MORMONS
IN
SHOCK
Love
warns
of
danger
IF
I Could Lose My Salvation...
1. I would be doing what Christ said no one
is able to do: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man (Greek: any) pluck them out of my hand. My
Father, who gave them me, is greater than
all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand." John
10:28-29
2. I would break the Holy Spirit’s seal,
which was to remain on me, thereby proving that God didn’t know my future when
He sealed me. "And grieve not the Holy spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4:30
3. I would make it impossible for God to
answer Christ’s prayer: "Holy Father, keep through thine own name
those whom thou hast given me, that they
may be one, as we are." John 17:11
4. I would make it impossible for Christ to
finish the work He said He would finish: "Being confident of this very
thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith." Heb. 12:2
5. I would also stop God’s promised chain of
activity in my life. "Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also
called; and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them
He also glorified." Romans 8:30
6. I would reverse God’s promise of "no
judgment" against me and force Him charge sin to my account, contrary to
His promises: "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation (judgment); but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24
"There is therefore now no condemnation (judgment) to them who are in
Christ Jesus." Rom. 8.1 "Who shall lay any thing (sin) to the charge
of God’s elect? God that justifieth?" Rom. 8:33 "God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them..." II Cor. 5:19 "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not
impute sin." Rom. 4:8 "And their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more." Heb. 8:12
7. I would become "unborn" and
"unadopted" proving God less loving than most humans. Paul’s use of
the term adoption in Romans is significant in that Jewish law made it
impossible for an adopted child to be unadopted. Rom. 8:15
8. I would prove that even God can have a
power failure: "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation..." I Peter 1:5 (One might ask, "but what if my faith
fails?" It won’t because saving faith is God-given - Phil. 1:29, Eph. 2:8,
Acts 13:48, John 6:65, 10:26.)
9. I would ruin what Christ had forever made
perfect: "For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified... we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all." Heb. 10:14, 10
10. I would show that God’s gift was not
"free" as promised: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23
"Being justified freely through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus..." Romans 3:24
11. I would show that the justification I
received on the basis of grace (undeserved favor) was lost because I became
undeserving. Romans 5:1, 11:6, Titus 3:5
12. I would dismember Christ’s body. I Cor.
12:12-13, Eph. 5:27 13. I would be "foolish" enough to take over the
Holy Spirit’s work: "Are ye so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are ye
now made perfect by the flesh?" Gal. 3:3
14. I would prove that God plays favorites -
look at Lot (II Peter 2:6-9) His life was outwardly a terrible example, but God
says he was "just" (justified).
15. I’d prove myself worse than the
"carnal, baby" Christians at Corinth, who Paul said would be
confirmed to the end blameless. (Note,we’ll never be sinless, but can be
blameless.) I Cor. 1:8
16. I would substitute my righteousness for
God’s righteousness (credited to me) as the requirement for eternal life. (This
is the heart of the matter!) Paul wanted to be "found in him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of (from) God, by faith..."
Phil. 3:9, "But unto him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans
4:5, and read this whole chapter for a discussion of imputed righteousness.
"For they (the Israelites), being ignorant of God’s righteousness and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth." Rom. 10:3, "For He(God)
hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him." II Cor. 5:21
17. I would nullify the principle seen in
Luke 18:9-14, Romans 10:9-13 and John 5:24 of instantaneous salvation,
which enables us to know it is ours now. I John 5:10-13.
18. I would make Christ a liar in His
promise, "I will never (very strong in the Greek: never, no, not ever)
leave thee nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5) and "the Son abideth ever
(forever)" John 8:35.
19. I would prove that "law" reigns
supreme over God’s grace, disproving Romans 5:21, which says grace reigns to
lead us to eternal life. The previous verse says that no matter how much sin,
there is always a superabundance of grace beyond it. See also Romans 6:14
20. I would make void the promise that the
gifts (salvation is a gift) and calling of God are without repentance (a change
of mind). Romans 11:29
21. I would make nonsense of the Bible’s
references to certainty in the matter of salvation - Romans 4:16, Heb.
6:19-20, I John 5:13, John 5:24.
22. I would make nonsense of such statements
as these: We know that our labor is not in vain and we know we shall
be changed. I John 3:2, Phil. 3:12-21, I Cor. 15:57-58.
23. I would demonstrate that I have
supernatural knowledge, for I would KNOW that I was saved previously, and I
would KNOW that I am now lost, and I would KNOW that such will never change in
the future. Guilt from rebellion admittedly makes one FEEL lost. But what is
our final authority here, Bible facts, or subjective feelings?
24. If I could lose my salvation, I would
prove I never had the genuine article, for God never promises
"temporary life"; He only offers eternal(everlasting) life. John
3:15-16, 36
Over 45 passages are listed above. And
this is not an exhaustive study. Why, then, do some people believe salvation
can be lost? Perhaps, in part, because they have misunderstood the following
scriptures:
Hebrews 6:4-6 (paraphrased) It is impossible for those enlightened
to be renewed to repentance IF they fall away. Interestingly, this seems to say
"If you lose it, you can’t get it back." But those I’ve talked to
DENY THIS!
Let’s check the context. What are
"Hebrews"? Jews. What were they in danger of falling away TO (pardon
the grammar). Sin? No, back into faith in the first (law) covenant as their
source of righteousness, rather than in Christ alone as their source of
righteousness. This book was written before 70 AD and the Jewish temple was
still standing; animal sacrifices were still being offered. But remember - such
were symbols in the old covenant period of what Christ would do on the
cross once-and-for-all to remove sin. So when this passage warns about crucifying
Christ afresh, (6:6) it isn’t talking about sinning some sin... Christ paid
for EVERY sin with His one sacrifice. We do not crucify Him over again when we
sin. It is talking about renewing the symbol as a substitute for the
real thing. The theme of Hebrews is how the new covenant is better than the
old.
Christ fulfilled the symbol, thus they DARE
NOT continue it. This was a time-limited sin (temple destroyed in 70 AD) and
probably not repeatable in our time - only a Jew would even consider doing it.
Note also that Paul presented this as a hypothetical
situation ("if"), but in verse 9 he says he knew the Hebrews wouldn’t
knowingly do such a thing (after having the situation explained). Think about
it. To do such would be the same as saying the blood of Christ was of less
value than the blood of animals. It is a clear-cut either-or choice and to
choose the old would be to say they had no faith in Christ.
Galatians 5:4 "Ye are fallen from grace." One can fall
from grace, but the question is, how? The context states that we fall
from grace through lawkeeping in order to be justified. Not lawbreaking,
lawkeeping. This is not the definition of falling from grace that I have
heard from anyone who thinks salvation can be lost! I must say (for LDS
readers) that this passage scares me, because I see Mormons as guilty of this
sin of thinking their justification comes through "obedience to laws and
ordinances". There are no "laws and ordinances" in the gospel.
The gospel message is that Christ died for our sins. That’s it. (I Cor. 15:1-4).
To think that lawkeeping somehow completes justification is a false gospel.
This passage was also written to counteract
the Judaizers who wanted all Christians to be circumcised and keep the Mosaic
law. The "if" in verse 2 tells us Paul was again speaking
hypothetically, as verse 10 confirms.
Matt. 10:22, 24:13, Mark 13:13 "He that endureth to the end shall be
saved."
This thought occurs only in these 3 places in
the Bible, and each is in the context of a description of a time of persecution
or tribulation. Note that in each what the people need to be delivered (saved)
from is the physical persecution and physical death, rather than spiritual
death.
The Bible indicates that all who have been
justified WILL be glorified (Romans 8:30), thus it does not depend on my
endurance, but whether the shed blood I have trusted in is SUFFICIENT to
cleanse from all sin. THAT is what the object of faith is to be. And it is
sufficient. That is what propitiatory means in Romans 3:24.
Philippians 2:12 "Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling."
There’s a bit difference between saying,
"work out" to a saved person, and "work for" to one not in
possession of salvation. This book is addressed to saints (set apart ones - ie.
saved persons). Phil. 2:13 clarifies that God was working IN these people. Paul
was telling them to let that power loose so it could change their life - enable
them to grow in their sanctification and overcome problems described in
Philippians 2 (see vs. 2-4, 14 ). But Philippians 1:6 promises these people
that they would be preserved to the day of judgment.
Hebrews 5:9 "He became the author of eternal salvation (there
is no other kind!) to all those who obey Him." The key word here is obey.
In what way? 100% obedience? If it depends on such, James 2:10 and Galatians
3:10 tell us that 99% won’t work. For how long? How many commands? It makes
more sense to link this to the "obedience of faith" described in
Romans 1:5. When Jesus was asked how to do the works of God, He said to believe
in Him. John 6:28-29.
James 2:26 "Faith without works is dead." God isn’t
weeding out naughty children here, he is describing genuine faith, which always
results in a changed life in God’s time. This tells me that some who profess
Christ don’t possess Him.
But there is a perspective here that must be
grasped. In James 2 we read, "ye see" and "shew me", and ,
"I will shew you", indicating that the passage is talking about how
HUMANS can SEE if someone is a genuine Christian. The flip side of that coin is
in Romans 4:1-6 where Abraham is spoken of (as in James 2).
But here, it indicates how GOD justifies one.
And because God know the future and can "see" our faith, the basis
for justification by Him is faith, not works.
Verse 5 says specifically, "to the one
that worketh not, but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. The only way to avoid a contradiction
of thought in these two passages is to put them in their separate
perspectives... how God justifies, and how humans can judge whether one is
saved by what they see.
II Peter 1:5-8 We’re talking here about the result of salvation, not
the means. As Christians grow in this pattern, the verses tellus they will be
fruitful and they will be less likely to "stumble" (trip up; not the
same Greek word as is used of a permanent fall), and they will be
abundantly (as opposed to sparingly) rewarded in heaven.
Psalm 51:11 Old covenant context. The Holy Spirit did not
permanently indwell then as He does now. Compare John 14:16-17.
I John 5:16-17 Physical death or spiritual death? Compare I Cor. 6:5
and 11:30. Some think they may have reference to Christians who broke the law
of the land which carried the death penalty.
I John 1:9 No (other) verse in the Bible requires Christians to
do a day-by-day confession of sin to be forgiven. There are two possible
interpretations that will blend with what the rest of the new testament teaches
on our forgiveness:
One makes this chapter topic
"fellowship" (see verse 6), rather than salvation. In other words,
confession of sin restores fellowship, but sonship is ours even if the sin is
not confessed.
Another interpretation takes the immediate context
(1:8 and 1:10) and applies the stated errors to the Gnostic problem (other
Gnostic problems are also discussed in the book of I John). The two verses seem
to speak to unbelievers
(His word and His truth are not in you is
what the verses say). Gnostics were NOT saved. They DID deny that they had a
sin nature and sinful deeds. So there was nothing they needed to be saved from.
Thus these 3 verses, taken together(I John 1:8-10) are saying that the Gnostics
needed to change their view of sin and admit they were sinners by nature and by
action and confess that in order to be saved.
Take your pick. Either interpretation will
work without nullifying any of the other promises of forgiveness in God’s Word,
such as Colossians 1:14 and 2:13.
Have
I missed some verses which you feel teach insecurity?
I’d
be happy to discuss them with you, but you must remember.
God
doesn’t doubletalk.
Therefore,
before I would be willing to change my view on this issue,
one
would not only need to present verses in context which
prove
you can lose your salvation, but would also need to demonstrate
that
all the arguments/scriptures I have presented above are somehow false.
Sharon Doty
