One simple question:
Paul says we are new creatures in Christ, seated with Christ in the heavenlies.
Yet, at any moment we can become uncreated in Christ and unseated from Christ in the heavenlies?
Also at any moment we might fall back into a state of not being able to refer to God intimately a Abba Father (Daddy)?
Interestingly, we may have some estrangement from our earthly parents by our acts, theirs, or mutually, yet our relational connection to them is still, our parents.
If we take this earthly, man centered principle, and give God credit for this principle, then we have this up/down, yeah/nay, relationship with God the Father when we go on a rebellious, fleshly rant, of life, after once contritely believing in Christ as our Saviour, and receiving His life, forgiveness, and eternal relationship of our God.
If our relationship with God hinges on a continuing, "A+" report card, at every interval of life as a Christian, we are a most unfortunate being by far.
To literally be yanked out of our New Creature in Christ standing by back sliding, or carnally falling off the wagon of living out a wholesome, biblical life, at every breathing moment, is to be most pitied.
What is the bain of the non-Christian world? We have unperfect parents and world, who often accept or refuse us based on performance standards. One day we are loved and patted on the head for cleaning our room, the next day your treated as a "Persona Non Grata" because you didn't eat your Lima beans.".
Christ's acceptance is based on "identy", or birthright, not on how high we can jump, or how many souls we can bring the gospel to, how much we serve in the church, in our life time.
When Paul says, "In Christ", he means, "In Christ". When your saved, God places you "In Christ". Your life is no longer your own, but Christ's/God's property. Because of this new identity.birthright, we are now inheritors of God's riches in Glory. We have been given the H.S. as a Guarantor, of that pact, God has done. We now have in our souls, "mind, will, emotions", the mighty Counselor, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, that gentlemanly guides us, not in an overwhelming intrusive way, but in a way that instills interest, and seeking of a stronger, and stronger walk or relationship with God through Christ. We now have an advocate that pleads our positional/actual standing in Him/Christ before the Father, as the enemy of our souls pleads against our standing before the Father, for every non-biblical deed or thought we possess or exercise.
God came in in the Flesh to identify with humanity, yet to also end this acceptance/performance based approach to God that man has unscripturally bought into. To lose one's new birth is to not ever have had that new birth. As we cannot climb back into our mother's womb and be reborn, so we cannot hop in and out of relationship with God, through the blood, and Cross of Christ.
If we are saved, we have been crucified, buried, and raised up with Christ (Galatians 2:20), and the old Adamic life that we possessed is now buried at the Cross, and the new life we live is the the new Adamic life of Christ. To lose one's salvation is to live tentatively, and in a state of anxious, anxiety, that at any given moment, one might falter and lose one's God given birthright. That is the most blasphemous definition of God's steadfast love, and patience, that waits at the "portals" and aggressiving calls and pursues His beloved ones.
To accept the notion that a trully Born Again believer can lose one's salvation is to make a mockery of the work of Christ, and to place one's human intellect above God's omnipotence, and Forgiving nature.
To lose one's salavation and gain it back if possible is to live the existence of a human "yo yo". A life of total, apprehensive, instability, that must be governed with Pharasitical practices of "works" based salvation.
It reminds me of the servant/slave that had the one talent. Why didn't that servant/slave double that talent's value, as the others did with their talents? First of all this "one talent" servant saw his master as hard, unforgiving, exacting and scarey master. Many of us grew up with imperfect parents not unlike how this servant perceived his master. We had to be on the top of our "game" as kids to please them, or if we faltered, it was "limbo" time in our relationship with them. That's not as God revealed Himself in the person of Christ! That's imperfect, humanity. Imperfect parental modeling, yet God is not imperfect, and says that He will never foresake or leave us.
Some say that's fine, but we can leave Him. That "bolder dash"! Once you are a new Creature in Christ, you can have your fleshly times as His child as well as your abiding times. Those fleshing times could last days, months, or years, but God still does the "holding". We don't hold onto God! God holds onto us. He certainly gets disappointed with us, but He doesn't let go of us, or quit loving us. He's patient; and ever-waiting for us to get back into the "fold". In fact He will even seek us out and bring us back in a myriad of ways in this time bound, earthly life of ours. We can refuse to accept his overtures of love, but if there was a time in our lives when we believed with our hearts in the scripturally based Christ and His work at Calvary in our place, the scripture says that He is most gracious and has accepted us as His children. We have been adopted. Adoption is as strong as biological birth. It is irrevocable! Whe God adopts, it's a done deed and deal!
Salvation is only the beginning. Now comes the process of sanctification, or being set-apart from the world in our outward life and inward life as it conforms slowly to the nature of God through Christ. For some of us, the sanctification goes easier as some of us are more compliant. For others of us, we fight it all the way. Does God reject the fighters of His Will and love the compliant more? Never!
For Grace levels the playing field between the "goodie two shoes" and the "rabble rouser"( Remember the Prodigal son?). Romans 3:23 says it all............None, no not one has earned their salvation by deeds. God saves. None of us have anything to brag about.
This means that gross sinners or those whose sins seem so very visible and apparent to all, have access to the throne of God through Jesus Christ ( Zacheus), as readily as the sinner who transgressed God's Laws in the mind and through subtle, less noticeable means ( Obedient, rich young man who travailed at giving up his possessions to follow Jesus.).
I've personally met folks who were saved as homosexuals, yet were not freed from the temptation of Homosexuality just because they became saved. It took time for God to pare away the layers upon layers of unGodly life ( skewed, unbiblical way of life) that hindered a mature, growing relationship with God. Yet, God is faithful, and works in gentlemanly cooperation with our human wills, to remove those besetting obstacles from our lives that hinder our intimacy with God. We cooperate via Romans 12:1-3, but renewing our minds with truth from God to replace the old Adamic programming that's still in our souls, even though the old Adamic nature is or proclivity to sin is gone. This also is the way to resist temptation and sin, as our unredeemed flesh or earthly bodies still allows the power of sin it's distasteful access to our souls.
Christians sin, and often reap terrible consequences that negatively affect their testimony and usefulness as God would have intended, but God doesn't discard them to a "lost persons" refuse pile. Human will, with freedom to choose, must work in conjunction with God's truth and will, in order for all Christian soul's to reap benefit, in the form of usefulness to the kingdom and personal peace and security to be realized.
When saved, you are given a brand new "birthright". Birthrights are not revokable when your behaviour goes wacky and skewed through sins temptation via your unredemmed flesh. You just relinquish a lot of blessings and priveledges until you get your moorings back through God's patient, unending grace. Sadly some Christians live most of their lives as though they are pagans and unsaved, as they fail to exercise their freedom to "choose" to seek after their Creator's provision of restoration.
No, God doesn't hold a bar or measuring stick in front of His children. Christ is their advocate, yet God willingly works and strives with His children to perfect what is good, and eliminate what is a hindrance. At no time does He discard a single soul that is covered or appropriated His Son's life.
