Blog Thirty-One After Salvation, How Shall We Live? Part Two
Can we lose our Salvation? This is a huge question that Modern Theologians have been divided on.
Nothing is worth the risk of losing our soul to the enemy and missing Heaven eternally in the presence of God.
Believing the teaching that says, "Once you are saved you will forever be saved; even if you continue living your old life style full of lustful sin", is a dangerous chance to take.
And there is no way I can put in all the Scriptures needed for debate here in blogs, but I think this subject is worth mentioning.
Scripture does say ‘no other creature or person or anything can take us away from God’ but notice, it does not say we cannot push him away or out of our own spirit with continued rebellion against God and His commandments:
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we close our minds and hearts to the drawing of His Spirit, and stay in a willful known sinful life style of rebellion against God’s laws and commandments (God’s rules; right from wrong; way for mankind to live personally and with community), I believe, we most certainly can push God’s Spirit out of our spiritual heart, where He joined when we first received Him as our Lord and Savior.
Many Bible Teachers have used Luke 9;62 as Jesus’s words telling what He thought about a person who once walked with God in relationship with Christ and went back desiring the old sinful life:
Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Where can we find Him again? Since He said He would never leave us, He will be on the outside knocking to get back in, as the picture that is stamped in our minds that the artist painted many years ago, Jesus standing knocking on a door of a heart.
Besides, missing the earthly blessings God has for His children; and not being able to experience the peace of mind and joyful heart that a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ brings, would produce a miserable unfruitful life. Of course if you haven’t experienced this walk with God, you don’t know what you are missing.
The emptiness in side results in a life time of searching and never being satisfied. Without a relationship with Christ and living a spirit filled life, there is no protection by His angels or God’s guidance in this life.
If I do make a wrong choice, does God have the Grace and Mercy to forgive me again?
Absolutely, if our repentance is sincere and heart felt at the time the Holy Spirit convinces us of our wrong doing. We must pray:
"I thank you, Lord, for Calvary and your covering for my sins, thank you for my redemption in your Wonderful Holy Name Jesus."
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Some have taught we can sin against the Holy Ghost and be doomed forever. It is my belief that this doctrine is also a fable in part. God won’t leave you doomed on His part. It is not God’s will that any would perish:
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
In earlier lessons in this study, we have learned that God is Love and full of mercy:
God is Love:
1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
( One of the laws and commandments of God is to Love one another.)
God is merciful:
Psa 117:2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
Psa 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psa 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,( believe on Him reverence Him) and his righteousness unto children's children;
Psa 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
As Jesus taught us the commandments of God, He taught the very Character of God Deity. Jesus said:
Luk 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Luk 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Luk 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Even though it is not God’s will that any perish, He cannot save us by himself. God gave the angels and mankind free will to love Him or not to Love Him. We know it is impossible to make anyone love us.
Jesus came with TRUTH and mystery; and since He is the foundation of Christianity, we must look at His own words about repentance; we must repent and not continually live in a sinful life style. Jesus said:
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
This word perish here in Luke 13:5 and in John 3:16 printed above, is NOT talking about a physical death, for we all know when we are old and worn out our bodies will perish. So in these verses, Jesus is speaking of spiritually perishing as what is called the second death or separation from God for all eternality.
Parish Greek #622 To destroy fully die, lose, mar, parish from Greek #575 Separation, departure cessation, completion of reversal. From Greek #3639 ruin, death , punishment; destruction.
Will God’s Spirit always be right there or will HE give up on me and leave forever? God has promised never to leave us or forsake us:
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.
Both disciples, Matthew and Luke recorded Jesus’s words, saying sin against the Son of man (little m; Jesus’s fleshly soul and body) and it will be forgive, as He said on the cross, "Forgive them for they know not what they do." But sin against the Holy Spirit (Deity) and it won’t be forgiven:
Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Sinning against the Holy Spirit is simply: "saying NO continually to the drawing of the Holy Spirit beckoning us to repent."
If we slip and fall, God doesn’t give up on us; His mercy is sufficient to forgive with our repentance:
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
We are known by the Fruit we bare; our lives should show the fruit of His Spirit:
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
What are God’s commandments? They are His Word that we are to live by.
Now for the big question: "What is sin? Look for next Blog to find out this answer, Plus, "What are the sins named in the Word of God which cannot change to fit a particular society or culture in time."
