I'm interested in your guy's taking on OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved). Do you believe in eternal security under the New Covenenant or do you believe you can lose your salvation? We have had some heated debates on this subject over at the CBB . So what do you think?

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Kingpin
Administrator of the Christian Bulletin Board

I'm not really sure whether or not I believe OSAS or not. I have heard scriptures that support it and scriptures that argue against it--both successfuly. IMHO (in my humble oppinion) it doesn't matter. Yup. That's what I said. I don't think it's really the big issue that everyone makes of it. The only time when I ablsolutely disagree with OSAS is when it is combined with "easy believism" meaning that you can ask for God for forgiveness just because someone got you feeling really guilty or scared but you don't really mean it and your lifestyle doesn't change at all but since you "called on the name of the Lord" once, you are always saved. The arguements that I have seen against OSAS automatically try to portray those who do believe it as also subscribing to "easy believism" which is untrue. When the Bible talks about all those who cry "Lord, Lord" will not enter the kingdom because they do not "know Him", that is who He is talking about Those who have called out to Him insincerely and not wanted to truely repent and conform to His ways. Because those who really come with broken, repentant hearts and sincerely cry out to Him automatically become "a new creation". Therefore, the works of obedience that follow salvation are carried out without hesitation because that person hungers to obey God. Not to say that the person will not mess up. But if works did not attain your salvation, works cannot lose your salvation. Only an unrepentant heart will keep you from being forgiven. Yes, the Bible says that if you do not forgive others then you will not be forgiven. But if you have a truely repentant heart, you will want to forgive others. The questions I have about OSAS: Is it possible for you to once be truely repentant and then your heart later become hardened? If so, were you ever truely repentant in the first place, or were you just sorry that you got caught? After all in the Bible it does say "they went from us because they were never with us..." and that "what God has joined no man can put assunder" so man would include yourself, right? And can someone really think that they are truely repentant if they are not repentant? Or do they know deep down that they are insincere...it just all makes my head spin. The reason why I say that it seems an unimportant matter to me is this one question. When you got "saved" did you do so because you wanted to escape hell or because you loved God? If you did it because you really loved God then you will continue to love God. If you continue to love God you will continue to serve Him and want to obey Him. That is why I asked Him to forgive me is because I fell in love with Him because of who He is and what He has done. So I'm not worried about it. What I'm saying is I'm not serving Him to escape hell. I am servin Him because I love Him. And the whole not going to hell part is a bonus. The whole going to heaven to be with the one I love for eternity is a bonus plus package.
Now there are times when I feel like I don't love Him enough, and that's probably because I don't. I don't love Him as much as He loves me. Impossible. I can never do anything to make me worthy of Him. And that's frustrating, because I am a human, and it is my nature to try and make myself adequate. It's called pride--it's TOUGH to kill. But I love Him nonetheless, or I wouldn't be worried about the fact that I don't love Him enough. Now for those who got "saved" to escape hell, I can see where they would make a big issue about OSAS. (I am NOT saying that everyone who makes it an issue asked God to forgive them because they were afraid of hell. I just meant that is the only category of people who should really be worried about it...) If you are worried about nothing but escaping hell, then you will live in fear and God has not given us the spirit of fear.
About backsliding. It is possible for a Christian to backslide without losing salvation. My question for OSAS believers is this: if you do not repent for your sin that you commited after you were "saved" are you still saved? Because wouldn't you want to repent if you were really saved? Are you forgiven for your future sins? ?? ??? ???? ?????
See...so many questions that my simple mind cannot answer. And I'm not really concerned with that. If God thought it was important enough or it was essential to my salvation to know, He would give me the understandin becaue I have surely asked. Many times. But still I don't understand. And I trust that He will give me all of the knowledge and understanding that I need and withold any that I do not need or could not handle in my level of spiritual maturity. So that is my 2 cents worth. I did not put alot of references in there although I quoted quite a few scriptures. Reason being because I am holding a sleeping kid in my lap and it is virtually impossible for me to look things up right now. Well...g'night.

Ouch, that's a lot of writing... (not that there's anythign wrong with that...).

We discussed this to my fingers were blue in the face: http://stand318.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000001.html

Some things we'll never "get straight" between us, but if we, as Paul did, "die daily", then there's no worry on either side...

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Allen

I know alot of those folks who get in those heated debates over there at the CBB. I have met with them in other places on the web. I have a strong opinion on the matter basing it around the "unforgivable sin" and Free will. I will not go into it here. The most important thing you can do is come to a saving knowledge in Christ. Then if you just live as if you can loose it, you will certainly not fall short of God's path. You got it Allen. Paul said it right, it is a lifestyle we should emulate!
God bless
Steve

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When God is all you've got; God is all you need!

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In my opinion, I believe that if a person is truly saved, then no, they cannot lose their salvation. However, if a person is not truly saved, then they didn't lose their salvation, because they never had it. How can you lose something that you never had in the first place?

virtuous101

I totally agree with Virtuous....If your heart was not in the right place when you got saved then i believe that at that point you are not truly saved. I also believe that of course if you get saved and you had a the intentions of living a life for Christ at the time and then you turn your back on God for the rest of your life, i really dont think that your still assured a place in heaven. I think that God can turn His back on us just like He did His son. Of course if we repent and ask for forgiveness, then its all good. While God is up there still loving us all the time, if we dont truly love Him with all of our hearts, then why should we get the goods just because we were "saved" at one time in our life? WE can turn away from God and not ever turn back and it can cost us our salvation. But if your saved and you try to live each day for Christ and if you still live in sin like everyone does, your salvation is still promised because you repent and ask for forgiveness. I think that OSAS only applies when you truly are living your life for Christ and even when we mess up sometimes, GOd still loves us for who we are and HE is quick to forgive all sins.

Erin Grace

I agree with you guys completely. Thanks. You are welcome to come over to the CBB if you like. Just click on the link in my signature.

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Kingpin
Administrator of the Christian Bulletin Board