Bible Discussion Thread

This is in response to those who have troubled themselves with creating the once saved always saved doctrine. If a person lives a life of a true believer then they are saved. If a person lives a life of sin then they need to repent and accept Christ as their Savior in order to be saved. So it doesn't matter if they believe they were once saved and backslide or you believe they were never really saved. God won't turn away a sinner whether they were saved before or not. So there really is no argument. Jesus will forgive a repentant sinner. Period

Hello Momsage. The 'Once saved Always saved' belief isn't something created, rather found in the God's Word. You have recently alluded to the Work of the Holy Spirit in the translation of the Scriptures (particularly the KJB). And so too, the Work of the Holy Spirit must be commenced, continued, & completed in the life of a person now IN Christ. If this isn't so, then the one claiming & believing to be a Christian is misinformed or deluded.

Your statement that "If a person lives a life of a true believer then they are saved. If a person lives a life of sin then they need to repent and accept Christ as their Savior in order to be saved", is true but simplistic. What it is lacking, is God's Work of salvation, of placing the seal of His Spirit in us, of securing, of adoption, of power, of correction even death. It might be one thing when we can observe a person who shows all the marks of a faithful Christian & we believe & accept that person as part of God's family. But it becomes quite another thing to know what the unseen life of the person actually is and how faithful he will be under temptation, persecution, or death. We may not know the person's state, but God knows & I believe, the 'Christian' himself will know.

The other aspect of this errant belief is that a Christian can be saved, yet step in and out of the faith, at will. Can we ever assume that God can be played with, with His Holy Spirit popping in & out of a person according to one's estrangement from the Lord & subsequent repentance? I don't see this happening anywhere in Scripture, rather that we remain very diligent in the salvation given us ( Philippians 2:12), not for fear of losing it, but to avoid the correction & discipline of the Lord ( Hebrews 12:5-11) when we sin; or even having to lose our lives if correction goes unheeded so that our spirits might yet be saved ( 1 Corinthians 5:1-5).

The Lord's Work is always gracious towards His children - He knows those who are His - He won't let us go.

Hi Chris: you missed the point. I have come to realized that it doesn't matter if you believe in once saved always saved or not or I believe in once saved always saved or not the bottom line is that there is a sinner who needs Jesus and it's up to us to help them find Him. God Bless : )

Thank you Momsage for clarifying your first comment. When you stated your response to "those who have troubled themselves with creating the once saved always saved doctrine", it sounded like this was your primary reason for writing what you did. But if I avoid that comment, then yes, I can see what you intending to state, that every repentant sinner will never be shunned by God. Apologies for the misunderstanding & every blessing.

Hi Chris: You are right and I sincerely apologize. I did mean it that way and I shouldn't have said that. So I hope you will forgive me and I'll keep trying, through the Lord, to do better in my comments. :( God Bless :)