SALVATION - CAN A PERSON EVER LOSE THEIR SALVATION?

Before we move on any further in our study of salvation we first need to look at the question, "Can a person lose their salvation?" There is a lot of controversial teaching on this topic so I want to straighten a few things out before we move on.

Unfortunately, the way many churches teach salvation is that once a person is saved they can also lose their salvation. That it is more of a holy relationship instead of a spiritual birth. This is why many people today believe they can lose their salvation. If the new birth is nothing more than a relationship then certainly a relationship could be lost. Some folks even look at the phrase of being born again as being nothing more than a figure of speech. Their whole view of regeneration is too shallow.

Instead, we need to be looking at the spiritual birth the way the Bible teaches us; that if spiritual birth, being born again, means God has planted a new spiritual life within you, if it means God made you a new creation, then to lose your salvation would have major consequences. This would mean, if you were to lose your salvation, the whole process of regeneration would have to be reversed. If we look at it from a physical view point, is it possible for a person to be unborn once they have been born? The obvious answer to this question is no. Therefore, if regeneration is an actual spiritual birth, which changes a man at the center of his being, then it cannot be reversed any more than a physical birth could be reversed.

So we must then ask the question Richard Belcher asks in his book on salvation. He says, "Does the new birth affect you externally through a relationship with God and then eventually internally, or does the new birth affect you drastically, internally by the implantation of a new principle of life and then affect you externally in your everyday life because of that internal change?"

When we are saved, the Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2Cor. 5:17-18

When we are saved, we are dramatically changed on the inside. We are spiritually reborn. And this spiritual birth is a work of God not man. So do we think we are capable of undoing God's work? By saying "I'm saved," and then turning around some time later and stating that I've lost my salvation is basically saying I've undone what God has done. I have power over God because I was able to reverse my spiritual birth. This is pretty bold.

Don't forget what Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30

NOTE: Did you notice that last part, "I and the Father are one." Here Jesus is claiming He is God. Don't ever let anyone tell you Jesus was just a great teacher. He was much more than that. In fact He is much more than that - He is God. The Jews knew exactly what He meant because the very next verse tells us they picked up stones to stone Him.

So its not that a person can be saved and then lose their salvation. Instead, a person who claims they are saved and then continues living a sinful life, I believe was never saved in the first place. They may have had some "spiritual experience" but if they show no remorse over their sin or claim that God loves them anyway because He created them that way, and they go on sinning, these are folks who were never saved to begin with.

Scripture tells us in 2Pet 1:10a "...be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure..." We need to check our lives and make sure we are living a holy life, that is pleasing to God by obeying His word. And when we do sin, we should be able to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon us. We should desire to repent and seek forgiveness and be cleansed.

If you're going through life thinking you're a Christian, thinking you're saved and yet your life looks no different from the world. You better take another look at your Christian walk. Do you feel remorse for your sin? Do you know what it is that displeases God. Do you desire to repent when you sin?

A person who is truly saved can never lose their salvation. But, what we must ask is, "Are we really saved?" Just double check yourself and "Make your calling and election sure."

God bless

Rob

SALVATION - WHAT IS REGENERATION?

This study in salvation I'm taking from one of Richard Belcher's novels called A Journey in Salvation as well as from Scripture of course.

Salvation begins with God. It is not, nor can it be initiated by man. The human heart must be born again or regenerated and this can only happen through super natural intervention.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to him to seek answers about his miracles. Jesus tells Nicodemus in v.3, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Needless to say Nicodemus is stunned by these words and isn't sure what to make of this. He questions Jesus asking, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mothers womb a second time?"

But in verse 7 Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again."

First lets look at what Jesus is not saying here:
He's not saying - It would be nice if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be helpful if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be beneficial if you would be born again.
He's not saying - It is my hope that you would be born again.

Instead, Jesus is making an emphatic statement here that one MUST be born again. Basically He's saying, you MUST be regenerated. This is not optional or open to discussion. Then this raises the question, What exactly is Regeneration?

I) Regeneration is a Birth or a Creation

When you create something new or there is a new birth, it is the giving of life where before nothing existed.

So the new birth is not:
Making something from something else.
The remaking of something old.
The renewal of something already alive.
The reformation of something deteriorating or slipping away.
The revival of something dying.

Here's an example.

There was once a scientist who confronted God and said, "God, I'm now as powerful as you are. With my scientific knowledge I can create anything you can create." So God looking down on the scientist said, Ok, go ahead, lets see you create another earth." The scientist said, "No problem." He reached down and started gathering dirt for his creation, but God said, "Ah, ah, get your own dirt.

So regeneration, the new birth, is not making something out of something that already exists, its something that must be created from nothing.

Louis Berkhof in his book, Systematic Theology says the following about the new birth:

"The subconscious implanting of the principle of the new spiritual life in the soul which effects an instantaneous change; intellectually, morally, emotionally in the whole man which enables the sinner to respond in repentance and faith to the outward or public proclamation of the Gospel."

II) Regeneration is a Second or Spiritual Birth

This means that to be a Christian, one must be born twice. Continuing in John 3:5-6 Jesus notes for Nicodemus the significance of the two different births. He states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (physical) and the Spirit, (spiritual) he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, (physical) and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (spritual)

What Jesus is saying here is that in order for anyone to enter the kingdom of Heaven he must be born, not only physically but spiritually as well; He must be born from above. This also goes hand in hand with other passages of Scripture:

1John 5:4-5 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

1John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

1John 2:29 "If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him."

1Peter 1:22b-23 "...Love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God."

And there are many more passages that talk similarly about the second birth.

III) Regeneration is a Mystery to Men

How regeneration actually occurs we will never really know this side of Heaven. All we know for sure is that we are to proclaim the good news to the whole world and as people hear it, God will regenerate the hearts of some and they will be born again.

Back to our passage of Scripture in John 3, Jesus says in verse 8, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

So what's Jesus saying here? That salvation, the new birth, regeneration is the sole work of God and that the secret things are of the Lord.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Richard Belcher sums it up this way:

"A Christian is one who has been moved upon by the Holy Spirit in a manner which man cannot explain whereby a deep internal change has taken place so that he is a new creation through the imparting of a new principle of life by the Holy Spirit of God whereby also one's outward life is changed in a very noticeable and drastic manner."

I'll just add one more passage of Scripture to that:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Corinthians 5:17-21

Amen and God bless

Rob