No Sir, you are incorrect. The very 1st reason I would point out to you
is that the term
Christian must be defined. A “Christian” is not a person who has said a prayer or walked down an aisle or been raised in a Christian family. A Christian is not someone who goes to church. While each of these things can be a part of the Christian experience, they are not what makes a Christian. A Christian is a person who has fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and therefore possesses the Holy Spirit.
2 Corth. 5:17 says...…..
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
A Christian is not simply an “improved” version of a person; a Christian is an entirely new creature. He is “in Christ.”
For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be destroyed.
A Christian is redeemed.
1 Peter 1:18-19...…...
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect”.
The word
redeemed refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid. We were purchased at the cost of Christ’s death.
For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase of the individual for whom He paid with the precious blood of Christ.
A Christian is justified.
Romans 5:1...……..
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.
To justify is to declare righteous. All those who receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and “un-declare” what He had previously declared.
Those absolved of guilt would have to be tried again and found guilty. God would have to reverse the sentence handed down from the divine bench.
A Christian cannot lose salvation.
Most, if not all, of what the Bible says happens to us when we receive Christ would be invalidated if salvation could be lost. Salvation is the gift of God, and God’s gifts are “irrevocable” (
Romans 11:29).
A Christian cannot be un-newly created. The redeemed cannot be unpurchased. Eternal life cannot be temporary. God cannot renege on His Word. Scripture says that God cannot lie (
Titus 1:2).
Scriptures do NOT TEACH that we can lose our salvation. The idea simply comes from a lack of Bible study to know the truth of Gods Word.
How do you interpret John 15:2, John 15:6, and Romans 11:17-23 in a way that doesn’t contradict scriptures and doesn’t contradict eternal security?
As for 2 Cor 5:17 Paul said if anyone
is in Christ he is a new creation. Amen to that. What about those who fail to abide in Christ like I mentioned in my last post? According to John 15 a person is capable of failing to abide in Him. John 15 speaks of those who are in Christ and are cut off by God and who do not remain in Christ. Romans 6:16 Paul teaches that we are a servant of the one whom we serve. Either a servant of obedience resulting in life or a servant of sin resulting in death.
“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness,
so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”
Romans 6:15-19 NASB
Notice in verse 17 he indicates that he is speaking to those who are servants of God. And he says to them in verse 19 “so now present your members as slaves to righteousness resulting in sanctification.” Why did he say that? Did he tell them to present themselves as slaves to righteousness because they are incapable of presenting themselves as slaves to sin resulting in death? There are many indications throughout the scriptures that we must endure to the end to receive eternal life. I know many use 1 John 2:19 as evidence that a person who fails to remain in Christ was never in Christ to begin with. But this interpretation would contradict John 15. Jesus Himself specifically states that some will not remain in Him. If He says that then we must accept that those who are in Christ are capable of turning away from Him if they choose to do so. 1 John 2:19 is referring to a specific group of people and not directed towards all believers in general. John said “they went out from us” in reference to antichrists. He did not say if anyone goes out from us they were not of us. He said “They” referring to specific individuals. Typically in many cases we can often infer that what the Bible teaches to be a true scenario about some individuals can also be applied to all but in this particular case that would cause a contradiction of the scriptures.
Concerning 1 Peter 18-19 Peter also emphasizes the importance of obedience in both chapters 1 and 2.
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,”
1 Peter 1:22 NASB
“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
1 Peter 2:1-3 NASB
“and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE "; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”
1 Peter 2:8 NASB
for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
1 Peter 10-12 NASB
About Romans 5:1, you said that if loss of salvation is true then God would have to revoke His declaration of righteousness. He wouldn’t have to revoke forgiveness for the sins He has forgiven in the past but He could choose not to forgive a person’s sins after their justification.
About Romans 11 the gift grace is irrevocable. No matter how much we stumble God will always accept us IF we repent and turn back to Him. Romans 11:17-23 clearly says that branches that have been grafted in can be broken off and even grafted in again IF THEY REPENT. Salvation is conditional otherwise once a branch is grafted into the olive tree it cannot be broken off by God as Paul clearly stated.