Believer's Worldview - Curtis Smale by Curtis Smale

Here's the question: Is it possible for a person who has believed in Jesus and been "saved," to lose his or her salvation and become "unsaved," again?

Many people think this is a very difficult and uncertain question. (Especially many people posting their confused thoughts on the Internet!)

Some people try to get clarity by typing "eternal security" into their search engine to try to research this issue.

On this issue in particular, I would NOT recommend this approach!

If you are fearful about the permanency of your salvation and it is 3 am and you type "eternal security" into Google, you are probably in for more confusion and fearfulness.

It doesn't have to be this way.

One of the problems with this approach is that you are probably tired and your mind will keep postulating the opposite of whatever you are trying to prove to yourself.

You start to feel crazy and unsure of everything.

The other problem is that several issues are often combined in a discussion of "eternal security," and this adds to the confusion.

(Plus, there is one very deceptive and destructive false teacher named "Dan Corner" who teaches endlessly and voluminously *against* the biblical truth of eternal security. His articles are all over the web. Please be forewarned that this man's writings can twist your mind and emotions into knots in a hurry!)

Anyway, "eternal security" is ONE ASPECT of the larger theological subject of "soteriology," which is the study of Christian salvation.

There are aspects of soteriology that we initially may not "like," or that we may strongly emotionally reject unless we have a deep and well-rounded understanding of the subject.

One thing I am very sure of: once you understand what salvation IS according to the Bible, you will know that you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, can NEVER "lose" it.

The simple truth is, God chooses some people to be saved, and other people He does NOT choose to be saved.

At first, this may seem so unfair and horrific, that many people feel like throwing up their hands in frustration and say, basically, "Any God who does something like that is awful, and He can go jump in a lake! I don't want to believe in a God like that!"

Once you understand the various aspects of salvation, you will understand that it is actually very loving that things are this way, and that God does things this way.

Let me explain.

First of all, we need to understand our situation, and what "salvation" actually is.

First of all, let's assess our "situation." Our situation is that we all are the creations of God. Each individual one of us has been designed by God.

Secondly, all humans are "sinners"--cut off from God and evil by nature, because we are biologically descended from our first parents Adam and Eve, who became sinful humans because of their sins against God.

The sin and evil that is in us by nature is the reason the world is such a mess of conflict, war, lies, selfishness, murder, evil, crime, sin, death, etc.

Thirdly, as we know, all people have death as part of their program here on Earth.

So: creation, sin, and death.

Then, there is the question of Justice and The Afterlife.

If God is just, should criminals be punished for their crimes?

Should sinners be punished for their sins?

The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death--bodily death AND eternal death.

Eternal death is defined as separation from God in Hell.

So that is our "situation." Pretty dismal, to say the least, right?

Yes, it is.

So, is there any good news?

Thank God, yes, there is!

Out of amazing kindness, God became human and suffered excruciating punishment AS OUR SUBSTITUTE, in order to free us from this punishment.

Now, that's GOOD NEWS!!

The Bible says that the only way to be saved from God's wrath is to receive Jesus as our Savior through believing in Him.

We must believe the Gospel. ("Gospel" means "Good News.")

The Gospel is: JESUS, the sinless God/man, because He loved us so much, died on the cross for all of our sins. He was buried and rose from death on the third day.

If we believe this simple truth, we are immediately "saved," and we are thereafter destined for Heaven, completely without regard to any other factors.

So, that is our situation, and that is God's amazing and costly solution to our problem.

He is a Just and Loving God.

But how about a little more detail about "salvation"?

Okay. The truth is that we would ALL be headed for Hell if God did not give us this GIFT of Jesus.

That fact that He saves any of us from so certain a terror is a huge reason to praise Him from our hearts!

So, how about some more details about "salvation"?

Okay, this is how it works:

Before God created the Earth and the entire universe, knowing fully everything that would happen, He graciously decided on a plan of salvation.

In eternity, before the world was created, God decided to save certain people, (but NOT all people), from the results of their sin.

I that "unfair"?

No, "unfair" would be if God did NOT send people to Hell as the just punishment for their sins.

The fact that He saves some of us humans by enabling us to believe in Jesus is called "Grace."

People cannot believe in Jesus if God does not help them to do so.

God DOES desire ALL people to be saved, but, being God, He wears many hats.

God is the Judge.

God is also the Savior.

God saves believers in Jesus from His wrath.

God saves believers from His Justice.

So, there are several "wills" in God.

One of His wills is that He wants (or "wills") no one to sin.

Another of His wills is that He will allow people to sin even though He doesn't want them to sin.

Another of His wills is that He wants everyone to be saved.

Another of His wills is that only those that He has chosen will actually be saved.

Why are things like this?

Is God confused?

No, not at all.

The Bible is just being honest about the way things actually are.

By birth and nature, we are all in a really bad situation, and God in His Grace and Justice deals with all humans individually.

But why does He not just simply save everyone?

People think of all the pain the damned will suffer in Hell, and wonder why God does not simply stop this from happening.

The reason is that God has the prerogative to dispense Grace or Justice on each individual human being.

To put it bluntly, God's Justice is more important than human pain.

Let me ask you a question. Do you think a woman has the right to accept one man as her husband and reject another?

Is she doing anything wrong by doing this?

No, she isn't.

If a mere human has this power and this right, so does God.

God has freewill and He has the prerogative to do whatever He wants to do.

Okay, now specifically, what is "salvation"?

What is it's process?

The process of salvation is that before the world was created, God chose to give certain people the ability to believe in Jesus, who is the Only Way to be saved.

God causes certain people to believe in Jesus.

This group of people is huge, but much smaller than the total number of persons in humanity.

In other words, most people reject God.

The people saved by God are described in the Bible as the "few," "the little flock," the remnant," and other names indicating their small number compared to the much larger group, (also known as the "world") that will NOT get God's Grace, but rather will get God's Justice.

Many people rage against this as if God is being unfair.

Actually, the "fair" thing would be for God to send EVERYONE to Hell.

Grace is giving evil sinners what they DON'T DESERVE: forgiveness and Heaven.

People who do not believe in the Gospel don't realize the horror of their sin, the terror of their destination, or the seriousness of their offenses against Holy God.

People who ARE saved, should know that we are saved through faith in Jesus.

This ability to believe is the loving gift of God, without any merit or worthiness in those who believe.

We are not any better than other people because we believe!

We cannot take credit for being so wise or so good or so strong as to believe.

Even the ability to believe is a gift from God.

God is just--but He is NOT "equitable."

We can see this in the natural world.

God does NOT give to everyone great beauty or intelligence.

Is God unjust for giving some more than others?

Not at all--His gifts are His to give to whomever He will. Or not.

So, the Gospel is preached and those who believe in Jesus are the chosen of God.

Those who believe, being chosen, are declared "not guilty" of all of their sins. (This is known as "justification.")

God can do this because He Himself paid the price of Justice with His own pain and blood and death on the cross. (The Bible says that the punishment for sin is death.)

So God will be praised for His Justice, and God will be praised for His Grace.

"He's got the whole world in His hands."

This is true. But for most people, God's sovereignty will result in them getting His Justice.

Believers in Jesus are "eternally secure" because God chose us from eternity, and He promises to glorify (bring to completion), all those who believe in Jesus.

So, a believer in Jesus can never lose "his" or "her" salvation because it isn't "their" salvation to begin with--it's God's salvation, given to us.

Those who have believed in Jesus will "never die," (spiritually); we are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit and sealed by Him; and there is no possibility that a person saved by faith can lose his salvation, even if he chooses to no longer believe, even if he chooses, against God's will, to sin like crazy--because God is the one who has chosen to save him, and no one can resist His overruling will.

Of course, if a believer chooses to rebel against God's loving will for His life, he may have no *assurance* of the salvation he actually possesses.

Also, he will be punished here on Earth, and he will lose *rewards* in Heaven.

But because of God's Grace already given, he will never "lose his salvation," and He will still go to Heaven, even though he will be ashamed because of his unconfessed sins when he sees Jesus. (Before he enters Heaven.)

Those who have believed in Jesus, who have trusted in Him, are said by the Bible to possess "everlasting life," and we are guaranteed to be "kept" by God unto Heaven, and to NOT be lost by God.

If you believe in Jesus, thank God for His forgiveness in Christ, and His amazing gift of Grace!

Hallelujah!