WHY DO MOST PEOPLE THINK THEY HAVE LOST THEIR SALVATION?

(By: Norm Rasmussen)

The controversy between: “Can you lose your salvation?” verses “Once saved always saved” undoubtedly will continue until Jesus Christ returns. The purpose of this writing is to help people consider some important things that doesn’t always get spoken of in this “doctrinal battle.” 

Therefore…

1) A huge reason why people think they may have lost their salvation is because they didn’t have a CLEAR understanding of HOW to get saved in the FIRST place. (“Saved” meaning: Saved from their sins to be qualified to go to heaven.) When they don’t have a clear understanding on this matter, it is very easy for Satan to lie to them.

Satan’s GREATEST weapon against humanity is his LIES. It is through people believing his lies that spiritual deception gets introduced. So, let’s give clarity to this matter: BELIEVING (and on-going trusting) what Jesus Christ accomplished for us at the Cross is how we OBTAIN salvation (Initial forgiveness for our sins, in other words.)

Sins we commit after we are first saved are also forgiven when we implement 1 John 1: 9, yet in no way should be a reason for someone to think they have lost their salvation. (Though God forgives us of the sins we confess and repent of after we become saved in alignment with 1 John 1: 9 ... sin can leave us with "SCARS" … Some sins ... DEEP scars … Wounds that can require a lot of time and effort to get healed from).

Thus, we are saved by our BELIEVING (Trusting) what Jesus Christ accomplished for us at the cross and that ALONE -- NOT saved by "doing good spiritual works; good spiritual deeds." We are saved from our sins against God and others by BELIEVING (Trusting) that Jesus took the punishment on the cross for ALL our past, present, and future sins. That’s IT! End of the matter! Adding any more to this truth or taking away from it will mess up your head (which the devil wants to DO!)

2) Another common reason (which might well be the TOP reason) people think they may have lost their salvation is because they became angry – bitter – resentful – doctrinally deceived - that God didn’t honor their prayers – their trust – their expectations. Books have been written on this matter and I have no unction from the Holy Spirit to write ANOTHER. Nevertheless, I take the FIRM position that if a person may have basically turned their back on God and Christianity, they may have indeed placed themselves in serious jeopardy with God and might well need to essentially start all over. Start over by telling God they are SORRY for turning their backs on Him and asking His forgiveness and demonstrate to Him by their thoughts and actions that they mean SERIOUS BUSINESS with Him in the matter.

Trusting God to do things for us and Him NOT doing them is probably the most difficult issue any of us have with God and specifically Jesus Christ. The wisest Christian on planet earth is the one who will believe God for ANYTHING yet not let the spiritual cancer of DISAPPOINTMENT seep into their brain for any longer than what it takes the sun to rise in the east and sink in the west.

3) Another common reason why people may think they have lost their salvation is they keep repeating one or more sins and they can’t seem to stop committing them AFTER they have become believers in Christ Jesus. They believe this lie from Satan because for one reason or another they chose to believe starting out that becoming a born again Christian means that they will become empowered to eventually quit sinning PERIOD in this lifetime. If they believed that … they have believed one of Satan’s classic lies. Every born again Christian will give in to temptation to sin before they get to heaven. THAT IS REALITY. It may not be “blatant” sin(s), or “obvious” sin(s), or sins that have greater earthly consequences than lesser sins a believer can commit … but it is an IMPOSSIBLITY for a Christian to reach a state of spiritual purity where they will NEVER sin again in this life. If a Christian believes they can reach “sinless perfection” in this life: NEVER sin again in this life in other words … then that is saying to God that we REALLY didn’t need Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins in the first place, doesn’t it? Which then means we didn’t need Jesus to die on the cross for us in the first place! Which THEN implies that EVERYONE gets to go to heaven when they die, and sin has no relevance in the matter.

Of course, God doesn’t want us to sin, but He also doesn’t want us believing that “sinless perfection” is available in this life prior to getting to heaven either. He knows believing it is possible is a trap of Satan that he will use to try to shipwreck our faith.

4) Many a person has had their relationship with God nearly shipwrecked because they were either forced or willingly connected themselves to a group (denomination?) that either taught their followers that they ALONE were/are God’s “BEST” on this planet or taught such perverted doctrinal teachings of the Bible that was a deathly “disease” to them that was killing them both spiritually and emotionally without their consciously realizing it at the time. Satan is THE master of spiritual deception. Folks, if you haven’t figured that out by now, and his tactics in using this means to hinder peoples’ personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, will not diminish until God puts a stop to him after Jesus Christ returns to earth to set up His 1,000-year millennial reign. Until then, we are to put on the armor of God and always KEEP it on.

A closing reminder: Forgiveness for our sins is SOLEY obtained by our asking forgiveness for them and trusting (BELIEVING) God is no longer holding them against us once we do. In one word, God calls that: SALVATION. It has nothing do with our deserving it or how much we think God would not accept us anyway (for whatever reason).

And I’ll end with this: If you’re in a local church fellowship who constantly reminds people who visit there that 10% of their income “Belongs to the Lord” as though if you DON’T give 10% of your income to the Lord, you must not be a REAL Christian, or even SAVED … here’s a little reminder from the Holy Spirit: Giving ANY money to the work of the Lord does not SAVE you … nor will it KEEP you saved. BELIEVING ON WHAT JESUS ACCOMPLISHED FOR YOU ON THE CROSS IS WHAT SAVES YOU, AND KEEPS YOU SAVED.

Don’t let Satan deceive you by adding anything to it, and don’t let Satan deceive you by taking anything away from it. (Regarding the giving of money: You do NOT have to give one penny to the Lord (work of the Lord), if you don’t want to as a FULLY SAVED Christian. But for those who do, they are laying up for themselves treasures in heaven, as Jesus promises in Matthew 6:19-20. They may be motivating God to bring them increased FAVOR in THIS life as well. Testimonies abound of that happening).

And scripture makes this promise to givers: "Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10). This is known as firstfruits offering. It is not a commandment. It is a nugget for the WISE.

Dear Reader - are you at peace with God? If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW! Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake. 

To get to know God, to be at peace with God, to have your sins forgiven, to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity, to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help you understand the importance of being reconciled to God. What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one. Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life, because in Christ, it is impossible to put a value on the worth of your soul in light of eternity.

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Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-20 is our assurance)