Have I lost my salvation? Very confused.. :(

[ellieshay]

I believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.
I was born again I would say about a year ago. I used to pray and abstain from sin as best as I can. I would also ready and study the bible. Several months after, I slowly started falling back into sin. I do not remember what could have been the root of all of this. I do remember when things started getting very bad though. I had started falling back into my old sinful habits. I started drinking, smoking again, listening to sinful music, having idolatry towards celebrities, been lustful towards women, and quite regularly having sex with my boyfriend, and had an extreme desire to be famous. I clearly knew what I was doing was wrong, but I did it anyways. I always felt guilt, but I had deceived myself and thought, "I am forgiven for my sins if I confess". I now realize I was very wrong about that thought, and I have read losing salvation is definitely possible. When I read and realized that I may have lost all hope, I started crying and freaking out. I was so scared, I prayed and begged God to forgive me, but I was scared maybe I was too late. I thought sinful thoughts like "Should I just give up, since I have already lost salvation and there is no hope for me?" Shortly after I knew that I should still have faith, and that maybe there was a chance. A few days later, I felt demons attacking me. I rebuked them in the name of Jesus, and prayed for Jesus to help me and deliver me. He did. I was delivered, and I hadn't felt so close to Jesus, since I was born again. I was rejoicing and felt happy, and wanting to stay close with him and completely repent. That only lasted 2 days. I went to go get my hair done, and I realized I was gossiping, boasting about sins, judging, being vain. Later that night I had listened to sinful music, was gluttonous, greedy, was tempted to drink and had lustful thoughts about men. Afterwards I felt condemned, and was scared I could have really lost salvation after willfully sinning after what God had done for me, as in cleansed me and delivered me. I am so scared. I don't want to lose salvation. I want to be with God. I want to spend eternity with him. I still believe in him, and love him. but I'm scared the things I have done may have ruined that. I have confessed the sins, and wanting to repent. After researching this, I am terrified. Hebrews 10:26 is really scaring me.

I don't if I have lost salvation, but I know I am not gonna give up hope, and I am going to continue to pray, and study his word.No matter what I am still going to Love and praise him. He is still my Lord.

 

[Hospes]

Noelle,

God's grace through Jesus is sufficient to cover your repeated sinful failures. You must believe, know, and be fully convinced the only chance you have of ever being acceptable to a Holy God is to be "clothed" - a word the Bible uses - in the righteousness of Christ. (Your, and my, righteousness will never come close to being enough.) Clothed in his righteousness, being a child of God is more about loving and treasuring Jesus more than the sin you are prone to love and treasure. With the help of God's spirit, your pursuit of Him will change your desire for evil and displace it with a desire to love what God loves. (Take heart, in your writing I see hopeful signs this work of his Holy Spirt has already begun.)

You need authentic relationships with other people who love and treasure Jesus. You are not meant to follow Jesus as a solo activity; you need others.

The only way to prove yourself lost is to give up and walk away.

Grace to you.

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

Heb 5:6-14 KJV; Heb 6:1-6 KJV
(6) As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
(7) Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
(8) Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
(9) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
(10) Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
(11) Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
(12) For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
(13) For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
(14) But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
(1) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
(2) Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
(3) And this will we do, if God permit.
(4) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
(5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
(6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

the author of Hebrews wrote a letter that had no chapter and verse designations; these were added later by the translators to make it easier to reference specific scriptures; so since the beginning of chapter 6 starts with the word 'therefore', it is a continuation of the subject in end end of chapter 5. Chapter 10 is part of the same letter; verse 10:26 does not stand alone, but must be harmonized with the rest of Hebrews (and the rest of the Bible) in order to be clearly understood.

Hebrews 6:4-6 lists 5 requirements a Christian must meet before they can even be eligible to 'lose' their salvation:

-once enlightened
-tasted of the heavenly gift
-made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
-tasted the good word of God,
-tasted of the powers of the world to come

we aren't sure exactly what these phrases mean, but it is clear that only a mature Christian who knows the word of God intimately and has operated in the supernatural power of God through an intimate relationship with the Holy Ghost would be eligible to completely reject God and 'lose' their salvation - i doubt that even the disciples of Jesus met these requirements (even Judas) - but there are two more things such a mature Christian must do to 'lose' their salvation:

-crucify to themselves the son of God afresh,
-put him to an open shame

i seriously doubt that you meet the first 5 requirements; but even if you do, your post reveals that you do not meet the last two - you haven't accused Jesus of being so vile and evil that He deserves crucifixion, nor have you denounced him to others as such - so you do not qualify to be able to reject your salvation, and therefore have not done so.

but look closely at why the author of Hebrews brought this up to begin with:

(11) Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
(12) For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
(13) For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
(14) But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

the author of Hebrews links the fear of losing one's salvation to being unlearned in the 'first principles of the oracles of God'; in other words, ignorant of His word. the author is telling the Hebrews that the letter is written to that they have not yet learned the basics of salvation, much less the principles of scripture that enable one to connect to the supernatural power of God. so while you rest in the security of your salvation, press on in God's word to learn all you can in this life so that you won't be tempted through ignorance to think that you have 'lost' your salvation again in the future

 

[Poster0]

Never give up, thats hope.

Romans 8:24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

We must meditate (think) on good and pure things, and not look at or think about impure things. Im not perfect and have struggles, but i know this is the way. Im fighting the good fight of faith, and i will never give up, no matter what failure may try to steal my hope. This world is full of Godlessness. We must guard our heart.

 

[Quasicentennial]

We learn from our mistakes to become spiritually experienced and nobody likes to be spiritually inexperienced, as the word "inexperience" is a horrible feeling of shame and disgust when it comes to learning new skills in employment, learning a new foreign language such as English if you born in the Phillipines for example, and you become a customer service representative for Dodo Australia, only to find out that Australian customers' reviews in Product Reviews Australia have been mostly negative about the service they received.
If Adam and Eve hadn't sinned in the first place then we would be one race of spiritually experienced peaceful brothers and sisters of God with one main language of God, possibly Hebrew, rather than brothers and sisters of Christ where Jesus the Son of God wouldn't have to sacrifice his life to save us as a multicultural world society with different languages, cultures and religious beliefs.
I pray that you will overcome fear with the faith of Christ in you and to focus your sexual desire or drive on to one yet-to-be married partner as God intended, even though Satan would do his best to make marriage a free-for-all tradition that would shorten the survival of the human race too over-contaminated to be curable with genetic and virus disease disorders.;'*';.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Well your on here talking about it, feeling bad...etc. So its obvious your not fallen from God. Because if you were you wouldn't care if you had fallen. At first many struggle. And even christians who have been one for their whole life mess up and may have moments of weakness and doubt. Its part of the christian life. There was a older lady at a church we used to go to, she was in her 80s I think, she told me even at her age she is still learning and praying for forgiveness for messing up sometimes. She told me no matter how mature you are in Christ, you can never achieve perfection in these bodies. You can only try your hardest. Even Jesus was tempted to sin, thankfully of course he did not. So if He was tempted then we will mess up for sure at times. God is forgiving. His grace covers us. He died on the cross for a reason. Stay strong, God is with you.

 

[paul1149]

I have read losing salvation is definitely possible. When I read and realized that I may have lost all hope, I started crying and freaking out. I was so scared, I prayed and begged God to forgive me, but I was scared maybe I was too late. I thought sinful thoughts like "Should I just give up, since I have already lost salvation and there is no hope for me?"

You see how the enemy will use our weakness and failings against us. He is out to kill, steal and destroy (Jn 9). This is not a game. He can't force us to sin, so he wants to trick us into giving up hope and becoming our own worst enemy.

Shortly after I knew that I should still have faith, and that maybe there was a chance. A few days later, I felt demons attacking me.

When the more subtle approach fails, the enemy will resort to more direct tactics. But you saw here that you had authority over him. Remember, the enemy is desperate. He takes a risk every time he touches you. That risk is that you will understand his tactics and that they will drive you closer to the Lord.

I am so scared. I don't want to lose salvation. I want to be with God. I want to spend eternity with him. I still believe in him, and love him. but I'm scared the things I have done may have ruined that. I have confessed the sins, and wanting to repent. After researching this, I am terrified. Hebrews 10:26 is really scaring me.

God's perfect love casts out fear (1Jn 4.18; I urge you to read the entire book). In this case the fear may be to drive you into the arms of the Lord by way of making a full commitment, so that you can have assurance of that love. I would suggest also reading James 3 and 4, on the wisdom of God and on repentance.

I don't if I have lost salvation, but I know I am not gonna give up hope, and I am going to continue to pray, and study his word.No matter what I am still going to Love and praise him. He is still my Lord.

That's the ticket. Don't give up, even if you stumble. Resolve to please the Lord above all. You cannot outgive God. He is faithful and true, even when we are struggling in the valleys of life. And this struggle will not be forever. He will lead you in triumphal procession.

 

[Soyeong]

We can turn our back on God, but God is always standing there with open arms, waiting for us to turn around and come back to Him.

 

[Mister_Al]

You didn't think that all of these things were just magically going to disappear when you got saved did you? Overcoming these bad habits is the job of the Holy Spirit, not yours, and a job He does very well. If you'll spend more time drawing close to God by reading the Bible and praying and give this other stuff to Him to get rid of you'll find out that you'll gradually stop doing these things any more.

Blessings,

Alan

 

[NightHawkeye]

Nobody's perfect. Everyone lives with regret. Be gentle with yourself. Don't beat yourself up over it. You weren't expected to change all aspects of your life overnight. Hardly anyone does.

I would suggest this verse to help guide you ...

Deu 30 11-16: For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.​

Life is really just about choices. Try to learn from your mistakes. Attempt to make choices which enhance your life and the lives of those around you ... rather than choices which cause pain, suffering and destruction. That's really what it's about.

 

[kidwboro]

"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
[Romans 10:12-13]

It's not about who you are. It's about who He is. We are all sinners full of deceit and desperate wickedness.
He is rich unto all that call upon him. Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

 

[Willis Gravning]

I believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.
I was born again I would say about a year ago. I used to pray and abstain from sin as best as I can. I would also ready and study the bible. Several months after, I slowly started falling back into sin. I do not remember what could have been the root of all of this. I do remember when things started getting very bad though. I had started falling back into my old sinful habits. I started drinking, smoking again, listening to sinful music, having idolatry towards celebrities, been lustful towards women, and quite regularly having sex with my boyfriend, and had an extreme desire to be famous. I clearly knew what I was doing was wrong, but I did it anyways. I always felt guilt, but I had deceived myself and thought, "I am forgiven for my sins if I confess". I now realize I was very wrong about that thought, and I have read losing salvation is definitely possible. When I read and realized that I may have lost all hope, I started crying and freaking out. I was so scared, I prayed and begged God to forgive me, but I was scared maybe I was too late. I thought sinful thoughts like "Should I just give up, since I have already lost salvation and there is no hope for me?" Shortly after I knew that I should still have faith, and that maybe there was a chance. A few days later, I felt demons attacking me. I rebuked them in the name of Jesus, and prayed for Jesus to help me and deliver me. He did. I was delivered, and I hadn't felt so close to Jesus, since I was born again. I was rejoicing and felt happy, and wanting to stay close with him and completely repent. That only lasted 2 days. I went to go get my hair done, and I realized I was gossiping, boasting about sins, judging, being vain. Later that night I had listened to sinful music, was gluttonous, greedy, was tempted to drink and had lustful thoughts about men. Afterwards I felt condemned, and was scared I could have really lost salvation after willfully sinning after what God had done for me, as in cleansed me and delivered me. I am so scared. I don't want to lose salvation. I want to be with God. I want to spend eternity with him. I still believe in him, and love him. but I'm scared the things I have done may have ruined that. I have confessed the sins, and wanting to repent. After researching this, I am terrified. Hebrews 10:26 is really scaring me.

I don't if I have lost salvation, but I know I am not gonna give up hope, and I am going to continue to pray, and study his word.No matter what I am still going to Love and praise him. He is still my Lord.

You don't need to be afraid you are a beautiful person. Keep nurturing the beautiful you. The icky stuff will weaken and fall. It just takes time.

 

[Near]

Tips:
Don't feel sorry for yourself.
Think logically, not emotionally.
Realize what you've done, and remember it well.
Have a vision of your ideal self. I don't mean "in glory", but picture yourself going throughout your day doing the right things.
It's your responsibility to be watchful of things. Certain influences may show up in your life, distractions can kill you (spiritually).
In order to improve you have to find out where you went wrong.
1 Cor 10:12
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
The world is full of traps and deceptions, you have to cut off distractions, and keep God's word in mind. Be sure to hold on to wanting to be good. This is a daily challenge. You can keep yourself pure; you just need to hold onto that vision.

 

[malvina]

We are ALL sinners. The whole purpose of giving our lives to Him is for Him to forgive our sins past and present provided we repent and ask Him We will go on sinning until He returns God made us human. No man can live a perfect life Provided we KNOW our sin and repent each time He is there to forgive us
He knows our hearts and He knows our weaknesses and knows what to expect of us - more than we do!
The most important thing is to KNOW your sin each time. A prostitute was very close to Jesus' heart because she KNEW her sin. We need to search our hearts for any sin and confess them to Him, 'This' is living the Christian life No amount of bible reading
work or study will make up for this. I like to spend a little time repenting - for things I may have forgotten or already repented for without feeling it enough. This way God can really wash our hearts clean otherwise we can become one of those judgemental Christians that only know how to rebuke others for their sins.

 

[timewerx]

A few days later, I felt demons attacking me. I rebuked them in the name of Jesus, and prayed for Jesus to help me and deliver me. He did. I was delivered, and I hadn't felt so close to Jesus, since I was born again. I was rejoicing and felt happy, and wanting to stay close with him and completely repent. That only lasted 2 days. I went to go get my hair done, and I realized I was gossiping, boasting about sins, judging, being vain. Later that night I had listened to sinful music, was gluttonous, greedy, was tempted to drink and had lustful thoughts about men.

You need to have big changes in your life if you want demons to permanently stay off you.

Keep clean and healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. Keep your stuff, room in order and clean it too. Make sure it stays and smells clean and fresh. Take out any spooky lights or anything spooky (including anything that might look they have occult influence). I am not kidding!

If your boyfriend is unclean (literally or figuratively) in any way, tell him to clean up and his room too or leave him.


I have experienced demonic attacks for a good part of my life. At worst, I nearly got possessed and stuff around my room shook like there was an earthquake (but there was none). My sister witnessed it and scared the daylights out of her.

Casting them out in Jesus name only works temporarily. Lifestyle changes are in order if you want them out permanently.

Anyway, I still listen to "worldly" music of all kinds/genre. I just avoid the ones with profanity and sexuality in their lyrics. I still drink beer and lust.

I don't think you can rush these things. Just take your time....but I'm dead serious about cleaning up!

 

[Dave-W]

I believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.
I was born again I would say about a year ago.

That is great! and welcome to these forums!

I used to pray and abstain from sin as best as I can. I would also ready and study the bible. Several months after, I slowly started falling back into sin. I do not remember what could have been the root of all of this.

The thing is - on our own we CANNOT "abstain from sin." We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world. We may look like we are succeeding for a while but we will always fall back. We need the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to give us the strength to resist temptations.

I had started falling back into my old sinful habits. I started drinking, smoking again, listening to sinful music, having idolatry towards celebrities, been lustful towards women, and quite regularly having sex with my boyfriend, and had an extreme desire to be famous.

You are only a year old in the Lord. Do you expect an infant to operate on an adult level; having intelligent conversations, understanding how to drive a car, study a class or perform a job? Of course not.

But you sound like you are expecting yourself, as a new born, to operate at the mature (adult) christian level. It will not happen. You have to grow spiritually and that will take years. And that is OK. God knows this. He set it up that way.

DiscipleHeLovesToo made a good point of listing Hebrews 6.1-3. But his quote of chapter 5 is a bit out proper timing. That was written to people who had been believers for years (or decades) and were supposed to have grown into spiritual adults. That is not your situation, at least not yet for the next 10 years or so.

So here is my advice - since this is the advice forum:

1) read the bible daily. Pray daily.

2) WHEN (not "if") you slip up and sin - confess it as sin, express your sorrow to God and ask His forgiveness; and press on with growing up. Think of it as getting a diaper change. If you keep on faithfully, you soon will be "potty trained."

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

3) Find an adult woman who has been a believer a long time who can be a mentor in the faith to you. It should be someone who is forgiving and not easily rattled. DEFINITELY NOT someone who is harsh or judgmental. Ideally that should be your own mother; but often that does not work for any one of a number of reasons. It is someone you should press yourself to feel OK with sharing all of your struggles including the sex and lust issues. (I know that can be hard/embarrassing/humiliating) But remember, God already knows all about it and is not leaving you over it. And neither should your mentor.

4) Find a good bible study that covers those basic foundational teachings in Hebrews 6.1-3. My favorite is by Derek Prince called "Foundational Truths for Christian Living."

http://www.amazon.com/Foundational-Truths-Christian-Living-spirit-filled/dp/1591859824

5) While it IS possible to lose salvation, from what I have gleaned from studying this out is that it is NOT EASY. You have to consciously choose to abandon your faith and chose to go another way. (like atheism or Hinduism, etc.)

6) Relax, give yourself some space and ENJOY growing up in the Lord.

Welcome to the Family!