First, notice the specific wording being used to describe what I believe is a saved and born again Christian:. Only Christians receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation with the Lord.
Nonbelievers do not have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of them. You can only be a partaker of the Holy Spirit if you already have Him living on the inside of you. Much of the Bible has to be spiritually discerned and this is done by and through the Holy Spirit.
It is the job of Holy Spirit to teach us all things and to guide us into all truth. A good example might be someone who turns completely to the dark side and decides he wants to worship Satan direct as a result of the wealth and power that Satan may be able to give him while he is still living down here on this earth. They have literally become true Satan worshipers. Other extreme examples would be Christians who have decided to join and live in some type of organized crime, who get into killing and murdering others for their own gain and profit, men who become rapists or serial killers, etc.
I believe that some of these heavier types of sins can cause a Christian to lose their salvation if they do not get these heavier types of sins confessed and forgiven with the Lord before they die and cross over. This next verse is another real scary verse.
Here it is:. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? Again, I believe this wording could be implying that we are talking about Christians. The second part of this verse seems to confirm that possibility when it talks about trampling Jesus underfoot and insulting the Spirit of grace, which is the Holy Spirit Himself.
Here is another verse that matches up with the verse mentioned above. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. You cannot have true knowledge about Jesus unless you have become saved and born again by accepting Him as your personal Lord and Savior.
Notice this verse specifically states that it would be much worse for you to have become saved and then turn back to your old sinful ways into the pollutions of this world than to never have become saved in the first place. If you are not saved, you cannot make it into heaven. What could be worse than never being saved in the first place. However, this verse is going one step further and it is literally telling us that it would be worse for us, after initially getting saved, if we once more return back to the sins that we were operating in before we got saved.
If that is worse than never getting saved in the first place, then I believe this verse is another one telling us that it is possible to lose your salvation after initially getting saved. If some of the above verses are possibly implying that you can lose your salvation — then what are some of the specific sins that could cause you to lose your salvation?
These next two verses will give you some of those specific sins. Are these next two verses talking about Christians or nonbelievers? If you match these two verses up with the ones listed above, then I believe that some of these sins, if being committed by Christians on a regular and frequent basis, could get them into major trouble with the Lord and possibly be endangering their salvation with Him.
Here they are:. Notice the sin of adultery is specifically mentioned in both verses. Does this mean any Christian who regularly cheats on their spouse may be in danger of losing their salvation? Maybe God is thinking that if you cannot stay faithful and loyal to your spouse, then maybe you will not be able to stay faithful and loyal to Him for all of eternity once you enter into heaven.
Look at what happened to Satan and one third of all the angels. They could not stay faithful and loyal to the Lord for the long run, and as a result, they tried to rebel against Him and were eventually thrown right out of heaven! There is no doubt that the above two verses are talking about nonbelievers. But is it also talking about Christians? I guess we will all find out once we cross over into heaven and we see who has made it and who has not.
But I would not want to be taking any chances with the Lord by wallowing in any of the above sins on any type of regular and frequent basis. This next powerful verse is coming direct from Jesus Himself. What is the will of God the Father? I personally believe that He may be referring to Christians. If Jesus is specifically referring to Christians with this phrase, then this is another verse that is showing that a Christian could possibly lose their salvation.
I believe this verse is also telling us that God will not be mocked! You cannot accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then turn around and start to enter into some of these heavier sin areas — and then think you can get away with it and that God will just look the other way. The sins of adultery and homosexuality are two very scary sins for any Christian to want to engage in with the way some of the above verses are worded. I would not want to be tempting my eternal fate with God the Father by engaging in these two sins, or any of the other sins mentioned in the above two verses.
Notice that Jesus is specifically talking about people who have prophesied and cast out demons in His name. Is Jesus referring direct to Christians? I believe that He is, especially on the second act that these people had been doing — casting demons out of people in His name.
An unbeliever cannot cast demons out of someone because they do not have the legal authority to be able to do so. Demons are cast out of people by the power of the Holy Spirit.
You have to have the Holy Spirit living and operating on the inside of you before you can cast demons out of someone.
Only born-again Christians have the Holy Spirit living and operating on the inside of them — unbelievers do not! As a result, unbelievers do not have the power of the Holy Spirit or the legal authority from God the Father to cast demons out of anyone, including themselves if they have been caught in their death grip.
Two Scripture verses will back this up. In Acts , several Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call on the name of Jesus to try and cast demons out of several people.
When they tried to cast these demons out in the name of Jesus, one of the evil spirits replied back to him stating that they knew who Jesus and Paul were, but they did not know who he was.
And not only were they not able to cast the demons out, but the demons were allowed to physically attack them and were able to drive them right out of the house without a stitch of clothing left on them! And these men were Jewish men, not total unbelievers. The precise conditions under which this would happen are not definitively worked out, and Protestants do not typically use the language of venial and mortal sin, but it is acknowledged that falling into particularly severe sin would cause a loss of salvation.
The Catholic Church recognizes, based on the clear teaching of the New Testament, that it is possible for Christians to lose their salvation. If it is possible to lose salvation, can we get it back?
A minority of Protestants have held that it is not. Luther opined that if one commits apostasy, there is no way to regain salvation. But most Protestants who believe it is possible to lose salvation also acknowledge that it is possible to regain it.
This is the point of the parable of the prodigal son Luke — In this parable, the father of the family represents God, and one of his sons leaves the family and embarks on a life of sin. It thus is possible for us to be children of the Father, to leave him for sin and become spiritually dead, and to return and be restored to spiritual life.
The Catholic Church thus acknowledges that it is possible to regain salvation after mortal sin, and that Christ instituted the sacrament of confession for this purpose John —23; cf. There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest. Skip to main content Accessibility feedback article.
It's stronger than saying "never, never" in English. He declares the sheep shall never perish, knowing well their continual proneness to wander and their timidity and weakness to the slightest apparent danger. Nevertheless in John , He, who endured the judgment of God for them, assures them that they shall never come into judgment.
No enemy can reach them there in His hand. Nor is it the good sheep alone which are grasped by and held in the secure hand of their omnipotent Savior--all the sheep are equally maintained by divine power; all are equally safe.
He will hold me fast. Believers are the Father's gift to the Son, and this very fact in itself insures the resurrection of every one given to the Son John , ; Our eternal security is in other and more powerful hands than our own.
Then comes the climax to this marvelous statement about our present and eternal safety: "I and My Father are one" v. Eternal Security According to the Apostle Paul. Paul was a firm believer in God's everlasting salvation. Chapter 8 of his epistle to the Romans is full of it.
He opens that grand chapter with, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" v. In delivering an address on the eternal security of the believer, I quoted the closing verses of that chapter, in proof that creation above and beneath, past and future, was challenged to produce anything that could separate believers from God's love.
At the close of the happy service, a friend remarked, "I can tell you something not named in these verses, which will assuredly separate you from God's love. Surprised, I asked, "What is it? Sin is not named, but it is surely included in the expression "things present," for, the apostle says in chapter "Evil is present with me.
Nothing can snatch you from the grasp of Christ, who has "all power" Matt. We are engraved upon the palms of His hands Isa. His hold, His heart and His power will not lose one of His own John In Romans.
Predestinated in the past, glorified in the future and in the meantime both called and justified. Here there is no uncertainty. The infallible salvation of all believers is divinely secured, and no power of man or Satan can break any one of those four links.
So absolutely certain is the divine result of God's eternal counsel respecting each one that it is spoken of as already accomplished--"these He also glorified. Every child of God should be well acquainted with these two distinct truths, for they are of the utmost importance for our spiritual understanding and happiness. Our love is ofttimes low, Our joy still ebbs and flows; But peace with Him remains the same, No change Jehovah knows. As to my relationship, having been born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit Eph.
I am no longer in Adam, but a new creature in Christ 2 Cor. Yea in the fullness of His grace God put me in the children's place. Safe in Christ the weakest child Stands in all God's favor. Yet Lord, alas! As to my behavior, I should no longer live unto myself 2 Cor. Since I have become a child of light, I should walk as a child of light Eph.
Good behavior is never the means of keeping saved; it is the evidence that one has been saved. Our relationship to God as His children is unchangeable. Natural birth constitutes you a child of your parents. The relationship is an eternal one. Good conduct cannot strengthen it, nor failure weaken it. That which is born of God abides forever 1 John Once you are God's child, you cannot cease to be His child: To "as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God" John ; Gal.
Behavior unbecoming to such a blessed relationship as child of God, will certainly mar the feelings proper to the relationship, and one will forfeit for the time being the joy of salvation. But neither the relationship of child nor the salvation can be lost. The advocacy of Christ with the Father 1 John , and the prayer of Christ for the self-confident disciple Peter, were not to restore a relationship, which was not broken, but to restore the state of soul from waywardness and loss of joy Luke David, after his sin, did not pray for the restoration of salvation, but for the "joy" of it Ps.
Your child may require correction because of his misbehavior, but he is still your child. Satan is ever on the alert with his subtle temptations, entangling wiles, compromises and snares. So if we are not alert to judge ourselves and to depend on the Lord, we may have to learn some very bitter lessons Ezra ; Luke ; 1 Cor. Nevertheless, "all things work together for good to those who love God," Rom. The sins a child of God commits must come under God's governmental chastening in this life, but he cannot come into God's penal judgment when the world is condemned.
The distinction between God's chastening and God's eternal judgment is clearly made in 1 Corinthians : "When we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
But John , Romans and Revelation refer to God's eternal judgment of wicked unbelievers. Fear not, dear fellow-believer. Remember the Lord's own hand shut Noah and his family in the ark Gen.
God Himself secured the door. None could enter, and none could get out. Noah and his family were just as safe as God could make them. The ark had three stories and Noah had his place in the third, the one nearest the heavens. Instead of Noah's going down to the "lower" level and grumbling and fumbling at the door to get out, or to see that it was properly secured, he occupied himself at the window which was at the top and through which he could gaze up into heaven Gen. His safety was founded on God who "shut him in.
Have we not entered the Door? John Are not we quickened, raised and seated in the heavenlies? The hand of God has set us there Eph. Backsliding and Apostasy, or, Peter and Judas. Carefully distinguish between the backsliding of real believers, such as Peter and Lot, and the real falling away of apparent believers, such as Judas and Simon Magus.
Peter, in self-confidence, yet real love to his Master, vowed that he would face prison and death for his beloved Lord, and yet at the voice of a servant-maid denied His Master with oaths and cursing!
Peter sinned, but his faith did not fail Luke , It is so with each one of us. Even in the darkest season of fiercest temptation, those who have the weakest faith always cling to Christ, the Son of the living God 1 Pet. A believer may, alas, go down into terrible depths of evil, and, for the time being, wreck present happiness and usefulness, as Lot did in Sodom but see 2 Pet.
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