Christian Commentary Encouraging Devotions

Answer: 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;
Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9).

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

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 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 undeclare 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). As we learned 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 resurrection 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 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 are
Christians and continually live an immoral lifestyle? - and - (2) what
about those who are 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). (2) The Bible declares that
anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he/she never truly was
a Christian (1 John 2:19).

No, a Christian cannot 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."

From: GotQuestions.org

So...make sure you're a true Christian!

1 John 5:13 says,

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

Yes, you can know! It starts with believing.

Caution, we're all a work in progress. We have not yet reached perfection.

We're going to stumble and fall.

I'm just thankful the everlasting arms are there to pick me up as I continue to put my trust in Him and Him alone to bring to maturity the work which He has begun in my life.

The last word goes to Pam, who sent me the above this morning...

I came across this article on our security in Christ. This morning
reading this just made me so thankful for my "standing" before Christ. Paid
for & righteous before him. What a privelege to "stand" before him today,
looking as good as gold.....when we all know I woke up contaminated with
sin. For him to still view me as beautiful is far beyond anything I would
expect from anyone but his love is far beyond my understanding. I'm just
thankful to face my day knowing how highly He thinks of me....no matter how
I may fail today. Have a great day in this knowledge of God's love for you.