are you sure you're saved?

Question

Some people promote an especially attractive idea: All true Christians, regardless of how they live, have an absolute assurance of salvation, once they accept Jesus into their hearts as "their personal Lord and Savior." The problem is that this belief is contrary to the Bible and constant Christian teaching.

Keep in mind what Paul told the Christians of his day: "If we have died with him [in baptism; see Rom. 6:3–4] we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim. 2:11–12). So, If we do NOT persevere, we shall NOT reign with him. In other words, Christians can forfeit heaven.

The Bible makes it clear that Christians have a moral assurance of salvation (God will be true to his word and will grant salvation to those who have faith in Christ and are obedient to him [1 John 3:19–24]), but the Bible does not teach that Christians have a guarantee of heaven. There can be no absolute assurance of salvation.

Writing to Christians, Paul said, "See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness, otherwise you too will be cut off" (Rom. 11:22–23; Matt. 18:21–35, 1 Cor. 15:1–2, 2 Pet. 2:20–21).

Note that Paul includes an important condition: "provided you remain in his kindness." He is saying that Christians can lose their salvation by throwing it away. He warns, "Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall" (1 Cor. 10:11–12). Paul knew he didn't have an absolute assurance of salvation: "No, 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 Corinthians 9:27.

As a Catholic, I say, "I am redeemed by the blood of Christ, I trust in him alone for my salvation, and, as the Bible teaches, I am ‘working out my salvation in fear and trembling’ (Phil. 2:12), knowing that it is God’s gift of grace

COMMENTS?

PLEASE READ THIS LINK:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Assurance_of_Salvation.asp

To Freedom_Defender: True, God will not let us go on his own doing, but if WE let go of God, he will not force us to hang on.

Answer 1

I'm a Christian and I don't believe in the "Once Saved, Always Saved" doctrine either. And I have the scripture to prove it!

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have obtained a knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin - only a fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."

Answer 2

Yes I am sure that I am saved, Now it is nice to quote only part of what Paul says, & some scriptures you used is not even Paul talking like the one in St. Matt. you mentioned, Now I am very much aware of what Apostle Paul taught, & you can take only a very few verses & try to make it suit you, But lets read more into what Paul says, Read Eph. 1:1-14 Also read Eph. 4:30 Also Romans 8:1-39 The whole chapter, & also 1st Peter 1:2 Also Jesus said all that the Father hath given me, I lose none of them, This is call Predestination, How long are we sealed with the Holy Ghost. You can read that in Eph. 4:30 Not until we backslide but until the day of our redemption, which is the redemption of the body also. By the way I see that you may be catholic, If you make a confession to a priest, you are still in your sins, Your confession is made to God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Answer 3

How have you learnt you are particularly your father and mother' little one? They instructed you so and also you suppose them, do not you? You believe them to let you know the reality approximately that. Well, you have to believe God, too, while He says that whoever simply calls upon Him is stored. Remember. . .it is God who says that, and His phrase is even higher than your father and mother'! Why do not you study a verse that you'll be able to quote every time Satan factors you to doubt your salvation? Romans 10:thirteen probably a well verse for you. Rest on God's phrase! "For whosoever shall name upon the identify of the Lord will likely be stored." - Romans 10:thirteen

Answer 4

ON JUDGMENT DAY,JESUS CHRIST WILL GIVE ME, MY VERDICT,IT IS NOT FOR ME TO SAY.AS LONG AS I DO HIS WILL ON EARTH AND READ HIS WORD DAILY,IT IS FOR HIM TO DECIDE.
Work out your salvation
Ph'p:2:12: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Ph'p:2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Ph'p:2:14: Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Ph'p:2:15: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Ph'p:2:16: Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Ph'p:2:17: Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
Ph'p:2:18: For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
GOD BLESS

Answer 5

I am not sure of anything. When I look around my house and the mess it is in, I am sure that there is no salvation for this neglect, yet when Jesus spoke to that nun in Ireland about her "tattered tent" I became more hopeful. I hope that God looks at my life with the eyes of Love, because I sure feel helpless about a lot of things in my life. It makes me want to weep when I think of it.

Answer 6

Peace and grace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ. The bible tells us in Isaiah 53:6 that God "Laid" on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Now SIN as the bible says is not an action. More than 20 times in the book of Romans the word sin is denoted as a noun and not a verb. The Bible tells us the SIN is a prison and that we are prisoners to SIN. Now if you are in a prison called SIN, no matter what good thing you do, you are still IN the prison. Now the Bible also tells us that when you are saved, you are a prisoner to RIGHTEOUSNESS! Romans 6:18


Our salvation is not based on our PERFORMANCE. It is based on the FINISHED WORK of Jesus Christ. Romans 4:8 says that blessed is the man whose sin God will not count against him. Now a lot of people think that if you preach this in the church, people will just go crazy and sin as much as they want. Now take note: Even before people heard this verse, they are already living in sin. Now what makes us think that it will give them the license to sin? This issue has long been thrown against Paul as he himself was a preacher of the grace of God.

Romans 6:1 says What shall we say then? shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound?

Take note of Paul's answer:

Romans 6:2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Now his answer was not a contradiction. His answer was an IMPOSSIBILITY!

And Jesus himself told Simon the RELIGIOUS PHARISEE... He who is forgiven little loves little. But he who is forgiven much loves much. In other words, a man who knows that God doesn't count his sins against him, realizes that God has forgiven him much! And this truth will lead him to love God more!

And by the way, the Bible clearly tells us that God punished Jesus for the sin he never committed. You know why He sweat drops of blood before He went to the cross? Because he saw that He is going to carry the sins of the whole world.

God punished our sins in the body of His Son Jesus! Now a crime cannot be tried twice. That would be double jeopardy. To the religious people who thinks they hold their own salvation in their hands let me ask you this:

Can you in your strength keep the whole 10 commandments and the 613 that follows it? The Bible says that if you break 1 you break all. The law was given to us to reveal how sinful we are. It is not our basis for holiness.

1 Timothy 3:16 says that the mystery to Godliness IS JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.

beloved brother in the Lord, we are no longer under the Law. We are saved by grace through faith from first to last.

Do you know that God already knows if you are going to sin tomorrow? He knew all the while that SIN will destroy those who live in it. He doesn't hate us. He hates SIN. If you walk under Pure Grace, you will live a holy life.

So if you are going to ask me if I am sure that I am going to heaven, I would say yes because Jesus holds my salvation. He who began a good work in me, will be faithful to complete it.

Jesus is so beautiful. We worship Him not because we are afraid that we might lose our salvation if we don't. We worship Him because He is beautiful. His beauty is irresistible.

Peace and Grace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His finished work. Amen. :)

Answer 7

I wish I could point you to a certain passage that I've heard (but have been unable to locate) which indicates that once God has someone, He will never let him go. Which apparently contradicts 2 Tim. 2:11-12, in the context you provided. Which is problematical -- just as all of the many apparent contradictions (some of which are pretty blatant) are problematical.

Answer 8

We should not confuse the comfort and strength of relying on Christ's Grace and promises with the sin of presumption that no matter what I do I cannot escape being "damned to Heaven". OSAS makes no moral,logical or contextually biblical sense to me.
Jesus often calls us to be awake and alert and not to let our lamps of grace go out.

Answer 9

Oh dear, welcome back. I don't care about the idea of being saved. I don't believe in God and the whole concept of saving something that doesn't exist - a soul, for example - seems both silly and redundant.

Good luck on the Catholic crusade. I think the only people you'll really convince with your ''evidence'' are other Catholics and worried Christians.

It would be nice if you cut back on the preaching and stuck to asking questions. :)

Answer 10

I've had this argument before here. Everybody seems to know their going to heaven yet the Bible says few will actually get there.