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| JR, that is a good question. No doubt some have claimed to have believed but if they then renounced their faith, I do not believe that they had really put their trust in Jesus Christ. They may have tasted of the things of Christianity or maybe they just had a general belief in the existence of God or the events of the gospels without actually putting their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. John 10:28-29 says, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." I used to think that this meant that God would keep others from pulling us out of His hand but that we could choose to leave His hand ourselves and thus lose our salvation. Then as I looked into the doctrine of eternal security it hit me that it says ETERNAL life. That means forever. There are so many passages that talk about ETERNAL life that I now believe in eternal security for the believer. Understand, I am not just talking about an intellectual belief- James 2:19 says, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." I am talking about putting ones complete trust in the payment provided by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and knowing that you have eternal life forever. 1 John 5:13 says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Such security is a great comfort but it should not be used as an excuse to sin. Romans 5:20 - 6:2 says, "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
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Religious Question ~
