I have a grown daughter who accepted Jesus as her savior when she was 8 years old. Since then, she has had doubts regarding her faith and has declared herself an agnostic. If salvation is eternal for those who at one time truly believed, will they be raptured? I have heard theories of a partial rapture and am confused as to which believers are raptured. What do you think?
Ephesians 1:13-14 says that when we first heard the gospel and believed it, we were saved and the Holy Spirit was sealed within us, a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. 2 Cor. 1:21-22 concurs, adding that it’s God who makes us stand, having set His seal of ownership on us. This happened before we had done anything good to earn it or anything bad to disqualify ourselves. If we were sincere in our belief, and intellectually mature enough to understand the issue, the work of salvation was finished for us at that moment.
Over and over the Bible compares us to sheep. Sheep are always wandering off and getting themselves into trouble. And it’s a known fact that they can’t find their own way back. That’s why they need a shepherd. It’s his job to find them and bring them back at the proper time. Our Shepherd is Jesus (John 10:11), and He does the same for us. When it’s time to go, He’ll round us all up and take us home. He’s promised that He’ll lose none of those who the Father has given to Him (John 6:39-40).
The partial Rapture theory is false doctrine. It’s an attempt to mix works with Grace, which is impossible. A person is either saved or not, and everyone saved goes in the Rapture.