Can a person LOSE salvation or Once saved always saved?
Brother Bob said:
You don't have to remember every sin you ever committed.
Repentance is a "Godly Sorrow", in other words to become sorry you sinned against God and unless a person does that they will never see what Heaven looks like. A "Godly Sorrow" is to be sorrow for every sin you ever committed.
Now, Repentance or "Godly Sorrow" is required at the hands of ALL men, and God don't require something we can't do.
Gotta' disagree with you on this one, Bob, where you said
Repentance is a "Godly Sorrow"...
That is simply not what Scripture teaches in the only verse where these two things are mentioned together, as I read it.
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (II Cor. 7:10 - KJV)
And BTW, this verse (and even the context) says nothing about remembering every sin, at all. Although I think I remember something about God saying He will remember our sins no more. But I digress. Anyway, let's look at this verse in just a bit more detail. This is what the verse looks like in the Greek Language.
η γαρ κατα θεον λυπη μετανοιαν εις σωτηριαν αμεταμελητον 'κατεργαζεται' ('εργαζεται'- W/H) η δε του κοσμου λυπη θανατον κατεργαζεται (Scrivener- 1894)
One key word here is "αμεταμελητον" (αμεταμελητος) a negative adjective derived from "μεταμελομαι" - to
care afterwards or differently - or in other words, to regret. (This word is used reflexively in the NT, BTW.) Hence this word is "not regretted", in the literal sense, but in the usage, as an idiom, is properly by implication and usage, 'enduring' or 'irrevocable'. ('
Strong's Concordance' #278 ; Wigram -
Analytical Greek Lexicon of the New Testamant, p. 18, column a, 7
th entry)
The second key word is "μετανοια(ν)" a noun - a change of mind - from "μετανοεω" (verb) - to
think afterwards or differently (This word is
not used reflexively, to my knowledge.) - (Strong's # 3340;
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon...' p. 405, column b, 2nd entry) Note the difference in the two verbs above, both translated 'repent' in the NT although the first is used only a total of 6 times in 5 verses, and the latter about 30 times. In every instance where salvation is in view, the word is "μετανοεω".
The third key word is "κατεργαζεται" (TR) ["εργαζεται" (W/H)] - bring about, result in [to cause to exist, produce] Thayer
op.cit. p.339, [249].
So now let us look one more time at the verse and we find we now have this rendering.
"For Godly sorrow results in (causes or works) a change of mind leading to an irrevocable salvation, but worldly sorrow results in death." (II Cor. 7:10)
They (Godly sorrow and 'repentance') are most certainly connected, as we have seen, but they are not the same thing (i.e. " Repentance
is a "Godly Sorrow""), nor is one 'contained' in the other. (My emphasis- Ed)
BTW, as far as I can tell,
not one person on this thread has said that a person
should not repent, or that repentance is not required. DHK has not said that. Nor have I. In fact, I will say that it
is required for a person to repent, in order to be saved. BUT that Biblical repentance is "
repentance toward God and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21) and/or "...of
repentance from dead works and
of faith toward God," (Heb. 6:1)
Did everyone get that?? The
direction of repentance is the same direction as faith, toward God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is
not directed (nor is it possible to be)
towards your/my sins; repentance is
directed towards the Son! Only after one has received salvation and become a new creation in Christ, can one even confess (our) sins, as in I John 1:6-10.
This one is for free! The
only person in the OT, as far as I can tell, who was ever said to repent is Job. But God is said to repent or not to repent at least 60 times, if my memory is not failing me. So who was it that said repentance is from sins? Ya' wanna tell God that he was 'repenting' of His sins???
You can;
Not me!!! Back to where we left off -
The unbeliever is said to be "in sin". Even if repent Biblically meant "turn about" (which it does not) all an unbeliever would be doing is a 180* turn, and would still be "in sin". The effective difference would be that instead of looking toward the North, he or she would now be looking toward the South, and just as much "in sin" as ever. The Christian is "in Christ". I like that. The view is better, there. (All the above emphases in the post are my own. - Ed)
Ed
P.S. The title of the thread unwittingly tells what we should be doing. We should "
Loose our salvation" to a world in bondage to sin! Amen!
P.P.S. Without even previously seeing your post, gekko, I've answered here at least one question you asked for.