Sunday, 13 July 2008

• Can you lose your salvation?

  This is not my brilliant work, if such a thing exists, this is the work of Pastor Steve Matthieson of Calvary Chapel Boise, Idaho. Losing your salvation is a debated subject among the body of Christ, and has caused some divisions and formations of new denominations. So read his work and talk about whether you agree or disagree and where you stand on "losing your salvation".

  Here are a few Scripture verses that should help demonstrate what the New Testament teaches on the issue of “leaving your salvation”.

  In Matthew 24:45-51, Jesus speaks of a person that was the servant of a particular Master, who began to say to himself, “my Master delays in His coming”, and backslides. Jesus says that “his Master” will come back, cut him in two, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.

  In Mark 4:16-17, but more specifically in Luke 8:13 Jesus speaks about the heart that is the shallow ground, believing and receiving the Word of God for a season, who “believe for awhile and… fall away.”

  In John 15:6, Jesus warns that “if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them into the fire and they are burned”.

  Romans 11:22 describes both the “goodness and the severity of God”, in the context that those who do not continue in belief will be “cut off” as unbelieving Israel was.

  In Colossians 1:22,23 Paul speaks about believers who will be presented holy before the Father “if you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…”

  In Hebrews 3:14, the author writes about how we will be saved in JC if we hold fast our confidence until the end.

  In Hebrews 6:4-6, the author writes about those that had “been enlightened, tasted the Heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come” and yet “fall away”. In that passage I see the best description of salvation given in the entire Bible, and yet also a description of one that hardens his heart and walks away from Jesus altogether.

  James 5:19-20 talks about a brother who wanders from the truth, and says that if he is turned back his soul has been spared from death. This speaks of the possibility of being renewed again to repentance, but also the reality that if he does not, his soul would perish (see Ezekiel 18, especially verses 4 and 21-28).

  In 2 Peter 2:20, Peter writes about believers who had “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” but are “again entangled in them and overcome”, and how “the latter end is worse for them than the beginning”.

  Jude 12 describes those that are “twice dead”. That speaks about those that were dead, were made alive in Christ, and then became dead again.

  In Revelation 3:14-22, John writes of those who had been believers, but who had grown lukewarm, and how Jesus warns “I will vomit you out of My mouth”.

  There are more passages that could be considered, but I offer these in order to demonstrate that every New Testament author issues at least one warning to the believer against returning to their former ways of life before they were born again, presenting the very real danger of “leaving one’s salvation” altogether.

  It can be discouraging to look at those verses all at once, but I feel compelled to speak the truth in love, even if it’s difficult. However, remember that the issue isn’t that a person who desires to be saved can sin their way out from under Jesus’ blood. That isn’t going to happen. Those verses are not for the person who struggles with sin, hates it, and hopes in Jesus for salvation. God’s grace can cover all of our sin, and has covered it if we’re in Christ. Where sin super-abounds, grace abounds much more. It’s an issue of belief and desire. For those that have identified with Jesus’ death on the cross, the gift of justification is theirs, no matter what they’ve done.

  Also, I hope that you’re not asking this question for yourself. If you are, and you’re worried about whether you’ve lost your salvation, you probably haven’t. Jesus said that there is only one sin that can’t be forgiven, and that’s the rejection of the drawing work of His Holy Spirit. If you’re feeling remorseful over sin, and wanting to be united with Jesus, nothing can keep you apart from Him and His saving grace.

  If you’re asking this question because you’re observing the life of someone else, always remember that it’s not our place to judge another person – nor could we possibly. Only God knows where a person is really at with Him. All we can do is pray, love them, and let God do the judging. His judgments are perfect, right, and true, according to the secrets of a person’s heart.

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