Hello again. I got back from a beautiful day in Yellowstone. I saw soo many animals, moose, elk, deer, bison, and even a wolf towards dusk on our return trip. I got to see a little bit of everything. Unfortunately we were driving around a lot and there was some construction on the roads, but I can't really complain; it was gorgeous!

I've been pondering the "once saved always saved" concept some more. If you refer back to my previous post I've cited some other key verses. I know that Matthew 7:16 says that you can tell if someone is truly Christian by looking at their fruit.

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"

So if we emphasize this verse, if someone supposedly accepts the gift of Christ's salvation, goes to church, etc etc and then something in their life happens and they turn away. Would this verse argue that this person never truly was a Christian and that's why their not bearing good fruit? So in this light, once you are truly saved you are always saved? because a true Christian would have leaned on God to get them through whatever circumstances rather than letting it be an excuse to ignore or get angry at God for example? or a true Christian would not have done those awful deeds?

It's incredibly difficult for me to wrap my mind around all of this. I would love to think that since I'm a true believer that there is nothing I can do to lose my salvation. The debt has been paid and I allowed Jesus to pay for all of my sins, not just some of them. But then that calls to question those who are Christians by name only.

There are two schools of thought that I know of: 1) Once saved always saved (because people who turn away were never truly saved) or 2) Once saved, not necessarily saved (if you turn your back on God)

If the second school of thought is true, then where is the line that is drawn to differentiate between someone who is sins and someone who sins significantly more for someone's eternal fate to change?

I know the Christian life is a race and not everyone finishes it, so the question we need to ask ourselves is this: "Are we in this race for the long term?" Additionally, do our lives reflect this stance? Is Jesus our number one priority? Yes we may struggle because we're human, but are we trying to reduce those idols in our life? Are we inconveniencing ourselves for the Lord because that's what we're called to do (even if it's not practical or logical)??

Regardless of which stance you take on the "once saved always saved" concept, we must always do a heart check and make sure we're doing everything we can to make sure that our lives are bearing good fruit. This way, you will know that you are truly saved and a child of God for both of those theories.

A book that I'm reading on my own that is inspiring and encouraging is David Platt's Radical. It discussed how, as Americans, we use the American dream as an excuse to pursue things like a dream home, perfect job, perfect family, living a life of luxury because we can rather than using our abundant resources and freedoms to further the gospel. We shouldn't fit the gospel into our American Dream. The American Dream IS having the ability to freely practice Christianity and make disciples of other men.

Hopefully this has inspired some soul searching. It's very deep and convicting and scary. I strongly encourage you to seek and pray so that you know 100% on the day of judgement where you stand.

I'm off to sleep after a long day of traveling in Yellowstone. Be safe and have fun with whatever you're up to!