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Baptist Questions Answered — Part 3 (Editor’s Note: We continue looking at various questions raised by David Martin. He affirms that baptism is not essential to salvation and the doctrine of once saved always saved. We now look at questions six through 8. Gerald Durrett’s answers are italicized below. D.T.) 6. If as a Christian I can fall and "lose my salvation," is it possible to regain it? If so, how? If God "takes away" my salvation, doesn't that make Him an "Indian giver"? How could I ever know for sure that I was saved or lost? Please refer to above scriptures. God doesn’t take anything away. He wants all men to be saved and has given everything to allow us to have salvation. It is only by his grace, but not by His grace only, that we have this hope within us and are obedient to all of his commandments, not just the ones that our creed book or denomination tells us to obey. Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Jas 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. We must do all God has directed us to do through his son and the apostles, as he commanded them. Reject all human creeds and denominational concepts and go back to God’s word. When we pick and choose the commandments we want to obey and then disregard the rest because of man’s teachings (Baptist doctrine, church of Christ doctrine, etc.) then we reject God and we are disobedient. Jas 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” If we no longer seek to draw nigh to God then he will no longer draw nigh to us. “For if he spared not the angels that sinned…” (they had believed and confessed and worshipped but then no longer sought to draw nigh to God but rejected God and sinned). What happened to them? Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Revelations 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 3:3 “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. How can you know for sure that you are saved or lost? Col 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 1Th 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; 1Th 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 2Th 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Heb 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Heb 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. 1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1Pe 1:13 ¶ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; {to the end: Gr. perfectly} 1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Finally, Paul said to Timothy, 2Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. {believed: or, trusted}. If we draw nigh to God and obey Him and Him only we can have that assurance and hope. John said that if we believe and abide in Christ then we have a promise of eternal life.(to the end: Gr. Perfectly)??? Questions for you. If it is impossible for a believer to lose his salvation, then why does John say “if” we abide in Him? How do we draw nigh to God if we don’t do so by our actions? Is confession a work? Is the sinner’s prayer a work (scripture please)? Is preaching/ministering a work? Is being an elder/pastor a work? Is teaching a bible class a work? Etc. Baptism is also a work commanded by God and none of these are worth anything without His grace and faith that gives the believer a sincere desire to obey everything He has commanded. Do you do that and if not, are you drawing nigh to God and do you have scriptural hope and assurance? Was God an “Indian giver” concerning His people, the Israelites? (Hebrews 8: 9 “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord”. Ho 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Note: These were written for our learning. Rom. 15:4) 7. After becoming a Christian, are there any sins that will put me beyond the "point of no return" so that I cannot regain salvation? What sin or sins will put me in such jeopardy, so that, after becoming a Christian, I would be doomed to hell without any recourse? Please be specific and give me clear Bible references. This is a difficult question. There are 2 possibilities here: (1) 1 John 5:16-17 probably refers to Mt 12:31 “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. This is when the works of Christ had been accused of being from Satan. I’m not sure how this would be done today since miracles have passed away. (2) A person can harden their heart to the point that they will not accept and do the will of God. In that condition they cannot be saved. However, if they change their heart to the point of obeying God then they can be saved. What is truth? God’s word is truth. I think that the answers to your question # 6 apply and that when I confess my sins and ask forgiveness, he is faithful and just to forgive me. 1 John 1:9
Questions for you. Is your heart hardened against anything that goes against Baptist doctrine or is it open when searching the scriptures? Which is more important, the truth or Baptist doctrine and precepts? Can I be acceptable to God and receive salvation based on the scriptures found in the Bible? If your answer is no, then is your heart hardened and unacceptable to God? If yes, why would you need anything else? 8. If I committed some sin -whether in thought, word, or deed, one minute before a fatal car crash - would I go to hell if I did not have time to repent of it? And, please, don't just say that it's up to God without giving me a specific Bible reference. I will answer this question when you answer mine. Questions for you. If I am in the car with you, have just believed and confessed but I have not yet said the sinner’s prayer, would I go to hell? What if I was killed in a car crash on the way to a Gospel Meeting and I would have accepted the Gospel that night? And, please, don’t just say that it’s up to God without giving me a Bible reference. Note: We can ask all kinds of hypothetical questions, but they really prove nothing. Are you planning on getting killed in a car crash? Every person that has asked that question was alive and able to obey the Gospel so it really is not germane to our study. Finally, in the situation you stated above and since 1Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “Pray without ceasing” wouldn’t your last thought and action be a fervent prayer to God, even if it is an extremely short one? If not, maybe you should re-examine your heart.--to be continued --
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