From: mpeever@uvphys.phys (Mark Peever)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Lost Salvation
Date: 8 Nov 92 06:05:26 GMT
Reply-To: mpeever@uvphys.phys
Organization: UVic, Physics & Astronomy, Victoria, BC

>>Does anyone believe it is possible to totally reject God, full 360,
>>after being saved (accepting Jesus, knowing Him) and enter hell?


>Speaking from experience, yes. (Have to wait and see about the hell part
>though :-) !)


 What exactly do you mean by "totally reject God?"
It is definitely possible for a Christian to reject the Lord, but that
in no way implies that the Lord rejects him.

 When Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, wrote the 
book of I Timothy, he said:
	"...if we deny Him, yet He remaineth faithful
	He cannot deny Himself"
The implication here is that if God were to deny or reject us, after Christ's
finished work on the cross, that He would, in fact, be denying Himself.
Thus, we are assured that Hewill never reject us, because He cannot reject
Himself.
 A similar argument was used by the apostle who, under God's direction, wrote
the book of Hebrews. In chapter 13, we are assured that God's enduring
promise to the Israelites is also applicable to us:
	"I will never leave you, nor forsake you.." (vs. 5)
Clearly, then God is bound by His own promise that He can never leave us,
nor can we leave Him.
 The book of Hebrews actually contains an entire chapter dedicated to this
theme. Chapter 9 tells us that our relationship with God is based on the ancient
rite of the Blood Covenant. This was the most binding form of agreement in most
cultures of the ancient world. It consisted of the two parties who were making
the covenant walking between two lines of slaughtered animals, quoting the terms
of agreement. Thus, the blood of the sacrificed animals sealed the agreement,
and breaking the covenant carried the penalty of death for the guilty party.
 A very clear example of its use is given in Gen 15. Here, God makes His
covenant to Abraham. God told Abraham to prepare to make the covenant, and so
Abraham, anticipating a Blood Covenant, slaughtered many animals, and waited 
for God to arrive, so they could walk in the blood and form the covenant.
However, when God did arrive, He caused Abraham to fall asleep, and thus
Abraham could not participate in the covenant, but God went through the blood
alone.
 The implication of this is that God was the only party in the agreement.
Thus, since Abraham was not party to the covenant, the fulfillment of it
did not rest with him, that is, no matter what he did, God would still
be bound to fulfill His part of the agreement.
 In a similar way, we are told in Hebrews 9, Christ made a blood covenant
for our redemption in His own blood on the cross. However, like Abraham,
we weren't there at the cross. Therefore, as the apostle points out, we
are not party to the agreement, and the fulfillment of it does not depend
on us.
 The point is, that no matter what we do, Christ is held to His covenant
to "present us holy and blameless before the Father on His throne."
Thus, the security of our redemption does not lie with us as fallible
humans, but with a holy God, determined and bound to fulfill His promise.

 There is nothing you can do against God that could ever make Him overlook
what Christ did for you. As a sinner, nothing you do can ever get you 
into God's presence, as a Christian, there is nothing you can do to get out.

 There are many people who will say that they were Christians at one time
(accepting Jesus, knowing Him), and yet they claim that it is no longer
the case. Most of these people are either suffering from guilt, which
the Lord is anxious to forgive and heal, or they were never truly saved
in the first place. Either way, it is not accurate to say that the Lord
rejected them. In the one case, He is anxiously awaiting their repentance,
and in the other, He looks for them to come to Him for forgiveness.
If you were once saved and have backslidden, then the Bible says:
	"As many as I love I rebuke and chasten.
	Be zealous, therefore, and repent"     -Rev 3:19
The Lord may hurt you, or allow you to hurt yourself, to get your attention,
and may allow hardships in order to make you realize the seriousness of your
position, and the importance of reconciliation, however, your salvation is 
never in doubt.

In conclusion, once we are saved, we are bound to God in a way that
only He really understands, and in a way that depends not on ourselves, but
on His faithfulness and trustworthiness. Our salvation is not something
we are responsible to keep, it is something committed to God for His
keeping, and we can be assured that He will never let it go. 


"It is not Christ's work in us, but His work for us that brings us peace."
						- John Nelson Darby


Mark Peever & Steve Newlove	MPEEVER@UVPHYS.PHYS.UVIC.CA
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power,
for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are 
and were created"				-Rev 4:11