HOW
TO TELL IF YOU'VE LOST SALVATION
Loss of salvation is an important theme in the lives of some Christians. Many Believers believe that salvation is impossible to lose. Many who insist that a person can be lost again are not sure of the exact circumstances that will trigger loss of salvation. Some are vague about how to be sure that you have ceased to be God's Child. Because this is a Heaven-or-Hell issue, it is important that one-time Christians who have lost their salvation know that they are lost again.
You cannot be lost again if you were never saved. If you want to check your current standing with God, you must know if you were ever really His. Three questions can help you discover whether you were ever saved:
If you answered yes to each question above, one more question will reveal whether you have lost your salvation. It is a simple question, and one that deserves an honest answer: Are you God?
If you answered no to this question, stop worrying. Your salvation is intact. I'm sure you're curious about the last question and its answer.
When a person is saved, God sends the Holy Spirit to live in him. The Bible uses several terms to describe the Spirit's work in the Christian. Among these is earnest. The earnest of a business deal is the money deposited by one party to prove that he means to perform his obligations. If the person who posts earnest backs out of the agreement, he loses the money. Where does the money go when that happens? The other party to the deal gets the earnest, free and clear.
Wherever the word eternal is used in the Bible to describe the Believer's life in Christ, it means never-ending. The life that God gives every Christian at the moment of salvation continues throughout eternity. Because this eternal life is a part of God's covenant with us, He has forbidden Himself to put any gaps or moments of lostness in our lives.
What would happen if God allowed us to be lost again, even if only for an eyeblink? That would be a broken promise. That particular promise has earnest (the Holy Spirit) on deposit to prove God's intention to keep it. When God breaks the promise, He forfeits the Spirit. Without the Spirit, and without His integrity, God would have to resign in disgrace.
If God had to resign in disgrace, who would take His place? If you had lost your salvation, thus triggering this chain of events, you would have clear title to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the strongest claim to Heaven's throne would be yours.
"Nonsense, Iclab!" you're saying by now. "Heresy! Utter falsehood! Et cetera!!" You're absolutely right. I could not agree more strongly. The above chain of events is absurd. Please note, though, that the absurdity does not begin when you get the big promotion. The first impossible event in the chain is God's allowing you to be lost again. He has plainly promised never to do that. Please take Him at His word, and begin living the fearless, victorious life to which God calls us.
The Papers That Aren't Two Pages