Lost salvation or name not in the book

Hi Everybody,

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section. I am new here. The thing that brought me to a Christian forum is to explore some ideas regarding Christian faith and salvation. In particular, how do you know you are saved? Can you believe in God, believe that Jesus is the Messiah and be respectful towards God and yet not have your name in the book of life?

The thing that has me asking is, in the past I felt like my connection to God was validated through prayer. I would pray, then events would occur, usually never in the way I expected, that would bring me to what I believe was a God driven outcome.

Additionally, I felt like I saw the world in a way that only a Christian could and I thought that was through the eyes of the Holy Spirit.

Now, it seems like I pray and the answer is dead silence. I am not even sure the Spirit is there. Maybe my name is not in the book of life. I have been the grateful recipient of some wonderful gifts but God can bless the saved and unsaved as He chooses. Plus, I have shamefully shared some frustrated, angry words with God. I'm sure He wasn't too happy about that.

I have never been end times focused, beyond basic curiosity, but assumed the time of Christs return would be well past my lifetime. Given the state of current events, and I'm not just referring to war in Israel, I'm not so sure any more. Things seem different today, in a very bad way, and I have never felt so disconnected from God. Perhaps I have fallen from His favor or perhaps I was never really saved to begin with. I believe there will be lots of people who will be surprised to find out their name isn't on the list.

Interested in your thoughts on this topic. Thanks!

Firstly, a welcome to the CC forum!
I've heard other Christians talk about this, and experienced it myself. God seems absent & prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. I find it helpful and a great comfort to read Scriptures such as "I will never leave you or forsake you."
Also, look within yourself for doubt and your life for sin, just getting side-tracked by life can draw our focus on God away.
Salvation is a "knowing", sort of a peacefulness inside. It grows as faith matures.
There's a hymn I've been trying to find that speaks of "green seems greener when viewed by a believer", you're definitely spot on about seeing the world differently!
When I experience this I pray as much as possible, study the Bible & sing to Christian music.
It may also be a spiritual attack, very common for new believers. I think it's Ephesians 6 about wearing the full armour of God.
I could say a lot more, but I'll leave it there. It's better to get a broad take on things & have a sift through what's relevant.

This is a wonderful explanation about Salvation. Only you and another member here have done a great job in explaining this because most of it is white noise to me in this forum or Protestant discussions in general about Salvation.

That other post is located here: Just what is Salvation? - Christian Chat Rooms & Forums

“Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:32-33‬ ‭KJV‬‬

But then

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭51:1‬ ‭

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”

“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭18:4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:3‬ ‭

“but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:7-10‬ ‭

every living person has to be blotted out of the book of life because of sin by the ot word but Gods mercy is expressed forth on Christ sayong “ everyone has sinned and I’m going to die for all of your sins and give you my Holy Spirit that never sinned you sinners shall live nd I the lord will give my life in your place “


Because he did this dying for sinners he has the right to forgive our sins or he also because no one can be saved without him can blot out non believers names even though he died for thier sins if they dont repent and acknolwedge him he also has spoken of thier fate as well he died for us but he’s also the lord and judge of all

she alone may write a name or blot or out is my point every living person is written and known to God some will
Not endure in his eternal story of life some will go to the second death and be forgotten

OP, your experience is common among all the saints, both my elder and younger, whom I know personally.

It seems that every son of God must go through something similar: where we say to Him "Even if you don't answer me I will continue to follow You." (a.k.a. "Nevertheless, not My will be done, but Yours"). In my experience this season ends with the advancement of maturity and an increase in responsibility in the Kingdom. So, be of good cheer. The Lord knows you and he knows your thoughts. It is likely He is taking you through a season of change.

One thing of note, you wrote this: "Can you believe in God, believe that Jesus is the Messiah..."

You must also believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully representing God in the earth and in heaven. He is both Lord and Christ. God made Him Lord and Christ. So, all access to the Father comes through Christ. Many religions believe Jesus is the Messiah but deny that He is the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father.

Precious friend, A Very Warm Welcome To Chat.
I will pray for you - If you are still "unsure" if your name is in
The Book Of Life, please review:

Grace, Peace And Joy!

Then, Please Be Very Richly Encouraged And Edified In
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, And His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided (+ I and II). ← PG Rated "Approved" *

Rich Blessings ♫ 😇 ↑

* PG: Perfect God / Parental Guidance

Welcome praise GOD!

Its faith. We walk by faith we live by faith that means if He said I will never leave you never forsake you then that is exactly what He meant. No matter what you see hear or feel you walk by faith. Well have those moments days week months when He seems feels like He not there. Think.. He is IN YOU greater is He that is in you then he thats in the world. So if you have confessed your sin He has cleansed you from ALL not some not part but ALL unrighteousness. You take Him at His word. So many talk about works.. as in they have to do it. That is not how this works (haha no pun) "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

See be strong in the lord in the power of His might. Like we have the peace of God, we put on the whole armor of God, we have the joy of the lord, I can do all things through Christ" on and on. You don't walk by feelings. Christ said my sheep know/hear my voice. We don't hear because well many reasons. One we don't believe He talks or we didn't repent of all our sins or we never took the time to wait on Him and just listen. Now that takes time. "That your faith might not stand on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. "

What is not written is there is not one name that has ever been blotted out of the Lambs Book. Book of life yes. You are in the Lambs book ... you are His. If you think you missed it somewhere repent.. just ask Him put you back on the right path. Yeah it that easy. KNOW He hears you. KNOW He will do it. But never go by feelings. Oh they are up down all over the place. Walk by faith live by faith. Its written "IF" we walk in the spirit we should live in the spirit". Yeah its spiritual so allot that tend to live in the natural don't understand what He was saying. You read John 3:16-17 and believed did that so read Luke 11 13. If God said it.. nothing else I can say

Generally speaking, only the saved care about whether or not they are saved.


Welcome!

Thank you all so much for your responses and kind words.

Does the "invitation" extend to all people, or only chosen people?

If you are referring to salvation, the invitation is made by God to any-and-all who will come to Him in belief and faith.

The way to know you're saved is to trust God's word: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ... John 3:36 (KJV)
It's that simple. Every saved person's name is in the Book of Life.

The important thing is to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. That is how your name will be written in the Book of Life. God gives the gift of eternal life to the one who believe on and in Christ.

I like to believe, if one receives the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit facilitates your relationship with God. What if you prayed, said all the right words, and believe, but you are hearing, seeing, or perceiving nothing. One must assume the nature of their relationship with God must be different from those whose experience is different. What is that difference? Possible not as saved as one might think.

Let me fill in a few more blanks on where I'm at. "The Universe proclaims his majesty." I agree with this statement. It is easy to lose sight when one is wrapped up in ones own life but any time I examine either the micro universe or the macro universe, I must conclude there is a creator with the creative genius to engineer all things and with the capability to bring it all into existence, hence God.

To deny this fundamental truth is to denying the obvious.

The harder question to answer is who is God? Of the worlds many religions, only the Judaeo-Christian narrative, IMHO, is the only viable choice. There is no other.

But is the complete Bible the true word of God, or are we trying to fill in blanks and assign characteristics to God out of our own inability to expressly identify the creator?

I never thought so. I am an odd case as I was a believer even as a young child and my parents had zero interest in religion at all. I didn't know squat about the bible but I instinctively knew there was a God and he was good. Eventually I came to adopt Christianity as the truth.

I haven't fallen away from my core beliefs but I have been questioning my role in Gods great narrative. He creates some clay pots for destruction and who is to question Him as He created the pot...except the pot itself!

Lately I've been feeling like a clay pot. I pray but perceive no response. I listen but hear nothing. Where is God? Where is the Holy Spirit? Just trust and wait with no validation? I'm not questioning Gods existence or His infinite power. Just how I fit into all this.

Your role now as a child of God is to exercise the faith you were gifted as a child. I sympathize with your
plight of feeling distant due to long periods of silence. Do you practice prayer and meditation? Do you ask
God to reveal Himself to you? To guide you? To quiet your mind and silence your detractors and doubts and fears?


Jesus' words in Matthew 17:20-21
Faith the size of a mustard seed moved the mountain of my unbelief .

John 3:16

John 6:37

to ALL people; whosoever. . .

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

- John 3:16-17 (KJV)

read & learn these verses: Romans 8:16, 10:9,13, 1st John 5:10,13, John 3:33, 4:13, 14:16,17,26, 16:13. shortly, these verses teach how to get saved & how to KNOW you are saved. basically & mainly, the Holy Spirit performs the "revealing' of truth.

1, God sometimes seem silent and faraway so that you will draw nearer to Him. This is to strengthen your faith and perseverence.

2. Sometimes He does that so you won't depend on "feelings" of Him being near you or basing His presence on seeing His involvement in your life, In those cases He wants you to learn to trust in His word and promises in the Bible themselves.

3. Also realize that this won't be forever. So please persevere and keep sticking to Him and not lose heart. Know despite not feeling it, that God is actually still near you and still loves you very much.

It could very well be that God is trying to prepare you for the end times? The Bible says that Christians will be persecuted and executed in the last days. This means that is requires a very strong faith that will not let go of God despite the fact that awful things are going to happen to us. All the persecution and death will make it look like God has abandoned us when that is so far from the truth! But Satan will play head-games with us to try to discourage us from enduring to the end. So in light of that, cling all the more to God even if you don't feel Him right now.

I'll pray for you that your faith will be strengthened and despite what you're feeling that you know deeply that God loves you and is with you. Amen!


🍓

This is a fine place for it.

Welcome to CC, dear friend.

Romans 8:16
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”

Yes, you can have a head knowledge of all these, yet never have yielded your heart and soul to Jesus. Christianity is not a mechanical head-based religion. It is about having a personal relationship with Jesus. He loves you very much and wants you to invite Him into your heart to be your Lord and Savior forever. There is nothing you can do to coax Him in. That is not how it works. You just open the door and surrender all to Him.

Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

No. It was all validated by Jesus 2000 years ago when He died on the cross and shed His blood for your sins. Just accept that as payment-in-full for your sins and never look back. The Just shall live by faith in that and nothing else.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Nothing mysterious about that. It is like a marriage relationship with the perfect partner. If there is a problem, it's not on God's end of the line.

James 4:8 Context
5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.