On one hand we have those who believe that if you are saved you can loose that salvation if you choose or you are bad enough... on the other hand we have those who say that you can never loose your salvation no matter what. One say if it is a free gift that one can simply give it back, while others say that the gift is a new creation that can never be reversed. In an article "Eternal Security? Wrong Focus" the author makes a good point of this sometimes "legal" debate...
"First of all, our hope for salvation rests in God's character. He has revealed Himself to be faithful, good, merciful, just, loving, and powerful. He's not looking for ways to disqualify us. Jesus went to the cross because God wants us to have eternal life with Him. This would indicate that if a person's heart meets the conditions of saving faith in Christ in any way, it is God's pleasure to grant eternal life."
http://treasurecontained.wordpress.com/2...This is a good point, God is looking to save us, love us, and give us a purpose and a hope... not waiting until we screw-up so He can eliminate us. Jesus didn't endure such a contradiction against Himself for us while we were His enemies... just to wipe the slate clean of us on a minor infraction. IF we were guilty of the blood of God as His enemy... what could we be guilty of as His child? And why would one look for the line in the sand to cross... is it so we can judge others as unworthy? or ourselves?
Hands down the doctrine is solid on the eternal security side... however if one thought for a moment that rattling off a prayer, without so much as respect for the one listening would save them, they should think again! The Bible says that God is not "mocked" ...if we think that we are pulling one over on Him we are only deceiving ourselves... on the other hand one can be assured the most ineloquent of simple sincere calls out to God will be written in Heaven. We are created in God's image, and it is no wonder that the very honesty we require in relationships, is the very thing the Bible states is what God is looking for in our humility.
"The logical approach.
1) If salvation is by grace through faith, then works are ruled out either as a means of salvation or as a means for its security, Eph.2:8,9.
2) If the new birth constitutes us as "sons", then our failings cannot change who our "parents" are, Jn.1:12,13.
3) The a fortiori argument: since God did the most for us when we were His enemies, how will He do less (keep us saved) as sons, Rom.5: 9,10,15,17,20."
http://www.versebyverse.org/doctrine/ete...This is great news for those who thought that God placed a whole bunch of banana peels beside the pit into Hell, thinking that God was just waiting for someone to slip in... that is not the picture at all of the pains that it took for God to secure salvation for us... or the many blessings this side of Heaven that He desires to give us as well. How sad it is when children think that their very belonging in a family is in jeopardy, or sadder yet are orphaned children, making believe that they are part of a family that they are really not.
God is clear that the Spirit of "adoption" within us calls out to Him "Father" ...and God has not made provision in His word, for those of His children to be sent back to the orphanage or to their previous parent. Now as "children" the Kingdom belongs to us in ignorance, however somewhere along the way we are called to accountability, and our part is to affirm our allegiance and gratitude to our Creator. God is a lot less judgmental than we think... there is simply no prerequisite for admission into the Kingdom of God, than the personal escort of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This doesn't mean that we get a one-time prayer "fire policy" that requires no further relationship with God... but it also doesn't mean that if we are neglectful, we could loose our place at the supper table in the end. God simply deals with His disobedient children in like fashion... and His enemies too.
Jesus said: "Whoever is not against us is for us." Mark 9:40
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." Matthew 12:30
In a scene of the movie "Knight and Day" with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, the character played by Cruise makes a hand gesture, to show the lady played by Diaz the chances she will have with him or without him... as his hand is raise high he says "With Me!" and as it is lowered down, he says factually "Without me!" As this is repeated in the scene, one can draw a visual parallel of our chances with or without Christ. "With Jesus!" (hand raised) "Without Jesus!" (you get the picture).
In Christ we have been born again of a seed that can never again be corrupted or made perishable... that is hope, that is encouraging... that is bulletproof! Even I can't screw that up! If you though you couldn't "pull-off" this Christian thing, and that it was too hard for you to keep up... that is not your department, you are not the Savior! IF you think you are to sick for the likes of Heaven... you are right, that is why we have a cure in Jesus. Stop making excuses, and call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ...
He's been waiting to hear from you, again!
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." 1 Peter 1:23