Loss/Forfeiture of Salvation

Tyler, I really appreciate your truthful openness about your struggles, I continue to have some of the same ones myself.
First off, God knows your struggles even better than you know yourself, and he still loves you.
Read the life story of King David. Even with his infidelity and his murderous attempts to hide his sin, God looked upon his heart and raised him up.
The psalms relate similar cries of anguish, “God, where are you?”.
Yeah, we sin, sometimes we even greave the Holy Spirit within us, but he is our Father and will never let us go.

You have written so much.
A general posting board isn’t the best place to open up your personal life.

Might I suggest you make an appointment with your pastor, he could hold you accountable in ways we could not.
He would be more able to deal with the questions and concerns you have and could point you in the right direction.

Rob

 

What do you understand 1 John 5:1 to claim? What do you understand Jesus to claim in John 6:37? John 6:39? John 10:28-30? Now 1 John 5:12 in light of John 6:37? Now if you are or were yet lost, what would be the reason according to 2 Corinthians 4:3? What does Hebrews 10:17 promise regarding forgiveness? What does John tell us about agreeing with God for forgivess anyway? Note the promise of being cleansed (1 John 1:9 - 1 John 2:1).

 

So sorry to hear of what you are going through. I think Deacon gave sound advice about speaking with your pastor.

Your post reminds me of a couple of things. One is a quote from Philip Yancey -- "Grace does not depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us. Ask people what they must do to get to heaven and most reply, "Be good." Jesus' stories contradict that answer. All we must do is cry, "Help!""

Another is a song by Crowder - "There's hope for the hopeless and all those who've strayed. Come sit at the table, come taste the grace. There's rest for the weary, rest that endures. Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't cure."

Bottom line, your salvation (or mine or anyone else's) does not depend upon how good we are after we accept Christ. So keep on keeping on. Keep praying, keep seeking God, keep reading the Bible, etc. Indeed, earth has no sorrow that heaven can't cure. You are in my prayers. FOS

 

God loves you just the way you are.

You don't need a "how to" guide on protecting yourself from God. You need God to protect you from this "how to" guide you are making up in your head.


Life is not about beating you up.

God doesn't put a gun to your head and asks "do you love me?"

The horror you putting yourself through is a hell already.


There is no sin that you do where God is like okay I had enough of this guy.

The problem is SIN itself is punking us around by negative motives we don't deserve to be a slave to.

 

Look up all scriptures about God's love and forgiveness which you could find dozens of them. Read them and maybe record them, listen to them night and day until the truth of them sinks down in your heart. I suppose other Christians have told you that the Bible says this and that is that true? It seems I've read your testimony on another site and if not yours one exactly similar. The bottom line is ARE YOUR WILLING to be comforted? That would mean casting down wrong thoughts and I'm talking about discouraging thoughts not in line with the word of God. Here's one Bible verse,

Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

So God said return unto him. Are you willing to believe the truth that you can? Are you one sadly who believes God would tell you to do something that you're not able to do? When God says I will have mercy on you will you choose to embrace once and for all that he's telling the truth and that his word has integrity? If he said like he did that he will abundantly pardon, not just pardon or forgive but abundantly so will you lock into boldness and courage and do what he also said to come boldly to the throne of grace and find grace and mercy in your time of need? Heb 4:16 You say well you don't feel a boldness and confidence to do that. Doesn't matter what you feel. God through the Apostle Paul STILL told you to come boldly to receive his grace. The question is though will you do it?

 

Your experience is extra ordinary but not extremely so.

I also have been down a very bumpy road similar to yours with a period of several years of questioning my relationship with the LORD. I too was sent to professionals for help but to not much avail.

Gradually my fear and doubt abated and I am back in fellowship with Him and He has renewed my faith as well.

It was always there but as you said I had become numb to it.

I've prayed for you brother Tyler. Keep looking up, soon perhaps over an extended period of time He will make Himself known to you again after His temporary withdrawal.

 

First of all,

I'd like to ask one of the Moderators or someone in Admin to please consider moving this thread to:
"Christian Fellowship Forums" under "Prayer Requests and Praise".
Then I would ask that the OP ( Tyler ) at some point, to create a second thread that deals with the subject of loss of salvation, and his beliefs about it, along with what he may see as Scriptural support for it.
This subject can be dealt with apart from the personal aspect...which I believe should either be addressed in private via PM / Starting a Conversation, or in the Prayer Request thread.

Given the OP's post so far, I am firmly convinced that this is not primarily a matter of dealing with the subject of loss of salvation, which I've experienced my own doubts about over the years until recently, but rather a matter of dealing with aspects of our walk with the Lord over many years... and needs to be dealt with from God's word and in a private setting, if possible.

I think that perhaps the OP, being new to the site, thought that the subject of loss of salvation and his own experiences with believing this false doctrine ( yes, I believe loss of salvation to be a false doctrine, and one I fell into the belief of at times, over the course of my 41 years as a believer ), were what prompted him to create the thread in the "Calvinism" versus "Arminianism" sectioon within the "Christian Debate Forums"...while I feel that, due to the nature of his post, the answers should be dealt with in two phases:

The counseling phase, and the doctrinal phase.

Tyler,
I'd like the privilege of addressing both, since it seems you and I have gone through so many similar occurrences:

So did I, around the age of 6.
It resulted in me having a "religious awareness" of the Lord, but went no further.

Fast forward to when I was 12, and heard the word of God preached in an Independent Baptist Church...it really got my attention.
That was the real change-maker, and my desire to obey Him and His word grew from there.

This is exactly how I felt during a particularly nasty trial of my faith 7 years ago this coming September.
I'd like to start a conversation with you privately, if you're willing.

After reading your post thoroughly, I think I may be of some help, Tyler.
I've learned a lot since then...

About my "wicked flesh" that keeps leading me to fall into sins ( Romans 7:14-25, Galatians 5:17 ), about the difference between it and the new "heart" that desires to obey the Lord ( Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Hebrews 8:7-13, etc. ) and fight the sin that is within "the flesh" of every child of His.

That internal battle that is characteristic of a saved person.

I know exactly how you feel, Tyler...
Believe it or not.

PM me by right-clicking on my picture... and when it pops up, choose, "start a conversation" and then it will prompt you to compose something similar to an e-mail with title and subject matter.
You don't have to get complicated about the first post...just let me know by message, if you'd like to talk.
I will do the talking at first, because I genuinely feel like this is an opportunity for me to be used of the Lord to help a brother who has been going through many of the same doubts and fears that I have, in the past.

Let's address this post together, shall we?



May God bless you greatly, Tyler.
...and know that even when we are far from Him in our own minds and in our emotions and wounded consciences, He is always near...whether or not we "feel" it.

 

When Christ died for our sins we hadn't even sin yet. Our sins in the past the present and the future are for given. They have to be, because eternal life is given the moment we believe. The interesting thing about being eternal is that there is no end to eternity. The smartest man who ever lived wrote;
Ecc 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Even the greatest pastor you can think of still sins. There is literally no one with out sin yet men are still saved.
MB