Can You Lose Your Salvation? Part 1

I might take several whacks at this and by that, I'm going to pre-emptively name this post part 1. There may never be a part 2, but where I'm going to start may lead to a more in-depth post...something that requires, ya know, sources. : ) Furthermore, MANY MANY smart theologians have, I think, definitively answered this question. Allastair Begg, John McArthur, RC. Sprouls, W. Pink, John Piper, Luther, Calvin....search "assurance of salvation" and those guys names and you will come up with an abundance of information. This is intended for me, to be my mental notes and to be something I can come back and look at; a journal, if you like.

Why Is There A Divide?

I personally have come to believe the reason for the divide is a doctrinal one. As early as Jacobus Arminus, having given birth to Arminean theology, he states that you can lose your salvation. The beginning may be earlier than that, but that's as far as I've gone.

The starting question is, "who is in control".

If your answer is God, then you can explain everything after that, with that answer. Both good and evil, easily fit into that category. If your answer is God and "other things" then you'll be left confused as to where to apply God and then appropriately, the other things. If you're like me, you'll tend to assign everything you see as "good" to God and everything you see as "bad" to yourself, or Satan or something that isn't God. But what about things that are neither immediately good, or bad, or worse, appear good, but later it's revealed they are actually damaging or destructive, or vice versa? You'll quickly have to reverse what you applied to God, back to something else. Is that sin? Scary! What's strange to me about this is the amount of ethereal mysticism required to maintain this belief system. Let's take the earthquake in Haiti...some will say that it was God until their confronted fully with the ramifications of that...and they will probably relent to "I don't know, that's unknowable, or life happens, nature" or some other, ungodly cause. Because they've never seriously pondered the interaction of God in a daily setting, they aren't equipped with an answer. They may further see it as inconsequential. This is what I call "blaming God". Well intentioned Christians blame God for the good in their life, but they don't blame him for the damage and destruction, or stumbling blocks he's put in their life. When they have a windfall of money, they say "praise God", as well they should, but when their wife is diagnosed with acute terminal brain cancer, they don't get on their knees and praise him. It's no wonder they have no idea whether or not you can keep your salvation, and though I've never heard a good explanation for the mechanics of 'losing' your salvation, I'm saddened by the idea that it has anything to do with us. Here's loosely what I used to think and some other ideas I've come across:

• Maybe it's because each of us has a sin credit line and when it's maxed out, unless you repent to make up some room, then you are in danger of going to hell.
• I've been told that Roman Catholics believe that if you die before you confess a mortal sin that it doesn't matter what happened before, you're going to hell.
• Perhaps its just plain falling away and deciding you don't really believe what the Bible says and so you just don't pursue God...similar to what Paul, Peter and John have said on the matter.

In either case, there are a great many people who live with this fear every day. When it comes to these deep theological doctrines and ideas, instead of getting heady and intellectual, I like to dumb it down. There's a risk there; I might leave something unsaid, or leave an angle of attack for my belief system open. My defense is that I depend on the benevolence of God to make what I say right, for even if it's wrong, he uses that to draw me to him.

Let's consider what it takes to 'lose' something; I think there are some conditions that must be met.

1. You have to be in possession of it to start with
2. It should, I contend must, belong to you
3. You should have some, I contend absolute, certainty that you actually do possess it
4. You must either earn it, or have it be given to you, to come into posession of it (because you didn't create it out of thin air right? For if you did, concerning salvation, it certainly isn't real).

Now, we can use scripture to simplify and reduce, so we don't have so much to work with. Dealing with most denominations that don't attempt to reconcile orthodox belief systems, (this isn't aimed at the orthodox church) most accept that they can't EARN, their salvation. That language is pretty obviously heretical to most. So then we're left with coming to possession of it, maintaining possession, and certainty that you're right.

Lets deal with certainty.

Paul says that Faith, is the evidence of the belief in things unseen. Faith is a relatively blinded trust. Belief is a rationalization based on facts. So...faith really describes how you live, while belief describes what you know. So if you have faith, that's an evidence. How do you know if you have faith? How do you live? Do you live in agony, striving towards obedience everyday, or do you live in the "I'm mostly a good person" world? That might be the answer for you.

Let's deal with coming into possession of it.

While you were yet sinners, Christ died for you. For by grace you've been saved...no man comes to me unless the father draw him first. Sounds to me that the coming into possession of it has to do with God's richness of mercy and compassion in your life. And this, is NOT promised to all, since all do not have it.

Let's deal with maintenance of that salvation.

I have one question to answer this point...do you obey God because you want to, or somewhere inside of you there's this feeling that you HAVE to? To me, there's a big difference when it comes to assurance. One demonstrates a love bond and the latter demonstrates a fear bond. Fear bonds only grow stronger when you're apart or when you're close, but not both. "The Life Model: Living from the heart Christ gave you" :::great book by the way if you're struggling with emptiness:::

So then, what are we left with?

We're left with God giving a gift out of his mercy and compassion...to lose such a gift would be like saying God will take it back from you. Since you're not equal with God and can do nothing without him. So are we saying that God breaks his covenants with us? MAY IT NEVER BE. For he says to Israel REPEATEDLY, nevertheless, I will keep my covenant with you.

I don't faith, that you can lose your salvation. Notice my usage. I live that way. Because God is his rich mercy gifted me salvation. I feel a genuine desire to be obedient to him. There was a time when I felt obligation and fear as a contrast.

This is not easy to deal with, much of what leads us to these types of questions and inability to answer has to do with Satan, early childhood teaching, heartstrings, programmed response and the inability to think. We've been dumbed down in the country to the point of embarrassment. You've seen the show, I'm not smarter than a 5th grader. Unfortunately, this is entirely too accurate for the majority of Americans. Golly, imagine if they put up an 1800's 5th grader.... the show wouldn't last 5 minutes.