ETERNAL SECURITY IN CHRIST ~ YES or NO? This week, a Christian Friend and fellow apologist, Matt Solomon, who currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand, posted this question on Facebook:
One cannot build a theology upon one or two Scripture verses or passages - regardless of which verses or passages are chosen. Theology, like a house, must be built upon a solid foundation, and constructed using sound teachings taken from all of Scripture. And, when the house we are building is our "Home of Eternal Salvation" - the only foundation can be Jesus Christ:
So, when we are building a theology which defines our eternal salvation - we begin with the firm foundation, Jesus Christ. In John 3:3-5 Jesus tells Nicodemus, and us, that to see the kingdom of God, i.e., to have eternal life, a person must be born again of the water and the Spirit. The Spirit being the Holy Spirit and the "water" being the Word of God (John 4:7-14).
In Ephesians 1:13, we are told that upon hearing the Word of God, i.e., drinking of His Living Water, and believing - we are indwelled and sealed with the Holy Spirit. That is Justification, we are brought into God's family (John 1:12) "just as if we had never sinned." We are covered by the spiritual umbrella of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is imputed, or attributed, to us the moment we believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (Romans 3:22, 4:5, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Titus 3:5).
And, we are told in Ephesians 4:30 that, being sealed (Ephesians 1:13), our "Holy Spirit Seal" stays intact until the day of our redemption, i.e., the day we die in this mortal body or the day we are raptured from this mortal body.
That, my Friend, IS "eternal security" - knowing that we have the Holy Spirit within us until the day we are taken up into heaven.
Then, Jesus Christ adds brick and mortar to our "Home of Eternal Security" by telling us, "He who believes HAS eternal life" (John 6:47) - "eternal" having only one meaning: never ending.
He tells us that NO ONE can snatch the Christian believer from His hands, nor from the Father's hands (John 10:28-29). Paul assures us, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). That is "eternal security!"
There are many more Scripture verses/passages which assure us that the Christian believer, who has been Justified by believing and receiving Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior - can never, and will never, lose that assurance of eternal (never ending) life in the presence of God.
However, virtually all non-believers, and many of our Christian brethren whose beliefs are based upon either a legalistic theology or a liberal theology (such as our Arminian brethren and our Roman Catholic friends) - still believe that a true believer can lose his/her salvation. In other words, our legalistic and liberal theology brethren acknowledge that we are saved "by grace through faith in Jesus Christ" plus nothing else. Yet, they do not believe that Jesus Christ has the power to keep us saved (compare with Jude 24-25).
Our Calvinist brethren want to limit the grace of God by saying that He only wants to save some of the people He created in His image, the Elect (a teaching which is denied by 2 Peter 3:9). And, our Arminian brethren want to limit God's power, His sufficiency, His ability to hold on to those He has saved. The latter, our Arminian brethren, walk though life always looking over their shoulders, afraid that some small or unknown sin will take away their salvation.
Both of these erroneous teachings, or theologies, occur because these dear brethren want to build their "Home of Eternal Salvation" upon a few selected, cherry picked Scripture verses/passages. Our theology MUST be built upon the full 66 books of Scripture.
All of these Friends, the non-believers, our Liberal brethren, and our Arminian leaning brethren, have a few pat rebuttals against the Bible's teaching of "eternal security" for believers, i.e., "once saved, always saved" (which they have shortened to the label OSAS):
That is a false assumption based upon a misunderstanding of what happens when a person is saved. We believers are the promised Bride of Christ - indwelled and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God the very moment we believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 1:13). We have committed ourselves to Him, to following Him. Will we sin? Unfortunately, yes, for we are all still weak, frail humans with an innate sin nature.
But, praise God, we are "forgiven sinners" - we are "forgiven sinners" who cannot go back into the world and live an active sin lifestyle. For we have the Holy Spirit of God living within us, who has sealed us in Christ.
Sin is when we, either inadvertently or on purpose, do something which is against the will and commandment of God.
Sin Lifestyle is when we chose to make that sin (homosexuality, adultery, stealing, etc.) our active, permanent way of life.
If a person does choose to turn his/her back and walk away from Christ when He knocks (Revelation 3:20) and live an active sin lifestyle - it is obvious that person was never indwelled by the Holy Spirit and has never made an eternal commitment to Jesus Christ.
Another point raised by those who believe that a Christian believer can loose his/her salvation is:
Can you really? Let's examine that Scripture passage, which is the assurance, the promise of Jesus Christ Himself:
First, "no one" means, well, it means NO ONE! That "no one" by definition is all inclusive and has to also include the believer himself.
Christ tells us that He gives us eternal life. Eternal, as I pointed out earlier, has only one meaning: never ending! If the life that Christ gives us is never ending - that has to mean that no one could snatch us away AND that we cannot just decide to walk away. For we have a bilateral commitment - a commitment from us and a commitment from Jesus Christ - that the believer will spend "eternity" - never ending eternity - in the presence of God, in heaven.
And, the favorite proof of text our non-believing Friends, and our liberal or legalistic theology brethren is:
Not true. Please keep in mind that regardless of how you interpret this Hebrews Scripture passage - it cannot negate the many Scripture passages which assure us of our eternal security in Jesus Christ. God does not change His mind, God does not lie, and God does not contradict Himself.
So, when God tells us, "He who believes HAS ETERNAL LIFE" (John 6:47) - we can take that to the bank! Eternal has only one meaning: "Never ending! Lasting or existing forever. Without end." Isn't that the kind of assurance that all believers in Jesus Christ should expect? Isn't that the reward we should expect when our faith has been placed in Jesus Christ?
But, let's talk in more depth about that Hebrews Scripture passage. We will back up and start with Hebrews 5:11 to get a more complete picture of what the writer of Hebrews (many believe this is Paul) is telling us:
Is the writer of Hebrews speaking to believers? Yes. But, he is admonishing them. For he tells them that, by now, they should be mature Christian believers - able to teach others; but, because they are dull of hearing (spiritually), they are still babes, infants, in Christ. They have allowed the world to distract them from maturing in the Word of God.
In the book of Hebrews, we are not told for sure who Paul is addressing. Some theologians and scholars believe that a large part of this book may have been a sermon, later written into a letter or epistle. But, the writer is concerned that many of the Jews who had become believers, and then lapsed into "dullness of spiritual hearing" - were in danger of falling back into Judaism.
Important point: Not danger of losing their salvation - but the danger of them falling back into the legalistic rituals practiced in Judaism.
Notice that he speaks to them of "repentance from dead works and of faith toward God (i.e., their enthusiasm for doing the work of God is becoming stagnant) - of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment." In other words, Paul is warning them against falling back into the safety net of rituals and the legalistic teachings of Judaism.
Now we get to the meat of the Hebrews passage. Is it proof of what our liberal and legalistic brethren tell us - that a true believer can lose salvation? Or, is there a better explanation which maintains the unity and inerrancy of what the Bible, and the Word of God, teaches us about eternal life, eternal security?
Wow, that is heavy! Are these people believers? Yes! You bet they are! But, is this passage speaking of losing their salvation? No. It is warning the Jews not to fall back into the legalistic practices they repented from (turned from) when they left Judaism to become Christian believers.
Let's examine the writings of another recognized and acknowledged teacher and theologian, Dr. J. Vernon McGee:
My Friends, if you are a Christian believer, or if you decide to become a Christian believer - there is one Biblical Truth that you can take to the bank: When you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - no power on this earth or in heaven can, or will, take that eternal life in Christ from you. When you are adopted into the Family of God, you HAVE eternal security, eternal life in Christ - and NO ONE can take that from you.
From the moment that you "heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation - and believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13). You are secure in that Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing throughout your full mortal life (Ephesians 4:30). For "by grace you have been saved through faith" - alone, no works involved (Ephesians 2:8-9). And, you "HAVE eternal life" (John 6:47). Could you want more security than that? Could you have more security than that?
So, relax! If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - you are a Child of God, adopted permanently into the Family of God! Welcome, brethren!
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Question: Does Hebrews 10:26 teach that a believer can lose salvation?
"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins"
He was not stating a specific point of view, but was interested in the what other Christian believers who follow his posts had to say about this verse. Basically it comes down the question: "Do you believe that the Bible teaches 'eternal security in Christ' - or do you believe that a person who has truly believed can lose that salvation?" Personally I believe the Bible teaches that a true believer has eternal life in Christ and cannot lose it (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, John 10:28-29, etc.)
That said, we most certainly can lose rewards in heaven. There is only one reward which we cannot lose in heaven - and that is the blessed reward of being in heaven, in the presence of God, eternally. When Jesus Christ comes, in the air, to Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17) His church from a fallen earth which is about to undergo seven years of horrible Tribulation - all believers will stand before Him in judgment, the Bema Seat Judgment or Believers' Judgment. That is when we will receive, or forfeit, rewards in heaven depending upon what we did with the talents (gifts, blessings, etc.) He has given us in this mortal life. Our post-salvation works will be tested (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
Let me state this Biblical fact: Christian believers have a Blessed Hope. And our Blessed Hope is that we KNOW that Jesus Christ is coming again - first in His imminent appearance to Rapture His church - and second, seven years later, when He returns to earth, His Glorious Second Coming. He will then establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem, the perfect theocracy, to rule the nations for 1000 years (Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65:17-25).
And we have a firm foundation for our joy in looking toward the Blessed Hope that He is coming for His church. His church is ALL believers (Old Testament and New Testament) who have, by grace through faith in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ - longed for His Coming. Our solid foundation is His promise that NO ONE can snatch us out of His hands (John 10;28-29). He has gone to prepare an eternal home for us and He IS coming again to take us HOME (John 14:1-3).
Matt Solomon's post on Facebook elicited many responses which covered the full spectrum from: "No, we cannot lose our salvation" - to - "Absolutely, if you don't toe the line, you are lost!"
And, the long Facebook discussion which followed led me to revisit a blog I had written and posted on November 17, 2014 titled: "Hebrews 6 And Salvation - Where Do You Stand?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
That said, we most certainly can lose rewards in heaven. There is only one reward which we cannot lose in heaven - and that is the blessed reward of being in heaven, in the presence of God, eternally. When Jesus Christ comes, in the air, to Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17) His church from a fallen earth which is about to undergo seven years of horrible Tribulation - all believers will stand before Him in judgment, the Bema Seat Judgment or Believers' Judgment. That is when we will receive, or forfeit, rewards in heaven depending upon what we did with the talents (gifts, blessings, etc.) He has given us in this mortal life. Our post-salvation works will be tested (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
Let me state this Biblical fact: Christian believers have a Blessed Hope. And our Blessed Hope is that we KNOW that Jesus Christ is coming again - first in His imminent appearance to Rapture His church - and second, seven years later, when He returns to earth, His Glorious Second Coming. He will then establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem, the perfect theocracy, to rule the nations for 1000 years (Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65:17-25).
And we have a firm foundation for our joy in looking toward the Blessed Hope that He is coming for His church. His church is ALL believers (Old Testament and New Testament) who have, by grace through faith in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ - longed for His Coming. Our solid foundation is His promise that NO ONE can snatch us out of His hands (John 10;28-29). He has gone to prepare an eternal home for us and He IS coming again to take us HOME (John 14:1-3).
Matt Solomon's post on Facebook elicited many responses which covered the full spectrum from: "No, we cannot lose our salvation" - to - "Absolutely, if you don't toe the line, you are lost!"
And, the long Facebook discussion which followed led me to revisit a blog I had written and posted on November 17, 2014 titled: "Hebrews 6 And Salvation - Where Do You Stand?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
One cannot build a theology upon one or two Scripture verses or passages - regardless of which verses or passages are chosen. Theology, like a house, must be built upon a solid foundation, and constructed using sound teachings taken from all of Scripture. And, when the house we are building is our "Home of Eternal Salvation" - the only foundation can be Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 3:11, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
So, when we are building a theology which defines our eternal salvation - we begin with the firm foundation, Jesus Christ. In John 3:3-5 Jesus tells Nicodemus, and us, that to see the kingdom of God, i.e., to have eternal life, a person must be born again of the water and the Spirit. The Spirit being the Holy Spirit and the "water" being the Word of God (John 4:7-14).
In Ephesians 1:13, we are told that upon hearing the Word of God, i.e., drinking of His Living Water, and believing - we are indwelled and sealed with the Holy Spirit. That is Justification, we are brought into God's family (John 1:12) "just as if we had never sinned." We are covered by the spiritual umbrella of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is imputed, or attributed, to us the moment we believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (Romans 3:22, 4:5, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Titus 3:5).
And, we are told in Ephesians 4:30 that, being sealed (Ephesians 1:13), our "Holy Spirit Seal" stays intact until the day of our redemption, i.e., the day we die in this mortal body or the day we are raptured from this mortal body.
That, my Friend, IS "eternal security" - knowing that we have the Holy Spirit within us until the day we are taken up into heaven.
Then, Jesus Christ adds brick and mortar to our "Home of Eternal Security" by telling us, "He who believes HAS eternal life" (John 6:47) - "eternal" having only one meaning: never ending.
He tells us that NO ONE can snatch the Christian believer from His hands, nor from the Father's hands (John 10:28-29). Paul assures us, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). That is "eternal security!"
There are many more Scripture verses/passages which assure us that the Christian believer, who has been Justified by believing and receiving Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior - can never, and will never, lose that assurance of eternal (never ending) life in the presence of God.
However, virtually all non-believers, and many of our Christian brethren whose beliefs are based upon either a legalistic theology or a liberal theology (such as our Arminian brethren and our Roman Catholic friends) - still believe that a true believer can lose his/her salvation. In other words, our legalistic and liberal theology brethren acknowledge that we are saved "by grace through faith in Jesus Christ" plus nothing else. Yet, they do not believe that Jesus Christ has the power to keep us saved (compare with Jude 24-25).
Our Calvinist brethren want to limit the grace of God by saying that He only wants to save some of the people He created in His image, the Elect (a teaching which is denied by 2 Peter 3:9). And, our Arminian brethren want to limit God's power, His sufficiency, His ability to hold on to those He has saved. The latter, our Arminian brethren, walk though life always looking over their shoulders, afraid that some small or unknown sin will take away their salvation.
Both of these erroneous teachings, or theologies, occur because these dear brethren want to build their "Home of Eternal Salvation" upon a few selected, cherry picked Scripture verses/passages. Our theology MUST be built upon the full 66 books of Scripture.
All of these Friends, the non-believers, our Liberal brethren, and our Arminian leaning brethren, have a few pat rebuttals against the Bible's teaching of "eternal security" for believers, i.e., "once saved, always saved" (which they have shortened to the label OSAS):
1. They tell us that if OSAS were true, then a person could become a believer - then, go live like hell, i.e., go back into the world, sin all they want - and still be saved. They refer to this as our "license to sin."
That is a false assumption based upon a misunderstanding of what happens when a person is saved. We believers are the promised Bride of Christ - indwelled and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God the very moment we believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 1:13). We have committed ourselves to Him, to following Him. Will we sin? Unfortunately, yes, for we are all still weak, frail humans with an innate sin nature.
But, praise God, we are "forgiven sinners" - we are "forgiven sinners" who cannot go back into the world and live an active sin lifestyle. For we have the Holy Spirit of God living within us, who has sealed us in Christ.
Sin is when we, either inadvertently or on purpose, do something which is against the will and commandment of God.
Sin Lifestyle is when we chose to make that sin (homosexuality, adultery, stealing, etc.) our active, permanent way of life.
If a person does choose to turn his/her back and walk away from Christ when He knocks (Revelation 3:20) and live an active sin lifestyle - it is obvious that person was never indwelled by the Holy Spirit and has never made an eternal commitment to Jesus Christ.
Another point raised by those who believe that a Christian believer can loose his/her salvation is:
2. A person can be a true believer - and then decide to turn away from the Christian faith, i.e., just walk away from eternal life in Jesus Christ. If we show them John 19:27-29, their reply is, "Okay, so no one can snatch you out of His hands - but, you can remove yourself, you can walk away."
Can you really? Let's examine that Scripture passage, which is the assurance, the promise of Jesus Christ Himself:
John 10:27-29, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
First, "no one" means, well, it means NO ONE! That "no one" by definition is all inclusive and has to also include the believer himself.
Christ tells us that He gives us eternal life. Eternal, as I pointed out earlier, has only one meaning: never ending! If the life that Christ gives us is never ending - that has to mean that no one could snatch us away AND that we cannot just decide to walk away. For we have a bilateral commitment - a commitment from us and a commitment from Jesus Christ - that the believer will spend "eternity" - never ending eternity - in the presence of God, in heaven.
A Christian is one who has been redeemed from sin and placed on the path to heaven. He is a new creation, and his heart has been turned toward God. His old nature is gone, passed away. His new nature would no more desire to give back his salvation and return to his old self, condemned to hell for eternity for sin, than a heart transplant recipient would want to give back his new heart and have his old, diseased one placed back in his chest. The concept of a Christian giving back his salvation is unscriptural and unthinkable. (http://www.gotquestions.org/give-back-salvation.html)
And, the favorite proof of text our non-believing Friends, and our liberal or legalistic theology brethren is:
3. Hebrews 6:4-6 is proof that a person can be a believer - and then lose that salvation!
Not true. Please keep in mind that regardless of how you interpret this Hebrews Scripture passage - it cannot negate the many Scripture passages which assure us of our eternal security in Jesus Christ. God does not change His mind, God does not lie, and God does not contradict Himself.
So, when God tells us, "He who believes HAS ETERNAL LIFE" (John 6:47) - we can take that to the bank! Eternal has only one meaning: "Never ending! Lasting or existing forever. Without end." Isn't that the kind of assurance that all believers in Jesus Christ should expect? Isn't that the reward we should expect when our faith has been placed in Jesus Christ?
But, let's talk in more depth about that Hebrews Scripture passage. We will back up and start with Hebrews 5:11 to get a more complete picture of what the writer of Hebrews (many believe this is Paul) is telling us:
Hebrews 5:11-14, "Concerning Him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
Is the writer of Hebrews speaking to believers? Yes. But, he is admonishing them. For he tells them that, by now, they should be mature Christian believers - able to teach others; but, because they are dull of hearing (spiritually), they are still babes, infants, in Christ. They have allowed the world to distract them from maturing in the Word of God.
Hebrews 6:1-3, "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits."
In the book of Hebrews, we are not told for sure who Paul is addressing. Some theologians and scholars believe that a large part of this book may have been a sermon, later written into a letter or epistle. But, the writer is concerned that many of the Jews who had become believers, and then lapsed into "dullness of spiritual hearing" - were in danger of falling back into Judaism.
Important point: Not danger of losing their salvation - but the danger of them falling back into the legalistic rituals practiced in Judaism.
Notice that he speaks to them of "repentance from dead works and of faith toward God (i.e., their enthusiasm for doing the work of God is becoming stagnant) - of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment." In other words, Paul is warning them against falling back into the safety net of rituals and the legalistic teachings of Judaism.
Now we get to the meat of the Hebrews passage. Is it proof of what our liberal and legalistic brethren tell us - that a true believer can lose salvation? Or, is there a better explanation which maintains the unity and inerrancy of what the Bible, and the Word of God, teaches us about eternal life, eternal security?
Hebrews 6:4-6, "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come - and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance (notice this says "repentance" and not salvation), since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame."
Wow, that is heavy! Are these people believers? Yes! You bet they are! But, is this passage speaking of losing their salvation? No. It is warning the Jews not to fall back into the legalistic practices they repented from (turned from) when they left Judaism to become Christian believers.
"Verse 6 concerns falling away from the faith. The Hebrew Christians were considering a return to animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins (Hebrews 2:1-18, 3:12, 7:11-28, 10:1-18). Until the death and resurrection of Christ, believers were commanded to offer animal sacrifices that looked ahead to the coming death of the Messiah. These believers were being influenced to return to the old sacrificial system and to give up the belief that the death of Jesus was enough to pay the penalty for their sins." (Pastor Freddy Cortez, Jr.)
Let's examine the writings of another recognized and acknowledged teacher and theologian, Dr. J. Vernon McGee:
From J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible Series
"Hebrews Chapters 1-7," by Dr. J. Vernon McGee, pages 109-110
First of all, let me call to your attention that the writer is not discussing the question of salvation in this passage. I believe he is describing saved people. They have been enlightened, they have tasted of the heavenly gift, they have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and they have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come.
The whole tenor of the text reveals that he is speaking of rewards which are the result of salvation. In verse 6 he says, "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance" - not to salvation, but to repentance.
Repentance is something that God has asked believers to do. For example, read the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, as recorded in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3. He tells every one of the churches to repent. That is His message for believers.
So the writer of Hebrews is talking about the fruit of salvation, not about the root of salvation. Notice verse 9 again:
"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation (he hasn't been discussing salvation, but the things that accompany salvation), though we thus speak."
He is speaking of the fruit of the Christian's life and the reward that comes to him as the result. The whole tenor of this passage is that he is warning them of the possibility of losing their reward. There is danger, Paul said, of our entire works being burned up so that we will have nothing for which we could be rewarded.
"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
The work of every believer, my friend, is going to be tested by fire, and fire burns! The work you are doing today for Christ is going to be tested by fire. . .
Read again (Hebrews 6) verse 1 and notice that the writer is talking to folk about repentance from dead works - not (loss of) salvation, but repentance (from dead works). You will recall that John the Baptist also preached this to the people: "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance . . ." (Luke 3:8). He was referring to that which is the evidence of repentance. Repentance in our day does not mean the shedding of a few tears; it means turning toward Jesus Christ, which means a change of direction in your life, in your way of living.
Many of the Jewish believers were returning to temple sacrifice at that time, and the writer to the Hebrews was warning them of the danger of that. Before Christ came, every sacrifice was a picture of Him and pointed to His coming. But after Christ came and died on the Cross, that which God had commanded in the Old Testament (animal sacrifices) actually became sin.
My Friends, if you are a Christian believer, or if you decide to become a Christian believer - there is one Biblical Truth that you can take to the bank: When you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - no power on this earth or in heaven can, or will, take that eternal life in Christ from you. When you are adopted into the Family of God, you HAVE eternal security, eternal life in Christ - and NO ONE can take that from you.
From the moment that you "heard the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation - and believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13). You are secure in that Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing throughout your full mortal life (Ephesians 4:30). For "by grace you have been saved through faith" - alone, no works involved (Ephesians 2:8-9). And, you "HAVE eternal life" (John 6:47). Could you want more security than that? Could you have more security than that?
So, relax! If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - you are a Child of God, adopted permanently into the Family of God! Welcome, brethren!
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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