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Step 7: Change the Meaning of "Everlasting"
When you accept Christ as Saviour, you receive the gift of eternal, or everlasting, life.
Romans 6:23 explains: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:15-16 further states: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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.
Please notice that Romans 6:23 and John 3:15 speak of "eternal life," while John 3:16speaks of "everlasting life." When you are saved, you receive both. And while "everlasting" and "eternal" both mean without end, there is a difference in emphasis. "Everlasting" is a term of quantity and emphasizes length of life: everlasting as opposed to temporary. "Eternal," on the other hand, is a term of quality and emphasizes the kind of life you receive at salvation: eternal as opposed to temporal or earthly. As Christ taught, He came that you might "have life" and that you might "have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Probably the greatest thing about eternal life is that it is given as a present possession.
John 5:24 reads: 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; but is passed from death unto life.
When you hear the word and believe on Christ, you have (present tense) everlasting life. Nothing is ever said in scripture about receiving this life in the future. You have everlasting life as a present possession from the point of salvation.
This means that you cannot lose everlasting life. Think about this: if your life has ending today (you are going to perish), then it could not have been without ending (everlasting) yesterday. To lose everlasting life would be an impossibility. Therefore, since to lose everlasting life would be a contradiction of terms, there is only one way to lose your salvation. You must change the meaning of the word "everlasting." That is the completion of step seven.
Step 8: Unbirth Yourself from the Family of God
When you are saved, you are born again. This is the doctrine of regeneration.
Titus 3:5 states: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Notice that you are saved by the washing of regeneration. The word "regeneration" means to be reborn. You are said to be born again because your salvation is your second birth.
Read the teaching of John 1:12-13: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
While your first birth was physical, your second birth is spiritual ("of God"). By this new birth you become one of the sons or children of God.
Since you have been born into the family of God, you cannot become lost by denying your birth. A child naturally born cannot cease to be the father's child, no matter what is said or what separations are made. So, an individual born into the family of God cannot simply cease to be the Father's child. In order to lose your salvation, you must somehow unbirth yourself from the family of God. That is step eight.
Step 9: Nullify Your Adoption by the Father
Another benefit of salvation is your adoption by the Father. A saved person belongs to the Father by creation (He made us), by redemption (He bought us), by regeneration (we were born to Him), and by adoption (He adopted us).
Concerning adoption, Galatians 4:5-6 teaches: To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
In salvation you receive the adoption of sons. Therefore, through adoption, you also become one of the children of God (see also Romans 8:15-16).
You cannot become lost by simply ignoring your adoption. Adoption is a legal and binding change of parents whereby you lose your old parentage ("of your father the devil," John 8:44) and gain a new Father. You cannot lose your salvation by turning from your heavenly Father. You must somehow nullify your adoption by the Father. And so step nine ends.
Step 10: Separate Yourself from the Love of Christ
At the very moment any person accepts Christ as Saviour, another wondrous blessing takes place. They are placed within the center of Christ's love. The love of Christ, which is beyond human comprehension, becomes your strong refuge.
Read here in Ephesians 3:19: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
To know Christ is to know a love which is unknowable. This is one of the miracles of salvation.
This love into which you are placed is not only beyond human comprehension, but it is also the greatest power in the universe.
Romans 8:35-39 states: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notice that one by one those things which might separate you from the love of Christ are eliminated. And then, lastly, all other possibilities are at once denied by the phrase, "nor any other creature." To be in the love of Christ is to be eternally safe from all the dangers which your soul might encounter.
In fact, you cannot become lost by denying Christ's love. When you give yourself to the love of Christ, He takes you into His bosom of love. This love is so powerful as to deny any other thing to come between His love and the Christian. Yet, to lose your salvation, you must somewhere find the strength to separate yourself from this great love.
Step 11: Remove Yourself from the Premises of Heaven
When you are saved, you are spiritually translated to heaven. That's right—at the point of your salvation, you are translated into heaven. Now this is not the physical catching up which is promised to come later, but it is a Biblically taught translation.
Look at Colossians 1:12-13: Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Notice that you have been (past tense) translated into the kingdom of God. To translate means to bear across and is used in the Bible in reference to a taking up into heaven. Enoch was not found "because God had translated him" (Hebrews 11:5). This translation puts you spiritually into heaven. Still skeptical?
Read Ephesians 2:5-6: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
When are you raised up and made to sit in heavenly places? This occurs when you are saved. And where are these heavenly places? In Ephesians 1:20, Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand of God "in the heavenly places." The heavenly places are the abode of God. They are heaven itself. You see, the wonderful truth is that since you are "in Christ" and Christ is in heaven, then you are positionally and spiritually already in heaven. You are only waiting for your body and soul to catch up with your spirit.
Now, for the problem. You cannot become lost by failing to go to heaven. In Christ, you are spiritually already there. You cannot simply lose out on your chance to go there. To lose your salvation, you must leave the premises of heaven and remove yourself from your position in Christ. That completes step eleven.
Step 12: Commit Sins Worse than Incest and Blasphemy
If salvation is to be lost, then it must be lost through disobedience to God. Most who teach an unsure salvation would agree with this. Yet, what degree of sin brings this loss of salvation? Evil thoughts? Bitterness? Murder? Failing to attend church? Failure to pray? What sin or sins cross the line of no return? Again, we must let Scripture be the measure of truth.
In 1st Corinthians, chapter five, a man in the church had taken his father's wife as his own. Paul states that this is "such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 5:1). One could hardly imagine a worse category of sin than this.
Yet Paul's instructions concerning the treatment of this man are as follows:
1 Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Only his flesh was to be delivered to Satan. The spirit was still saved. This matches the description in 1 Corinthians 3:15 of the man whose works will be burned:
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
You can lose every reward you could have had and yet go to heaven. Why? Because your salvation is based on the work of Christ, not on your own works. Your works, good or bad, neither gain nor lose salvation.
Another heinous sin is blasphemy. Surely if evil sins could remove salvation, this one could.
Yet, in 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul states: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
The pattern is the same as that found in 1st Corinthians, chapter five. Their flesh is delivered to Satan so that their spirits may be saved in the day of Christ.
You cannot lose your salvation by committing these or other terrible sins. You will be judged. You will lose heavenly rewards. But a human spirit once quickened by God must remain quickened. So, in order to lose your salvation, you must commit sins greater than these.
Step 13: Take the Holy Spirit with You to Hell
Although this may at first seem odd, in order to lose your salvation and go to hell, you must take the Holy Spirit with you. Let me explain.
Ephesians 1:13-14 states: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
According to the strict order of the passage, you hear first, then you trust (or believe), and lastly, you are sealed with the holy Spirit. The sealing of the Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation because "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). Therefore, to have Christ in your heart is to have the Spirit. And when you are sealed with the Spirit, the Holy Spirit becomes your earnest: the earnest of your inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
What is an earnest? In buying real estate, you give earnest money to show that you are earnest or serious about buying a house. If you decide to back out of the purchase, the seller still gets to keep the earnest money. In other words, an earnest is a payment which cannot be taken back.
The Holy Spirit is the earnest of your inheritance. He is the guarantee that you will receive the rest of the purchased possession. And the Spirit, as your earnest, cannot be taken back, even if you were to become lost. Therefore, in order to lose your salvation, you must take God's Spirit with you to hell.
Step 14: Take the Son with You to Hell
The last of the steps toward the loss of salvation does not get any easier. This step is based on your relationship to Christ at the time of salvation.
Romans 8:16-17 states: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
At salvation, you become a joint-heir with Christ. To be a joint-heir means to inherit together; to share in the same inheritance with which the Father will bless the Son. This is a promise of God.
Yet, what if you lose your salvation and go to hell. As joint-heir, not only do you share in Christ's inheritance, but He must also share in your inheritance. The only way for you to inherit hell and its horror is to take the Son of God with you to that awful place. That completes the fourteen steps toward loss of salvation.
When you accept Christ as Saviour, you receive the gift of eternal, or everlasting, life.
Romans 6:23 explains: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:15-16 further states: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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.
Please notice that Romans 6:23 and John 3:15 speak of "eternal life," while John 3:16speaks of "everlasting life." When you are saved, you receive both. And while "everlasting" and "eternal" both mean without end, there is a difference in emphasis. "Everlasting" is a term of quantity and emphasizes length of life: everlasting as opposed to temporary. "Eternal," on the other hand, is a term of quality and emphasizes the kind of life you receive at salvation: eternal as opposed to temporal or earthly. As Christ taught, He came that you might "have life" and that you might "have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Probably the greatest thing about eternal life is that it is given as a present possession.
John 5:24 reads: 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; but is passed from death unto life.
When you hear the word and believe on Christ, you have (present tense) everlasting life. Nothing is ever said in scripture about receiving this life in the future. You have everlasting life as a present possession from the point of salvation.
This means that you cannot lose everlasting life. Think about this: if your life has ending today (you are going to perish), then it could not have been without ending (everlasting) yesterday. To lose everlasting life would be an impossibility. Therefore, since to lose everlasting life would be a contradiction of terms, there is only one way to lose your salvation. You must change the meaning of the word "everlasting." That is the completion of step seven.
Step 8: Unbirth Yourself from the Family of God
When you are saved, you are born again. This is the doctrine of regeneration.
Titus 3:5 states: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Notice that you are saved by the washing of regeneration. The word "regeneration" means to be reborn. You are said to be born again because your salvation is your second birth.
Read the teaching of John 1:12-13: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
While your first birth was physical, your second birth is spiritual ("of God"). By this new birth you become one of the sons or children of God.
Since you have been born into the family of God, you cannot become lost by denying your birth. A child naturally born cannot cease to be the father's child, no matter what is said or what separations are made. So, an individual born into the family of God cannot simply cease to be the Father's child. In order to lose your salvation, you must somehow unbirth yourself from the family of God. That is step eight.
Step 9: Nullify Your Adoption by the Father
Another benefit of salvation is your adoption by the Father. A saved person belongs to the Father by creation (He made us), by redemption (He bought us), by regeneration (we were born to Him), and by adoption (He adopted us).
Concerning adoption, Galatians 4:5-6 teaches: To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
In salvation you receive the adoption of sons. Therefore, through adoption, you also become one of the children of God (see also Romans 8:15-16).
You cannot become lost by simply ignoring your adoption. Adoption is a legal and binding change of parents whereby you lose your old parentage ("of your father the devil," John 8:44) and gain a new Father. You cannot lose your salvation by turning from your heavenly Father. You must somehow nullify your adoption by the Father. And so step nine ends.
Step 10: Separate Yourself from the Love of Christ
At the very moment any person accepts Christ as Saviour, another wondrous blessing takes place. They are placed within the center of Christ's love. The love of Christ, which is beyond human comprehension, becomes your strong refuge.
Read here in Ephesians 3:19: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
To know Christ is to know a love which is unknowable. This is one of the miracles of salvation.
This love into which you are placed is not only beyond human comprehension, but it is also the greatest power in the universe.
Romans 8:35-39 states: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notice that one by one those things which might separate you from the love of Christ are eliminated. And then, lastly, all other possibilities are at once denied by the phrase, "nor any other creature." To be in the love of Christ is to be eternally safe from all the dangers which your soul might encounter.
In fact, you cannot become lost by denying Christ's love. When you give yourself to the love of Christ, He takes you into His bosom of love. This love is so powerful as to deny any other thing to come between His love and the Christian. Yet, to lose your salvation, you must somewhere find the strength to separate yourself from this great love.
Step 11: Remove Yourself from the Premises of Heaven
When you are saved, you are spiritually translated to heaven. That's right—at the point of your salvation, you are translated into heaven. Now this is not the physical catching up which is promised to come later, but it is a Biblically taught translation.
Look at Colossians 1:12-13: Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Notice that you have been (past tense) translated into the kingdom of God. To translate means to bear across and is used in the Bible in reference to a taking up into heaven. Enoch was not found "because God had translated him" (Hebrews 11:5). This translation puts you spiritually into heaven. Still skeptical?
Read Ephesians 2:5-6: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:When are you raised up and made to sit in heavenly places? This occurs when you are saved. And where are these heavenly places? In Ephesians 1:20, Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand of God "in the heavenly places." The heavenly places are the abode of God. They are heaven itself. You see, the wonderful truth is that since you are "in Christ" and Christ is in heaven, then you are positionally and spiritually already in heaven. You are only waiting for your body and soul to catch up with your spirit.
Now, for the problem. You cannot become lost by failing to go to heaven. In Christ, you are spiritually already there. You cannot simply lose out on your chance to go there. To lose your salvation, you must leave the premises of heaven and remove yourself from your position in Christ. That completes step eleven.
Step 12: Commit Sins Worse than Incest and Blasphemy
If salvation is to be lost, then it must be lost through disobedience to God. Most who teach an unsure salvation would agree with this. Yet, what degree of sin brings this loss of salvation? Evil thoughts? Bitterness? Murder? Failing to attend church? Failure to pray? What sin or sins cross the line of no return? Again, we must let Scripture be the measure of truth.
In 1st Corinthians, chapter five, a man in the church had taken his father's wife as his own. Paul states that this is "such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 5:1). One could hardly imagine a worse category of sin than this.
Yet Paul's instructions concerning the treatment of this man are as follows:
1 Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Only his flesh was to be delivered to Satan. The spirit was still saved. This matches the description in 1 Corinthians 3:15 of the man whose works will be burned:
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
You can lose every reward you could have had and yet go to heaven. Why? Because your salvation is based on the work of Christ, not on your own works. Your works, good or bad, neither gain nor lose salvation.
Another heinous sin is blasphemy. Surely if evil sins could remove salvation, this one could.
Yet, in 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul states: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
The pattern is the same as that found in 1st Corinthians, chapter five. Their flesh is delivered to Satan so that their spirits may be saved in the day of Christ.
You cannot lose your salvation by committing these or other terrible sins. You will be judged. You will lose heavenly rewards. But a human spirit once quickened by God must remain quickened. So, in order to lose your salvation, you must commit sins greater than these.
Step 13: Take the Holy Spirit with You to Hell
Although this may at first seem odd, in order to lose your salvation and go to hell, you must take the Holy Spirit with you. Let me explain.
Ephesians 1:13-14 states: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
According to the strict order of the passage, you hear first, then you trust (or believe), and lastly, you are sealed with the holy Spirit. The sealing of the Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation because "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). Therefore, to have Christ in your heart is to have the Spirit. And when you are sealed with the Spirit, the Holy Spirit becomes your earnest: the earnest of your inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
What is an earnest? In buying real estate, you give earnest money to show that you are earnest or serious about buying a house. If you decide to back out of the purchase, the seller still gets to keep the earnest money. In other words, an earnest is a payment which cannot be taken back.
The Holy Spirit is the earnest of your inheritance. He is the guarantee that you will receive the rest of the purchased possession. And the Spirit, as your earnest, cannot be taken back, even if you were to become lost. Therefore, in order to lose your salvation, you must take God's Spirit with you to hell.
Step 14: Take the Son with You to Hell
The last of the steps toward the loss of salvation does not get any easier. This step is based on your relationship to Christ at the time of salvation.
Romans 8:16-17 states: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
At salvation, you become a joint-heir with Christ. To be a joint-heir means to inherit together; to share in the same inheritance with which the Father will bless the Son. This is a promise of God.
Yet, what if you lose your salvation and go to hell. As joint-heir, not only do you share in Christ's inheritance, but He must also share in your inheritance. The only way for you to inherit hell and its horror is to take the Son of God with you to that awful place. That completes the fourteen steps toward loss of salvation.
