Spirituality is a term usually saved for new age circles, but as born again Christians we have each been given a spiritual gift from God! If you have never been born again, and have no idea what I am talking about, keep reading. Jesus Christ came to this earth to save people from their sins, an idea foreign to your mind if you are working hard to keep your salvation or to maintain it. Can I bring this verse from Ephesians to your mind; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation is clearly a gift from God, and it is given as a gift so no one can boast. You might be wondering if you can loose your salvation? The answer to this question is yes, look at these two passages in Hebrews;
(Hebrews 6:4-8) It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6and who have fallenc away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebrews 10:26-31) 26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”d and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”e 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
There are no contradictions in the bible, and these verses line up perfectly with all the other verses which say that salvation is eternal. To fully understand the meaning from these passages in Hebrews, we must understand that God is a holy God and that sin separates us not just from His presence, but separates us from Heaven itself for all eternity. The reason why Christians fall is because of pride. Look at this verse in Proverbs 8:13, The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. The Lord cannot bless a proud person, in fact He resists them. (James 4:6) But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Not only does God oppose the proud he punishes them too, (Proverbs 16:18) Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. To understand this further you must understand a basic bible truth found in Romans 6:23; For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Lord desires His people to walk in righteousness, but he will not repent of punishing His people if they choose to reject Him, (Matthew 10:33) But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. God will not remain faithful to a wicked servant. So it behoves us to learn the ways of the Lord and to do them. There will be no reward awaiting a servant who has rejected his Lord and Saviour. But for the faithful, there will be a full reward; (2 Peter 1:5-11) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
(Hebrews 6:4-8) It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6and who have fallenc away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebrews 10:26-31) 26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”d and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”e 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
There are no contradictions in the bible, and these verses line up perfectly with all the other verses which say that salvation is eternal. To fully understand the meaning from these passages in Hebrews, we must understand that God is a holy God and that sin separates us not just from His presence, but separates us from Heaven itself for all eternity. The reason why Christians fall is because of pride. Look at this verse in Proverbs 8:13, The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. The Lord cannot bless a proud person, in fact He resists them. (James 4:6) But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Not only does God oppose the proud he punishes them too, (Proverbs 16:18) Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. To understand this further you must understand a basic bible truth found in Romans 6:23; For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Lord desires His people to walk in righteousness, but he will not repent of punishing His people if they choose to reject Him, (Matthew 10:33) But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. God will not remain faithful to a wicked servant. So it behoves us to learn the ways of the Lord and to do them. There will be no reward awaiting a servant who has rejected his Lord and Saviour. But for the faithful, there will be a full reward; (2 Peter 1:5-11) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers and sisters,a make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So are you using your spiritual gifts are have you lost sight of salvation, take heed if you have, and repent today.
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