Thread: Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Admin
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 01:13 PM
HEBREWS 6:4-6
Can a person who has been saved lose his/her salvation? This question has been a perplexing one to many. Maybe you have been questioning the genuineness of your salvation. Are you really saved? Are you really sure?
Consider the alternative, that you could lose your salvation. By virtue of the fact that you could lose it, would mean that keeping salvation would depend upon you efforts or actions. In other words, a person who says that he can lose his salvation for whatever reason, is in reality saying that he is trusting in human works to save himself. Look at Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace (mercy) are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast." Salvation is not of works; therefore a person who is trusting in his works is not and will not be saved. What are we saying? Plainly stated: a person who says he can lose his salvation is not saved or he is thoroughly confused and lacks assurance of salvation.
If you are not saved forever, then you are not saved. Let me say it again. If you are not saved forever, then you are not saved.
Have you ever noticed how Bible commentaries skip difficult passages? It can be very frustrating because usually a person buys a commentary to help them to understand a difficult passage. Well, Hebrews 6:4-6 falls into that category. Many times people skip over or ignore Hebrews 6 because it is difficult to understand.
Often Hebrews 6:4-6 is misinterpreted to teach that a saved person can be lost after they have been saved. To teach that a saved person could be lost would mean that you would contradict many clear passages that say the exact opposite.
A good rule to remember when interpreting difficult passages in the Bible is as follows: Whenever you have a passage that is difficult to understand you never allow it to contradict a clear passage on the subject. In other words, you should interpret a difficult passage in the light of clear passage.
You should never contradict a "verily, verily" verse. For example, Jesus said in John 6:47, "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." When Jesus said "verily, verily", He was saying "truthfully, truthfully". Why? Did Jesus ever lie? The answer is NO! Jesus did not and could not lie because He is God. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. Jesus was simply saying, "This is a truth not to be passed over." In John 6:47 we have a truth so important that if a person misses this truth he or she will go to hell for all eternity. The secret of eternal life is no secret. Jesus said plainly, "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." The only condition to this offer of EVERLASTING LIFE (NOT TEMPORARY LIFE) is BELIEF (TRUSTING IN CHRIST). Don't contradict a clear verse like this one. With this in mind, let's look at Hebrews 6:4-6.
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame." Hebrews 6:4-6
Notice that the passage is talking about those who are saved. There are five things said about them that demonstrate this truth:
First, "Those who were once enlightened" refers to a saved person or one who has seen "the light" of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same word "enlightened" is translated "illuminated" in Hebrews 10:32 and speaks of a saved individual.
Second, "tasted of the heavenly gift" refers to salvation. Romans 6:23 says, "The gift of God is eternal life." Ephesians 2:8 says that salvation "is the gift of God." The word "tasted" is used in Hebrews 2:9 saying Christ "tasted death for every man." We tasted of the heavenly gift in the same way Christ tasted death--that is, fully and completely.
Third, "We're made partakers of the Holy Ghost." The Bible teaches in Romans 8:9, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." In other words, if you don't have the Holy Spirit you are not saved. The moment a person trusts Christ as Saviour he or she partakes of the Holy Spirit. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then you are unsaved.
Fourth, "Tasted the good Word of God." The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural (unsaved) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Only the saved man can taste of the Word of God.
Fifth, "The powers of the world to come." Only the born-again man has experienced the power of God. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." A person who is born-again has experienced the power of God.
"If they shall fall away" is not referring to salvation but it is referring to the "Christian life"! Hebrews 6:1 tells us that the writer is speaking about things that accompany salvation. Hebrews 6:1 tells us that the writer is talking about maturity in the Christian life and not about how to be saved.
Well, what is Hebrews 6:6 talking about? Verse six is simply stating to Hebrew (Jewish) believers who were used to a yearly sacrifice that it was impossible for them to be saved again because "by ONE offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified [the believers in Christ] (Hebrews 10:14)." Hebrews 6:1 tells us that we cannot "lay again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God."
If a believer falls away from serving the Lord, the procedure is not to become saved again. That is impossible. It is impossible to "renew" them again unto repentance (the change of mind necessary to accept Christ as Saviour).
Hebrews 6:6 warns that if you try to become saved again all you do is crucify Jesus Christ afresh to yourself, thereby shaming Jesus Christ.
The Bible does not teach that one must be born again and again and again, etc. You can only be born-again once, never to be cast out (John 6:37) or lost (John 6:39). Salvation is complete and final. (Read John 5:24).
The solution for a believer fallen away from service to the Lord is to start serving again. We are encouraged by the words of Hebrews 6:10, that "God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love." God will reward faithful service to him. (See I Corinthians 15:58).
God wants us to grow in knowledge of Him, to serve Him and to mature.
Lack in these areas does not mean that we have lost our salvation. That is why it is impossible to get saved again (Hebrews 6:6), because it is impossible to lose salvation (Hebrews 13:5). To try to become saved again (impossible) shames Jesus Christ who has saved us forever (John 6:47; Hebrews 9:12; 10:10; 10:12-14, 17, 18). To serve Him again brings glory and honor to Him (John 12:24), and His blessing and reward is upon us (I Corinthians 15:58).
Sourced ~ Bibleline Ministries � bibleministries.org / Calvery Community Church...xo
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 02:15 PM
No. A True Christian cannot "lose"their salvation, because they didn't get it themselves in the first place!
Jesus said that he would not lose even ONE of the sheep that the Father gave Him.
When the Bible says that NO ONE can "snatch them out of God's hand", that 'no one' includes YOU.
For those of you who believe your supposed decision was the crux of your eternal destiny, well you are wrong about a great deal of what the Bible teaches. So we should not be surprised to see certain groups teaching that you can lose your salvation.
But the fact is, if you are in Christ, you are because God chose to show you mercy before you were ever born, and when God decides something, then it SHALL come to pass!
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 04:52 PM
When the Bible says that NO ONE can "snatch them out of God's hand", that 'no one' includes YOU.
*** I Agree James..:rolleyes:...Except the Bible I read doesn't say that...JESUS says...They are HIS Words written about HIS Father in John 10:29 ~ "My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand." KJV...xo
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 05:14 PM
Yes, I say that because many Christians will say:
"But I can snatch myself out of God's hand by resisting His grace."
And the Bible says that is not possible:
Joh 6:37-40 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 16 Sep, 2011 09:02 PM
I Believe that the Confusion here comes from your believing that Salvation is a One Time �Process�. Protestantism is so Seductive because it is so Easy�Quick and a �One Time� Deal! I watch Pastors on TV tell people that all you have to do to be Saved is just ask Jesus to
�Come Into Your Heart�.
All you Have to Do��Is Believe�Repent of Your Sins�and Profess with Your Mouth�that Jesus is Lord!�
Bingo�One Time Deal! And You Cannot Lose this Salvation!
Talk about �Twisting Scripture�? The author of this Article goes to Great Extremes to �Spin� this Passage.
Hebrews 6:4-6
New International Version (NIV)
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[a] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
This Passage is Quite Clear. It Means Exactly what it says!
Once you have been ENLIGHTENED by The Holy Spirit (Shown The Truths � The Gospel) but for Whatever Reason�you have Decided (Free Will) to �Fall Away��you are Doomed! It is a Sin Against The Holy Spirit!
Matthew 12:31-32
New International Version (NIV)
31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
This author �Muddies� the waters with Hebrews 10:14 ��14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy��speaking about how the Jews would once a year make a �Sin Sacrifice� to Ensure their Salvation and how Now they don�t have to because Christ has �Done it All� Himself.
Hebrews 10:10-14
New International Version (NIV)
10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Paul tells us that we Have to �Work out our Salvation�.
Philippians 2:12
New International Version (NIV)
Do Everything Without Grumbling
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed�not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence�continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling,
��continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling,��.
You CANNOT SPIN this Verse! There is No Way for you to Make this Mean Anything Else! No Amount of �Smoke and Mirrors� will make this Mean Anything Other than�just what it says!
��continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling,��
If Our Salvation is ENSURED and there is No Way we can Lose It�why do we have to
��WORK OUT OUR SALVATION�With Fear And Trembling��?
If Our Salvation is ENSURED�what is there to be Fearful about?
John 6:37-40 Speaks to those that God (through PreKnowledge) Knows Will Believe and Obey Jesus. Those are The Ones God �Gives� to Jesus.
John 6:37-40
New International Version (NIV)
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father�s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.�
John 10:28-30 Speaks to the Same Thing:
John 10:28-30
New International Version (NIV)
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father�s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.�
Those that Christ Knows Will Believe and Obey can NEVER be �Snatched� from His Hand.
Salvation is a �Daily Process�. It is �A Walk� with Christ. For �Some��it can be Truly Said that they Will Never Lose their Salvation�Because they Will Never �Fall Away�. While Others are Most Definitely in DANGER of Losing theirs�because they have Listen To and believed and obeyed a New Gospel!
The dark one loves irony and it is Ironic that those that believe in Predetermination and that they Cannot Lose their Salvation might JUST END UP DOING THAT!
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 17 Sep, 2011 07:35 AM
I agree, if a person is truly BORN AGAIN, and has been truly CONVERTED as a bonr agin believer there is no way possible for that person to lose their salvation.
Even God says this in Hebrews chpater 6, that it IMPOSSIBLE that as person who has tasted (experienced) the heavenly gifts of salvation, and have been enlighten out of darkness by the word of God, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the goodness of God's word and His power in thier life to fali away(lose thier salvation.
AND IF the person who has truly experienced God and His holy Spirit, and received the blessings of the gifts of God, if this person SHOULD FALL away, it is impossible to bring this person back to repnetnace of thier sins, becaseu they knew the truth and received from God, and then trun their backs on God, they have crucified Jesus all over again and frustraed the grace of God, and made Jesus' death of no effect, and put what Christ's to shame... in other words if a person is truly born agian and lose their salvation this person is saying that Jesus death was not worht it and that it did not accomplish what God said it would accomplish... and we know this to be a lie.
Committed sold out born again Christians DO NOT PRACTICE SIN! Sure, we have sins, but we do not willful do things that we know are displeasing to God, and our focus and our awareness is knowing that the Godhead lives on the inside of us, therefore, we are quick to repnet when we find ourselves commenting a sin because the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts of our sins, and brings us to repentance...there is NOW therefore, NO CONDEMNATION to those who are IN CHRIST those who are truly born again believers, when we repent of our sins)... people lose thier salvation because they are not totlly committed, unrepentant, and think just because they believe in Christ they are saved and can do as they please and God will forgve them... WRRRRONG!
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 17 Sep, 2011 12:16 PM
To a hearer and a believer this word is very clear, once enlightened and no it does not refer to the Jews for they have no had the privilege to taste of the Holy Ghost.
It is a covenant whether one believes it is or not, if you desire the truth you find out man's part of the covenant is, in otherwords what is man's responsibility to his agreement with the Father.
Can a person who has been Saved lose his/her Salvation?
Posted : 17 Sep, 2011 12:28 PM
Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
2 Timothy 1:11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
