I’m a bit of a runner. Last year I clocked up 500 miles in runs around my neighborhood. No marathons or ultras or anything like that. Just regular 5 mile runs and the odd 10k race.

I’m not particularly fast and I’m not going to win any gold medals, but I am pretty confident that my physical discipline is earning me big points with God. The Bible says so:

I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor 9:27)

I hope you can tell I’m joking. Physical training has some value but doesn’t figure much in the eternal scheme of things. And yet, to some, apparently it does.

“Join God’s Gym and sweat your way to salvation”

I’ve heard people use the verse above to sow fear and insecurity into the hearts of God’s children. They say, “If the mighty apostle Paul was worried about disqualification, you should be too!”

Well, okay, but if that’s what you’re going to preach, then preach the whole verse, not just the end. Tell people they need to buffet their bodies to stay qualified and then turn your church into a gym. Forget about the cross – you’ve gotta sign up for CrossFit!

What a sad joke.

I hope you can see that Paul is speaking metaphorically. In fact, he is comparing the Christian race to running in the Olympics:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Cor 9:24-25)

If you conclude from this passage that not every Christian will make it – some will be disqualified – then you must be consistent and say, “only one gets the prize.” In other words, only one Christian will win this race. And since that will probably be Paul himself, or maybe Reinhard Bonnke, the rest of us might as well give up now.

Of course Paul is not saying that! His point is that just as runners are motivated, so are we. In fact, we should be more so, not because 99% of us are going to fail, but because we’re in this for an eternal crown that lasts forever.

Now here’s the important bit – the bit where the metaphor breaks down: we don’t get the crown because we run well, rather we run well because there’s a crown in store for us. Paul makes this clear in the next verse:

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. (1 Cor 9:26, NKJV)

Sadly, many Christians are running with uncertainty and insecurity. Will I make it? Will I finish? Not Paul. He ran with certainty and purpose. Many Christians are aimless and worried about disqualification, but Paul ran with a clear and certain purpose.

How can we lose?

Now that we see that Paul is not threatening the saint’s salvation, we can ask, What is the disqualification that Paul is referring to? The context of this passage is Paul’s rights as an apostle and preacher of the gospel:

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. (1 Cor 9:16-17)

The Corinthians hadn’t been generous in supporting Paul’s ministry and Paul’s response is two-fold: (1) I have a right to receive material support from you (see verses 3-12, 13-14), and (2) I happily waive this right if doing so promotes the gospel (see verse 12, 15)

It’s a delicate subject, this business of paying preachers, but Paul’s words reveal something splendid about his heart for the lost:

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law… To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (1 Cor 9:19-22)

And then, just in case we might miss the point, Paul plainly states his motive:

I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Cor 9:23, NASB)

This is a very important scripture and you may want to check it out it in your own Bible. Note that some translations omit the word fellow but that’s the key word. Paul isn’t travelling around the world and preaching to Jews, slaves, and the weak to become a partaker of the gospel – he’s already a partaker – but to become a fellow-partaker. He’s doing it because he wants to share the blessings of the gospel with others:

And I do this for the sake of the good news (the Gospel), in order that I may… share in its [blessings along with you]. (1 Cor 9:23, AMP)

The Corinthians were stingy but Paul wasn’t worried about the money. As long as he got to preach and lead people to Jesus, that was reward enough. Jesus died for people not money and Paul wanted to make sure Jesus got what he paid for:

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. (1 Th 2:19-20)

To re-cap: Paul is not saying we can be disqualified or lose our salvation anymore than he is saying we are saved by going to the gym. He’s speaking metaphorically. Unlike Olympic runners, our crowns are assured – all in Christ win because Christ has already won.

So the wrong question to ask is Can I be disqualified? (You can’t.) A far better question is…

Why does Paul do the things he does?

Why does Paul buffet his body and run with purpose and pretend to be an Olympian? Why does he pretend to be a slave, a Jew, and under the law? Here is my paraphrase of Paul’s answer:

I’ve got a great and wonderful job – preaching the gospel. This job has its rewards and I want them. I want to see people set free for Jesus. That’s my passion. It’s what gets me out of bed each morning.

Doing this job well requires I maintain my fitness and health, which I do. Like a runner or a boxer at the Olympic Games striving for the prize, I’m intentional about this. I’m not mucking about. I’m not like those runners who don’t qualify and go home early. Not me. I’m in this to win and win big. Lotta people out there and Jesus loves them all. He paid a high price to redeem them and I’ll do whatever it takes to get them. I’ll become a slave or a Jew. I’ll even act like I’m under the law – yeah, can you imagine me acting like I’m under the law?! But that’s how serious I am. No way I’m going to be short of friends in the age to come!

Those Olympians run for a wreath that doesn’t last. But we’re all getting a crown that lasts forever. We began this race at the finish line. Since God keeps us strong to the end, we can’t lose. So, my brothers, run hard and run well!

Amen!!

https://escapetoreality.org/2013/05/06/1-corinthians-9v27-disqualified-for-the-prize/

Yassss

Now

Toooooo

Ooooo

Bro jiggaz just seeing this now. What an eye opener!
Thank you Jesus for the revelation and understand

bloodofthelamb:
Bro jiggaz just seeing this now. What an eye opener!

Thank you Jesus for the revelation and understand

Yes oo my bro!! It's really an eye opener... All glory to Jesus!!

Now

Cooo

Evening

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Coool

Now

Awesome Piece you have there. Remain Blessed.

I PM you, don't know whether you got it. If you did, pls, do reply. Thanks.

I see grace.

I see grace

Lord Jesus

FALSE SECURITY Verses TRUE SECURITY

The false and unbiblical doctrine of being saved by “Faith Alone” while seemingly offering “Eternal Security” actually offers very little security when clearly examined. For example, we sometimes see good Christian men turn away from the Gospel and commit a very serious sin. If we say that committing such a serious sin has no effect on one’s salvation we contradict the Gospel. See Below. If a person who claims to be a Christian because of a “Born Again” experience commits such a sin only to later say the his original “Born Again” experience was not a true one, but that his subsequent one was true, how does he know with infallibly certainty that this is so when he had been convinced that his first experience was true ?

Even if such a Christian does not fall into serious sin how does he know that he will not do so in the future ? He can claim as Peter did that his faith and love will not fail, but the Bible warns against making such a claim. [See Mark 14: 29-31 and the article on Love, section on St. Peter.] True humility leads us to accept how easy it would be for us to fall in the future.

The false doctrine of “Faith Alone” often leads a person to put his faith in his own estimation and evaluation of how true his faith really is. And trusting in one’s own judgment is not secure at all.

The true Biblical position actually offers us much more certainty. We are saved completely by the free gift of God’s grace that is administered to us by the Sacraments as promised by Christ and by remaining in that grace by receiving it and acting in conjunction with it by a Faith working through love, Galatians 5:6. This truth offers us a true peace of mind that is based on the Rock like quality and certainty of the Promises of Christ being true and that His Sacraments would be effective by the Power of the Holy Spirit regardless of the weakness of the Priest who administers it. And our Hope in our Father’s love for us gives us assurance that if we follow the teachings of His Church that He built on Saint Peter that He will offer us the grace to avoid serious sin.


PRESUMPTION

In Jesus’ discourses on the Day of Judgment He warns against being presumptuous about one’s own salvation. He told of how many would come to Him claiming to be saved, but were not.

Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. …
21 Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’ ”

Matthew 25:10-13
“While they [the virgins that were foolish] went off to buy it [oil], the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Jesus warns us against judging ourselves or others in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Luke 18:9-14 “He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. ‘Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’ ”

The Pharisee credited God for his spiritual blessings by thanking Him for them. However, God was displeased with him because he was presumptuous about his own spirituality and he assumed God’s sovereign role as judge.

Also see the Article on Love, section on St. Peter.

1 Peter 5:8-9
“ Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.”


SERIOUS SIN CAN SEPARATE THE CHRISTIAN FROM GOD

If we have received Jesus Christ then we have received His gift of eternal life. If we later reject Jesus then we lose that gift of Eternal life.

St. Paul says in Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." But notice what he does not say. He does not say that sin cannot separate us from God. This is why the New Testament constantly warns the believers to avoid serious deadly sin.

Examples:

2 Peter 2:20
“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” RSV

1 Corinthians 6:6-20 is addressed to believers and they are warned by St. Paul to avoid sins that would cause them to lose their salvation.

1 Corinthians 6:6-20
“But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers? … Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. … 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” NAB

Again in Ephesians, Galatians, and elsewhere we find more warnings for to Christians to avoid sins that would lead to eternal damnation. These warnings would not make sense if a person could not lose their salvation.

Ephesians 5:3-8
“But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them, for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light” RSV

Galatians 5:16,19-22
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh…19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”

Hebrews 10:26-29
“For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace ?” RSV

Hebrews 6:4-8
“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt. For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.” RSV

1 John 5:16-17
“If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.” NAB

If a person could not lose their salvation these warnings would be meaningless. The breaking of these commandments leads a person to hell, (unless he is subsequently renewed by God’s grace. Cf. Jn 20: 21-23, James 5: 13-16, Lk 15: 23-24, and 1 Jn 5: 14-17.)

Some say that when a person becomes a child of God, a son, he always remains a son so therefore he cannot lose Salvation. Actually the story of the prodigal son proves a person can lose his salvation. He can throw away his inheritance. In this story the wayward son had become DEAD.

Luke 15:32
“It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” RSV.

So, even if we remain a son, we can lose our inheritance and become spiritually dead. Because the son repented, he was accepted back into the family.

We are not even our own judge as Saint Paul points out. Philippians 3:11-12 “…if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ (Jesus).”

1 Corinthians 4:3-5
“It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.” The word “acquitted” is a translation of the Greek word -DIKAIOO (Strong’s number 1344) which means justified.




Question :

Do the following verses prove as true the doctrine that we cannot lose salvation ?

John 10:27-28
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”

Answer : No

Three reasons.
1.
The fact that there are thousands and thousands of “Bible Alone” churches each contradicting each other should give great caution to the idea of trusting in one’s own private interpretation. Since, the above doctrine contradicts what the Church established by Christ teaches, it must be false.


2.
The phrases “eternal life” and “they shall never perish” describe the gifts given to those who “hear” and “follow” Jesus, the One and only Savior. Only as long as one hears and follows Jesus do we have those gifts. Jesus has eternal life by the very essence of who He is, Life itself. The Christian possesses these gifts of eternal life and of never perishing in a way that is dependent on Jesus and dependent on remaining in a saving relationship with Him. If a Christian later rejects Jesus he then loses those gifts.

The early Christians lived in a time when life was hard. Without electricity to keep one’s food from spoiling or without the abundance of clean running water every individual had to be constantly aware of one’s own physical mortality. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Saint Paul Paul lists about a dozen different ways he might have physically died or have been lost (at sea).

Without Jesus Christ the pagans were spiritually dead and spiritually lost. The pagans had many gods. It was so hard to tell if they were pleasing the “right god” at the right time. They even acknowledged the unknown god, to cover that contingency, Acts 17:23.

Jesus gives His followers the gifts of spiritual life and spiritual guidance. We never have to worry about losing our physical life, or of being physically lost, because He gives us these more important gifts of spiritual life and spiritual guidance. In Christ we have security as long as we remain in Christ.

Protestants will often claim a spiritual unity based on their claim to “having a personal relationship with Jesus,” and “being saved by Faith Alone” and by “following the Bible Alone.” However, when they start to define what those vague phrases actually mean the end up splitting into thousands and thousands of denominations.

They have no infallible guidance as to how many books belong in the New Testament, the Bible, or to what the names of those books are. They also have no infallible guidance as to what those books mean (according to their theology) unless they arrogantly assume that only they and their small particular group is sincere in listening to the Holy Spirit.

They are spiritually lost in how to answer many questions. How can a Protestant claim to know that the Bible doesn’t really mean that Baptism really saves us even though the Bible says that it does ?

How can a Protestant claim “to know” that the Bible does not really mean that Jesus gives us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink and that we perish if we do not eat and drink His body and blood when the Bible says that Jesus does do this and that we must eat and drink His flesh and blood ?

God does not want us to be spiritually lost in any way. It is by hearing Jesus’ words and following and trusting in His promises that He gives to the Church He started, that we can have infallible guidance to answer all the important questions we might have.

Christ holds us in his hand (Jn. 10:28) and no one else can forcibly remove us, but we are still free to leave. When we receive Christ we receive the gift of eternal life, but if we later abandon our faith in Christ and reject He who is Life, then we also reject His gift of eternal life.


3.
The misunderstanding of “once saved always saved” is clearly contradicted in several other scripture passages.

When we are "baptized into Christ" (Rom. 6:3), we receive the gift of adoptive sonship. The parable of the prodigal son teaches us that if we disinherit ourselves then we become spiritually dead. Luke 15:32 "…your brother was dead…" 1 John 5:16-17 "There is such a thing as deadly sin…All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly."

Salvation is an ongoing process.

Philippians 2:12-13
“So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work."

Saint Paul begins and ends his discussion on faith using the phrase “the obedience of faith.” Rom 1:5 and 16:26. If we go to a doctor and he tells us to take some medicine and we do not, can we say that we really have faith in what he is telling us to do ? Whenever we sin against God’s will we are saying that we don’t really believe that His will is best for us. Our faith is imperfect in those instances. God perfects our faith through our acceptance of our cross that He asks us to carry.

1 Peter 4:1
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same thought, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin… ” RSV

Romans 11:13-24
“Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. … 19 You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. And even the others, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.” RSV



Therefore, this verse teaches that we could fail in kindness, i.e. love, and be cut off, that is lose our salvation.

Fire is often used in a bad context as below:

Ezekiel 15:6-7
“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have destined as fuel for the fire, do I make the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will set my face against them; they have escaped from the fire, but the fire shall devour them.”

John 15:4-6
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.”
Cf. Ezekiel 15:6-7

John 6:56
“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

The word “abide” in the above verses, Jn 6:56 and 15:6, is the same Greek word, Strong’s number 3306, which is sometimes translated as “remain,” or as in this case “abide.” The context makes clear that we must remain, or abide, in Christ because if we do not remain in His grace then we lose that union with Him by which we are saved.

SALVATION IS NOT ONLY A PAST EVENT

Some Protestants understand Justification in the life of the believer as only a past event. Some will quote John 19:30 “…It is finished.” And they will claim that this means that they cannot lose their salvation because it is past tense.

John 19:30 “…It is finished…”

The “it” here cannot be a reference to our Justification because we read in Romans 4:25 “…who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” RSV. We saw in Hebrews 11: 9, quoted above, how Abraham’s Justification was on ongoing event in his life. James also makes this same point.

James 2:21
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar ?” RSV

Besides, our salvation cannot be completed because we also read,

Lk 13:32
“(Jesus says)
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.” NAB

The third day is a reference to Easter Sunday, the day He rose from the dead.


Salvation has past, present, and future aspects in all of our lives. This is why the Bible speaks of it in the past, present, and future tense.

Past tense:

Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace you have been saved through faith…”

Present tense:

1 Peter 3:21
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you…”

1 Corinthians 1:18
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Future tense:

Galatians 2:17
“But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Of course not!"

Matthew 24:13
“But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.”

1 Corinthians 7:18-19
“Was any one at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was any one at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.”

Here, in Corinthians, Saint Paul contrasts the ritual law, circumcision, with the Moral Law of the 10 commandments. What counts is the Moral Law. If he had meant to say that we are justified by faith alone, apart from the good works of keeping the commandments, he would not have spoken this way. The keeping of the commandments is our life long journey of Justification. If we fail in a mortal way, 1 John 5: 16-17, we lose our salvation.

In John Chapter 15 Jesus tells us that we are like branches that must remain connected to Him, the True Vine, or else we will lose our salvation and we will be thrown into the fire to be burned.

John 15:5-10
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.’

In the verses above in the fifteenth chapter of John the English word “abide” in verses 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 is a translation of a certain Greek word that is numbered 3306 in Strong’s Concordance. John uses this same Greek word in John 6:56 where it is also translated as “abide.” In these chapters, 13 through 17, John gives us an account of Jesus’ final evening and Last Supper discourse with His disciples. By using the same word, abide, in John 6:56 Jesus indicates how we are to remain in His Love and to remain connected to Him, the True Vine.

John 6:56
“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Therefore, unless a person is faithful in attending Mass and continues to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, that individual is not abiding in the manner prescribed by Jesus Christ.

Those who wish to separate faith from good works are taking a position that Saint Paul never takes. Saint Paul not only begins but also ends his discourse on faith in the context of obedience. Saint Paul never separates obeying the moral law, from faith. Christ’s obedience of the moral law does not excuse us from obeying it, rather by obeying it He won the grace for us to enable us to obey it.

Romans 1:5
“through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations …”

Romans 16:26
“ … but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith” RSV

Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” RSV

Romans 6:15-16
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” RSV

Thus, we can see that while Salvation can be spoken of as past event, that is, we Christians have already received the gift of eternal life, in order for us to hold onto that gift we must remain connected to the vine and remain in God’s grace by abiding in His Love and His commandments and we must persevere in obedience to the end [Mat 24:13] or else we will lose our gift of eternal life and be cast off into the fire [John 15:6] on judgment day.



SAINT PAUL COULD LOSE HIS SALVATION

2 Timothy 1:12
“and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”

But we must remain in His protective care by persevering in faith so that we might receive the reward that He is guarding for us.

2 Timothy 4:18 KJV
“And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever.”

2 Timothy 4:18 RSV
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil and save [“save” - Greek word 4982 ] me for his heavenly kingdom.”

Matthew 24:12-13
“And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures [ “endures” - Greek word 5278, sometimes translated as “perseveres” ] to the end will be saved. RSV

We know that God will do His part, and we can have a moral assurance that we will “endure” or “persevere” to the end, but other passages that I will point out show that it is possible that we will not.

2 Timothy 4:8
“From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.”

As his earthly life comes to a end he speaks of the "crown" and he gives the reason why he will receive it. It is because he has "kept the faith," but the implication is that if he had not persevered in his faith he would have lost his crown, his salvation. Matthew 24:13 "… the one who perseveres to the end will be saved."

Saint Paul does speak of the crown of righteousness which he will receive, but this is spoken of only just before he is about to be martyred, after he has "finished the race." He speaks this way in order to encourage others to persevere in their faith and hope in Christ.



2 Timothy 1:16-17
“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me - ”

2 Timothy 4:6-8
“For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Saint Paul clearly states that he could lose his salvation.


We know that Saint Paul is a Christian (see Galatians 2:19-20), but even he points out how he could lose his salvation if he were to turn from the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 9:27 Saint Paul says “ …but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” RSV

However, some people will contest that the word “disqualified” refers to Paul loosing his extra merit and glory and does not refer to Paul loosing his salvation. So, the key is to prove what this word means. The word “disqualified” is translated from the Greek word “ADOKIMOS” (Strong's # 96.) Saint Paul makes the meaning of this word clear in his second letter to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 13:5
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” RSV

Here Saint Paul uses the same Greek word “ADOKIMOS” (#96), except here, in English, it is translated as “fail.” The context is clear. It refers to people who are spiritually lost and without the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

So, the question we must ask is, “What is lost in 1 Cor 9:27 ?” This word “ADOKIMOS” does not modify any reward that Saint Paul might have received, rather it modifies Saint Paul himself. 1 Corinthians 9:27 “ … lest … I myself should be disqualified (ADOKIMOS).” Therefore, St. Paul is speaking in 1 Cor 9:27 above how he could lose his salvation.

In summary, these three observations are unmistakable.

Observation 1:
Saint Paul is a Christian and already has saving grace.
See Galatians 2:19-20.

Observation 2:
The Greek word “ADOKIMOS" (Strong's # 96.) refers to someone who is spiritually lost and does not have saving grace.
See 2 Corinthians 13:5 above.

Observation 3:
Saint Paul points out that this condition could apply to him if he turns from the Gospel. See 1 Corinthians 9:27.

We must ask, “What does “ADOKIMOS” modify ?” “ADOKIMOS” does not modify any “rewards” that Saint Paul might have received. “ADOKIMOS” modifies Saint Paul himself.

1 Corinthians 9:27
“ …but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (“ADOKIMOS”).” RSV


CONCLUSION

Therefore, Salvation can be lost. A true security can be found, not by trusting in our own determination that our own faith is the true kind, but rather trusting in the Love of our Father in Heaven to faithfully guide His Church, and by trusting in the Truth of Promises of Jesus Christ, and by trusting in the Power of the Holy Spirit to effect those Promises.

@ Osezua From your write up, its very obvious that you don't know what happened at the Cross.... How can a believer lose his Salvation that he didn't receive by his effort? How can the sin of man be greater than the grace of the Almighty God? Or did you think that God and Christ Jesus did not took care of all of these things in eternity past?

When a person is an unbeliever, there's no amount of good deeds that can save him no matter what ( that is change his adamic nature to the new creation). Therefore when a person is saved, there's no amount of bad deeds that can void his salvation in Christ. If not, it means that sin is greater than God's grace.

Think about this... Can Jesus lose His salvation? If he can't, then we believers cannot too. For it is written AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD. We are the new creation. If a believer can lose his salvation, then that means that God have to destroy his new creation which is impossible. We are eternally saved in Christ.

I chose to believe God's word, not the false doctrine of men. God's word is completely true.

Those Hebrew verses, you quoted, i have treated all of them, go through my posts and read them. You will be liberated. Read the bible for yourself, not what your pastor told you.

Mind you, the Matthew verses you quoted, who was Christ talking to? Is it his Jewish audience under the law before His death and resurrection? Or His Bride ( the gentile church) after his death and resurrection? We are under the new covenant. Learn to rightly divide the word of truth.


To say that believers can lose their salvation is to insult the finished work of Christ. Nothing in this world compares to Christ's death and resurrection.

@jiggaz what was the whole essence of salvation in the first place? when Adam was created he had eternal security. God said what \he created was good. The moment Adam sinned against God through disobedience and lost his relationship with God. He died spiritually. What led to his spiritual death? he sinned the sin of disobedience. Now you see that what he did physically affected him spiritually. His spiritual state wasn't protected from his physical state. So also every true believer has been reconciled back to God by Grace (unmerited favor) not by our works. A free gift has been made available to all men. All we need do to access this gift is believe on the One who has made the provision and repent i.e turn away from our sinful ways. Think about the parable of the prodigal son, while he left the presence of his father to the world he was lost but the moment he returned the father welcomed him. As long as you remain in the world and conform to the world you are lost. But the moment you repent and return back to God He receives you back.

jiggaz:
@ Osezua From your write up, its very obvious that you don't know what happened at the Cross.... How can a believer lose his Salvation that he didn't receive by his effort? How can the sin of man be greater than the grace of the Almighty God? Or did you think that God and Christ Jesus did not took care of all of these things in eternity past?

When a person is an unbeliever, there's no amount of good deeds that can save him no matter what ( that is change his adamic nature to the new creation). Therefore when a person is saved, there's no amount of bad deeds that can void his salvation in Christ. If not, it means that sin is greater than God's grace.

Think about this... Can Jesus lose His salvation? If he can't, then we believers cannot too. For it is written AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD. We are the new creation. If a believer can lose his salvation, then that means that God have to destroy his new creation which is impossible. We are eternally saved in Christ.

I chose to believe God's word, not the false doctrine of men. God's word is completely true.

Those Hebrew verses, you quoted, i have treated all of them, go through my posts and read them. You will be liberated. Read the bible for yourself, not what your pastor told you.

Mind you, the Matthew verses you quoted, who was Christ talking to? Is it his Jewish audience under the law before His death and resurrection? Or His Bride ( the gentile church) after his death and resurrection? We are under the new covenant. Learn to rightly divide the word of truth.


To say that believers can lose their salvation is to insult the finished work of Christ. Nothing in this world compares to Christ's death and resurrection.

The never perish and John 10:28 once saved always saved response is misapplied. A backslider needs to become alive again from his dead and lost spiritual condition (Luke 15:24) through repentance, but if he is deceived into thinking he is still a Christian, that won't occur. A lost man must turn from evil, which is the repentance meaning, to have salvation. Departures from the faith and apostasies can and do occur.

The parable of the ten virgins shows 50% of the ones with a burning lamp from the last generation will no longer be known by Jesus when he returns (Mt. 25:1-13)! We must endure to the end to be saved (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). We are battling for eternity and nothing less.false prophets false teachers Multitudes will go to eternal punishment beyond the grave (Mt. 25:46;

Without question, some have also confused the issue about eternal salvation by equating that legitimate Biblical term to the bogus doctrine of eternal security. eternal salvation The myth of once saved always saved has nothing to do with eternal salvation. Eternal salvation is a reality and comes instantly from the Lord Jesus and Jesus' blood (the source), but it is also on-going to those who obey (or follow), 1 Peter 1:9; John 10:27,28; etc. On the other hand, once saved always saved is only a popular fine-sounding fable spread through a multitude. Once saved always saved has nothing to do with Bible truth. It will only hurt you in the end. It is a snare to one's SOUL and multitudes are in hell now because of it. Since some people have lost their salvation, then it is easy to answer the question: Is salvation eternal? The Biblical answer is salvation is conditional. The righteous can die spiritually by turning to evil (Ezek. 33:18; etc.).

The focus for eternal salvation has to be on the Lord Jesus and his precious blood (1 Pet. 1:19), but that doesn't exclude the following:
For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Pet 1:9)
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." (2 Pet 2:20-22)

That implies something can maliciously interfere with eternal salvation. IF it was only left up to God for our security, ALL PEOPLE would endure and walk holy, but that is far from reality. doctrine of eternal salvation Man must have a role in his own salvation security, under grace, which can be ruined. So, which gospel a person believes and acts upon is vital. You can live forever and have peace with God now, but you must first have true repentance. Good works and eternal salvation go hand-in-glove. Hence, people need to get saved and stay saved, which often doesn't happen! The Christian life is a fight against sin (Heb. 12:4). Sin not only defiles, it can bring a righteous person to his spiritual death. To be worthy of Jesus, you must place him first in your life (even before your family), take up your cross and follow Jesus (Mt. 10:37,38). Only the followers of Jesus possess eternal life. The sooner people know these things the better it will be for them and those they will influence. The following materials will help you better understand eternal salvation with more Biblical insights and details. Please guard your SOUL as your most valuable possession because it is (Mk. 8:36,37)! Remember, all of the eternal salvation bible verses are reduced down to one -- Hebrews 5:9.

What is the faith of demons? We read of the faith of demons in James 2:19: faith of demons
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder.
In James chapter 2, James makes a distinction between a saving faith in Jesus which includes obedience to God with it and a faith in God which does not have obedience with it. In verses 14 through 17, he wrote this:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

Clearly then, a faith in Jesus by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead, that is, it will not save any person from hell. It is not a saving faith in Jesus, but merely the faith of demons. James also wrote about a dead faith in James 2:26 where he taught this:
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
In that verse, James taught the importance of good deeds to faith is like the importance of the spirit of man to his body. It is vital for people to understand that a mere confession of faith in Jesus as Lord without a corresponding heart-felt commitment and serious dedication to him to the point of turning away from idols to serve him (1 Thess. 1:9) is useless.faith of demons demon faith A non-obedient faith is on a par with the faith of demons, who believe God exists but are not obeying him (James 2:19). A person becomes a new creation when he gets saved.

The following are among the evil things that demons do as they oppose the spread of God's truth and righteousness:

1. Demons formulate teachings to turn people from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1). One example is once saved always saved.

2. They can perform miracles to deceive (Rev. 16:14)

3. They can tempt people to sin (James 4:7)

4. They can inhabit people's bodies and cause various kinds of pain and distress (Luke 13:11; etc.).

We also learn that demons know who Jesus is (Mark 1:34), can confess Jesus to be the Son of God (Luke 4:41) and the holy one of God (Luke 4:34,35). Surely, demons (with their demon faith) also believe Jesus died on the cross, was buried, rose again from the grave and ascended into heaven!

Multitudes in our day, who profess to be Christians, only have the faith of demons (James 2:19). Their demon faith enables them to profess Jesus as the Son of God, while they live in sin like demons. Such people are not carnal Christians like some think, but instead children of the evil one!

In fact, many of the same actually think they can not obey God and no one ever did, including Paul, who they think was the worst of sinners. Imagine that! Folks, if you think Paul as a Christian was the worst of all sinners what chance do you have of obeying God? None. You have no chance!

These same people with demon faith are filled with lust, get drunk, commit adultery, cuss, lie, hate, etc. They think this is the normal Christian life. Some were never saved, but many others were saved at one point but since have died spiritually (Luke 15:24,32; Rom. 8:13; James 1:14-16; 5:19,20; etc.). They lost the salvation they previously had.

Because of the prevalent heretical teaching of eternal security, multitudes who need to repent for salvation's sake have been deceived into thinking they don't need to repent for salvation at all. Multitudes are actually on the road to hell, but think they are on the road to heaven with their now dead faith in Jesus or the faith of demons, and the teaching of eternal security is primarily responsible for this massive and lethal deception.

One final point: getting back to James 2:19. There James declared the demons believe in God and shudder in fear of him. In contrast, the faith of many people who profess salvation in our dark time doesn't even fear God. In that way they have a faith that is less than the faith of demons and will spend their eternity with the demons in the lake of fire unless they repent and become faithful to God. It is only a trusting, submitting and enduring faith in Jesus that will get one into Gods paradise kingdom and save him from hell. That is the saving faith of an overcomer.

The Apostle John told us how to identify a dead faith (or demon faith):

The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)
Demon faith is not a saving faith in JESUS, the kind needed to save us from hell

We contact Jesus' blood, in a spiritual way, when we repent and place a submissive faith in him to follow and obey him. Jesus' precious blood also:
cleanses our consciences so we may serve God,
makes us holy
purifies us from sin
frees us from sins
is what purchased us for God (if we are true Christians)
washes white our spiritual robes
and is the means of overcoming the devil along with the word of our testimony and not loving our lives so much as to shrink from death.
Clearly, the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross is necessary for one to have salvation. But that is not all. Scripture declares something else. In heaven they sing to Jesus about his blood and what it has accomplished:
And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." (Rev. 5:9)
Now on the negative side, we learn something else in Scripture:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:26-29)
Some who had been previously sanctified by the blood of Christ sinned in a special and horrible way to the place where they had become enemies of God again. Raging fire was awaiting them and not a paradise kingdom prepared by God for the righteous. It is, therefore, clearly possible to lose our righteous and holy standing before God brought about by the blood of Christ at salvation and get back on the road to hell again. We are in a very intense spiritual war and we must remain on our spiritual guard.

We should never forget these precious truths about Jesus' bloody sin-sacrifice at Calvary for our redemption and that it is possible to become an enemy of God again after genuine salvation. The Bible says in Hebrews 3:14:

We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
Never forget that or these precious truths about Jesus' blood!