Delve Into Jesus : Questions : Eternal Salvation

Comments

Welcome to the site, and thanks so much for your question.

For me, the most important verse which shows that we cannot lose our salvation is John 10:29 - I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. In a similar way, Jesus says in John 6:39 - And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

So, it is clear that once we belong to Jesus, He will never let us go. He will not choose to let us go, and no one (that is, Satan) is powerful enough to snatch us away. The questions remain, "how do we know we belong to Jesus?".

John answers this question in 1 John 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

We know that salvation is a free gift of God and we cannot earn in - it is freely given by a merciful God to those who do not deserve. It is faith, not works, that justify us. However, the works (that is, obedience) are the outward sign of our faith (James 2:14). If we are living as Jesus taught, then we know we belong to Him. However, if someone is not living this way, even if they claim to have given their life to Jesus, we cannot be sure that they are truly in Christ.

So, once saved always saved, but the way we know we are saved is that we are living the way Jesus taught us.

I hope this helps! God bless.

arsindelve- 5/13/2008 6:41:31 AM

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