Ruminating about Christian things

[Fish14]

I spend much time trying to figure the answer to questions such as is my salvation eternally secure, how do we confess our sins, are we really saved by faith alone or am I responsible for other people's salvation. Being forced by my OCD brain to think about these while being very anxious and doubtful isn't fun at all. For my other obsessions it helps to trust God. But how do you trust God concerning a question??

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

I spend much time trying to figure the answer to questions such as is my salvation eternally secure, how do we confess our sins, are we really saved by faith alone or am I responsible for other people's salvation. Being forced by my OCD brain to think about these while being very anxious and doubtful isn't fun at all. For my other obsessions it helps to trust God. But how do you trust God concerning a question??

You can trust God through His Word... all the questions you have asked are answered in scripture. Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and then go to the back of your Bible to the concordance section. There, you will find words with pertinent scripture associated... such as salvation, find the word and then read all of what the Bible reveals, then try the word confess and see what God says. This the best way for us to learn these things... not from others' opinions but through the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings on your journey...

 

[Stillicidia]

I spend much time trying to figure the answer to questions such as is my salvation eternally secure, how do we confess our sins, are we really saved by faith alone or am I responsible for other people's salvation. Being forced by my OCD brain to think about these while being very anxious and doubtful isn't fun at all. For my other obsessions it helps to trust God. But how do you trust God concerning a question??

As far as I can tell salvation being eternally secure is something you work with, and yes salvation can be lost. There are more ways of salvation being lost than you might think, even in Heaven. One big one, is if you turn away from the faith, where you were called to be, shown the Spiritual workings of the unknown authority, and venture off elsewhere, The Lord says, He doesn't ask for anyone to pray for that person. If everyone worked in what calling they were given everyone would be a testimony to each other, wherein people can save other people, even as scripture says we can hide the multitude of sins if we turn one back from leaving the faith. I don't know the proper way of confessing sins, I prefer to dwell in His Grace, which is the mystery of Grace, unto the doing of no sins, I would see myself rather do that instead.

 

[Fish14]

You can trust God through His Word... all the questions you have asked are answered in scripture. Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and then go to the back of your Bible to the concordance section. There, you will find words with pertinent scripture associated... such as salvation, find the word and then read all of what the Bible reveals, then try the word confess and see what God says. This the best way for us to learn these things... not from others' opinions but through the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings on your journey...

Yes, there are lots of verses that seem to answer my questions. The problem is my OCD, sometimes called "the doubting disease". I'm in a continual loop of doubting ("Is eternal security really true? Am I 100.0% sure?") and checking (proving) things that are important to me.

I actually can believe that I am eternally saved and everything is right for a moment, but soon all my certainty just disappears and my state is worse than in the beginning.

 

[Griswold]

I spend much time trying to figure the answer to questions such as is my salvation eternally secure, how do we confess our sins, are we really saved by faith alone or am I responsible for other people's salvation. Being forced by my OCD brain to think about these while being very anxious and doubtful isn't fun at all. For my other obsessions it helps to trust God. But how do you trust God concerning a question??

The questions are good. It causes us to dig deeper and the result is our faith is grown. Truth is truth, and because it's truth it can handle scrutiny. What's important for us with OCD is accepting reasonable answers to our questions. In my experience I did more research in this struggle than I ever had previously. At one point I felt I had enough convincing evidence for the truth of the bible to convert an atheist, so I wondered, "why am I still struggling with accepting the reasonable answers I have to my own questions?". This is a result of damaged emotions; of which I'm still working on understanding the full implications of. However, understanding what it is helps disarm it.

Another important thing to realize is we do not have all knowledge and because we see through a glass dimly we will not have it in the flesh (1 Corinthians 13:12). However, because God has given us revelation of His Character, in scripture first (Romans 5:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 John 4:8, Psalms 145:8, 2 Samuel 24:14, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 2:4, Matthew 5:48, John 1:14, 1 Peter 1:16 to name a few), science and creation also (Luke 12:27-28, Romans 1:20), therefore we can trust Him for what is unseen (and remains a mystery - Romans 11:33) by the revelations that have been made visible. (Romans 1:20).

I could share with you many more questions that surfaced during my struggles but I suspect you won't have any problem coming up with those. May I provide scripturally backed evidence to some you've asked already?

Can we lose our salvation? - The short answer, no. Thank God He is faithful. See linked article for extensive scripture and study.

Why are we saved by faith alone? Because God couldn't make it any easier than that without jeopardizing His intended purpose for us in the first place. Plus, we have nothing to contribute to God towards our salvation. Therefore receiving by faith is not just the way God provided, it's the only way possible.

How do we confess? What is confession? Confession is acknowledgement of sin in in your life. It's agreeing with God on what He already knows about you, that you're a sinner. It's only in this humility that we can invite God to hold up His side of His bargain (1 John 1:9). Notice in that verse there is nothing else we do, after confession, it's all Him! A Biblical example of confession: Luke 18:13-14.

Am I my brother's keeper? The short answer, yes and no. Yes we are to be as the good samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) and not be like Cain (Genesis 4:9). However we need to do it with the recognition that God saves. Not us. If you fail, God is not surprised by your failure and would not leave such an important task as salvation to anyone but Himself. While scripture does say " How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?" (Romans 10:14), It's important to also understand if nobody preaches, God would make the rocks cry out (Luke 19:40). If they are going to believe than they will believe, if they are choosing not to receive it doesn't matter what we do (Luke 16:29-31).

Doubt: One more point I want to bring up is regarding your doubts. Doubt is not unbelief, there is a distinct difference between the two. Doubt is questioning what one believes, unbelief is choosing to not believe despite the evidence given. In order for us to doubt we first have to have an embodiment to stand in, that is faith. There is an extensive study on this here.

Praying for you.