I believe that from the moment someone truly believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that God has raised Him from the dead, that they receive salvation. And that the only condition to receiving it is truly believing and truly accepting it. And that good works are not required to merit, maintain, or prove it. But they are part of following Jesus. I believe salvation to be eternal, regardless of future actions...including sins, unbelief, and even apostasy...though believers who do these things will face God’s admonishment. To me, the extension of God’s grace is wholly done by Him alone and we have no part in it beyond truly believing and truly receiving it.
Agreed!
I'm not sure I agree. I don't mean this to be antagonistic. I'm saying this in questioning my own faith regarding this issue.
Look, I found Grace at 18. I found it in a roundabout way. I did a good deal of sinning in the years after, and finally settled down and got myself right with the Lord.
As I said previously, I believe there is one sin that God does not forgive and that is Apostacy-- the willful denial of God. Given that, I believe that this then opens up the door for accepting Free Will into the mix.
If I had to give an analogy, accepting Jesus Christ as your savior puts you on the tracks for running a proper life. However, there are all sorts of things one can do to run your engine off the tracks down the line. One does not get issued a free pass on accepting Grace. In fact, there is a lifetime of temptation ahead, and the hard work is just beginning.
Where I think your view and mine intersect is that I believe God is always out there doing the best He can to help us along. This is all about us turning away from Him and not about Him turning his back on us.
I could be dead wrong on all this, but I figure it is better to run my life assuming that I have the Free WIll to muck things up, than to believe that I have no control and find that to be a delusion later on.
