Can a Saved man choose to be Lost?

Can a Saved man choose to be Lost?

Some believe that once you decide to be saved you can never choose to be lost again, it is irrevocable on your part. When you accept Jesus as your Saviour, it will be the final choice you will ever make about your eternal destiny. If you change your mind later and repudiate your decision, it will be too late, nothing can change it. No matter how deeply and sincerely you desire to be lost and repent of your repentance, you cannot escape from eternal life. No amount of bitter rebellion, deliberate blasphemy, or iniquitous living can change that once-for-all decision to be saved.

Is this what the Bible teaches or could it be that maybe salvation is not predicated upon only one irrevocable act or choice of the past, but upon a continuous, personal relationship of the believer with Christ?
 
Some believe that once you decide to be saved you can never choose to be lost again, it is irrevocable on your part. When you accept Jesus as your Saviour, it will be the final choice you will ever make about your eternal destiny. If you change your mind later and repudiate your decision, it will be too late, nothing can change it. No matter how deeply and sincerely you desire to be lost and repent of your repentance, you cannot escape from eternal life. No amount of bitter rebellion, deliberate blasphemy, or iniquitous living can change that once-for-all decision to be saved.

Is this what the Bible teaches or could it be that maybe salvation is not predicated upon only one irrevocable act or choice of the past, but upon a continuous, personal relationship of the believer with Christ?

4For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—

those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,

5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—

6 and who then turn away from God.

It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
Heb 6
 
I think this is our best example here.

Basically, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink - if someone makes up their mind they are probably not going to change it any time soon.

4For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—

those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,

5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—

6 and who then turn away from God.

It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
Heb 6
 
If you are so in love with Jesus, you are truly saved. And you won't have a desire to leave God. Ever. My belief is this...saying the sinner's prayer wont' get you to heaven. I mean, it's not biblical. You won't find a "sinner's prayer" in the Bible to this day. A lot of people think that if they say this prayer and keep living their lives they were and not following Jesus, they are going to heaven. No, when you say that prayer, you are making a dedication to follow Jesus and let HIM be your life, not letting this WORLD be your life. It's when you say the prayer, and really mean it, and your life is completely changed and you stop doing worldly things and you fall in love with Jesus, you're going to heaven.

Anyways, I'm not here to debate on the sinner's prayer.

So, once you love Jesus and once you're IN love with him, the desire of leaving Him won't arise. Because you are so infatuated with him. I mean, I used to be a lukewarm Christian. And when I turned my back on Him when I was a young girl (age 12 or 13), it was because my life wasn't following Jesus. But when I chose to follow him, the possibility of me leaving God scared me. I never want to leave him. Because he's so good to be. He's too good to be true, honestly.
 
A lot of people think that if they say this prayer and keep living their lives they were and not following Jesus, they are going to hell. It's when you say the prayer, and really mean it, and your life is completely changed...

I think this is a very good example right here. I cannot agree more.

If someone wants to turn their back on God, I say that is their choice. I have no say in someone's personal relationship (and I stress 'personal') with God. I will let God handle them when the time comes, not me.
 
Sinner's prayer, sacrament of baptism, along with any number of other things . is really something our minds use to say i want this . but having said a sinner's prayer in the beginning . i know i believed before that . and it is the trust bond relationship with God that is what leads us to such great love .

I may have at times .. had to get some rebellion out of my system . but God never turned His back on me . He never stopped calling out to me . and there were times when i got pretty bad .. you know?

regardless of interpretive method . i know God will never leave me and never forsake me . i just know it . the book of Hebrews is full of things that are hard to understand . it is possible our premise for reading it is wrong . because i know Him . He just doesn't give up . He's relentless .
 
If you are so in love with Jesus, you are truly saved. And you won't have a desire to leave God. Ever. My belief is this...saying the sinner's prayer wont' get you to heaven. I mean, it's not biblical. You won't find a "sinner's prayer" in the Bible to this day. A lot of people think that if they say this prayer and keep living their lives they were and not following Jesus, they are going to heaven. No, when you say that prayer, you are making a dedication to follow Jesus and let HIM be your life, not letting this WORLD be your life. It's when you say the prayer, and really mean it, and your life is completely changed and you stop doing worldly things and you fall in love with Jesus, you're going to heaven.

Anyways, I'm not here to debate on the sinner's prayer.

So, once you love Jesus and once you're IN love with him, the desire of leaving Him won't arise. Because you are so infatuated with him. I mean, I used to be a lukewarm Christian. And when I turned my back on Him when I was a young girl (age 12 or 13), it was because my life wasn't following Jesus. But when I chose to follow him, the possibility of me leaving God scared me. I never want to leave him. Because he's so good to be. He's too good to be true, honestly.


Great testimony and answer , Spinning . I say if these people who say they are Christian ( Maybe in name only ) were following the Bible , reading the word , praying , praising Him and like you say loving Jesus for what He has done for us .... no question .... their sincerety would prevent them from leaving .

We need to walk the walk and talk the talk . Then and only then will people see who we belong to . Christianity is a daily surrendering of your life to Christ , knowing that He alone will satisfy and He alone will be with you every second of the day . What an awesome feeling .

I would have to say that these wishy washy so called Christians were probably not saved in the first place.
 
We need to walk the walk and talk the talk . Then and only then will people see who we belong to . Christianity is a daily surrendering of your life to Christ , knowing that He alone will satisfy and He alone will be with you every second of the day . What an awesome feeling .

I would have to say that these wishy washy so called Christians were probably not saved in the first place.

hm like you were reading my mind .
 
The Lord gave us a free will so I believe a person can choose to follow Him or choose to turn from Him anytime they want.

But as for me, now that I know how awesome He is, why would I want anything except Him :D
 
If you are so in love with Jesus, you are truly saved. And you won't have a desire to leave God. Ever. My belief is this...saying the sinner's prayer wont' get you to heaven. I mean, it's not biblical. You won't find a "sinner's prayer" in the Bible to this day. A lot of people think that if they say this prayer and keep living their lives they were and not following Jesus, they are going to heaven. No, when you say that prayer, you are making a dedication to follow Jesus and let HIM be your life, not letting this WORLD be your life. It's when you say the prayer, and really mean it, and your life is completely changed and you stop doing worldly things and you fall in love with Jesus, you're going to heaven.

When someone leads a person in prayer to be saved, they should always include that they repent. If they truly repent and meant it then they will truly be saved. If they just parrot the words but its not from their heart it doesn't matter what they say. Even the Bible says that some will draw near to Him with their lips, but their heart is far from Him.


Matthew 7:21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.esus said every one who says Lord Lord will not enter the kingdom of heaven
 
When someone leads a person in prayer to be saved, they should always include that they repent. If they truly repent and meant it then they will truly be saved. If they just parrot the words but its not from their heart it doesn't matter what they say. Even the Bible says that some will draw near to Him with their lips, but their heart is far from Him.


Matthew 7:21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.esus said every one who says Lord Lord will not enter the kingdom of heaven
I agree. That's what I said :). A lot of the time, people just say the prayer and don't mean it. And then they think they're going to heaven because they said a certain prayer. But chances are, if they didn't mean it, they aren't. Unless they decide to change their ways, repent, and follow Jesus.
 
For me it's like being born again . if i'm born again . then my birthday cannot be revoked . since people don't choose to be born and the seeds of the parable that fall into the earth do not choose where they fall . i don't think it has much to do with what i choose .

to me choice is a symptom and at best fruit . but the root responsible for the fruit would seem to be something else .

So if the Father is not leading them to Jesus it doesn't matter what they do . none come to the Father except through Jesus and none come to Jesus unless the Father draws their hearts .
 
I agree. That's what I said :). A lot of the time, people just say the prayer and don't mean it. And then they think they're going to heaven because they said a certain prayer. But chances are, if they didn't mean it, they aren't. Unless they decide to change their ways, repent, and follow Jesus.


Amen
 
I've gone back and forth on this issue many times, because I've heard so many good arguments from both sides. I think sometimes a christian who has truly given his or her life to Christ can become angry or frustrated with God and go through a period of rebellion without necessarily losing their salvation. I think many times God is more patient and gracious than we would expect. These people usually come back to God when they become more mature, come to have more insight, know God better, or come to the end of themselves. Were they unsaved during that time? Would they have gone to hell if they had died during that period? I doubt it, but on the other hand, it is a dangerous thing to presume upon God's Grace, seeing the tremendous price at which it was bought.

If someone who, as far as we can tell, genuinely gave their life to Christ decides at some point that they absolutely do not want to spend eternity with God and want nothing to do with Him, I can't see God forcing that person to be in Heaven. Was that person genuinely saved to begin with? Only God really knows.

One thought occurred to me while thinking about this: I am far more concerned about a person who completely disregards God than I am about a person who expends the time and energy to be angry with God. The angry person is still trying to come to terms with God and thus has some kind of relationship with Him.
 
A scripture comes back to remembrance .

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (2nd Timothy 2:19)
 
I like your response, Rumely, a lot and agree on so many points.

The relationship we have with God I think, ultimately determines how it will finish in the end. We are a lot like rebellious children to God - we will all have times when we might doubt or become frustrated and angry. That is, of course, our own human nature. Did we not, as children, become frustrated with our parents when they attempted to discipline or teach us something? Did we not all go through our 'rebellious' years as teenagers (though some might not)?

As human beings we are tested continually everyday in our relationship with God. That strengthens our faith, our trust. And the beauty of our relationship with God is that He does not force us into belief; He is patient with us even when we throw 'temper tantrums', so to speak. Only God can determine whether one is to be saved or is 'lost', because He can see not only the outside but the inside - the heart. What is in our hearts is like the root of a tree, its fruit. God made us so he knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows who is stubborn, who is resentful, who is weak, who is strong, so on and so forth.

When we get into the topic of salvation there are so many possible and interesting viewpoints for it it is almost baffling. One might say one thing, another might disagree and say another thing. As I said before, only God can determine this. We can only see what is on the outside but we cannot see what is on the inside, so it would be difficult to understand a person's relationship with God. It would be like trying to find a ball in a foggy glass.

I've gone back and forth on this issue many times, because I've heard so many good arguments from both sides. I think sometimes a christian who has truly given his or her life to Christ can become angry or frustrated with God and go through a period of rebellion without necessarily losing their salvation. I think many times God is more patient and gracious than we would expect. These people usually come back to God when they become more mature, come to have more insight, know God better, or come to the end of themselves. Were they unsaved during that time? Would they have gone to hell if they had died during that period? I doubt it, but on the other hand, it is a dangerous thing to presume upon God's Grace, seeing the tremendous price at which it was bought.

If someone who, as far as we can tell, genuinely gave their life to Christ decides at some point that they absolutely do not want to spend eternity with God and want nothing to do with Him, I can't see God forcing that person to be in Heaven. Was that person genuinely saved to begin with? Only God really knows.

One thought occurred to me while thinking about this: I am far more concerned about a person who completely disregards God than I am about a person who expends the time and energy to be angry with God. The angry person is still trying to come to terms with God and thus has some kind of relationship with Him.
 
Rumely.... I have to agree with you on that one that it is not as simple as it seems and I too have teetered back and forth . But in the end it is not up to us to judge . It is ultimately God's final judgement .

All I can say at this point is , we can see the sincerety and also the fruit of the Spirit if these people are serving the Lord or not . By their fruit we will know them . If they don't display any outward signs of service to our Lord them it is pretty straight forward .

Some one can say they are a christian but not display any outward signs and I know God looks at the heart but we are also supposed to be salt and light and telling others about Christ and what He has done in our life.

I can say with all honesty that when I was not serving God and wanted to find my own way so to speak and see what the world had to offer , I felt completely isolated from God and was really uncomforable around my family when they talked about God . I wandered for over 15 years before I felt the Holy Spirit drawing me back to Him . In that time I knew I was not going to heaven and like the prodigal came back .
 
Yes, those are very good points.

Rumely.... I have to agree with you on that one that it is not as simple as it seems and I too have teetered back and forth . But in the end it is not up to us to judge . It is ultimately God's final judgement .

All I can say at this point is , we can see the sincerety and also the fruit of the Spirit if these people are serving the Lord or not . By their fruit we will know them . If they don't display any outward signs of sericer to our Lord them it is pretty straight forward .

Some one can say they arfe a christian but not display any outward signs and I know God looks at the heart but we are also supposed to be salt and light and telling others about Christ and what He has done in our life.

I can say with all honesty that when I was not serving God and wanted to find my own way so to speak and see what the world had to offer , I felt completely isolated from God and was really uncomforable around my family when they talked about God . I wandered for over 15 years before I felt the Holy Spirit drawing me back to Him . In that time I knew I was not going to heaven and like the prodigal came back .
 
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