I'll start with
My Bible leaves out that whole "else" word. I am confused. Are you saying that you cannot LOSE your salvation, but you CAN give it back, and therefore go to hell, even AFTER accepting Christ? And if this is true, can you provide biblical references? I have had this discussion with some people and it has never been satisfactorily explained to me. Thanks.
In case you have not read any other of my posts, I will start right off telling you that I am Catholic, and fully confident and fairly learned in the teachings of the Church. Therefore, I will preface with a brief explanation of how we "lose" our salvation. It is a matter of
willfully and knowingly rejecting God's commands. For instance, I know adultery is a sin, but I'm so enthralled and hot for a guy at work that I willfully decide to have an affair, knowing full well that God's command is that "You shall not commit adultery". Does that mean I cannot repent later? No, and if I do, I will be forgiven, but if I do not repent and remain determined to do my will instead of God's, then yes, I would [likely] find myself spending eternity in hell.
In the conversations I've had with Bible Christians, I get different answers, so I will not presume to know your beliefs; suffice to say that none of us knows what we may do in the future, so we cannot literally "know" we are saved.
Let's begin with Adam and Eve, who received God’s grace in a manner just as unmerited as anyone today, most definitely did demerit it—and lost grace not only for themselves but for us as well. Rom. 11:17-24. While the idea that what is received without merit cannot be lost by demerit may have a kind of poetic charm for some, it does not stand up when compared with the way things really work—either in the everyday world or in the Bible.
Regarding the issue of whether Christians have an "absolute" assurance of salvation, regardless of their actions, consider this warning Paul gave: "See then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off" Rom. 11:22; see also Heb. 10:26–29, 2 Pet. 2:20–21.
The New Testament teaches us that genuine assurance is possible and desirable, but it also warns us that we can be deceived through a false assurance. Jesus declared: ‘Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 7:21).
Paul did not claim an infallible assurance, either of his present justification or of his remaining in grace in the future. Concerning his present state, he wrote, "I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby justified. It is the Lord who judges me" (1 Cor. 4:4). Concerning his remaining life, Paul was frank in admitting that even he could fall away: "I pummel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27). Of course, for a spiritual giant such as Paul, it would be quite unexpected and out of character for him to fall from God’s grace. Nevertheless, he points out that, however much confidence in his own salvation he may be warranted in feeling, even he cannot be infallibly sure either of his own present state or of his future course.
Philippians 2:12 says, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." This is not the language of self-confident assurance. Our salvation is something that remains to be worked out.
"Are you saved?" Bible Christians may ask. My reply: "As the Bible says, I am already saved (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5–8), but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:8, 2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15). Like the apostle Paul I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11–13)."
Credit for some of this to Karl Keating.
