Goodboy
Just waiting for the Rapture at this point!
Once Saved Always Saved?
First of all let me say as Christians, as long as we share the belief that acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savoir is the ONLY way to get to Heaven, then anything else should not divide us. That being said, I do believe that once you are saved, you are always saved.
There are two things that should be understood though. The first is that just because someone says the sinner’s payer does not necessarily mean they are saved. This would depend on the motives the person has for saying the prayer. Did they say the prayer to be accepted by you or the group? Did they say the prayer so you would stop annoying them? Did they say the prayer because they were so hyped up on emotion that it seemed like something to do? These are just some of the motives that would not be honored by God, as true acceptance. Meaning these people would not be truly saved. In contrast, anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their savoir, because they either believe this is the way to God and Heaven, or even suspect that it’s the way, will be saved.
How then do we know if someone is saved? Jesus says “we will know them by their fruit” or the things they do which promote the Gospel. This can be as simple as your Christian walk, or actually verbally sharing your faith. So then, we do have a way of telling if someone is saved. This is useful, so we can establish who we should fellowship and/or associate with.
How do we know who is not saved? We don’t! We are however, instructed not to judge. Though I may be able to say with some certainty that someone is saved, I cannot say who is not saved. Only God knows who is not, or will not be saved. While as I sated, knowing who is saved can be very useful, knowing who is not saved is not necessary, or any of our business. What about sharing the Gospel? Don’t we need to know who is not saved so we can share with them? That’s easy, share with anyone who you are not sure is saved. Even if they are already saved, if it’s not apparent, maybe you can motivate them.
The second thing that should be understood is that there is punishment for sin even to a believer. It’s just that the punishment is not eternal, it’s here and now! When I use to go sharing on the street, I would see someone who was drunk and dressed in rags and think “now that person really needs Christ!’ Well many times it would turn out that they already knew and accepted Christ. Then why were they most miserable? Because they were not walking in the truth that they knew. They were continuing to sin expecting the pleasure they had received in the past. But as a “new creature” sin no longer gave them pleasure (except for a moment), but made them remorseful and sad. So though someone who is truly saved can go on intentionally sinning, it certainly is not the smartest thing to do.
Why do I believe once saved always saved? For a number of reasons, for one thing, this is what I was taught by the group I worshiped with when I got saved. But the main reason is very simple and something anyone can understand. The Bible says that salvation is a Free Gift (Romans 5:15-16, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8). You don’t have to be a scholar to understand what a gift is, or what is required to receive a gift. The ONLY requirement is that you accept it. If someone gave you something as a gift and later told you they would take the gift back because of what you did or didn’t do, wouldn’t you consider them to be dishonest? Isn’t this what we consider to be dishonest sales practices? Do you really think that this is how a righteous God deals with people?
I was recently offered a $75 gift for test driving a Land Rover. Land Rover of course expected me to buy the SUV after my test drive. I did not buy one. Should Land Rover take back my $75 gift? Of course not! I did what was required, which was to test drive the SUV. Then why should God take back my salvation? I did what was required, which was to accept Jesus Christ as my savior.
I say with authority “ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED”, but will not allow this issues to separate me from other Christ centered Christians.
Goodboy
First of all let me say as Christians, as long as we share the belief that acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savoir is the ONLY way to get to Heaven, then anything else should not divide us. That being said, I do believe that once you are saved, you are always saved.
There are two things that should be understood though. The first is that just because someone says the sinner’s payer does not necessarily mean they are saved. This would depend on the motives the person has for saying the prayer. Did they say the prayer to be accepted by you or the group? Did they say the prayer so you would stop annoying them? Did they say the prayer because they were so hyped up on emotion that it seemed like something to do? These are just some of the motives that would not be honored by God, as true acceptance. Meaning these people would not be truly saved. In contrast, anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their savoir, because they either believe this is the way to God and Heaven, or even suspect that it’s the way, will be saved.
How then do we know if someone is saved? Jesus says “we will know them by their fruit” or the things they do which promote the Gospel. This can be as simple as your Christian walk, or actually verbally sharing your faith. So then, we do have a way of telling if someone is saved. This is useful, so we can establish who we should fellowship and/or associate with.
How do we know who is not saved? We don’t! We are however, instructed not to judge. Though I may be able to say with some certainty that someone is saved, I cannot say who is not saved. Only God knows who is not, or will not be saved. While as I sated, knowing who is saved can be very useful, knowing who is not saved is not necessary, or any of our business. What about sharing the Gospel? Don’t we need to know who is not saved so we can share with them? That’s easy, share with anyone who you are not sure is saved. Even if they are already saved, if it’s not apparent, maybe you can motivate them.
The second thing that should be understood is that there is punishment for sin even to a believer. It’s just that the punishment is not eternal, it’s here and now! When I use to go sharing on the street, I would see someone who was drunk and dressed in rags and think “now that person really needs Christ!’ Well many times it would turn out that they already knew and accepted Christ. Then why were they most miserable? Because they were not walking in the truth that they knew. They were continuing to sin expecting the pleasure they had received in the past. But as a “new creature” sin no longer gave them pleasure (except for a moment), but made them remorseful and sad. So though someone who is truly saved can go on intentionally sinning, it certainly is not the smartest thing to do.
Why do I believe once saved always saved? For a number of reasons, for one thing, this is what I was taught by the group I worshiped with when I got saved. But the main reason is very simple and something anyone can understand. The Bible says that salvation is a Free Gift (Romans 5:15-16, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8). You don’t have to be a scholar to understand what a gift is, or what is required to receive a gift. The ONLY requirement is that you accept it. If someone gave you something as a gift and later told you they would take the gift back because of what you did or didn’t do, wouldn’t you consider them to be dishonest? Isn’t this what we consider to be dishonest sales practices? Do you really think that this is how a righteous God deals with people?
I was recently offered a $75 gift for test driving a Land Rover. Land Rover of course expected me to buy the SUV after my test drive. I did not buy one. Should Land Rover take back my $75 gift? Of course not! I did what was required, which was to test drive the SUV. Then why should God take back my salvation? I did what was required, which was to accept Jesus Christ as my savior.
I say with authority “ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED”, but will not allow this issues to separate me from other Christ centered Christians.
Goodboy
