. I say she was and backslid to the point of losing out. We both agree that she needs prayer and is not in a good place. Only Jesus knows the whole story.
I think sometimes it is human nature for some to want to see how close to the edge they can walk without falling off. WHY? If we love Him who died for us we should press in and get so far away from that edge - stop fence sitting and get on FIRE for our Lord so others will be drawn to Him and curious about what makes us tick.
Time is short. If the Body isn't going to be serious now then when?
Well, I could quote scriptures, but they are all in comments above, so duplication of effort is a waste. I do believe God is quite capable of keeping what I have delivered to Him.
ReplyDeleteOne of our JrHi girls asked, "What happens if I continue to sin after I accepted Christ as my savior?" Pretty much the same question, right?
I give thanks that God is the one to judge - not me nor anyone else - who is and is not saved. I remember Matthew 25:32-46. Those standing before Him had reached their own conclusions (about themselves, not the others) and some were wrong.
I believe it is wrong for us to determine who might or might not be saved. Ask them as we witness, and accept their answers. Not one of us can "make" another follow Christ, we need to tend to ourselves.
Let us be the publican in Luke 18:13, not the Pharisee in 18:11.
Greetings -
ReplyDelete@Marijo
Interesting diaglogue with you and your sister.
Truly, some answers we won't get in this life.
But you're right, we need to pray...
@Grammy Blick
You are right that GOD is the JUDGE.
Also, I firmly beieve in the scripture in 1 Corinithians 2:15 that says, "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things,..."
I agree that we are not to attempt to determine who might or might not be saved. And I agree that we need to tend to ourselves but I also believe that there is a lot of false teaching being promoted and that people need to know the truths of the Bible.
In particular, baby Christians may inquire about whether "once saved, always saved." Yes, they can seek the Lord through prayer and His Word... When I was a baby Christian, I asked lots of questions of GOD and of His people. I got some very helpful answers, of course from GOD, but also from His people. I asked my mentor the subject question. Her answer was no, not "once saved, always saved." She gave, in essence, what is stated above from Matthew 24:13, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Again, I agree that we need to tend to ourselves but I also believe that it is biblical to tend to others in the spirit of love and as led by the Spirit of the living GOD.
I am deeply grateful that some dear saints tended to me when I was a baby Christian and beyond.
Biblical truths need to be shared because much false teaching is being spread.
I don't know if I have any new thoughts to add, as much truth has already been expressed here. I do have an analogy that I have written about frequently and both my Christian and atheist readers say it provides clarity.
ReplyDeleteOne can compare salvation with a marriage relationship. It is common practice for two people to need time to get to know each other before making the commitment to marry. Once they have been legally wed, they will remain legally wed unless they choose to obtain a legal divorce.
Within marriage, some partners give more of themselves and they work on keeping the romance alive. They make time to study what the experts have written about marriage, and they may go to marriage retreats and apply what they have learned to their own relationship.
But then there are those who get married and don't work at their marriage. A marriage with no romance is dead, at least emotionally. There is the possibility of improving the relationship, but they are still married until they divorce.
It isn't quite as clear with people accepting Christ, because only God can judge whether someone has truly accepted salvation, but from our perspective, there is growth as the person falls more and more in love with Christ. For many Christians, they cannot point to a day when they answered an altar call or prayed the sinner's prayer, but they know that they have received the spirit of Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says "He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
I think that it is possible for an anointed, spirit filled Christian to get a "divorce" from God, but I believe that this is rare, and is the unforgiveable sin. Severing this bond means that this person may not come back, although with God nothing is impossible.
Hebrews 6:4-8 Says that if you know all about the faith and turn away, there is no repentance possible. Ignorance is an excuse if you want to turn back.
ReplyDelete1 Timothy 5:6 says that if a Christian widow in the church just becomes self-indulgent, she is spiritually dead even as she lives. She can still be fruitful even if just in prayer.
Greetings -
ReplyDelete@Karen
Your analogy is one of the best the I have heard or read. Thank you. It has proven helpful to me.
@Timothy
Please expound on "Ignorance is an excuse if you want to turn back." Not understanding that or the 1 Timothy 5:6. Thank you
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV)
ReplyDelete4 "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
If you have all five of those experiences of the Christian faith, you have no extenuating circumstances that might excuse your falling away. It's all over for you. But then, why would you fall away if you were that mature in the faith?
In the parable of the sown seed, There are three circumstances where a person could fall away or become unfruitful. These are lost sheep that we are to pursue, bring them back and disciple them to maturity. God is merciful to the weak.
I will never forget the day the Lord told me, "Okay, this is your final call; go west, be baptized and start following Me." That put the fear of God in me!
Hi Timothy -
ReplyDeleteI believe that I understand better now. Thank you.
Your last paragraph is interesting. It reminds me of Isaiah 55:6 - KJV, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,..."
I heard recently a testimony from a man who had grown up in a Christian home, who later became a drug addict... He stated that one day the Lord spoke to him and told him that if he did not come to HIM that day, that HE, the Lord, was not going to ask him anymore. He heeded the words from our Lord, broke down in submission to our Lord and surrendered... Now that man is a powerfully anointed minister of our Lord's.
This is one that I didn’t even want to touch, but I think God wants us to look at this very controversial issue because this question has been on the minds of believers since the beginning. This morning I couldn’t attend church so I turned on a christian television sermon. The subject matter was Galations 2; specifically Pauls reaction to certain of the trusted apostles of the gospel and their personal struggles with the gospel of grace. (Which ultimately seems to get linked with the question of whether one is saved once and for all or can one lose their salvation by default ( failure to keep the law)
ReplyDeleteGalations 2:14) (Paul rebukes Peter who is teaching the true gospel of grace but his actions are not in keeping with this, as he is compelled to practice certain of the mosaic laws in order to please certain reputable jewish converts in Jerusalem whom have been decieved by false teachers into believing that gentiles can’t be saved until they become jews first and then convert to christianity) * this rebuke could not have been easy for Paul since Peter was most likely the most famous and well known Christian of that time!
(The following passage is the most compelling to me for support of the Gospel Of Grace):
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Even Titus a gentile convert who had previously been accepted by the jewish leadership in Jerusalem was now being pressured to submit to mosaic law because of the influence of false brethren! Gal.2:3-6
Can you see the similarity in modern churches, hearing and accepting the true gospel of grace given by revelation from Jesus himself, and then in creeps doubt and judgements of men (false teachers) seeking to bring us back into bondage again?
Yes, I do believe that a person can intellectually or even emotionally accept Jesus falsly, (for reasons other than having a personal relationship with someone whom they recognize as the Son Of God.) They may feel pressured to please their family or friends, or are just scared of going to hell. They might not even repent of their sins, and may never even know whom it is they serve and why (Mathew 7) New babes in Christ should therefore be discipled for a number of months or even years until maturity is seen in their faith and recognized in their own hearts.
I also believe that our free will is not taken away once we become believers; so if at some point we should decide to deny the Lord who bought us, declaring ourselves no longer a Christian, God recognizes our wish to be removed from the book of life at that point. ( although inconcievable to me)
Hi Never Forsaken -
ReplyDeleteYou made some quite interesting and helpful points. Thank you. In particular, I appreciate this that you expressed, "New babes in Christ should therefore be discipled for a number of months or even years until maturity is seen in their faith and recognized in their own hearts."
I wanted to clarify in my above reference to Titus in Gal.2:3 Titus Did NOT submit to the pressures from the jerusalem church to be circumsised. He did not even consider it, so as to preserve the true gospel of grace.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I admire your tenacity in handle those questions hard to answer questions. Enjoyed reading everyone's response. Have a blessed week!
ReplyDeleteSandra, you have certainly been hitting the *hot topics* lately! I really don't have too much to add here - but I was just so fascinated by your post, and the discussion in the comments that followed.
ReplyDeleteI especially appreciated what Rick had to say.
In the end, God knows each and every heart on an individual basis. And He is the ultimate Judge.
We do best by committing ourselves to mature and grow in our own personal walk of faith - and to make reaching the lost, the back-sliders, the carnal ones FOR HIS SAKE a very high priority!
GOD BLESS!
Greetings -
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your helpful comments.
I learned from much that was expressed.
Very good blog post. I have never thought of it quite this way. I always thought if someone fell away, or became lukewarm that they weren't Christian to begin with, until I became one of the lukewarm. I know for a fact that I was Christian before, and I turned back to Him after. I wonder sometimes what would have happened to me if I had died during my lukewarm days, but then I'd rather put the past in the past, and look forward to many good years of being on fire for the Lord.
ReplyDeleteGreetings -
ReplyDeleteI received this, via e-mail, from Rick (he gave his permission for me to post here):
Hi Sandra
Was reading the comments on your blog. if so choose, you may post this addition from me concerning Once saved Always saved. I know very lengthy so do as you feel led. Thanks
Rick
Post comments:
Hi Sandra
I have really enjoyed the discourse on this subject. What Julie Reynolds said was an interesting observation. I more and more tend to believe that because we have an enemy that we all must deal with in our lives, that we cannot judge a book by the cover. A person may not look saved. Yet we must remember that the devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Just because a person got saved, does not mean that they are delivered yet. I have to relate the experience that I had with an alcoholic boy of fifteen, called Donald. It was truly an eye opener to me at the time. Short version is that he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He became total love for 3 hours. I had never felt nor seen such love from any Christian in my life. The problem I saw was that after 3 hours he became the old Donald. All the love and beautiful change that I had seen was gone. I was really troubled over this so went into prayer for three days, as I had to have an answer. The Holy Spirit told me this. What you saw and experienced with Donald was the finished work. I have wanted to get into his heart for 15 years. As Donald submits to me and allows my Holy Spirit to bring the changes in him, he will become the finished result that you saw. Had I allowed him to stay where he was, he would have had an identity problem and would not have known who he was. The process of change for him has to be gradual. As he is willing and submits, he would be set free.
RICK'S COMMENTS HAD TO BE POSTED IN TWO PARTS AS BLOGGER WOULDN'T ACCEPT THE LENGTH OF IT.
ReplyDeleteHere is PART TWO of Rick's comments:
Taking this into consideration, I am sure that many times his actions would not look like he ever had met Jesus. Yet did occupy a room in Donald’s house. Yes in the house were many other rooms that Donald had yet to allow Jesus to be Lord of. God is a God of grace. He tells us that he will not allow any more than we can handle but with it will make a way of escape. That is grace. God never asks us to change without giving us His grace and ability to do it. Otherwise it becomes the works of our flesh, which according to scripture, we cannot please God in our flesh and in the flesh dwells no good thing. We cannot deliver ourselves. We can only allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin and submit to His will when he does. That is a process like Paul said I die daily.
Many people though saved have needed deliverance. They were born with demonic spirits within them for various reasons plus they have taken on more through a lack of knowledge. They would appear on the outside as never saved to most people. I know several people in this way. In their heart they may love the Lord, but the demonic clouds and overshadows what is really in the hearts of them. Any person that truly follows the lord has to admit that they have gone through some very tremendous trial and problems. They didn’t feel or act like much of a Christian. Yet, God’s grace took them through the trial and they became a little more Christ like with each struggle. That is how we change.
person may say in the midst of the trial that they no longer want the Lord. I have done it myself in some of my deepest trials. Did I really mean it? No way. God knows the heart. God’s grace is sufficient. He said that He would perfect that which concerns us. Is God a liar? No way! So no matter what we may see in another that has accepted Jesus, we must trust the Lord to do what he said that He would do. He is the Savior and deliverer. He makes all things new. He cleans up the old so the new may come in. We just partner with him. Haven’t we all said no a few times when the Lord wanted to go into a dirty room in us and clean it up? Did God tell us we would lose our salvation? He kept drawing and working on us until we became willing. Thank God that he didn’t give up on me. I gave up on Him many times, not proud of it, but is truth. Yet, even though I gave up, he always had me in the palm of His hand and kept working on and with me to become what He had called me to be. His grace will always take us through. To me to say that we lose salvation is saying that God cannot perfect us. He knew all this before we were saved. Every person is different depending on the crud that they got involved in before salvation and the demonic influence that was passed down to them from their parents. We don’t all start out a zero. Must of us start out in the negative crying out to become a zero so that then we may become a positive. He that loses his life shall find it.
Sorry for such a long reply, just came rolling out, so hope it is helpful to some. I think of this scripture pertaining to those that fear losing their salvation (fear is a spirit by the way and not from God). Salvation is not based on works, but God’s grace.
1Jo 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Blessings to all
Rick
Greetings Rick -
ReplyDeleteThank you. Your comments certainly helped.
You make some excellent and important points. In particular, I was struck by the expressions about grace. Thank GOD for His forgiveness, mercy and grace. Certainly, we all need such from Him.
You expressed, "Thank God that he didn’t give up on me. I gave up on Him many times, not proud of it, but is truth."
Truly, we all falter but we are charged NOT to allow sin to reign in us or to have dominion over us. For deliverance, we must be willing and obedient... Praise GOD for His forgiveness and longsuffering.
Yes, our righteous journeys are a process and when we choose to draw nigh to GOD, certainly He draws nigh to us. And yes, only GOD knows the fulness of our hearts and how to bring deliverance to people.
Note: Of course, baby Christians don't know enough; GOD judges that accordingly.
That said, I DO NOT believe in "once saved, always saved."
There are people who make choices to rebel against our Lord after His longsuffering for them has expired to the degress and extents that our Lord assigns... While it is a process, He expects us to obey Him at the points WHERE WE ARE (willing and obedient)in order for us to progress. We are ACCOUNTABLE for what He has told us to do, when He tells us to do it, and how He tells us to do it. Only GOD knows when His longsuffering for each individual has reached the limit.
I believe that scripture supports that.
Scriptures are from the King James Bible:
Hebrews 3:6, 14
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Revelation 22:19
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,...
I first want to comment on one of the postings about loving the Lord and not turning away from him. The disciples loved the Lord and they turned on Christ when the heat was on. Peter flat out denied the Lord. Jesus told Peter seventy seven times seven we must forgive. In fact Jesus spoke on repentance more then anybody in the new testament and he was talking to the saint. Luke 13:3. Also our inquites seperate us from God. Do born again believers back slide and walk away from the Lord, sure all the time. I would be the first to throw my hands in the air on that one. But the hold time away from my savior just about destroyed me. The conviction took such a toll. Do I think if I had not repented I could have went to hell, sure without a doubt. Jesus told us in Revelation repent and go back to the first work. He also said behold I stand at the door knocking. He was talking about the heart of the saint. 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by name. Most people who argue this want to justify sin and walking with Christ no such thing. Paul said God did not call us into uncleaness but unto holiness. Heres a good question, can a save person go to hell.
ReplyDeleteGreetings -
ReplyDelete@Julie
Glad you're back, lady of GOD. It is a pleasure to be a fellow believer with you.
@Anonymous
Indeed you made some strong meaningful points. What you expressed certainly helped me.
As for your question at the end of your comments - that's something to ponder...
What do you believe relative to that?