GOD'S LAW!

(Part 1)
Psalms 19:7, K.J.V. tells an amazing truth… “The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple…”

If you read this message, then you need to take the time and open your Bible to Psalm 19, and read it and let it soak in…in other words meditate on what it says…It is only 14 verses…

The world has gotten so out of control…and what is the world but the lives of the people who live here on this beautiful planet…The planet as God has created it, is beautiful but the men and women He created to live on it, often, their actions are not at all beautiful…

More than ever, man is in the process of destroying himself…But this Scripture above give us each an insightful hope…What is it that is perfect in converting the soul of man…? The Law of the Lord is the only thing that is perfect at converting the soul of man…

That verse comes from the King James Version, which in my own study, has become my major source…But the NIV also tells us that, “The Law of the Lord is perfect at reviving the soul…” So what this says to me is, that no matter what is wrong with the soul or life of a man or woman, the only thing that will convert or revive that person is, “The Law of the Lord…”

For many, the question arises, “What is the Law of the Lord…”?

Number one, the Law of the Lord is the Ten Commandments…God gave these to Moses and told him to give them to His people to use as a guide to live by…

Number two, God has really given us many Laws in His Word to us…The Holy Bible is full of them and if you are of a sound mine, then you will know that your Creator would never give you any Laws or statues, that would do harm to your life…God wants only to help us live a life that is pleasing to Him and for His glory…

As I have studied, I have come to see through my own ministry, that the only thing that will truly convict and convert the soul, is the Law of the Lord…

So many preachers want large numbers of converts, so they use different procedures to bring people under a so called decision for Christ…The fall away rate is about 80 % or more with these type of conversions…Now go back to our Text Scripture which says, “The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul…”

The only thing that can be used to truly convert man into the image of Jesus Christ, is the Law of the Lord…

(Part 2)
Even some Christians argue that they are not, “Under the Law…” In this message I want to explain why obeying God’s moral laws really is important…

During several months each year, my yard, and probably yours too, becomes a demonstration lab for one of the most famous laws of science: The Law of Gravity…

Above the deck and house are tall pine trees mingled with beautiful live oaks…The pine trees produce large pinecones and the oaks produce acorns and leaves…

For several weeks each year if you are not careful, you will get a pine cone lodged in you head…Really, they are not that big, but, if one falls on your head or body, it will not feel good…Only the squirrels are delighted about the pine cones…

Now the oak trees, on a good year, get loaded with leaves and acorns, and in due season, they fall to the grown… (More work for me…)

These pinecones and leaves and acorns, fell for centuries before Isaac Newton formulated the Law of Gravity…He used apples…

Newton’s law doesn’t make pine cones fall—it only explains why they fall…There are in fact, hundreds of laws from science…You may have learned some of them in school: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction…(Have you ever swung a hammer trying to hit the nail and missed and hit you finger or hand…)

The Laws of science differ from the laws made by governments…Not long ago, while returning from a preaching engagement, I was caught driving above the speed limit…Even though I shared with the Patrolman that I was doing my best to obey the speed limit…he still wrote me a ticket…

Some miles back that same day, I had caught myself speeding but there was no cop to catch me so I got away with breaking the law at that point…

A person can sometimes get away with breaking the laws of government…The laws of science, though, aren’t negotiable…They are invariable facts of the physical world…You would be very foolish to say, “I’ve decided not to follow the Law of gravity today, and then step into the oncoming traffic…” It would be a mess…

GOD’S LAWS…
God is the Originator of the Laws of science, in that He created all that we describe by them…Because the laws of science never fail, they help us understand how the physical world works… We make use of them in order to fly a plane, heat our homes, drive our vehicles down the road, or even to float a boat…or really even to hammer in a nail…or screw in a screw…

but listen…

The God who designed the physical operation of the universe also created laws for human behavior…He designed us in such a way that certain moral choices will always result in certain consequences…These laws are also necessary for us to understand how the world works…

HOW IT GOT STARTED:
The story of God’s law begins with a deep, fatal wound in the spiritual makeup of the universe…In the beginning, God had designed human beings to live happily and peacefully--if we would follow His instructions…He gave the first man and the first woman one rule: They could go anywhere or eat anything in their garden paradise…except from one particular tree…

Because God had created them with curiosity and freedom of choice, they became especially interested in the forbidden tree…(does that sound familiar?) and with a little help from the devil; they did exactly what God had told them not to do…

It soon became apparent to Adam and Eve, and to all who followed them, that one doesn’t defy God’s rules without penalty… The consequences were terrible and included death, toil, sickness, pain and sadness…I am sure there were and are many more…

The breaking of that rule changed something deep and original…Sin became, from that point forward, a sort of complete universal infection…

There was no longer just one point wherein human beings could fail, but many…That is why God gave His people ten laws by which to live by…

In the spiritual history of human beings ever since has been our effort to follow God’s perfect, unchanging rules, and God’s effort to save us from our unavoidable failure…

THE TEN ABSOLUTE LAWS:
A few of these laws are respected by all human legal systems: killing, stealing, abusing our families, and dishonesty are unlawful almost everywhere…Governments know that a society where people could kill, steal, and lie, without consequences would be a very miserable place to live…(Often we still have to suffer because of the ones who do break these laws…)

For God’s other laws, though, human society is of little help…For example, God tells us to avoid sexual sin…but Western culture is saturated with immorality…The “Every body is doing it society, is in full force…”

God tells us “Don’t covet what you don’t have,” but the world tells us to get more, to buy more…The worlds economic system is based almost entirely upon convincing us to desire more and to get more nicer things no matter the cost…(Plastic money= large balance due)

Some of God’s Laws are just between you and God… God says… “Honor no other God before Me…” He says, “To remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy and let it be your day of rest…”

God asks us to obey His laws, even though we have the freedom not to obey…Following God’s Laws, then, is more than just being a good citizen and staying out of court…If you want to capture God’s original intention for humankind, you’ll have to be intentional and purposeful about doing what God wants you to do…both in public and in private…And when you make that attempt, you’ll discover a couple of things…

1) You’ll discover that by following God’s Laws, you will become a joyful, better person, in a happier more peacefully family and community…Just as most cooks find that they have much tastier, more nutritious results when they follow a recipe, so we human beings are happier when we follow God’s recipe for living our lives…
2) The second thing you’ll discover, though, is that you can rarely keep God’s Laws as consistently as you would like to…Even with God’s assistance, we may still find ourselves, as Paul says, doing what we don’t want to do, and not doing what we want to do…(sounds familiar doesn’t it)

To Jesus, the Ten Commandments weren’t just rules, but principles…He summed them up this way… “Love the Lord you God with all your heart…” (Commandment one through four…) and

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Commandments six through ten)…

I hope you get the picture of what I have been trying to say…

The Bible tells us that the Law of the Lord is just like looking into a mirror…When I look into God’s law, it shows me just how I am living and I must admit, God still has some work to do in me, but most of the work is to be done by me…I must live my life doing my best to stay inside the Law of the Lord…

If you want to live to be a better person or Christian, you must do the same…because God loves us, He sent not only The Law into our lives for guidance…He also sent Jesus Christ to pay a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay…

Please don’t suppose, however, that because He loves us, God doesn’t really care about how we act…He cares and if and when we do fail at keeping His Laws, there will always be a price to pay…

God is a great Father, but we must realize that sin is still sin… The Law of God is an unchanging rule of the moral universe…and if we try to live by those laws, we will miss out on many consequence from sin…

God ask us to keep trying harder to love Him more completely, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves… and this is not always easy to do…but now, through God’s gracious gift of Jesus, we may be forgiven when we fall and we can be assisted by the Holy Ghost to do better…So while the wages of sin is death, now we also have the comfort of knowing the...

“The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord…”

Prayer:

Dear Lord, You search my heart and know me far better that I know myself…May I be Your worthy servant, and may I live according to Your Commandments…Let me be a person of integrity, Lord, and let my words and deeds be a testimony to You, today and always…

Amen.

Robert N. Graves, Sr. Fisherman for Christ

MAKE GOD'S WORD YOUR GUIDE BOOK

2ND Timothy 3:16-17, 16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works…

Often we all are confused about what to do in certain situations…Daily we are, faced with different decisions that we have to chose from…

The choices we make are forever…I am not saying that once we make a descision that we cannot go back and make a better one next time…but what I am saying is that we purchase the choices we make good or bad…

No matter what we do, we will have to live out the consequences of the choices that we make each day…

In this Scripture from 2nd Timothy, Paul teaches us that Scripture equips us completely and thoroughly for every good work…

So for me, and it is not always easy, I try to use God’s Word to help me make my decisions…I often have to ask my self, “What would God have me do in this situation…”

Like I said, it is not always easy, because many times we have to make decisions on the spur of the moment and we make those choices before we have had ample time to think or whatever…this just means we are human because we all make mistakes…But the more we stay in The Word of God, the more positive instructions we will have to pull from…In other words, God has given us more than enough promises that we should know about…and

God’s promises are found in a book like no other: The Holy Bible…The Bible is a road map for life here on earth and for life eternal…As Christians, we are called upon to trust its promises, to follow its commandments, and to share its Good News…

As believers, we must study the Bible each day and meditate upon its meaning for our lives…Otherwise, we deprive ourselves of a priceless gift from our Creator…God’s Holy Word is, indeed, a transforming, life-changing, one-of-a-kind treasure…And, a passing acquaintance with the Good Book is not enough for us Christians who are seeking to obey God’s Word and to understand His will for our lives…

God has made promises to mankind and to you…God’s promises never fail and they never grow old…You must trust those promises and share them with your family, with your friends, and with the world…

Are you standing on the promises of God? Are you expecting God to do wonderful things, or are you living beneath a cloud of apprehension and doubt? Really it is not hard to let Satan build up a stronghold of doubt in our spirit…The only thing that will break down or keep that stronghold from being built up, is the Word of God, God’s promises…

The familiar words of 2nd Samuel remind us of a insightful yet simple truth: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer... K.J.V. Another verse from Psalms 34:17, "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles..."

Do you trust those promises, and do you live accordingly? If so, you are living the passionate life that God intends…

For passionate believers, every day begins and ends with God’s Son and God’s promises…When we accept Christ into our hearts, God promises us the opportunity for earthly peace and spiritual abundance…but more importantly, God promises us the priceless gift of eternal life…

As we face the choices of our daily lives and the unavoidable challenges of life-here-on-earth, we must arm ourselves with the powerful promises of God’s Holy Word…When we do, we can expect the best…Not only for the day ahead, but also for all eternity…

The Bible is God’s Word, given to us by God Himself so we can know Him and His will for our lives…

If you are like me, I often have a hard time making the right decisions in everyday life, but when I know in my heart that God intends for me to use His Word as my guidebook for life’s choices…it sure helps me make many more right decisions in comparison to bad ones…

Proverbs 30: 5, "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him…"

Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled…"

God’s Word is profitable in helping us make the profitable decisions in life…

God’s Word is profitable for teaching, because it will teach us to make better choices in our daily lives…

God’s Word is profitable for rebuking…

God’s Word is profitable for correcting…(When we make wrong decisions, His Word will, if we let it, correct us and move us into making better decision as we go forward in life…)

If we look at God’s Word and stand on the promises and the guidelines, we will go forward making more accurate choices…and We will become more truthful in our daily lives…

When we do what is in line with God’s Word, we will start to reap seeds that have been sowed in righteousness for His glory…

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Your Holy Word is a light unto the world; let me study it, trust it, and share it with all who cross my path…In all that I do, help me be a worthy witness for You as I share the Good News of Your perfect Son and Your perfect Word…
Amen…
Robert N. Graves, Sr. Fisherman for Christ

THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW GOD...

Today I had the privilege of going to Parris Island Military Base...I preach for Campus Crusade for Christ...It is a honor to go over there from time to time to speak or to preach to these young recruits...Often there are several hundred young men that come to the services that are offered for their edification and knowledge...

God is always working out His plan in our lives...Not just the recruits, but also each person who is involved in the Ministry of sharing the Good New of Jesus Christ...Jesus Himself said, " My Father and I are always working..." We need to know that God is at work even while we sleep, work, eat, or whatever we do...

This morning I arrived at Parris Island at 7 o'clock AM...The recruits had already started coming in the the building...They do not get to just roam around and come in as they see fit...they always have their Drill Instructor to guide them and keep them in order...Often the DI has to get in somebody face and give him up close and person instructions...Today was no different...

I am sure that many of those young men feel intimidated by the harsh words that come at them from their DI...but it is necessary to keep the recruits in a proper state of humbleness...

My job today was to teach the Knowing God Personally class... Like I said, often there will be several hundred depending on whether or not they have any new recruits that have arrived that past week...

Today the first hour there were none...So I just sat in and listened to another teacher speak about Growing In Christ...

The second hour there was only one young man for me to speak to...Even though he had been at Parris Island for three weeks, it was the first time he had come to the Religious Education class...

I spoke to him and asked him to get his gear and follow me...We went to a huge room that could have seated several hundred...He took a seat and I sat down by him where only one seat was dividing us...I introduced my self and he told me his name and we began our time together...

I could sense that he was a little uneasy so I did my best to become his friend for the hour we had together...

The first thing we talked about was his father...He has never known who his father is...right away I could see that some of his insecurities came from this area of his life...Talking to him was just what I needed and it turned out, talking to me was just what he needed...

He started to open up to me after I sincerely told him that I loved him and that I was not the judge...I did my best to make him feel welcome...Then I asked him if he was a Christian...He said yes...I asked him if he was a good person...He said yes...I then asked him if he had kept the Ten Commandments...He said yes, that he had kept them...It was here that I knew he really didn't know what he was talking about...

Then to prove my point I asked him if it would be ok if we looked at some of the Ten Commandments...He said sure, he didn't mind so off I went...

I asked him if he had ever lied...of course he said yes, he had lied...Then I asked him if he had ever stole anything ...After thinking for a moment, he replied that he had stolen something when he was a little boy...Then I asked him if he had ever committed adultery, he said no...Then I rephrased the question and asked him if he had every looked at a woman and in so had lusted with here in his heart...He told the truth and said, "Yes, haven't you?" I could only tell the truth...I had...I knew that I have broken all of the Commandments of God...but what I was trying to do was to let him see his own sin by his own confession...and it worked...After a while he came to see that he was a sinner in need of a Savior...

Not him or me or you can pay the penalty for our sins...There has been only one payment for all those sins and that payment comes from the shed blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary' cross...

I did my best to let him know that God is a just and fair God and our sin must be paid for before we can come into His presence...After a while this young man came to realize that he was not really a good person and that he was just as guilty of breaking God's Law as any of the rest of us...

Today, he walked in the Chapel thinking he was saved but was wrong...When he went out, he went out with the understanding that Jesus had paid his fine... the moment he realized that and then accepted that payment, repented, and in faith gave his self to Jesus, he was saved...

I asked him this morning that on a scale of 0 to 100 percent, what percentage was he sure that he was saved, 100 percent being totally sure...His answer at first was only 50% sure of his salvation...

When He left the Chapel this morning he was 100% sure of his salvation...This only happen by the grace of God and because somebody took the time to share the gospel with him...He went away satisfied that he was a real child of God, washed in the blood of the Lamb...

The reason I titled this message, "The Courage to Follow God", is because this young man told me that before this day, that he had lacked the courage to follow Jesus, he had lacked the courage to talk to anyone about salvation...He had lacked the courage to stand up for what he believed in, but after our encounter this morning, he felt like he just had to tell someone about what had happened in his life..

This is a sign from the Lord...This young man now had the courage to stand up for what he believed in because now he knew just what he really believed...Praise the Lord for Jesus...

1st Chronicles 28:20 tells it like this..."Be strong and courageous, and do the work...Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, is with you...He won't leave you or forsake you..."

Because we are saved by a risen Christ, we can have hope for the future, no matter how tough our circumstances may seem...After all, God has promised that we are His throughout eternity...And, He has told us that we must place our hopes in Him...

Today, summon the courage to follow God...Even if the path seems difficult, even if your heart is fearful, trust your Heavenly Father and follow Him...Trust Him with your day and your life...Do His work...care for His children...and share His Good News...Let Him guide your steps...He will not lead you astray...

Down through the centuries, in time of trouble and trial, God has brought courage to the hearts of those who love Him...The Bible is filled with assurances of God's help and comfort in every kind of trouble which might cause fears to arise in the human heart..You can look ahead with promise, hope, and joy...

This young man came to the Chapel, came with little assurance, and very little comfort, but went away with the promise of eternal life, with the hope of Jesus Christ in his heart and a joy in his spirit that could only come from the Spirit of a Risen Savior and His name is Jesus...and He is always workin...Let Him work on You!

Robert N. Graves, Sr, Fisherman for Christ...

Can a Christian Lose Salvation

Hey Michael, this is for you...

ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY! {First view}
I enjoyed talking to you today Michael…I will give you my view and it comes from the Word of God…Listen, God’s Word says many things and I do not confess to be so smart to say I know them all…But one thing I do know is that of my “eternal security…” LISTEN TO THESE WORDS FROM THE VERY MOUTH OF JESUS…

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…And I give then eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand…My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Fathers hand.” John 10:27-29

Truly, we should not have to go any farther than this one verse…If we believe what Christ says, and we know He tells only the truth…then this is all the answer we need… but for the sake of study we will go a little deeper…

Is there any thing better than being saved? Now, be careful how you answer that, because it is a loaded question…Yes, there is something better than being saved: It is being saved and knowing that you’re saved, having that blessed assurance…Well, is there anything better than being saved and knowing you’re saved… Yes, there is! It is being saved, knowing you’re saved, and knowing that you can never ever lose your salvation…

We need to know these things for several reasons…One is for your “spiritual health…” If you had to go around all the time wondering an worrying about being kicked out of the family, then your physical and spiritual health would be in sad shape…

I know Christians who are emotional wrecks because they do not have the assurance that they are children of God…They’re in the family and they do something wrong and they think they are out of the family…the truth is that if we ever really get into the family, we can never get out…because we are in the hand of the Father…

The second reason that we need to know these things is because of “Our Productivity.” I know few Christians who are spiritually productive who do not have the assurance of their salvation and understand that they are eternally secure…why is this…why are they not productive? Because they worry about the future they cannot focus on the present…When we know that the future is secure, then we can concentrate on the present…When we know we do not have to worry about our salvation, we are better equipped to work on the things that Christ wants us to do…When we are confident of the future, we can concentrate on the present…

The third thing (And there are many more) is knowing your salvation is secure will “Aid in Evangelism…” A lot of people would like to be saved, but they think, “Well, I just can’t live it…I can’t hold out…I know how weak I am…” They’re just afraid that they would go forward in the church, profess to be a Christian, and then fall away and look foolish…The aid in evangelism is that we can tell these people that the God who saves them is the God who will keep them…Its a great tool in evangelism—sharing Jesus…anyway who would want to join, or become a member of a family if they thought they would be kicked out if they did something wrong!!!

Now, what do we mean by eternal security? We don’t mean that once a person joins a church and gets baptized she or he is eternally secure because they may or may not be saved…We are talking about somebody who has become a partaker of the diving nature, somebody who is heaven born and therefore heaven bound…a person who has a new birth, a person who has become genuinely a child of God…

I hear people all the time say… “I know somebody who used to be a Christian who is no longer a Christian.” My answer would be and has been, “You think you know somebody who used to be a Christian and is no longer a Christian…Maybe they never were a Christian, or maybe he still is a Christian… You and I are not equipped to judge…”

Words of Christ…”I NEVER KNEW YOU”

Many people look like Christians and act like Christians, but they have never been saved…an interesting verse is Matt. 7:22, …Jesus is talking about the final judgment: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, {Now that’s the proper profession; they call Him Lord}, have we not prophesied in Your name, {The word prophesy means to speak for God; evidently they were preachers or teachers} cast out demons in Your name, {claiming that they were exorcising demons from people} and done many wonders in Your name…{Maybe they sang in the choir or took up offerings or stood at the door of the church and gave a nice face and greeting to whoever came to church}

And then Jesus says in the next verse, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Notice He did not say, “Oh you had it, but you lost it.” He says instead, “I never knew you.”

So lets look a little deeper into these words …Lets look at these two verses in contrast…

John 10: 27-28, Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…” {In the other verse that we just used from Matt. 7:22, Jesus said, “I never knew you…” In Matt: 10: 27-28, He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me…And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

If you look close in these verses you can see the difference…Some are religious, but they were never saved…and the others were saved, and they will never perish…those who fall away were never saved…

Another key verse is 1st John 2:19…It talks about those who begin for a while and then they go away from the faith…{They had faith but it was not in Christ} This verse explains it: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would, {no doubt} have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

These people start out for God, continue awhile, and then they go back to the old ways…Somebody says, “They lost their salvation.”

John says, “No, they went out from us because they were not of us…Had they been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us,” Here is a saying that sums up what we are talking about here…”The faith that fizzles, before the finish had a fatal flaw from the first…”

Another good place to look is in Romans 8:38-39…big verse… another is Philippians 1:6…So this is my first view and now for the second…they are both good but from different angles…

" Can a Christian lose salvation?" Second view.

Before this question is answered, the term “Christian” must be defined… A “Christian” is not a person who has said a prayer, or walked down an aisle, or been raised in a Christian family.. While each of these things can be a part of the Christian experience, they are not what “makes” a Christian… A Christian is a person who has, by faith, received and fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior (John 3:16 “For God so loved the world. Acts 16:31 And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy household; Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith…”)

So, with this definition in mind, can a Christian lose salvation? Perhaps the best way to answer this significantly important question is to examine what the Bible says occurs at salvation, and to study what losing salvation would therefore involve…

Here are a few examples:

A Christian is a new creation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)… This verse speaks of a person becoming an entirely new creature as a result of being “in Christ…” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be canceled and reversed…

A Christian is redeemed: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The word “redeemed” refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid.. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase that He paid for with the precious blood of Christ.

A Christian is justified: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

To “justify” means to “declare righteous…” All those who truly receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God… For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and un-declare what He had previously declared...

A Christian is promised eternal life: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Eternal life is a promise of eternity (forever) in Heaven with God… God promises, “believe and you will have eternal life…”

For a Christian to lose salvation, eternal life would have to be taken away… If a Christian is promised to live forever, how then can God break this promise by taking away eternal life?

A Christian is guaranteed glorification: “And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

In Romans 5:1, justification is declared at the moment of faith… According to Romans 8:30, glorification is guaranteed for all those whom God justifies… Glorification refers to a Christian receiving a perfect resurrected body in Heaven…

If a Christian can lose salvation, Romans 8:30 is in error, because God could not guarantee glorification for all those whom He predestines, calls, and justifies.

Many more illustrations of what occurs at salvation could be shared… Even these few, though, make it abundantly clear to me, that a Christian cannot lose salvation.. Most, if not all, of what the Bible says occurs to a person when he/she receives Jesus Christ as Savior would be invalidated if salvation could be lost… Salvation cannot be reversed… A Christian cannot be un-newly created… Redemption cannot be undone… Eternal life cannot be lost and still be considered eternal…

If a Christian can lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and change His mind - two things that Scripture tells us God never does.

The most frequent objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation are:

(1) What about those who claim to be Christians and continually live an immoral lifestyle? –

and –

(2) What about those who claim to be Christians but later reject the faith and deny Christ?

The problem with these two objections is the assumption “are Christians.”

(1)The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a continually immoral lifestyle
(1 John 3:6, “Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him).

After hearing that, you might say, “I must not be saved because I know that the ability to sin is within me…”

Again we have to do a little study because there is an adequate answer…”whosoever sinneth” is in the present tense, and it speaks of a habitual course of action…John is saying that a man who is born of God does not make sin his practice, his lifestyle, his habit…It does not mean that he could not slip into sin…

(2)The Bible declares that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he/she never truly was a Christian

(1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us…")

I do not believe a Christian can lose salvation… Nothing can separate a Christian from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39)…

Nothing can remove a Christian from God’s hand (John 10:28-29)...

God is both willing and able to guarantee and maintain the salvation He has given us…

Jude 24-25, “To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen”

Then my final view… WHAT ABOUT APOSTASY?
“If our salvation is eternally secure, why does the Bible warn so strongly against apostasy?"

The reason the Bible warns us so strongly against apostasy is that true conversion is measured by visible fruit... When John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan River, he warned those who thought they were righteous to “Bring forth therefore fruits meet (suitable) for repentance” (Matthew 3:8)…

Jesus warned those who were listening to Him while He was giving the Sermon on the Mount that every tree can be known by its fruit (Matthew 7:16) and that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 7:19)…The purpose behind these warnings is to counter what some people would call “easy-believism…” In other words, following Jesus is more than saying you are a Christian…

Anyone can claim Christ as Savior, but those who are truly saved will bear visible fruit… Now, one may ask the question, “What is meant by fruit?”

The clearest example of Christian fruit can be found in Galatians 5:22-23 where Paul describes the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… There are other types of Christian fruit (such as praise {Singing }, playing musical instrument for Christ...winning souls for Christ), but this list provides us with a good summary of Christian attitudes…

True believers will manifest these attitudes in their lives to an increasing degree as they progress in their Christian walk (2 Peter 1:5-8, And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity…For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…)

It is these true, fruit-bearing disciples who have the guarantee of eternal security, and they will persevere to the end… There are many Scriptures that bear this out… Romans 8:29-30 outlines the “Golden Chain” of salvation by pointing out that those who were foreknown by God were predestined, called, justified, and glorified—there is no loss along the way…

Philippians 1:6 tells us that the work God began in us, He will also finish…

Ephesians 1:13-14 teaches that God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance until we possess it…

John 10:29 affirms that no one is able to take God’s sheep out of His hand… There are many other Scriptures that say the same thing—true believers are eternally secure in their salvation…The passages warning against apostasy serve two primary purposes.

(1)They exhort (urge) true believers to make sure of their “calling and election…” Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith… If true believers are fruit-bearing followers of Jesus Christ, then we should be able to see the evidence of salvation…

Christians bear fruit in varying degrees based on their level of obedience and their spiritual gifts, but all Christians bear fruit; and we should see the evidence of that upon self-examination...Now there will be periods in a Christian’s life where there is no visible fruit… These would be times of sin and disobedience…

What happens during these times of prolonged disobedience is that God removes from us the assurance of our salvation…

Note He doesn’t remove our salvation, but the assurance of it…
That is why David prayed in Psalm 51 to restore to him the “joy of salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

We lose the joy of our salvation when we live in sin… That is why we must examine ourselves… When a true Christian examines himself and sees no recent fruitfulness, it should lead to serious repentance and a returning to God.

(2)ND Primary reason for the passages on apostasy is to point out apostates… An apostate is someone who abandons his religious faith.

It is clear from the Bible that apostates are people who made professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but never genuinely received Him as Savior.

Matthew 13:1-9 (the Parable of the Sower) illustrates this point perfectly… In that parable, a sower sows seed onto four types of soil: hard soil, rocky soil, weed-choked soil, and freshly tilled soil.

These soils represent four types of responses to the gospel…

The first one is pure rejection, whereas the other three represent various levels of acceptance...

The rocky soil and the weed-choked soil represent people, who initially respond favorably to the gospel, but when persecution comes (rocky soil) or the cares of the world bear down (weed-choked soil), that person turns away… or turns back…

Jesus makes it clear with these two types of responses that though they initially accepted they never bore any fruit.. Again, Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom” (Matthew 7:21).

It may seem unusual for the Bible to warn against apostasy, and at the same time to say that a true believer will never apostatize… However, this is what Scripture says… 1 John 2:19 specifically states that those who apostatize are demonstrating that they were not true believers…

The Biblical warnings against apostasy, therefore, must be a warning to those who are “in the faith” without ever truly having received it... Scriptures such as Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-29 are warnings to “pretend” believers, that they need to examine themselves and realize that if they are considering apostatizing, they are not truly saved… Matthew 7:22-23 indicates that those “pretend believers” whom God rejects are rejected not because of having lost faith, but because of the fact that God never knew them...There are many people who are willing to identify with Jesus… Who doesn’t want eternal life and blessing? However, Jesus warns us to count the cost of discipleship (Luke 9:23-26, 14:25-33)… True believers have counted those costs, whereas apostates have not.

Apostates are people who, when they leave the faith, give evidence they were never saved in the first place (1 John 2:19).

Apostasy is not a loss of salvation, but rather a demonstration that salvation was never truly possessed.