How Many Sins Does It Take to Lose Your Salvation?

Hi, this is Bernie Dake. Welcome to The Salvation Army's Words of Life. Welcome to Words of Life. I'm Cheryl Gillum.

Hi, Cheryl, and I'm Bernie Dake. You know we're in the last few episodes of this series, Skeptics Welcome, and we're grateful to Ken for putting this incredible series together. I think he's done a beautiful job of taking your questions and discussing them with some grace. And last week, Ken talks about salvation. The main part of this question is, can you lose your salvation? And like we discussed last week, many denominations feel very differently about this question. Yeah. I have a Baptist friend who kind of holds onto the thought, once saved, always saved. I think certainly different denominations, like we talked about last week, have different viewpoints. But the real question is, you know, where did that come from?

Where is it bubbling up from? Right. And so he asks that question, do you know that God loves you?

And in spite of anything you've done, he loves you. Right. Well, I think that we need to understand that our adversary is the devil. Yeah. He is the father of lies. Yeah. And he is constantly throwing lies at us to say that we're not good enough, that God doesn't love us.

And so from that perspective, yes, it's important for especially this person to know God loves you. Amen. And then there's something else that kind of this kind of struck in me when I was a young adult. I mean, I had this thought because I know that I wasn't... I was willfully sinning.

And so I had to evaluate my own story. At that point, would I see Jesus or not? And so again, it comes back to the origin of that question, where is it coming from within you? And we have to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that to us. If I'm sinning, Lord, reveal it to me.

If I'm not, I accept fully the love of Christ and His acceptance in my life. And stop me if you've heard this before, but we were at an event where one of the speakers, Major Missy Romax, said, the devil doesn't keep his deals and the Lord doesn't make deals. He makes promises. There's only one thing he cannot do. The Lord cannot fail. He loves us and His love won't let go no matter what we do. I think it's exciting for me having had such a relationship with transmission for so long. There's a new album out.

We talked about it last week. And on the album is a song called Faithful, which is an arrangement of a song that two former generals of the salvation army had written together called They Need Christ. And it talks about in the lyrics, it mentions there are people hurting in the world out there. They need us. They need Christ. And we hope that if you're listening to this episode, if you're within the sound of our voices and you need Christ or you're wondering about His love for you or your relationship with Him, reach out to us at the salvation army, find someone locally, get to a Christian church, find someone you can talk to about the love of Jesus, because it is unfailing. We hope that if you hear nothing else, you hear that hope today in Jesus. We hope that if you hear nothing else, you hear that hope today in Jesus. We hope that if you hear nothing else, you hear that hope today in Jesus. We hope that if you hear nothing else, you hear that hope today in Jesus. We hope that if you hear nothing else, you hear that hope today in Jesus. We hope that if you hear nothing else, you hear that hope today in Jesus. Good morning again and welcome back to Skeptics Welcome. I hope you are wrestling with the scriptures.

I hope that this has been somewhat of a challenge to you. Last week, I referred to a difference between those who follow the teachings of John Calvin or Martin Luther and those who follow the teaching of John Wesley or James Arminius. It has to do with the concept of free will or what some might call eternal security. That is, once I accept Christ's salvation, I cannot lose it for it's his to give. Others who belong to the Holiness branches of the Christian church believe that if I stop walking in obedience, that by that act of free will, I can actually forfeit or lose my salvation. Now, as a kid, I lost my salvation every day. Every week I was at the altar confessing my sin because I was afraid that if something would happen, I would go straight to hell, praying he would restore to me that salvation. Now, there are some who have written in and asked the question, how can you live with this stress and anxiety of trying to live a wholly perfect life by avoiding and overcoming sin?

I mean, that's a difficult task. In fact, I have good friends who now attend a Baptist church who say they feel now so free. They've been working so hard to prove to God that they were worthy of salvation, that to just accept his grace filled with their filled their hearts with joy.

I also have friends who say they are Christians, but I can't tell the difference between them and those who say they aren't. I mean, even Jesus says the demons believe. Does that mean they get saved?

Then there's the parable of the sheep and the goats. Salvation, that is, entrance into heaven is dictated solely on if you meet human need in Jesus's name. Those who failed to practice good works were actually banished into eternal damnation. James writes that without works, our faith is dead.

Yet I'm reminded that John 3 16 says, if you believe you shall not perish, but have eternal life. I think if we're honest, we are caught in these two extremes, and the truth is somewhere in the middle. Which is more powerful, God's sovereignty or human will? Do I have the power even to choose, or is God simply mandating my choices? I think the answer to this is in the struggle to answer it.

I wanted to call this week's session. How many sins does it take to lose your salvation? How does this thing called repentance or confession actually work? Do I request forgiveness daily? Do I request forgiveness weekly, maybe at the altar? Do I request forgiveness immediately after each sin, or do I sin actually with the knowledge that I'm going to confess or repent later, forming this vicious cycle by which I am constantly sinning and repenting?

Doesn't that feel a whole lot like what Israel used to do? I mean, isn't repentance actually a change in behavior? If I repent and keep going back to the same sin, I'm not really repenting, am I? And if I'm constantly self-examining for sin, how does this not keep me from constantly dwelling on all of my faults and shortcomings?

This is a big deal. A recovering addict once asked me, if Jesus can transform, why do I have to keep going to meetings and saying I'm an addict in recovery? At what point does God actually restore me, or are meetings a new way of life for me, constantly dwelling on my own sin-addictive ways? For me personally, I struggle with depression. Can God not take that depression away?

Sure He can. However, I believe it to be what Paul considers maybe a thorn in the flesh for me, something that reminds me of my daily and hourly need for God's presence. And it's a good reminder for others who are also struggling that God doesn't just take away all of our ailments and problems, but the struggle is part of the journey and it's okay to struggle. You see, we often meet God in these challenges and obstacles and questions. I actually like the fact that I'm speaking to skeptics right now, because you know that there's something deeper to be explored.

You're not just willing to take things at face value or what you've always been told. And I believe that it's in this exploring of this relationship with Jesus and the scriptures and through these momentary tests that will turn your life into a testimony giving glory to God. So yes, self-examination is an hourly, daily surrender to God and His Spirit of constant reflection of living up to His holy standard. But it shouldn't be one that's filled with anxiety and fear. This constant regeneration of the Holy Spirit doesn't bring condemnation and shame, but peace and joy. And with it, Wesley says, you experience the assurance of the Holy Spirit's presence and relationship. You do not have to teeter precariously over the precipice of hell every day. But remember that today your name is written in the book of life if you believe. Unless, of course, you choose to willingly abandon that relationship. Hebrews 6 gives us this terrible warning that once we have tasted salvation and willingly walk away, there is no sacrifice for sins left.

None. I mean, this verse absolutely terrified me, but I miss this one thing. It says, Jesus is that final sacrifice and it's through His blood all can be redeemed. There's only one person that can't be redeemed, and it's the heart that stops listening, the heart that stops caring, the heart that stops participating, the heart that stops asking questions and walks away from God forever. But hear this, my friend, even to the one who continues to harden their heart, God is still calling. God is still after you. He never gives up on us. His love never stops chasing us. The hound of heaven races you to your door and refuses to give up on you, on us.

He is relentless. So my friends, it's okay. Breathe. The Holy Spirit is inside of you.

Listen to it, and there you will find your peace. May God bless you and we'll see you next week. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support, and we'd love to hear from you. Email us at radioatuss.salvationarmy.org. Call 1-800-229-9965 or write us at P.O.

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