A Christian cannot lose salvation

4 ========== My first argument I will concede that Ezekiel 18 is speaking about Old Testament Jews, But the question it asks (When is salvation granted? ) cannot be dismissed so easily. God is unchanging after all. 5 ========== Your Argument #2 (with my rebuttal) While salvation is an irrevocable gift from God, There is a WINDOW OF TIME for a TRUE CHRISTIAN to lose his salvation. Jesus tells the Apostles about the times just before His Return (Matt 24: 9-14): "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, And you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, The love of most will grow cold, But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, And then the end will come. " In these verses, "the end" means the bitter end. Not the end of one's prayer or one's life, But the end of sorrows and of time. The End--as in Revelation chapter 20 when God finally sits in Judgment. Paul agrees that the gift is not given until Judgment (2 Tim. 4: 7-8): "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, Which the Lord, The righteous Judge, Will award to me on that day--and not only to me, But also to all who have longed for his appearing. " Obviously, Paul is not dead when he writes this, But he also doesn't actually claim salvation until Jesus gets around to His Judgment. In Matt 24, We find a relevant new Category of people: --- Category D --- v. 13 shows that some TRUE CHRISTIANS are required to "stand firm to the end [to] be saved. " Their salvation will never be certain during their lives. While you are right that salvation is an irrevocable gift from God, It is not given during life (at least not to all). Therefore, There is a WINDOW OF TIME between when some people achieve TRUE CHRISTIAN status and when their salvation is irrevocably gifted. 6 ========== My Argument #2 In this WINDOW OF TIME, Many will reject Jesus and lose their salvation. Paul concurs that it is possible to lose salvation in this WINDOW OF TIME (1 Cor. 9:24-27): "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, But only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, But we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. " I also looked up the Greek word that is translated to "crown" in 1 Cor. And 2 Tim. They both use the same Greek word. Which is "stephanos. " Paul"s crown in 2 Tim 4:8 is not special to him but accessible to all TRUE CHRISTIANS. It is salvation. But in 1 Cor. 9:27, Paul says that it is possible that he could become disqualified--after becoming a preacher (and TRUE CHRISTIAN). Likewise, Until the race is over (in other words, Our whole lives), We must all stay in "strict training" to avoid disqualification. Therefore, It is possible to lose salvation in this WINDOW OF TIME. --- Category C --- In Matt 24:10, Jesus describes many who will "turn away from the faith" before the end. (Notice the similar language to Ezekiel 18's "turn from". ) These are not Category B people, Which you described as folks who trusted in "their works [instead of] Jesus alone. " Jesus is not saying "I never knew you" to these people. He is saying that they had faith in Him (earning TRUE CHRISTIAN status), But then left the faith before the end (losing salvation through unfaithfulness). Therefore, Many will lose salvation in this WINDOW OF TIME.