“Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? “Have you invited Jesus into your heart?”
Have you ever heard these questions? Here’s my question: Are these biblical ways of discerning whether a person is truly a Christian? In other words, are these biblical questions?
In scripture, one’s spiritual walk was identified not by his initial commitment to Christ, by some decision to accept Christ as his personal Savior and Lord, or by saying some prefabricated “sinner’s prayer.” Now, I’m not knocking anyone who prayed one of those prayers with a sincere heart. I am one of them. But whenever the Bible assessed of a person spiritual condition, it was evaluated by how he conducted his daily life and how he finished.
Twice in the New Testament, Paul compared the Christian life to a race, in 1 Cor. 9:24-27 and 2 Tim. 4:6ff. Let’s look at 2 Tim 4:6-8:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Notice that Paul spoke of the crown of righteousness having been laid up for himself in this passage. What is this crown of righteousness? In 1 Cor. 9:24-27, Paul writes:
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Apparently, receiving the crown of righteousness is contingent upon remaining qualified to win the prize at the end of this race of life. Therefore, I think it is a logical conclusion that this very crown of righteousness IS the prize for which Paul is determined to remain qualified. If this is the case, then the critical question is this: is this crown of righteousness referring to eternal life itself or to some other reward beyond eternal life? In other words, was it possible that the Apostle Paul himself might be disqualified from his inheritance of eternal life if he failed to finish the race? Let’s look at some other passages.
The Apostle James, in 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” In this passage, James, in a fashion similar to His Master’s great Sermon (Matt. 5-7) encouraged his listeners to remain steadfast, and that enduring the various trials he must undergo will result in him receiving the crown of life promised to those who love God. This is an amazing statement. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial” is a conditional phrase. The man who remains steadfast under trial is blessed. James’ promise here is like Jesus’ Beatitudes – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...” The sentence structure is identical. It is a promise. But James’ promise here has an additional clause: “which God has promised to those who love him.” So while the promise is conditioned upon the believer’s endurance to the end, it is also a guaranteed promise already made by God to His beloved. Those who love God will receive the crown of life because God promised (past tense) it to them. But the only assessable manifestation of our love for God is our steadfast endurance to the end. In other words, the only way that we can be assured we are beneficiaries of God's promise to those who love Him, the only way to know for certain we are in this fold of promise-recipients, is if we indeed stand the test of our faith. Putting this all together, and scripture plainly demonstrates in other places as well, only those who stand the test (finish the race, endure to the end, etc.) love God, and only those who love God are known by God, i.e. born again (cf. 1 Cor. 8:3; 16:22; Eph 6:24).
Our Lord Jesus spoke to the Apostle John in Rev. 2:10, saying,
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Strictly speaking, the context of this passage is referring to persecution unto death, and how those who remain faithful unto death will receive the crown of eternal life. But the passage can also be applied to all believers. We must be faithful to the finish line, our physical death, or we too are disqualified from the crown of life.
Here’s my question. If this passage, along with previous ones we’ve looked at here demonstrate that the crown of life, a.k.a. the crown of righteousness, is given to those who endure to the end, who remain faithful to their death, can it be inferred that those who do not endure to the end, those who do not remain faithful to their death, will not receive the crown of life, and therefore not inherit eternal life?
Hebrews 10:28ff says,
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The book of Hebrews is written to believers. It is, in fact, a sermon written by the author to believing Jews in the Roman Empire. And in this chapter, the writer warns the readers that if they “go on sinning deliberately after receiving a knowledge of the truth” (verse 26), they will receive the same condemnation awaiting “the adversaries” (verse 27). What condemnation awaits them? Eternal damnation – a “fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire.”
Verses 36-39 of the same chapter says:
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Notice these phrases from verse 36: “you have need of endurance” and “when you have done the will of God,” “you may receive what is promised.” What is promised? The crown of life. Eternal life.
And so, the true mark of a Christian, of being born again, is not how you begin, whether you can remember "when you invited Jesus into your heart." It’s not how and when you accepted Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. These have no weight upon your eternal destiny in and of themselves. No one wins a race by having a great start. No, a race is only won at the finish line. No, the true mark of one born of God is not what they've said or done in the past, but how they live and how they endure faithfully to the end. It truly is about the finish. (see Heb 12:1).
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Good afternoon all! I am confused by reading something in the above post (although agree that starting well is an excellent idea)..."Unless the writer is promoting the idea that a truly born-again believer can lose their salvation." Do you believe this to be untrue? I've been concerned for a long time about this whole once saved always saved theology. The bible I read doesn't preach this message. I am by no means a bible scholar, but I know what Hebrews 6:4-6 states and it's very clear that true believers will choose to reject the blood of Christ. If it were not true and all who came to Christ were always going to be saved, why would God place in this in His word? It's there to remind us to always be diligent in our walk so that we don't get complacent and allow ourselves to backslide further and further away from God. I believe Judas Iscariot is the best example of this...he was in fact a believer...yet, he chose to betray his Savior for 30 pieces of silver. It's a very sad yet true picture of what believers (praise God not all) do every day. We were given free will...Adam and Eve proved this by betraying God's command of not eating from the tree...if the first two people in this world which had not known sin could excercise free will, why do we believe now that because children, teen-agers and adults say prayers asking for forgiveness and salvation, that they are forever saved as a result of that? That is a house built on sand not on rock. How sad for the person who had been taught his whole that he was saved because of a prayer, yet continued to live like a devil, when he comes face to face with with his Creator and he is told "away from Me, I never knew you"...even sadder still for the people who taught him to believe this way. Jehovah Shalom! Click here to reply to this post
Hebrews 6:4-6
Posted On: 08/27/08 10:56:52 AM
Age 17, IL
The passage in Hebrews that you mentioned does not refer to losing one's salvation. The key to interpreting this passage correctly is in verse 6: "and have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance." I've heard arguments about David losing his salvation after his sin with Bathsheba. Those arguments don't hold up because he later repented (verse 6 says repentance is impossible). Also, the people spoken about in that Hebrews passage had only "tasted the heavenly gift"; they didn't drink it (see John 4:14), so they were never really saved to begin with.
There are plenty of verses in the Bible that speak of eternal security, such as John 10:27-29, Philippians 1:6, and 1 John 2:19. Click here to reply to this post
They can
Posted On: 07/02/08 11:14:12 AM
Age 30, VA
Greetings family! I'll try and keep this short. It is stated above "Unless the writer is promoting the idea that a truly born-again believer can lose their salvation." Are you saying that this is not possible? If so...check out Hebrews 6:4-6. I've heard it said that "a true believer would never walk away from the faith"...that may be so for some people...but there are others that will. I believe that at one point Judas Iscariot was a true believer, then he fell away from Christ. It was and is still today a willful choice to remain in fellowship with Christ. If we depend solely on our own strength we are guaranteed failure...it is only by depending on the blood of Christ that we find eternal salvation. We can not "claim" the name of Jesus and continue to sin...I'm sure that 99% of the people reading this article know this but there may be one person that reads this and thinks because they were baptized at the age of 8 or 12 or whatever, they are in like flynn! It doesn't work like that. You have to crucify your flesh day in and day out. Thanks for your time! Jehovah Shalom! Click here to reply to this post
Good challenging article
Posted On: 06/25/08 02:20:21 PM
Age 47, MA
Ron could you respond to this?
As believers in Christ, how does one not then slip into consciously making sure they are saved/believe in Christ by performing a "christian check list"
Ex.
" I am a believer so I better go witness cause if I don't I am not a true believer"
" I better make sure i read my Bible cause if I don't I am not a true believer"
" I better go to church cause I want to make sure I am a true believer"
" I better make sure I do this or that cause if I don't I am not a true believer"
" I better cast out demons, prophesy Christ and do many works,Lord, Lord ..."
I don't see Gods ever present grace in your article.
I don't see the work of the Holy Spirits sanctifying work.
In your article you imply a person being perfect at the moment of conversion with no room for growth.
What about Paul years after his re-birth saying 'The things I do I don't ewant to do, the things I want to do do I don't do'
Help me see what you are saying.
None of us are functionally "perfect now" we will be perfect at glorification with Jesus.
Bless you, Click here to reply to this post
Re; Good Challenging Article
Posted On: 06/30/08 12:21:00 AM
Age 37, CA
Hello brother/sister. I would love to respond to your questions. I had this same discussion with my men’s group the other night and this kind of clarified it. For sure, we are saved by grace, through faith. We are never saved because of works (Eph 2:8-9). However, works will always vindicate our salvation (see James 2:14-26). It’s like this: works are not the cause of our salvation but the effect. The Holy Spirit is given to us by the Father and lives within us to, among other things, sanctify us/make us holy. I am in 100% agreement that we will not attain perfect holiness in this life. Sanctification is a lifelong process. Phil 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” This is an ongoing work of God in our lives (Phil 2:13). But this is for certain – God never justified someone He is not going to sanctify, and eventually glorify (see Rom. 8:28-30). But this requires great diligence on our part. Paul commands us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). Peter says, “Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10). How? By practicing “these qualities” (2 Pet 1:5-7). Paul said in Phil 3, “I strive to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…I press on toward the prize.” Paul continued to strive for the higher calling, i.e. holiness unto the Lord. Once again, let me reiterate, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” – faith alone - sola fide, by the grace of God alone - sola gratia. But faith without works is dead. If our lives do not bear fruit in keeping with the faith we profess, we have no reason to believe we have ever truly been justified, i.e. saved. No, we will never attain perfection in this life, but if we have been justified by God by grace through faith, we will bear good fruit in keeping with our repentance (John 15:1-8). As we behold the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18). Notice, “this comes from the Lord.” So, you see my friend, all of this, ALL OF THIS, is because of the grace of God. Praise be to God. I hope this helps. Email me with any further questions. ronfosterca–ron@yahoo.com. Blessings to you. Click here to reply to this post
book addresses this issue
Posted On: 06/25/08 06:52:19 AM
Age 58, NC
"The Church in the Wilderness" is a must read for those who are concerned about the failure of Christians and the Church to be what Jesus called us to be. It is a simple, scripture laced book based on a vision of the church that points out how we have lost our way but encourages us to get out of the Wilderness and spread the glory of our mighty God. Click here to reply to this post
Believe in your heart
Posted On: 06/24/08 06:04:15 PM
Age 47, FL
Someone who is truly saved can not lose salvation, because Jesus will not let you out of His grip. The truly saved will still sin and perhaps willfully, but He is convicted of his sin and works to cleanse it from his nature. Like a father who disciplines a son, God chastens His children.
Our God is a refining fire. Click here to reply to this post
Remember Sardis
Posted On: 06/25/08 06:07:37 PM
Age 51, PA
Jesus said in John 28 that no one wll snatch them (true believers)out of His hand, not that He would not let them out of His grip. That's a substantial difference. The verse implies that while no one can snatch them away, they may choose to leave that protected position on their own. Remember the Lord's words to the church in Sardis, to repent, lest He blot them out of the book of life. That's a fearful thought and should motivate us to persevere since permanent assurance of salvation under all circumstances isn't promised; we can willfully turn away. Click here to reply to this post
ALL MY HOPE IS IN JESUS - AND NONE IS IN MYSELF
Posted On: 06/26/08 04:56:20 PM
Age 64, OH
If you will check in the letters to the churches in The Revelation, you will see that anyone Jesus tells to repent, He also says, "YET I HOLD THIS AGAINST YOU". We are told by Paul and others that if we are trusting in Jesus to save us "WE HAVE NOTING LEFT AGAINST US, NOTHING THAT JESUS WOULD EVEN SCOLD US FOR". The problem these people had is that they were NOT COVERED BY THE BLOOD. They thought they were saved but were not. When Jesus says NO ONE can remove me from His hand, that would include ME. When I gave my life to Jesus, He took possession of my life and He became my Savior. My salvation is no longer up to me, for if it was 1% up to me, I would have no hope of being saved. It is 100% up to my Savior. That is the meaning of the word Savior. The Holy Scripture tells us that we must trust in Jesus ALONE to save us. Paul tells us in Galatians that if we trust in Jesus and something ELSE, THEN JESUS CAN NOT SAVE US. I can not trust in Jesus and myself. If I have to trust in the fact that I will not turn away from Jesus, then that is trusting in myself, is it not. In EVERY situation I turn to Jesus and ask Him to save me. My only hope is that I have truly given my life to Jesus and He will save me. I have come to learn if .00000000000000001% is up to me, then there is absolutely NO HOPE FOR ME. JESUS IS MY ONLY HOPE. I put ALL my hope in Him and NONE in myself. Lou Click here to reply to this post
SIN
Posted On: 06/25/08 01:03:27 PM
Age 64, OH
Dear friend; just a sincere question, is there some other kind of sin, except WILLFUL. is that not what sin is; doing our will instead of God's will. I would agree that we might not be admitting our willfulness, but when we sin we are willful. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Sower Parable
Posted On: 06/24/08 05:47:24 PM
Age 40, NH
If we remember the parable of the sower, we find that most of the seed (the conviction and understanding of our condition?) appears to be wasted because it grows not to fruition (Christlike-ness?). Most either are not completely committed to the King they said they would follow or they reject Him outright. The gate is narrow...
Grace and Peace,
Jim Click here to reply to this post
THE FINISH IS THE SAME AS THE START
Posted On: 06/24/08 03:58:53 PM
Age 64, OH
There is one and only one way to salvation and that is to trust The Lord Jesus Christ to save us. But if we are trusting Him we will want to obey Him. If we make Jesus, Lord of our lives then He is Lord and not us. But THE LAST STEP IS THE SAME AS THE FIRST STEP. As Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" 1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: DID YOU RECEIVE THE SPIRIT BY OBSERVING THE LAW, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? AFTER BEGINNING WITH THE SPIRIT, ARE YOU NOW TRYING TO ATTAIN YOUR GOAL BY HUMAN EFFORT ? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? -- THE LAST STEP OR THE FINISH IS THE SAME AS THE FIRST STEP; GIVE YOUR LIFE TOTALLY TO JESUS AND THEN TRUST IN JESUS TO SAVE YOU. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Works salvation
Posted On: 06/24/08 11:01:30 AM
Age 26, KS
Finishing well is a great thing. We should all work to fight the good fight and finish the race. But if you make eternal life dependent on it then how are you not preaching salvation by works? Also this teaching destroys any assurance of salvation a person might have because no one knows if they will finish well. Click here to reply to this post
Church full of unbelievers
Posted On: 06/24/08 09:22:58 AM
Age 45, PA
Ron you nailed it but I'm going to take it one step further. The instutional man made church is full of the falsely converted. Salvation is of the Lord not of man. People want all their friends and family to go to heaven and avoid hell so they make an easy way for them to get in. Say the sinners prayer and asking Jesus into your heart is a scam created to fill the churches with paying customers. I often hear people in this forum complain about the sinfullness in their churches when they themselves have stood by a watched them filled with the unregenerate. True believers are few spread out and on a narrow road not on a broad road. Click here to reply to this post
True Believers
Posted On: 06/25/08 12:40:22 PM
Age 47, NC
I completely agree that a TRUE believer will NEVER lose their salvation because the evidence that they ARE a true believer is in their actions and the changes in their lives from a sinful nature to one that turns from sin. however, that said MOST "Christians" are NOT TRUE believers because there was NEVER any change from their sinful nature. i was raised catholic and believe me when you go into that confessional and start telling the HUMAN what you did wrong - even if you have to LIE because you can't think of anything you did wrong - then he says you are forgiven - my thought was always how does he know whether i'm TRULY sorry for what i did? the answer he doesn't but God does. THAT was how i got TRULY saved - not in the catholic church but by the conviction of the Holy Spirit who called me to Him who forgives me and died for my sins. is my life perfect? far from it. am i trying and am i convicted when i do fall? absolutely. do i then repent and again ask for forgiveness? absolutely! am i truly saved? RESOUNDINGLY YES !!!!! BY THE SAVING GRACE OF MY LORD JESUS CHRIST Click here to reply to this post
Agree
Posted On: 06/24/08 07:07:19 AM
Age 61, MO
Thank you for this important reminder to pick up our Crosses daily and remain steadfast in Jesus Christ to the end. George Cancilla Click here to reply to this post
