Once Saved, Conditionally Saved?
In a debate group that I am part of, the topic recently surfaced, if we are once saved, are we always saved. This immediately became a hot topic, with many members weighing in. At first, while I had my leanings, I was undecided which side of the debate I adhered to. After all, why does it matter ultimately? We do well to live as though we could lose our salvation, according to Philippians 2:12, which says, "Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. " But for the sake of argument, I spent the next several days pouring over scripture, trying to find any and all patterns of rejection and redemption. Do we have examples of known saved people rejecting and thus losing their salvation? The reality is, we don't. We simply do not know the state of a man's heart. Only God knows. So if ...