A. It’s impossible for a believer to lose his or her salvation, so we have to consider other possibilities.  Maybe she wasn’t really saved after all.  Only she and the Lord know for sure.  More likely she doesn’t fully understand official Mormon doctrine and doesn’t see anything wrong with converting. If she was truly saved she belongs to the Lord, and He will not let her be lost.  There are several places in the Bible that promise once we belong to the Lord, nothing can take us away from Him. Ephes. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 1:21-22, John 6:38-39, John 10:27-30, and Romans 8:38-39 are examples.

A. To equate loss of the Ephesians’ lamp stand with loss of their salvation is obviously a misuse of the letter’s symbolism.  Revelation 1:20 says the lamp stands represent the churches the Lord is addressing, not the Holy Spirit.  And Paul had earlier told the Ephesians that the Holy Spirit was sealed within them as a guarantee of their inheritance (Ephes 1:13-14).

The letter had nothing to do with the salvation of their members. The Lord was warning them that if they didn’t abandon their religious works and return to expressing their love for Him as they had in the past with worship and adoration, their church would be disbanded.  And so it was.

The warning to us is clear.  If we think our ongoing relationship with the Lord is primarily dependent upon the good works we do, rather than the love we share, we’re mistaken and are called to repent.  The work that sustains our relationship with the Lord was finished at the cross (John 19:30).  All that’s left for us to do is express our gratitude in whatever way He calls us to do it.

A. Remember, the rules are different for Tribulation believers than they are during the Church Age. For one thing, they won’t have Eternal Security and will have to be obedient to the commandments as evidence of their faith.  Everyone on Earth will be warned in advance that by taking the Mark they’ll be consigning them selves to Hell. (Rev. 14:9-11)  Believers will be expected to surrender their lives rather than submit to the anti-Christ. (Rev. 14:12-13)

My question for you is this: after studying Wicca and Satanism, does God still love me and am I still saved? I never denounced God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit when I was studying the preceding, but I’m still unsure as to whether or not I am still saved.  I have asked for forgiveness, stated all of my sins, and gotten rid of everything having to do with Wicca and Satanism, but I still feel unclean.  Does God still love me and am I still His child?

A. God knew every sin of your life long before you were born.  When Jesus went to the cross He took all of them upon Himself and paid your penalty.  (Colossians 2:13-15).  When you asked Him to be your savior He agreed and wiped the slate clean for you. From that point on, There was nothing you or anyone else could do to get you away from Him (Romans 8:38-39, John 10:27-30).  And if you’ve sincerely asked Him to forgive you, it’s as if you’ve never sinned (1 John 1:9).  When you accept His forgiveness and forgive yourself you’ll feel clean, because in His sight you already are.

A. God knows the motives of our heart.  He also knows that fear can cause us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do.  The example of Peter’s denial is a good one (Matt. 26:69-75). Having denied the Lord 3 times in a single night, even after the Lord warned him about it, Peter was fully restored and became a leader in the early Church.

Under extreme duress, we can be forced to say or do just about anything.  But no one can ever force us to  change what we believe in our heart, and the Lord knew Peter’s heart was true.  If that Vietnamese man has truly trusted the Lord for his salvation, then his tormentors have achieved a hollow victory at best, and he will be there when the Lord takes vengeance on them.

As for Matt. 10:33, it obviously applies to non-believers whose hearts are hardened against the Lord.

They also boast, regarding the article on Conditional Salvation, that “this article can give you many of the proofs you need to discuss this issue intelligently with others. The author, an attorney, proves beyond a reasonable doubt the falsity of the doctrine of unconditional eternal security.”

A. I’ve spent 25 years doing my own research and trust it to be conclusive.  I’ve also had it confirmed by numerous scholars whose spiritual insight I respect, so I no longer spend time reading opinions that that disagree with my findings.  Lawyers are taught to prove true things false and false things true.  That’s how innocent people wind up in jail and guilty people go free.  All it takes to know that the Bible teaches the doctrine of Eternal Security is to believe God’s word.

When Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30) he meant it is finished.  All that’s left for us to do is to believe it (John 3:16).  And when Paul said that God has accepted responsibility for us, put his seal of ownership on us and His spirit in us, to guarantee our inheritance (2 Cor. 1:21-22) he meant just that.  No power in Heaven or on Earth can break that seal (Romans 8:38-39).

I read this interpretation of Hebrews 10:38  on another website. Do you agree with it?

A. I believe it’s an incorrect interpretation of the verses.  The writer of Hebrews very clearly states that his readers (the Church) are not among those who draw back unto perdition.  Therefore it must be those who aren’t really believers who do so.  The statement that true believers must stand firm, hold steadfast, and believe until the very end contradicts what the verses say. It’s not that they must, implying human effort, but that they do, implying the work of the Lord, who has promised never to lose even one of us. (John 6:39)

A. Romans 8:29-30 explains how the process works.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Knowing the end from the beginning,  God knew the name of everyone who would accept the pardon He would offer for their sins before the first man was created. (He foreknew.)  He made a reservation for each one of them in His Kingdom. (He predestined.)  At some point in their lives He calls them and He keeps calling until they respond. (He called.)  When they respond, and they all do, He applies His blood as payment in full for their sins rendering them clean. ( He Justified.)  At the Rapture / Resurrection He will give them glorified bodies to dwell in His presence for eternity. (He Glorified.)

In John 6:44, Jesus was referring to the fact that the Father only calls those He already knows will come.  No one else.  We know this because earlier Jesus had said that God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) From this and other passages, it’s clear that we decide whether or not God will draw us to Him.  Everyone who asks, receives (Matt. 7:7) Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13)  He doesn’t call any who won’t come (John 6:37) and He doesn’t lose any who have come (John 6:39).

A.  The person who holds to this position hasn’t thought it through.  Ephesians 1:13-14 says at the moment of belief the Holy spirit is sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. 2 Cor. 1:21-22 and 2 Cor. 5:5 confirm  this.  How could anyone with the Holy Spirit sealed with in him deny Jesus and put himself beyond salvation?  What becomes of the Holy Spirit in a case like that?  Does He somehow “unseal” Himself and walk away?  If so then He wasn’t really sealed, was He?

And what about God’s guarantee of our inheritance?  Does He have to change His mind and rescind it? Then He doesn’t really know the end from the beginning does He?

And what about the Lord’s promise that He will never lose even one of all those the Father has given Him? (John 6:39)  Does He fail to keep it? Then we can’t really trust Him can we?

And if eternal security can be lost in extreme cases, then it isn’t really eternal security is it?  I could go on and on but you get the idea. Either a person is forever saved or else he or she was never saved. This person’s opinion is inconsistent with the promises of the Bible.

A. Jewish tradition holds that a person’s place in the Book of Life depends on their obedience to the Law.  Each year on Rosh Hashanah the Book is reviewed and those deserving are inscribed for another year of life.  Those who are not deserving have 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to right every wrong they can.  If they’re successful, their names will be inscribed for another year before the book is closed on Yom Kippur.  A common greeting among Orthodox Jews during that time is,”May your name be inscribed in the book.”  What that means is life is only granted on a year by year basis and is dependent on obedience. Obviously this was only intended for Jews and is not meant to be universal.  (Otherwise all Gentiles would die in their first year of accountability.)

Also, the context here is physical life.  When Moses offered to have his name blotted out of the book to pay for the sins of the people (Exodus 32:32)  he was offering to give his life to pay for their disobedience.  God refused his offer but later sent His Son to accomplish a similar but much grander purpose.  Jesus gave His life to pay for our disobedience.  But His death didn’t didn’t simply buy us another year of physical life.   Those who believe in Him won’t ever perish but will have eternal life (John 3:16).  This is what He meant in Rev. 3:5 when He said He would never blot our names out of the book.  We who are His never, ever, ever have to worry about having our names blotted out of the book of life, because thanks to our belief in Him we have eternal life.