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Lost Salvations
Once saved or always saved? This question was posed by one of our Alpha course attendees on her blog at http://imgodsfav.blogspot.com. Churches and families have divided over this question. Part of the reason is that both sides of the question can be supported by Scripture depending on the interpretation or emphasis used. Another reason is how one defines being "saved".
God certainly gives us free will and does not force us to obey Him. We do not become his children by obeying a set of rules or following a formula but by being sealed, changed and reborn in spirit. If, through Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit and are being led by the Spirit of Christ, then we are God's children. Only at this point can we ask the question whether this child of God can turn away from following God's Spirit, reject all of God's grace and again choose to live the life of a rebel.
The temptation is to seek a formula by which I can say, "I'm Saved!" And, having once obeyed the formula, I can now live how "I" want and not worry about heaven, hell or ignoring God will. In this case, one would be putting their hope and trust in a formula rather than in Christ. If we have little or no desire to seek God and His ways, are we actually His child? Have we actually had our heart renewed by the Holy Spirit? Are we trusting in Jesus? Or, are we still trusting in ourselves and in our performance of some ceremony, special prayer or a "good life".We might even be trusting in our heritage. Some people believe they have always been Christians. When I was young, I believed this for a while. If we have not recognized our rebellious attitude toward God, our willing choice to lie, to cheat, to hate and to hurt others and have not changed our mind about that sin and embraced Jesus' sacrifice for our sin, then we are trusting in a false god. Jesus died for you to find life. Without Him my life would be nothing but despair. May I live this day for you, Jesus. The false salvations of trusting in heritage, ceremonies and formulas will all be lost.
This is so debated be cause people do use salvation as an insurance policy. The bible doesn't talk about salvation every being taken away once received. Rev 3:16 states, "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." So does this scripture mean you are no longer saved if He spews you out? I love to talk about the details to get into the word and find out what He is saying that I may have missed.
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