My take on the old “Can We loose our salvation” question
Got a note this week from someone asking where I was in my understanding of the question…can a person loose their salvation once they’ve become a Christian?….I decided to post my letter to them here, since it does capture where I’m at in my understanding, and since this blog is titled “Christianity as I understand it”….
Good morning _____________
Just sitting here enjoying some peace and quiet…thought I’d take a stab at my understanding of the “can you loose your salvation nor not discussion”.
There are verses that would seem to support both sides of this discussion, and since you come from a Baptistic persuasion, I’m not going to take the time to start looking them up…I know you can find them….What I thought I would do was throw out some of my observations/ concerns on both perspectives and end w/ where I am currently in my understanding.
Concerns about the “NO you can’t loose your salvation” viewpoint
One of the biggest concerns I have with this viewpoint is I’ve known lots of people (both men and women) who are hard core died in the wool Bible believing people who have no doubt they’re “saved”…they asked Jesus into their heart…they know their bibles inside and out and yet if you were to look at their lives practically speaking…the “fruit” of a vibrant relationship with Christ is strangely lacking..no fruit, no compassion, very judgemental, they may darken the door of their church building 3 or 4 times a week, but they are mean spirited, no joy, have no clue how to effectively win someones heart for Christ, and since they are so “secure” in their belief that they are “saved”, they would discount any questioning along these lines as simply, there are different levels of relationship with Christ..and just between you and them, while they are saved, they are either baby Christians, or “fleshly”/ carnal Christians….but, since they have said the “sinners prayer”..it’s a one time time deal, and it’s just the Devil talking when someone would challenge the genuineness of their conversion experience…
I would say to that person…you might just want to check out that passage in Matthew…with the sheep and the goats…where the “goats” came before Him on that last day and Jesus said to them…you called me Lord, Lord, but didn’t do what I told you….be gone from me….
Concerns about the “Yes you can loose your salvation viewpoint
Biggest problem I have with this is, if you can’t feel any genuine sense of security in your relationship with God (cause you’re afraid you may have just “lost your salvation” cause you really did screw up in a big way…you loose one of the biggest gifts God gives us in Christ…unconditional love not based upon our performance….If you are a person with a tender conscience, then you are painfully aware of the depth of your depravity… I also think this perspective puts way too much stock in our ability to live the Christian life…we simply can not do anything in our own strength as Christians…I believe the Christian life (joy, peace, kindness, effective evangelism…etc) all of it flows as a byproduct of my connection to Christ..when I am in fellowship with him, it really is just his life flowing into my life..just like in John’s Gospel where Jesus compared us to branches attached to the vine..it’s not DM touching anyone spiritually…ever…either it’s Christ’s life in me or nothing…we don’t draw people to God…we can’t live the Christian life…it’s all Jesus…even maintaining our relationship with him..we don’t have what it takes long term to stay “connected” to him…as that old hymn puts it…”Prone to wander…Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love…”
Where I’m at in my understanding on this question.
I would like to suggest a 3rd way of looking at this..
We cannot know the condition of another person’s soul….simply can’t know…we can catch glimpses into their heart…(again, for me I look for fruit)…how do they treat their family members, do they have any sense of brokenness when God puts his finger on a sin….do they have any desire to reach out to people w/ God’s love? (I know God prunes his children, so there may be years in our lives when we don’t feel like praying, getting into the scriptures, being with Christians..
pruning (suffering is one form of it)…sometimes throws us for a big loop..I understand that..
when I was in the valley of a moderate time of depression (off and on for about 2 years) …I felt angry at God, angry at my Christian friends….there was no thought in my mind I was going to loose my salvation during that time..but I also had this healthy sense I didn’t want to give in to the dark side of my life….so the fear of what I was capable of was in the back of my mind….
There is a doctrine called the “Perseverance of the saints” Christians from the Reformed camp teach…basically, it means, that if the work of Salvation is a genuine conversion, then you will persevere until you die….you and I are not able to see into another person’s soul, so there is no way 100% guaranteed that you can know if a person is really a Christian..but if they are..then they will continue…
Salvation is a free gift, a part from our performance..it is unconditional love…God loves us- period….I think he applauds every time we make any effort to respond to his working in our lives…sure we sin, fall down, 3 steps forward sometimes, then 2 steps backward…he’s standing there with love in his eyes…saying to us…come on, you can do it..get up…come on.. :-) just like you guys will do when you watch your little baby try to walk..
Do I think I can loose my salvation…nope…there is this inner peace and pull, just like metal toward a magnet…I have no doubt God has planted faith in this soul of mine…I do get uncomfortable when people start getting too dogmatic about not being able to loose their salvation..especially, when I don’t see any fruit to back up their claims..but in the end, that’s God’s business…I have enough to keep me busy just with myself..
Like I mentioned at the beginning…there are lots of scripture that touches on all these things…let me know if you need specific verses to back up anything I’ve said…
Great question…DM
