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Once Saved, Always Saved? (929 hits)

Once saved, always saved? Absolutely! Salvation is a gift and by it's very definition, a gift is free. Once you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are saved forever. The truth of the matter is that many people tend to confuse salvation with faith and works.

We sometimes tend to think of it in terms of perfection, which is unattainable because the only perfect human is Jesus. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive to live the best saved life we can. It just means that we shouldn't tear ourselves down when we unintentionally fall short of His will. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. Falling during the journey doesn't mean that we lose our soul's salvation.

How can we lose something that didn't cost us anything? Salvation is a gift that God offers to save you in this life and the next. God explained the benefits, made the offer and left it up to us to decide whether or not we would choose to accept Him.

A gift is accepted or rejected and once you've accepted the gift, in God's eyes, you've accepted it forever. Of course, don't get it twisted. God knows if you REALLY have accepted Him or not. He KNOWS when it's lip service. Accepting Christ...truly accepting Christ...comes with great measures of responsibility and accountability.We confuse 'being' saved with 'living' saved. Ideally, yes, you would accept the Gospel, be instantly washed clean and stay absolutely spic and span for the rest of your life. Therein lies an unhealthy view of what it means to be a spiritual being on a very human journey- WE ARE NOT PERFECT and never will be. We fall down sometimes, we backslide sometimes; yes, we SIN sometimes, but that doesn't make us less saved. Does that mean that after you've 'accepted' Him that you can go out and have a field day sinning and doing anything and everything under the sun because you believe you're covered? NO. Although there are no degrees of 'saved,' you'd actually have to BE saved for that coverage to be true. Either you're saved or you're not.

I like to use this analogy for pseudo-saved folk: I get into a car accident that's my fault and when asked for insurance, I submit a proof of insurance card that says I'm COVERED. However, when the person I hit files a claim with my insurance company, they get a rude awakening that I really don't have coverage. When that person tells my insurance company that I had a card that said I was covered, the insurance company replied, "We issue those cards 6 months at a time. It doesn't mean a person's covered." This is a perfect demonstration of how lip-service doesn't mean a thing. Having said that, I don't leave to me to decide who is and who isn't. It's not my call and I cannot see inside people nearly as well as God can.

Excluding pseudo-saved folk, falling short doesn't make us less God's sons or daughters. It just means that we need to learn to focus on building a one-on-one relationship with God and constantly ask Him for His wisdom, strength, perseverance and other spiritually empowering tools while simultaneously thanking Him for His constant grace and mercy.

So, I ask again: one saved, always saved? Heavens, YES. And thank God.

Posted By: Dee Gray
Wednesday, August 6th 2008 at 2:54PM
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I so needed to read this today. I left the church couple of years ago to work and I have been going through a lot of personal criticisms. I value my relationship with God, but was wondering if I should still pray even though I am not active in the church, but I realiza now that it starts in our hearts.
Wednesday, August 6th 2008 at 3:38PM
shakira moran

Aight for all that scripture, Avis. I love the book of Romans and have read and studied this passage several times.

I'm familiar with the passage, but I'm curious as to whether or not you're making a point about being saved. I can't tell which conclusion to draw from your post or even if one should be drawn.

Will you please elaborate, my sistah? Thanks.

Blessings...
Wednesday, August 6th 2008 at 5:26PM
Dee Gray

Respectfully Sis, I do not believe that "Once Saved Is Always Saved".
I gave my comments about this a while back at another site.
I commend you for what you Aspire and Endeavor to do for God and for people.
I hope you feel I mean well.
Nice to meet your acquaintance.
Welcome to HBCU and I hope you enjoy this site as much as I have.
Great to see you blogging.
I will email you.
God Bless
Sincerest
William
Thursday, August 7th 2008 at 10:06AM
WILLIAM W. HEMMANS III

No problem, William. We can all respectfully agree to disagree. I hope to see you again.

-Blessings...
Thursday, August 7th 2008 at 2:51PM
Dee Gray

Felicia, thanks for finally responding. This stood out to me:

"Once Saved Always Saved, sounds good because of our evil nature. We want to believe that having once accepted Christ as our Savior we can be free to do anything we want and never have to worry about our relationship again. But that is NOT what God's word says."

I believe the exact opposite and I hope my blog didn't give an impression anything like that. I truly believe that once saved, always saved.

I notice a lot of people have talked about how people say they're saved and try to use it as a weapon when they go out and willfully sin. This blog operates on the notion that the people I'm talking about really ARE saved. So, I would argue that just "saying" you're saved is not enough because not every one who says it IS. Only God knows if one's intent is do His will and operate in Him.

Where I don't question, "Once Saved, Always Saved," I DO wonder if a lot of people who claim to BE saved have really accepted Him in their hearts. However, wondering is where I stop because it's not for me to judge. God knows. And for people who gave the lip service but didn't really receive Him...didn't REALLY accept Him...again, God knows. I'm not talking about THOSE people.

I understand what you're saying, but there are scriptures that speak directly to the permanent covering instituted by Jesus when He died to save us from the penalty of sin.

For instance, take John 3:15-18 -

“The Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

Romans 10:9 tell us:

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Also, John 10:27-30 -
27 My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me,

29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me.

30 The Father and I are one.

God's forgiveness of all of sins-- past, present, and future-- through Christ is sufficient. "Once Saved, Always Saved" only means that we have eternal security because of the best decision we've ever made.

Because man has a sinful nature, to think we can lose salvation because we sin would scare the crap out of me. (Romans 3:10)

James 2:10 - "And the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God's laws." See? Even ONE sin and we're out of order and need to repent for it.

I think of it this way: if salvation is not permanent, wouldn't that be like God playing Russian Roulette with us? Is there a yardstick in the Bible that says "how many sins" we can commit before we lose our salvation? The answer is no because once we're covered, we're covered. "a life in which condemnation and salvation alternate every time we sin and confess, and we never know if we’re saved or not." If we lost our salvation every time we sinned, we'd be saved for for a minute.

And again, I question whether or not people who try to use it as a security blanket really ARE saved. Again, I'm not talking about THEM. Plus, anyone who even try and use it as a security HAS to have a clue that God is neither mocked nor stupid. (Or at least I hope so).

Blessings...

Sunday, August 17th 2008 at 2:17AM
Dee Gray

Danelle, I'm confused. Did you actually read my blog? Where did I say (or even insinuate) that you CAN "go around and doing every wrong and still expect to be saved."

As a matter of fact, I said the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you inferred:

"We sometimes tend to think of it in terms of perfection, which is unattainable because the only perfect human is Jesus. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't *strive to live the best saved life we can*. It just means that we shouldn't tear ourselves down when we *unintentionally fall short of His wil*l. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. Falling during the journey doesn't mean that we lose our soul's salvation." Did you see that word "unintentional"? Does that NOT exclude people who try to use it as a security blanket when they KNOW they HAVEN'T accepted Him (and He knows, too)?

And how is it contradictory to say, "WE ARE NOT PERFECT and never will be. We fall down sometimes, we backslide sometimes; yes, we SIN sometimes, but that doesn't make us less saved." Is that NOT TRUE? Are YOU perfect? Do you NOT EVER sin?

I am going to edit this blog so that it includes the "lip service" of saved. I actually thought I wouldn't have to go there. ...that people who really have accepted Christ would know this blog was about THEM (us).

Blessings...
Sunday, August 17th 2008 at 2:42AM
Dee Gray

Danelle, also:

"And when we backslide we ask God to forgive us our sins and to re-give us His gift."

What? Where is that in the Bible? If you're a person who REALLY HAS ACCEPTED Him and He knows we will fall short sometimes, how do we LOSE the gift? I accepted Christ once in my lifetime...and I MEANT it. So, are you saying that every time I repented and didn't go through the motions of "re-accepting" Him, that I've sinned? To get the gift, we had to accept Him, right? So everytime we repent and ask for His forgiveness, if we don't say, "Lord, I re-accept you..." as part of that, we've done something wrong? I ask that question because for Him to need to re-gift us anything, we have to re-accept Him as our Lord and Savior, right?

Blessings...
Sunday, August 17th 2008 at 2:48AM
Dee Gray

Felicia, I agree totally:
"I don't believe that a person can lose their salvation in the sense that the gift that has been given might be taken away if we misbehave, but I do believe that we can reject God and walk away from Him and thereby put ourselves out of fellowship with Him. "

It's not God who moves in that circumstance. It's US who turn away from Him. So that is not Him taking our salvation away. I agree with this too:

"I would also say that there is a difference between the person who sins occasionally and the person who makes a conscious decision to remove himself/herself from the covering of Christ by following after a sinful lifestyle." That is still not God taking our salvation away. If WE move away, if WE live in willful sinning, if WE choose not to do better when we know better, we are moving in rebellion, but God has not changed HIS position. God is faithful, even when we're not.

As for Ezekial, I receive that, but I add this: sincerely repenting and turning towards right can change that.

Felicia, I want to THANK YOU for not being ugly in your delivery of your view of this issue. It's easy to hurl insults when you don't agree with someone. However, you've ALWAYS been not only diplomatic, but always Christ-like in your delivery. I am a person who believes that approach matters. And I like yours and receive your view (although we don't entirely agree) because of your delivery.

Blessings...

I think of this like I
Sunday, August 17th 2008 at 4:33AM
Dee Gray

Does this slogan gives us the freedom to commit adultery (God will forgive anyway), abortus (God knows I can not have a baby), steel stuff from your work (my son needs a notebook, so why buy it when I can just take it), lie (I mean no one need to know the reason why I really need to leave early today)?

Just a thought for "Once saved always saved!" and think we can get away with thing we just do for the sake of doing it! Oh yes, God provides grace for everyone who does repent of their sin. Basic is that it is God's decision in the end, and not ours!

Thanks for the blog!!! Interesting, very interesting!!! Luckily God's grace allows us to go back to Him time and time again, but we still need to try not to harm others or ourself....

Again, thanks so much!!!
Sunday, August 17th 2008 at 3:29PM
Astrid Symor - Beighle

The funniest thing happened to me today. I prayed to God in the wee hours of the morning to give me either confirmation of why I believe what I believe or loving correction about the same so that I'm in line with HIM and not Dee Gray (myself).

God is so good. My husband and I were running so late for church this morning because I stayed up all night doing my homework and at another saved sistah's house conversing about this very topic and just telling her that I pray that God either affirms or provides loving correction.

We decided, at the last minute, to attend a church we visit sometimes, and whose pastor is one of the greatest teachers in the region. That church is less than 10 minutes away while our home church is more like 30-45 minutes. I suggested that we go to Pastor Steve Schell's church and we DID.

All I say is God is SO good. I teared up so many times and frankly, got goosebumps. The pastor taught on this very subject...about how being saved is more than just lip service...it's total submission...it's finally realizing that we don't nearly know it all and can't get even close without turning ourselves completely over to God.

Oh, he said a WHOLE lot...and he gave such practical applications for the fact that Jesus died once and for all...how God has not changed His position...it US who move out of His will...how we don't lose our salvation because as spiritual beings on a very human journey, we WILL fall sometimes. He talked about grace and mercy...he touched and illustrated so many bases.

He reminded us that we are God's children as believers and that while we strive to be the best woman or man of God we CAN be, that we CAN go to Him over and over again and He will never turn us away. If we sincerely believe in our hearts...we are saved.

He also talked about the difference between saying you're saved and actually being saved.

I thank God for confirmation. And the timeliness of it all...if you ever doubt God's majesty, you wouldn't if you experienced what I did today.

Thank you all for posting...I wish you blessings...

P.S.- Astrid, I agree. Tracye, you're right, too. We must always examine ourselves and our hearts and our true standing with the Lord. I said as much.

We'll just have agree to disagree (respectfully) about whether or not God strips us of our salvation. No one in the world will be able to convince me otherwise...especially not after the miraculous confirmation I got today (when I was PREPARED to receive the opposite and post it here, too, if that was the case). God had His way and I am convinced. I am His child now...and just as my own daughter will always be my daughter...I will always be HIS.

Blessings...

P.S.S. - I didn't know until a couple of days ago that there was an acronym for it and that it was a doctrine. Someone asked me the question a LONG time ago. That was eye opening. I didn't get the information from a doctrine. I got it from studying the Word and praying to God for HIS wisdom. And He gave it.

Hallelujah, Lord.
Sunday, August 17th 2008 at 9:13PM
Dee Gray