"Never truly saved?"

[CrystalDragon]

I feel seriously bugged by this (among other things). Some say that if you turn away from the faith, then you were "never truly saved" or "weren't really Christian/were just pretending".

How is that fair? Saying someone who honestly seeks answers, doesn't find them in Christ, and leaves the faith is to be reprimanded or guilt-tripped and accused of not being genuine?

 

[TheSeabass]

Hebrews 3:16-19 some of the Israelites fell in the wilderness because of unbelief.
Since they fell later in the wilderness due to unbelief, can it then be said that they were "never truly saved" from Egyptian bondage? No.

 

[Stabat Mater dolorosa]

I feel seriously bugged by this (among other things). Some say that if you turn away from the faith, then you were "never truly saved" or "weren't really Christian/were just pretending".

How is that fair? Saying someone who honestly

Sounds like you've encountered some Calvinists.
Double predestination lol.

 

[Stabat Mater dolorosa]

The problem is that those views null the element of freewill which is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

 

[Albion]

If a person turns away from the faith after apparently accepting Christ, it doesn't mean that he wasn't sincere or in his right mind when he accepted Christ, just that his acceptance was more a matter of intellectual agreement than a real bond with the Lord. And that bond is hard to define.

This explanation may seem self-serving in that it keeps alive the idea of the eternal security of the believer even when we know that there are people who once believed but then went the other way for one reason or another. On the other hand, there's nothing accusatory in this view. If it is indeed true that Faith is something indelible, then the only explanation for "falling away" is that it wasn't a genuine conversion in the first place, not even if the person thought it to be so at the time. That is not, however, to condemn the person as some sort of hypocrite or phony.

 

[Greg J.]

I feel seriously bugged by this (among other things). Some say that if you turn away from the faith, then you were "never truly saved" or "weren't really Christian/were just pretending".

How is that fair? Saying someone who honestly

The context of an assertion that a person was "never really saved" needs to include that no human can know whether another is saved or not, even if the person himself knows. Therefore it is only a theological inquiry. God looks at the heart, but we are unable to look at someone's heart. We only have what the person communicates to us and their deeds to examine.

The scenario you refer to is typically that a person goes through the motions of Christianity and even may told they are saved (and they believe that), or at least given criteria by which it is "clear" to them they are saved. As a result they may believe they are saved and be seen by others as saved—and the point is that in spite of what anyone thinks they actually may or may not be saved. Then later on they turn away from God, and persist in sinning until they die. Scripture is relatively clear that this is a sign they rejected God and are not saved. One camp will say it is not possible for a person to lose their salvation, therefore they were never saved in the first place. The other camp will say the person was saved, and lost their salvation. (Either camp may assert they may have been saved in spite of their observed behavior.) But neither camp can know in the case of a particular individual. It is a scenario used to illustrate theological beliefs. i.e., for or against "once saved, always saved."

The conflict exists because there is some Scriptural support for both views.

(Edited)

 

[dayofgrace]

I feel seriously bugged by this (among other things). Some say that if you turn away from the faith, then you were "never truly saved" or "weren't really Christian/were just pretending".

How is that fair? Saying someone who honestly

How do you leave the truth little one? Once you know the truth you can't undo what you know.

If you walk away you'll be walking away from that which you know to be true, is that possible?

 

[MWood]

There are many Christians that become, or have been The Prodigal Son. In the end we all return home to a Father with out stretched arms. We are still His Sons, even when we are gone.