One message says a true Christian is defined by loving Jesus and by being more Christ like.
Yes. And Isaiah 55:11 says God's word
"shall accomplish" what God pleases. To me, Jason, this means that God's word will bring someone to Jesus and then will finish the job. So, the person will not turn from God and then die in an unrepentant state. Part of my scripture for this includes >
"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:17)
This is God's word which does what He means . . . how we who have trusted in Jesus (Ephesians 1:12) are each now
"one spirit with" Jesus Himself in us (Galatians 4:19). And this union is in His almighty power to keep us plus change our nature so we no longer are able to turn away and stay away from Him. And this union has us growing in His own nature of His own love incapable of sinning, making us more and more >
"as He is" "in this world." (in 1 John 4:17) 1 John 4:17 says God's love
"has been perfected among us" . . . not
"will be" or "could be if only we", but
"has been".
So, Jason, if God's word has so succeeded in us so we are
"as He is in this world", how ever could we get away? We have trusted God and all He is able to do, and God's grace includes how God in us effects our nature; so if He has taken us and started changing us to be more and more like Jesus . . . we are less and less able to go elsewhere.
Yet, another message within Eternal Security says you can die in the unrepentant sin of lying, or the sin of unforgiveness, etc. and still be saved.
Well, our Apostle Paul says,
"But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13)
So, in case someone claims to be a Christian, but the person is becoming worse and worse so he or she sins at the end . . . the person was not growing in Jesus and maturing like God does with us. So, I would not wishfully preach the person into Heaven.
Yes, there can be newer children of God who can have problems, but our Heavenly Father succeeds in correcting us who are His children > I offer Hebrews 12:4-11. So, in case we fail, don't give up, but seek how God is able to correct us, not trying on our own. Our failure is because we are not submitting to how God succeeds. And so, we bleed and suffer.
But Jesus did not give up on any of His disciples.
By the way, we can read about what Peter did, even after he was filled with the Holy Spirit and had ministered the Holy Spirit to Gentiles at the house of Cornelius. Still, Peter was able to play the hypocrite. But Paul helped them get restored.
God made sure His word would succeed to do what He really means by His word. Peter became able, I can see, to later write those two epistles which I would say are the work of a man who has learned from his errors and now has become even experiencing much of what he is writing in these two epistles.
So, Jason, I understand that God's word means that if you truly give yourself to Jesus, you leave behind your so-called free will which could take you away from God. You have denied your self which has that sort of a will, and now we seek and receive real correction so we have our new nature in Jesus making us so we can not get away. And so we are guaranteed to spend eternity with Christ, plus guaranteed how God will perfect us in His love,
"in this world".
So, procrastinating until after death is not Biblical.
And so, I do not believe there is any such thing as someone becoming a child of God and then sinning in a way which loses the person's salvation. Plus, we grow to share more and more with one another as God's family, helping one another to be corrected into the image of Jesus in us, and learning with each other how to relate in His love >
"with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:2)
But since we are not perfect, we are wise to trust and depend on God to make sure we do not sin fully away from Him. We trust Him to change our nature so we can not. He is easily able to do this, and the Bible says He does this with us who are His children.