Uncle Bud said:
Turning you back totally on God. Knowing the truth, believeing and accepting it, living it, and abiding in it, then turning your back on God.
It is about having that life changing experience and walking with God and after a certain amount of time saying, you know what? God i know what you want, but I reject it, and you. Of course the cop out answer is to say that the person was never truly saved, but that is just what it is, a cop out.
JMHO
Like the prodigal son? The fact that you can lose your salvation is illustrated in the parable when the father disowns the son because the son rejected him.
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I know a lot of you are like, WHAT???? That's not in there!!!! And you're right, it's not in there. The fact is, if the son had died in the strange country, he still would have been a son. The nature of the father/son relationship NEVER changed, despite a COMPLETE rejection by the son. I would like someone who thinks it's possible for God to decide to kick you out of His family to explain to me why throughout the New Testament, God is the Father and we are the sons? Why use that familial description to describe the relationship, if it's so easily broken? I know that I as an earthly father, do not disown my kid when she tells me something like "I hate you." How much more loving and patient is our Heavenly Father?
Another pet peeve of mine, and I know it's already been addressed in the thread, is the absurd inference that God isn't able to save us without our helping Him out. Do they really think that God is that incompetent or impotent? That the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world wasn't adequate? Have these people ever read Hebrews? What about Galatians? Do they realize that Jesus paid the price for ALL sins? Do they realize the transactional nature of redemption? (Here is where I need to tell some people to read the Old Testament. Until you understand the picture of redemption God set up under the Law, you cannot fully understand the transaction that took place at the cross. When Jesus said "It is finished" He wasn't talking about His life. He was saying that the payment was complete!)
So that's some rambling. I apologize for not using precise scripture references, but there are some broad concepts that I'm surprised still need to be covered. The sheer volume of scripture that needs to be understood is actually overwhelming. Ruth is a quick read in formal redemption, but I'm not sure that is adequate if you don't know what you're reading about, you will most likely have to dig much deeper. Do you have any idea how many times God is referred to as the Father, and we as the sons, in the New Testament? So if you take issue with the familial description of our Father/son relationship with God, and you would like know where the Bible teaches it, then my suggestion is that you get off of the internet, and read the New Testament. All of it. Ok, I'm done. (for now)