There are a lot of people who will tell you that once you're saved you can never lose your salvation. A lot of people preach eternal salvation/once saved always saved/easy believism. I’m on a different page. I think, in fact, that it is possible to lose your salvation.
In John 15:1-6 Jesus says twice that whoever does not abide in Him is taken away, specifically verse 2 and 6.
In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, it indicates the servant who did nothing with the talent (or whatever other monetary unit the translation you're reading uses) he was given was cast into outer darkness, which means he is not in heaven.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says not everyone who says to Him "Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven except he who does the will of the Father. In that day many will say to Him have we not done wonderful works in your name, and cast out devils?" And He will say to them "I never knew you, depart from me all you who work lawlessness."
In Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus gives the parable of the 10 virgins. 5 of them are wise and bring plenty of oil for their lamps and 5 of them are foolish and don’t. The bridegroom takes longer than expected and they fall asleep. When they are woken up by the shout that the bridegroom is coming the ones who didn’t bring plenty of oil have to go get more and they end up being shut out from the wedding. When they ask to be let in, they are told "I don’t know who you are, depart from me."
Romans 11:19-22. Notice how the last part of verse 21 says IF you continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shall be cut off? IF statements indicate something conditional. So here Paul is reinforcing to the Romans you have to abide in Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4. verse 2 (KJV): by which ye are also saved, IF ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. Another conditional statement.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Verse 27 is the punchline in this one. Paul brings his body into subjection lest that by any means when he has preached to others he himself should be a castaway? (Or disqualified as NASB puts it.)
In Romans 6, Paul talks about whether we should continue in sin so that grace may abound. He indicates that we have become dead to sin, formerly slaves of it, and alive to righteousness which is our new master. In verse 21 (KJV) he asks the Romans "what fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."
Ephesians 4 gives a whole lot of instruction in regards to how we are supposed to act. Yet I see a whole lot of Christians who aren't following this.
I have prayed on this issue a lot. Here comes the ultimate kicker that the Lord has shown me. John 14:14-16 and Acts 5:32 tell me that to even receive the Holy Spirit you have to obey God.
Previously He has pointed out to me that King Saul had the Holy Spirit and it was taken away from him. 1 Samuel 16:14.
King David also had the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 51, after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed, in his prayer of repentance, he asks God not to take away the Holy Spirit from him. I realize that not everyone had the gift of the Holy Spirit given to them in the Old Testament in the way that we do now under the New Testament. But still, the implication. People who had the Holy Spirit could have Him taken away for their rebellion and disobedience? Hoo boy.
What about the letters Jesus gave to the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3? The only church who did not have a reprimand of errors to correct was to the church of Philadelphia. All the others had faults Jesus told them they needed to overcome. Hmmmm.
The other thing the Lord reminded me of is that we have free will. People will counter everything I've said here with John 10:29, that no one can pluck someone out of God's hand. True. But the counter the Lord impressed upon me is that we still have a choice. We can choose to leave. He will fight for us, but at some point He has to let us go if that is what we're choosing. He will honor our choice. Thus the parable about the sower in Matthew 13. Some choose not to believe. Some believe but when things get hard they fall away. Some let the cares of the world choke out the Word of God. Some receive the Word of God in good soil and bring forth fruit.
Luke 6:46-49. 1 Corinthians 10:12, 2 Corinthians 13:5. I could keep going for awhile on this.
So, this doesn't mean we're going to be automatically disqualified if we mess up. God's mercy and grace is greater than our mistakes. But if we are willfully disobeying and doing the things we know God hates, we need to be VERY careful.
The most important point is this: just abide in Jesus. Pray and read the word every day. He has stressed to me that this is imperatively important and crucial. That's how you keep your lamp filled with oil: staying close to Him. Do your best to do what He told us to do. Ask Him for direction in everything.
The great heroes of the bible were rejected, mocked, persecuted, and often alone. The path is not easy. The way is narrow. So very narrow. Luke 13:23-27.
The church of Philadelphia was told they have little strength. Because they were few in number. So very few.
Philippians 3:2. Philippians 3:7-21.
Comentarios