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JW's and Christians when I read the following verses, I ask the question - if I am saved can I be unsaved, if so How?
11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians1:11-14
Thanks for all your answers, I would have liked it had a JW answered it and brought in their point of view.
7 Answers
- Anonymous5 years agoFavorite Answer
First, we need to be clear as to who and what a Christian is. A Christian is a person who has fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and therefore possesses the Holy Spirit (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8–9). Hang onto that bit about the Holy Spirit, because it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that transforms the life of the believer which is the evidence they have been born again and belong to Christ Jesus. Once a person has come to saving faith in Christ Jesus, they are saved. Full stop. Jesus promised he would never lose any of those who were given to him by his Father. Jesus does not lie.
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). A Christian is not simply an “improved” version of a person; a Christian is an entirely new creature. He is “in Christ.” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be destroyed.
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. We were purchased at the cost of Christ’s death. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase of the individual for whom He paid 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 is 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 “un-declare” what He had previously declared. Those absolved of guilt would have to be tried again and found guilty. God would have to reverse the sentence handed down from the divine bench.
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 the promise of spending 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 redefined. The Christian is promised to live forever. Does eternal not mean “eternal”?
A Christian is marked by God and sealed by the Spirit. “You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14). At the moment of faith, the new Christian is marked and sealed with the Spirit, who was promised to act as a deposit to guarantee the heavenly inheritance. The end result is that God’s glory is praised. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to erase the mark, withdraw the Spirit, cancel the deposit, break His promise, revoke the guarantee, keep the inheritance, forego the praise, and lessen His glory.
A Christian is guaranteed glorification. “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). According to Romans 5:1, justification is ours at the moment of faith. According to Romans 8:30, glorification comes with justification. All those whom God justifies are promised to be glorified. This promise will be fulfilled when Christians receive their perfect resurrection bodies in heaven. If a Christian can lose salvation, then Romans 8:30 is in error, because God could not guarantee glorification for all those whom He predestines, calls, and justifies.
A Christian cannot lose salvation. Most, if not all, of what the Bible says happens to us when we receive Christ would be invalidated if salvation could be lost. Salvation is the gift of God, and God’s gifts are “irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). A Christian cannot be un-newly created. The redeemed cannot be unpurchased. Eternal life cannot be temporary. God cannot renege on His Word. Scripture says that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Believers are born again (regenerated) when they believe (John 3:3; Titus 3:5). For a Christian to lose his salvation, he would have to be un-regenerated. The Bible gives no evidence that the new birth can be taken away.The Holy Spirit indwells all believers (John 14:17; Romans 8:9) and baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). For a believer to become unsaved, he would have to be "un-indwelt" and detached from the Body of Christ.
A person is either saved or they are unsaved. Once you have been saved the Holy Spirit is your guarantee. If you don't have the Holy Spirit, you do not have that guarantee and you are lost - eternally lost.
The problem Jehovah's Witnesses have with what the Bible REALLY teaches about salvation is they think they have to constantly strive to "earn the right to be declared righteous" and that only 144,000 persons since the time of Jesus can be "anointed" or "born again." 8 million Witnesses are not saved. And they will never be saved until they dump all the false teachings that come out of the mouth of their "faithful and discrete slave" and start to believe the Bible instead.
Source(s): http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-lose-salvati... http://www.gotquestions.org/once-saved-always-save... - 5 years ago
I made an analogy, i don't know how biblically accurate it
- You are running a race, vs sin/vice etc, and you are in the lead, and you're running with all your heart to get away from sin, but you stop running because you come complacent and instead of getting to the finish line and winning/being saved, sin catches up with you and you fall back to being a sinner.
- ?Lv 55 years ago
Ex JW here. The bible is a group of stories written by uneducated nomads. Nothing more, you can not make sense of it. It is not an historical document nor is it something that can be bent to make any sense. JW's are a cult.
- Anonymous5 years ago
If you are sealed by the Holy Spirit it is impossible to not believe as you have experienced God and are a witness.
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
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- yesmarLv 75 years ago
Yes, it is plain that one can become "unsaved". Ephesians, and other verses, make it clear that God "predestined", or "decided ahead of time" that he would make a plan to rescue humanity, and so he did. Those who decide to be part of it can be, those who don't, won't.
- ?Lv 75 years ago
Christianity does not teach that a person can lose their salvation, because you did not earn your salvation to lose it. Salvation is a gift from God.