Can we lose salvation?

Lovejoypeace_

Ok. So I know the doctrine of "Once saved always saved" is false. But I am also confused about losing salvation. Is it really that we can lose it, or is it that we can reject it/leave it? It seems that when someone loses something they did not intend to lose it, and they are generally upset that it was lost. I get the feeling, therefore that if one truly desires to hold on to their salvation, God will not hold it from them? But if they let go of God, is their salvation "lost" or rejected/left?

mabsoota

you only 'loose' salvation if u 'had' it in the first place.
2 peter 1 verse 10 and revelation 2 verse 7 make it clear that we need to make our salvation sure by overcoming the evil one.
romans 8 verse 39 reassures us that no evil force can take this away from us.
the rest of the Bible explains that God takes very great care to forgive us when we repent and restore us when we fall.

as orthodox Christians we do not consider salvation as a one off step, but a continuous process.
if you disagree, please find me the Bible verse that has the 'sinners prayer' that will 'make me a Christian'. i spent more than 20yrs looking for it (seriously, not exaggerating here!)

so live a life of repentance, submitting to God, resisting the devil (saying 'no' to evil actions and thoughts) and the evil one will flee (james 4 verse 7)

minasoliman

+1

As St. Paul says, “work out your own salvation in fear and trembling.”

To add to that, there’s a general sense that Christ is always the One who seeks the lost. You may lose salvation, but in doing so, you become lost in the process. The good hope is that Christ is always the one who is seeking you, waiting for you to come back, to repent. At that moment, your salvation is renewed.

So even if you have “lost” it, Christ still seeks to be close to you to find you back.

mabsoota

very well said :)

Daniel_Kyrillos

The human race cannot lose salvation- Christ died on the cross to ensure that. However, we as individuals can stray from God and thus lose our heavenly reward. Even if we stray, though, we can always repent and ask for forgiveness and we will always find it. If you stray and do not repent, then you have not lost salvation, but rather thrown it away- think of the parable of the talents an the man who buried his single talent. He had it, but he decided to throw it away.

Pray for me.

Lovejoypeace_

So to make sure I understand, you cannot "lose" salvation, but you can reject/throw away your salvation?

Daniel_Kyrillos

@Lovejoypeace_ you can't "lose" it in the sense of doing something that will have it taken away from you forever, just like that. But if you reject it, you are losing it. Make sure that distinction is clear

Pray for me