Again, you neglect to take 1 John 2:19 into account. If this fellow goes the rest of his life in unbelief it proves HE WAS NEVER saved to begin with, NOT that he was saved, born again, and died a Spiritually death again.[/quoted]
Hello PennEd,
I John 2:19 does not infer that the person was never saved. However, we do have scriptures that show that true believers can lose their salvation.
"
My brothers, if one of you should
wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will
save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
* "My brothers" would be referring to believers.
* In order to "wander from the truth," one would have to already be in the truth
* If the believer who has wandered from the truth is brought back by another believer, then a multitude of sins will be covered over and he will be saved from death, which demonstrates the state of believers who have wandered away. Consider something else that Jesus said:
"Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white.
I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels."
The above was not a casual saying by the Lord. On the contrary, it infers that He can and will blot names out of the book of life for those believers who do not overcome and remain soiled. The point being is that, in order for ones name to be blotted out of the book of life, it would have had to be in the book of life, making them true believers.
It is not "once saved always saved". It's Once BORN AGAIN, FOREVER HIS CHILD! Of course OBAFHIC doesn't quite have the ring to it as OSAS does! LOL
Born again is dependent upon continuing in faith from first to last. Go back and look at Col.1:22-23.
As for the warnings, I believe they are there for those that THINK they are saved. Paul is exhorting those who take the Name of Lord, Christians, to examine THEMSELVES, and if they are caught up in some of the laundry list of sins chronicled in several epistles, they must repent, NOT OF THE SINS (although that will come) but that they have never truly believed that Jesus IS God come in the flesh, HAS DIED for THEIR sins, rose on the 3rd day, and that NOTHING they do can aid Him in what He has done for them and to them.
I don't believe that. Paul calls them brothers and it's not only Paul where the warnings are coming from, but from the whole word of God.
"But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die."
This is why I am so troubled by those that think God will toss some of His Children in hell, by losing their Salvation because of something THEY did, or didn't do. I am concerned if they truly DO believe Jesus' atoning Sacrifice is enough. I am not angry or care about scoring pts. I am saddened by them.
That something that "THEY did, or didn't do" is have faith, not works. I'm not saying anything that scripture is not saying, i.e. that we are saved by grace through faith (on-going faith).
I've already demonstrated two scriptures above that show that they were true believers and below is another one:
"But suppose
that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘
My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In the parable above, please note the use of the words "servant and master" which symbolically represent the believer and the Lord. It demonstrates the servant/believer going back into willfully living according to the sinful nature and the consequences of that action if he is found doing so when the Lord returns.
I respect you has a brother PennEd, but based on scripture as a whole, I believe that faith is what puts one and keeps one in Christ. And if they fall away from that faith, they are accumulating sin which leads to death. However, as James 5:19-20 states, if another believer turns the one who wandered away back to their faith, then the sins that they will have accumulated in that state will be covered over and they will be saved from death.