Subject: how can we loose our salvation. |
Bible Note: Actually, when are we truly saved? I recently read an article that asked this question. The writer, a Christian cartoonist named Bob West, makes the following observations: 1. Some scriptures suggest you are saved at the moment of belief (John 3:16; Acts 16:31) 2. Some scriptures say you can't be saved by faith alone (James 2:17,24,26) 3. Some scpiptures say you are saved by repentance (Acts 3:19 -- no faith mentioned) 4. Some scriptures say you are saved by confession (Rom 10:10; 1 Jno 1:9) 5. Some scriptures say you are saved by baptism (Mark 16:16; 1 pet 3:21) 6. Some scriptures say it is when we endure to the end (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13) I have posted elsewhere on this forum my defence of the necessity for baptism in salvation. However, I have had to do some re-evaluation. Bob West comes from the same religious background as I. He goes on to make these observations: 1. Focus on baptism tends to make us believe this is the "sacrament" that saves. 2. Focus on "belief" also is problematic. The word "believe" today is somewhat diluted. There are many who think "I believe in God so I'm safe". 3. We are often concerned with "when" we are saved instead of "how" we are saved. Let me quote from Bob's essay: "So, when does God save us? The "when" question need never arise as long as people simply proclaim the good news, promise salvation to those who surrender themselves to Jesus, and faithfully baptize believers as they come to faith. "When" only becomes an issue when we take our eyes off what God has done in Christ to focus on ourselves and what we are doing. Those who truly trust in Jesus will want to do what He says. That certainly includes being baptized in Jesus' name. It includes observing all else that Jesus has taught, confident of His empowering presence, although we do not see Him with human eyes (Matthew 28:19-20). But our obedience will always be imperfect. Even our best efforts will always come up short of God's righteous standards. We can only trust in Jesus for salvation, never in anything we have done." In His Service Tim Sheasby |