Are you saved? How do you know? Do you believe you are saved because of one of these bible verses?
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
1 John 5:13
Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
John 3:16
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31
If these verses tell us we are saved, what do the following verses tell us?
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matt 6:15
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take
Rev 22:19
away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but
Romans 11:22
kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off
It seems some verses say once saved, always saved while other verses seem to contradict this idea. Taking verses out of context can change the meaning of a verse. Ever had someone take something you said out of context and suddenly, you are on the defensive? The same thing can and does happen with the bible. These apparent contradictions is one reasons non-believers give for saying the bible isn’t believable. At a superficial glance, it can certainly seem that way.
So where exactly does the problem lay? Have you ever seen a movie that you didn’t hate but you didn’t really like either? Ever eat at a restaurant that you thought was acceptable but not off the charts? Or maybe when you were looking at homes to buy or apartments to rent, you liked some but loved others? These things were not black or white; rather they fell in that in between place we call grey.
When it comes to the bible, people seem to be very black and white. People believe the bible is God’s word or they don’t. They believe Jesus is the Christ or they don’t. They believe either you are saved, or you’re not.
Pastor Kyle talked about how many Christians view salvation as coming to a fork in the road. Take one path and you are saved. Choose the other path, and you aren’t. Yes, you can change paths at any point, however, that means having to travel back to the fork to get to the “right” path to start again.
Kyle suggested an alternative way of looking at the road. Maybe there isn’t a fork in the road. What if, instead, the road was simply a straight line toward Jesus or away from him? This reframes the question to one of “am I moving towards God or away from him?” Can we say paradigm shift?
To repent means to turn away (not to ask for forgiveness as is commonly thought). No matter where you are on this straight road, if you are moving away from God, you can repent and begin moving toward him. When moving toward God, the path is harder to navigate. Why? Sadly, this is because it is filled with more people moving away from him than toward him. You will in essence, being swimming upriver against the current. Is it worth it? I think so!
So, what does the bible say about losing salvation? A mystery novel story can’t be solved by any one clue; you need to look at all the clues in context to solve the puzzle. Likewise, we can’t pick and choose our theology based on a collection of verses of our choosing. We need to be in God’s word meditating on it and praying for wisdom.
I like the way Kyle presented his thoughts on this topic and I like the way he concluded the message.
“How do you know if God has your heart? Read the last verse of 1 John 5.”
Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21
Don’t think you have idols? Read Kyle Idleman’s book “Gods at War.” (Book review coming soon!)
May your week be blessed!
– PSG –
Featured Bible image by Cara Shelton and grave image by dozemode from Pixabay
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