Once saved always saved....
In Christian circles, there is this debate "Once saved always saved", or is it?
What do you think? When you accept Jesus Christ, you believed you are saved right?
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved
~ Joel 2:32
Do you believe that you are forever saved? That means once your name is written in the Book of Life, it will never ever be blotted out?
Can you lose your salvation??
Personally, I believe, YES YOU CAN LOSE YOUR SALVATION. Why I think that? It is an epiphany I received a couple of days ago. The book of Exodus talked about the journey of the Israelite to, supposedly their "Heaven".
So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey
~Exodus 3:8
At this point when God made this statement, the Israelite were "saved" (in today's context). They were scheduled to be on their way to the Promised Land.
But we all know what happened during the journey. The Israelite blatantly disobeyed God and committed apostasy. So what did God do?
Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home,
~Numbers 14:30
Ooo! What happened there? God swore! But, He retracted His promise. That alone tells me that in our journey as a Christian, if we disobeyed Him, and REFUSED to walk according to His will, He can "cancel" our salvation! How do you know what to do, in order not to tick God off? Read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Follow not what the Israelite did.
Wait! Before you think that God is the bad guy and too strict, let us read this verse:
Numbers 14:22 "none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,"
Numbers 14:23 "shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it."
Numbers 14:31 "...and they shall know the land that you have rejected."
God was very super duper insanely patient with the grumbling, and the whining. Don't you agree? If you read the book of Exodus, and imagine yourself as the God, I don't think we can continue being nice... God did many wonders and miracles that I dare to say, there were no more miracles of that scale? (Except when Jesus died and rose again). But after all those miracles, the people tested God TEN times! not 1, not 2, but 10! AND... they disobeyed God. Disobedience is the one that caused humans to fall (Adam and Eve). God hates disobedience. In verse 23, it says the people who God had saved actually despised Him. In verse 31, THEY REJECTED THE PROMISED LAND. Because they couldn't see it, so they did not believe God's promise (this is what I personally think).
Ok before we all get nervous for getting kicked out of God's Kingdom, it seems to me that while it is possible to lose our salvation, it is really "DIFFICULT" to lose it. You really have to intently go your way to reject the salvation. And it is not like God won't do anything. He will keep calling you back.
Suddenly, I am thinking about "stagnant" Christians. Who goes to church once in a while, pray once in a while, read the Bible once in a while. But they do not have any other gods in their life. They always believe in Jesus. How about this people? Do they still have their salvation? If anyone who is reading this have any thoughts, please feel free to comment.
God bless you!
What do you think? When you accept Jesus Christ, you believed you are saved right?
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved
~ Joel 2:32
Do you believe that you are forever saved? That means once your name is written in the Book of Life, it will never ever be blotted out?
Can you lose your salvation??
Personally, I believe, YES YOU CAN LOSE YOUR SALVATION. Why I think that? It is an epiphany I received a couple of days ago. The book of Exodus talked about the journey of the Israelite to, supposedly their "Heaven".
So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey
~Exodus 3:8
At this point when God made this statement, the Israelite were "saved" (in today's context). They were scheduled to be on their way to the Promised Land.
But we all know what happened during the journey. The Israelite blatantly disobeyed God and committed apostasy. So what did God do?
Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home,
~Numbers 14:30
Ooo! What happened there? God swore! But, He retracted His promise. That alone tells me that in our journey as a Christian, if we disobeyed Him, and REFUSED to walk according to His will, He can "cancel" our salvation! How do you know what to do, in order not to tick God off? Read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Follow not what the Israelite did.
Wait! Before you think that God is the bad guy and too strict, let us read this verse:
Numbers 14:22 "none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,"
Numbers 14:23 "shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it."
Numbers 14:31 "...and they shall know the land that you have rejected."
God was very super duper insanely patient with the grumbling, and the whining. Don't you agree? If you read the book of Exodus, and imagine yourself as the God, I don't think we can continue being nice... God did many wonders and miracles that I dare to say, there were no more miracles of that scale? (Except when Jesus died and rose again). But after all those miracles, the people tested God TEN times! not 1, not 2, but 10! AND... they disobeyed God. Disobedience is the one that caused humans to fall (Adam and Eve). God hates disobedience. In verse 23, it says the people who God had saved actually despised Him. In verse 31, THEY REJECTED THE PROMISED LAND. Because they couldn't see it, so they did not believe God's promise (this is what I personally think).
Ok before we all get nervous for getting kicked out of God's Kingdom, it seems to me that while it is possible to lose our salvation, it is really "DIFFICULT" to lose it. You really have to intently go your way to reject the salvation. And it is not like God won't do anything. He will keep calling you back.
Suddenly, I am thinking about "stagnant" Christians. Who goes to church once in a while, pray once in a while, read the Bible once in a while. But they do not have any other gods in their life. They always believe in Jesus. How about this people? Do they still have their salvation? If anyone who is reading this have any thoughts, please feel free to comment.
God bless you!
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