Can salvation be lost

Now this was said by Jesus to the disciples just before he sent them out into the world to preach the gospel to the lost sheep of Israel...the Jews. It was not meant for us now, but at the same time, it can still be used as an analogy for our own personal relationship with God. Those who are able to traverse the hatred of men, and all the obstacles in their way from the world, and still come out the other side in tact, i.e. remain faithful, are then saved. Call it a test if you will. If you are not tested, then you should be seriously considering the validity of your walk with Jesus. God does and will test all who say they believe in Him.

I remember a young woman, beautiful in every way to look at, and beaming with love for everyone and the Lord. I could not fault her. Only a year later she got married and had a child who died very young...about 2-3 years old I think. It was devastating for her, so much so that she denied her faith and followed the ways of the world. Her family live in hope and pray that she will return to Jesus, but things don't look good as she left her Christian husband also. She was tested like steel, but bent like copper. Her love for her child was greater than her love for God...it was as simple as that. Sad but true. Although God will still forgive her if she returns to Him, it does show how salvation can be lost because of the lack of love.

Another way of loosing salvation is following the wrong Jesus. One may begin following the real Jesus, but somewhere along the way choosing to follow a man made Jesus who does not hold the truth and thereby binding souls in opposition to setting them free. There are so many different ways this can happen. There are so many different false teachings that appeal to the flesh. For example, those who need to see what they believe in will follow a group that bow down to idols, and those who love to spill blood will follow a group who profess to kill in the name of God, and those who believe that they should have to follow certain laws and ordinances will follow a group that keep certain days and rules... need I have to name them? Besides all this, there are those that preach anti-Christ non repentant doctrines like many of the 'you know who' groups...you know, the ones that ask you to fill their pockets with money so that God will make you rich in return. Shame on them, their reward awaits them in the form of a giant millstone especially made to their neck size....

MAT 18:6 {But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.}

Each and every one of us needs to know what we are really like, and if we take the time to take an unbiased look at ourselves, then we will see our bad thoughts, tendencies and behaviour, and because of our sinful ways we will also know that our flesh is indeed just a filthy rag that covers our soul. As one bad apple can spoil the bunch, so too can bad tendencies within your your flesh spoil your soul, and a corrupted soul will never be in the presence of God.

The place God has prepared for the pure in heart is all perfect and clean and He cannot and will not allow a soiled soul the chance to contaminate the righteous. As much as He loves all His children, unfortunately there is no place for those not willing to overcome this evil world for the sake of the kingdom of God. It shows God that their love of the world is greater than their love for Him. In denying the flesh…we overcome.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s look at whom in fact, can achieve salvation if what I have said is true. Well believe it or not my friends in Christ, WE ALL CAN. We all have the ability and therefore potential to overcome the desires of our flesh, so it just becomes a case of how bad you want it. The Lord did say He would not test us beyond our ability to overcome… {ENTER SCRIPTURE HERE}

Please take special note of the following:

IF Jesus appeared to you right now in the same way He did to Paul the apostle, would you change your ways? If your answer is yes as mine was, then I suggest strongly that you take a break right now and re-assess your faith in Him. When God appeared to Moses, he never changed his ways at all because his faith in God was already at the highest level before God appeared, and that is why God appeared to him.

The fact is…salvation can be lost. Jesus said it…I believe it…end of story.

REV 3:5 {He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.}

Now this shows that one can actually be struck out of the book of life after being saved. Jesus is talking here about a group of people of the Sardis church from the time after the resurrection. They were once all saved because they were in the book of life, but they backslid to the point where Jesus would cross their names from the book of life, meaning because of their sin they would not enter the kingdom of God, but those who overcame sin would not be crossed out. The reason for this is in the following verse.

HEB 10:18 Now where remission of these [is, there is] no more offering for sin.

And…

HEB 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

It should be clearly understood to all that are truly saved by the precious blood of our dear Lord Jesus, that once you have experienced the Agape love (holy love of God) of Christ Jesus, you should not want to ever sin again. If this is clear to you and you do indeed try with all your might to overcome your sins, then you are well on the way to eternal life with Jesus. Unfortunately we all slip up at times (for which we can be forgiven only when we ask for it), but if you wilfully sin, i.e. sin knowing that you can get forgiveness from God once it is over, then God can see your evil intentions and takes away the grace that was given freely to you, because you took advantage of this gift of God. It’s called…testing God, or being ungrateful and taking God’s free gifts for granted. In a perfect world, we all would never sin again after experiencing Gods love, but at least we should be seen to be trying with all our might to overcome. If not…then one should be seriously re-examining the level of ones faith. Am I saying that if you have sinned willfully, you are a goner? No, there is always room for repentance, but don't push it...remember what Jesus said about the demon that called all his mates back to his house. It could mean the end for you.

It is so clear in the bible and should be clear also in the spirit of ALL the saved, that God hates sin and the penalty for sin is death, and only through Jesus can we overcome it. Whenever Jesus forgave anyone it was for past sins, not future sins because he told them to repent and sin no more. So when all our sins are forgiven when we accept our calling of Christ, it is the iniquity of our evil past that has been washed away, but now that we have been saved by the grace of God, our future should not be evil still, we should hunger and thirst for righteousness, and repent of the other person we once were before. Remember, when we sinned prior, we did not know what we were doing, but when we sin after knowing God, we fully know and will be accountable.

LUK 13:3 {I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.}

JOH 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, {Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come

JOH 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, {neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

One last scripture I feel needs to be made clear to all, is good old John 3:16 because it is quoted so often, but rarely understood. Lets look at it now friends (well I hope you are still with me after all this hard line stuff).

JOH 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

At first sight, this verse offers eternal life to anyone who professes belief in Jesus, but let’s just look at it a little closer. That he gave his only begotten Son…means only the real Jesus, not an impostor that is portrayed by some churches and cults. That whosoever believeth in him…now believe is a crucial word here. There is no half way as it’s either full on belief, or it’s lukewarm, and the latter do not enter the kingdom of God.. If you believe everything taught by Christ, then there is no argument at all…sin will have no part in you. Should not perish…does it say ‘will’? No, all bibles say “should” or “may” have, except of course for the NIV. Now I am not an expert in Greek translations, but it seems clear that John is saying here…if you sincerely believe in Jesus by repenting, then you will have eternal life, but if there is the slightest doubt in your heart that brings forth sin, then don’t count on it.

Conclusion: If you believe with all your heart mind soul and strength…you are already saved because you know yourself, but if you show signs of disbelief by continuing to sin and not try to overcome, then the ‘should’ becomes a “maybe” not perish.

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Again this is not speaking directly to us, but surely what was meant for this church 2000 years ago, should still apply today. So I hope you can see by now the essence of salvation is to repent (overcome) and then to continue (endure) in the pure holiness of the Lord to the end.

Please look at this next verse closely, and understand the importance of getting it right with your salvation. 1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear.

It is just so crucial that you take this seriously boys and girls. This is no game you are playing here, its eternity for your very soul that is at stake and it is YOU that is responsible…not your pastor, not your parents, not your best friend, and NOT Jesus. He is but your judge, and all He can do for you except dying on the cross for you, is to guide you in truth among other things. He will not be making YOUR decisions for you as that is your job, so get it right or die. The above verse tells us clearly that between heaven and hell is a very thin line that divides the sincere from the insincere…and the righteous from the unrighteous…and the elect from the lost…and the saved from the unsaved. Walk the narrow path good friends, for the wide path leads to destruction and torment. There are probably around two billion people in this world that believe they are saved already according to their perception of the bible, but believe in Jesus when He said;

in Mt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. Please my good brothers and sisters, meditate on this right now and pray the Almighty make your heart receptive to the truth He sends. Salvation only comes through belief in the messiah, and to be obedient to Him is proof of believing.

Today in these latter days especially, many follow the doctrines of man which in most cases stem from the Roman Catholic church in one way or another. They do this because the going is wide and easy, which wont interfere with their personal social and business lives. They think because many follow this way, that it must be the correct way, but if you look back in history and also in the bible, you will find that it is always the multitudes that go the wrong way. The likes of Moses, Noah and most importantly Jesus, were always leading the minority (the few). To know the whole truth one needs to rely on God to lead them in the path to salvation. Paul said; Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. He said this for a very good reason, and that is he knew the son of perdition (soon to become the Catholic church) was already at work setting up their false doctrine through Simon Peter Magus the sorcerer. He knew that people were easily mislead especially when the going looks easy, so he said this to encourage them to trust only in the Holy spirit for guidance, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. In other words; be sure of what you believe is from God, and not man.

When I look around at the behaviour of those within the Catholic church and her daughters (mainstream protestant churches), it is easy to imagine them innocently expecting to pass through the straight gate into heaven. They chose to follow man instead of God, and that’s why our Lord and judge doesn’t know them on the day of judgement, because they chose to rely on man instead of Him. Our dear sweet Jesus warned us here in Luke 13:23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Be wise people and chose the Comforter who waits patiently for your call, to lead you in paths of righteousness and truth to set you free.

Love and peace in Jesus’ name. Amen!