Can a Christian Lose their Salvation?

Can you lose your salvation? Now that’s an important question. Can I be sure that I’m really saved?

Can You Lose Your Salvation- Backsliding

Most Christians have probably had moments of doubt about their salvation. After all, we’ve all entertained thoughts and have committed acts that we knew were displeasing to God. We’ve all experienced that sense of remorse and sometimes questioned the reality of our salvation afterwards. Backsliding can no doubt cause such feelings to arise, and should hopefully move us to repentance (1 John 1:9).

Can You Lose Your Salvation- The Believer’s Eternal Security

However, when it comes to the issue of eternal security, the Bible makes it absolutely clear that those who have been saved will never be lost. Jesus emphatically pointed this out in the Gospel of John when, in reference to believers, He said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand…” (John 10:28). In this passage, Christ explicitly declared that no one who has received eternal life will ever lose it.

Can You Lose Your Salvation- The Holy Spirit

Furthermore, in such passages as 2 Corinthians 1:22, and Ephesians 1:13, the apostle Paul indicated that the Holy Spirit acts as the very seal of God’s ownership of the believer; He serves as the guarantee of our inheritance to come – namely, eternal life (John 5:24; 1 John 5:13). In describing our inheritance the apostle Peter used some very powerful words – words like “imperishable,” “undefiled,” and “unfading” (1 Pet. 1:5). With these words He underscored the everlasting assurance believers have with respect to God’s gift of salvation.

Can You Lose Your Salvation- Abandoning the Faith

Now I know what you’re asking: “What about the Christians who have completely abandoned their faith?” Well, judging by what we’re told in Scripture we can only conclude that they were never saved from the start. You see, while “once saved, always saved” is true from God’s perspective, man only looks at the outward appearance and thus cannot always accurately assess who is really saved in the first place. The question therefore is not whether someone lost their salvation, but whether they had ever had it at all. As Romans chapter eight says, “there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 38-29). He is the very source of our salvation.

And remember, eternal life that comes to the believer through faith in Christ is not life for two weeks, two months, or even two years; eternal life is everlasting life. It begins at the moment of conversion and stretches on through the eons of time.

Reprinted from: http://www.equip.org/perspectives/can-a-christian-lose-their-salvation-christians-and-the-assurance-of-salvation/

Do Christians have to keep asking for forgiveness for their sins?

A frequent question is “what happens if I sin, and then I die before I have an opportunity to confess that sin to God?” Another common question is “what happens if I commit a sin, but then forget about it and never remember to confess it to God?” Both of these questions rest on a faulty assumption. Salvation is not a matter of believers trying to confess and repent from every sin they commit before they die. Salvation is not based on whether a Christian has confessed and repented of every sin. Yes, we should confess our sins to God as soon as we are aware that we have sinned. However, we do not always need to be asking God for forgiveness. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, all of our sins are forgiven. That includes past, present, and future, big or small. Believers do not have to keep asking for forgiveness or repenting in order to have their sins forgiven. Jesus died to pay the penalty for all of our sins, and when they are forgiven, they are all forgiven (Colossians 1:14; Acts 10:43).

What we are to do is confess our sins: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). What this verse tells us to do is “confess” our sins to God. The word “confess” means “to agree with.” When we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with God that we were wrong, that we have sinned. God forgives us, through confession, on an ongoing basis because of the fact that He is “faithful and just.” How is God “faithful and just”? He is faithful by forgiving sins, which He has promised to do for all those who receive Christ as Savior. He is just by applying Christ’s payment for our sins, recognizing that the sins have indeed been atoned for.

At the same time, 1 John 1:9 does indicate that somehow forgiveness is dependent on our confessing our sins to God. How does this work if all of our sins are forgiven the moment we receive Christ as Savior? It seems that what the apostle John is describing here is “relational” forgiveness. All of our sins are forgiven “positionally” the moment we receive Christ as Savior. This positional forgiveness guarantees our salvation and promise of an eternal home in heaven. When we stand before God after death, God will not deny us entrance into heaven because of our sins. That is positional forgiveness. The concept of relational forgiveness is based on the fact that when we sin, we offend God and grieve His Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). While God has ultimately forgiven us of the sins we commit, they still result in a blocking or hindrance in our relationship with God. A young boy who sins against his father is not cast out of the family. A godly father will forgive his children unconditionally. At the same time, a good relationship between father and son cannot be achieved until the relationship is restored. This can only occur when a child confesses his mistakes to his father and apologizes. That is why we confess our sins to God—not to maintain our salvation, but to bring ourselves back into close fellowship with the God who loves us and has already forgiven us.

Remember that repent simply means to turn around. It was a military term that described a soldier marching in one direction and then doing an about-face. Daily confession and repentance means that you both agree with God in you sin and you turn away from it & towards him again.

Reprinted from: http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-sin.html#ixzz3SIT89EmR

What Is Salvation?

You may have heard that you need to be ‘saved’ in order to be Christian.  But what does it mean to be saved and how does being saved connect with Christianity?  We will discuss what the Bible says on the subject to understand it in depth.  Before you leave tonight, I hope you have a complete understanding of salvation in order to compare yourself with what the Bible describes as saved person.

What is sin?

·         What do you think?

·         What does the Bible say?

o   1 John 3:4 NLT

Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God

o   Sin is opposed to God

·         Adam & Eve brought sin into the world

o   Genesis 2: 15-17

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

o   Genesis 3:6

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate

o   They were created with no knowledge of sin

o   They were made sinless & free, but their action brought sin into our world

·         We have inherited the knowledge & the curse of sin from Adam

o   Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned

·         We are all sinners

o   Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Do I need saving?

·         What do you think?

·         Sin separates us from God

o   Isaiah 59:2

It's your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore

o   God cannot have a relationship with sin, or he would not be holy

·         God hates sin because it opposes His very nature and is the work of the devil

o   John 8:44

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies

·         Sin requires a payment for the penalty, but your works can’t save you

o   Romans 3:10

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

o   Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

o   Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast

·         Sin leads to hell

o   Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

o   Matthew 25:46

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

o   Hell is necessary to quarantine sin

How does salvation work?

·         Jesus paid our price

o   John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

o   2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

o   Jesus died in our place when He was crucified on the cross

o   We deserved to be the ones placed on that cross to die because we are the ones who live sinful lives

o   But Christ took the punishment on Himself in our place—He substituted Himself for us and took what we rightly deserved

·         Mechanics of salvation

o   Sealed with the spirit

§  Ephesians 1:13

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit

§  You are the temple of God

o   Keep his commands & bear fruit

§  1 John 3:24

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he

§  Matthew 6:17

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

§  Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

o   Nothing can separate you from God

§  Romans 8:38-39

§  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord

§  NOTHING can un-do your salvation

o   When you sin, repent & repeat

§  You don’t have to keep repenting for salvation

·         Colossians 1:13-14

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins

§  You should keep repenting

·         When we sin, we offend God and grieve His Spirit

o   Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption

·         When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent", he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance – Martin Luther

·         We confess our sins to God—not to maintain our salvation, but to bring ourselves back into close fellowship with the God who loves us and has already forgiven us

·         Like a good marriage, our relationship with God builds over time

·         The grace of salvation is offered through Jesus

o   Mark 1:15b

…repent and believe in the gospel

o   Repent means to turn from

o   Romans 10:9-10

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved

o   You must confess his lordship & believe in his Godship

Life Grounded In Truth

Psalm 25:4-10 (NIV)

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.


If we’ll let the truths of Scripture fill our minds, guard our emotions, and influence our conduct, God will richly reward us. By reading and meditating on His Word, you’ll learn to understand His ways. This isn't something we can figure out on our own, because His ways are unlike ours—they are higher, bigger, and eternal.

Following God on His terms will lead to a deepening relationship with Him. That’s because He chooses to reveal Himself to those who seek Him and obey His instructions. And when you see that God always keeps His promises, your confidence in His faithfulness will soar. Whatever the situation may be, you’ll know you can trust Him. Then He will transform your worries into joyful anticipation about what He’s going to do next in your life. Even if hard times await, you’ll be convinced that the Lord will work them out for good.

A life grounded in truth is powerful. Those who live by the Word develop spiritual discernment, which guides their choices and guards against deception. Because they demonstrate wisdom and godliness, the Lord enables them to impact others greatly. Since He knows they can be trusted, He also gives them greater responsibilities and opportunities for service in His kingdom.

With all these benefits available to us, it seems obvious what the wisest course of action is: Invest time and energy in building the truth of God’s Word into your life. Other activities that clamor for attention may seem important or pleasurable, but none of them can offer us the spiritual riches of a life grounded in truth.

Reprinted from :http://www.intouch.org/magazine/content.aspx?topic=Grounded_in_Truth_devotional2

Has the Bible changed throughout history?

One of the questions that came up on Monday was, has the Bible been changed over the years?  You may have heard this or seen The Davinci Code or a History Channel show on the subject that attempts to cast doubt on the Bible’s history.  But, with even a few minutes of research you will find libraries full of evidence that the Bible we have today has not changed throughout history.

Unlike other religious books, the Bible is unique in that it refers to people, places, & events.  So if we find that those people, places, & events never existed, it would prove that the Bible is not true.  But in the 200+ years of modern archeology, not one accurate discovery has ever disproven even one word of the Bible.  In fact, literally thousands of discoveries have proven that what the Bible says happened actually happened.  You can see a sample of what has been discovered here.

The most significant discovery in terms of Bible archeology & the Old Testament was the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The documents found here date from about 150 BC to 50 AD…most of which pre-date Jesus.  Here they found a copy of all but one of the Old Testament books, & these scrolls match what we have in today’s Bible.  You can read about more details here.

The New Testament has even greater amounts of evidence that it has not been changed.  In fact there are so many historical documents from the first & second century that reference parts of the New Testament, you could use them to rebuild the entire New Testament but for a couple of verses!  Amazingly we have almost 24,000 copies of all or part of the New Testament that date as far back as the second century.  For most written documents this old, you see only a couple of copies existing today.  The New Testament has been incredibly well preserved.  You can read about more details here.

So it is clear that the facts support that the Bible has not changed throughout history.  If you would like more information, just let me know.

What Is The Bible?

You may have heard about the Bible, but really what is it?  How does it fit into Christianity and how is the best way to read & reference it?  We will start off with an overview of the Bible & discuss its importance to the Christian faith.  By the end of the lesson, I hope that you have a better understanding of what the Bible is all about.

What is the Bible?

·         What do you think it is?

·         What is it physically?

o   Old & New Testament – Testament means ‘agreement’

o   66 books that tell the story of God’s people

o   Different authors & times

§  https://carm.org/when-was-bible-written-and-who-wrote-it

o   Different literary genres

§  http://etb-media.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/general/genres_of_biblical_literature.jpg

·         Written by men but inspired by God

o   2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

·         Unified

o   Written over a period of approximately 1,550 years, with at least 40 human writers, most of who did not know each other and were from varying backgrounds

§  king, fisherman, tax collector, shepherd, etc.

o   Written in three different languages

§  Hebrew, Greek, & Aramaic

o   Yet the message is harmonious

Why is it important?

·         The Bible claims to be TRUTH

o   John 17:17

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth

·         So if the Bible is TRUTH….

o   then it is the most important book in the history of mankind

o   then it holds the answers to life’s biggest questions: “From where did I come?” “Why am I here?” and “What happens to me when I die?”

o   then whatever runs counter to it is FALSE

o   we have to wrestle with the black & white nature of the Bible

·         It is the foundation for the Church

o   The word “Christian” literally means, “belonging to the party of Christ” or a “follower of Christ.”

o   The Bible is the only documented source of His life & teaching

o   John 7:16

So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

·         So we are not a slave to what ‘sounds right’

o   http://theblindelephant.com/uploads/elephant_pic.jpg

o   Like all roads lead to God

             §  This is actually an exclusive claim like any religion or Athiesm

             §  You're saying you're right & everyone else is wrong

How is the Bible organized?

Did you know that the books of the Bible are written is several different styles for different purposes?  This bookshelf represents the differences.  We'll talk more in depth about this on Monday.