Once Was Saved

Once Was Saved? by Steve Keeler

Hebrews 6:4-6

"For in the case of those who have once been

enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and

have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have

tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age

to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to

renew them again to repentance, since they again

crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to

open shame."

Northwest Airlines flight 225 crashed just after taking

off from the Detroit airport. One hundred fifty-five

people were killed. One survived: a 4-year-old named

Cecelia. She survived because, as the plane was

falling, her mother unbuckled her own seat belt, got

down on her knees in front of her daughter, wrapped

her arms around her. Nothing could separate that child

from her mothers love not this tragedy, not the fall or

the flames that followed, not height nor depth, not life

nor death."

This is the kind of love our heavenly Father has for us.

We are secure in the fact that He will do whatever is

necessary to keep us near His heart. He will wrap

himself around us and never let go. We are safe in him.

I have known many people who did not feel this way

about God. They were constantly afraid they were

going to accidently slip away from God and no longer

be a Christian. They act as though they could, as they

put it, "lose their salvation" at any moment.

They question whether or not they are still "saved." It's

almost as if they thought they could tick God off without

realizing it. One wrong move and He would disown

them.

They saw God as unpredictable, ill-tempered and

angry. He was looking for all the things that were

wrong with them instead of the things that were right in

them.

These folks don't understand grace. Somehow they

had never read the scripture that says in 2 Peter 3:9;

"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some

count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing

for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

If you ever feel as though God has given up on you,

you need to understand a couple of things.

First: You cannot "lose" your salvation. You don't wake

up one morning and realize God is gone.

There are some people that act as though God's love

is uncertain and undependable. One day He finds you

acceptable, and the next day He is leaving you without

a thought.

You cannot "lose" your salvation like you can lose your

key to the house. One minute it's in your hand and the

next you cannot find it to save your life. You don't

misplace your keys on purpose, keys just have a way

of disappearing. They grow legs and go someplace

where you cannot find them.

Your relationship with God isn't like that. You cannot

accidently misplace it. It isn't going to grow legs and

walk away from you. If you do something wrong, God is

not going to throw you away.

In the Old Testament like the New we find a God of

infinite patience and love. In Exodus 34:6-7, the Lord

passed before Moses saying, "The Lord, the Lord God,

compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and

abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps

lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity,

transgression and sin."

God is not against us, He is for us. True, He doesn't let

sin go unpunished, but His real interest is in forgiving

our sin.

His arms are continually stretched out toward us,

inviting us to come to him. Even when we rebel and

begin to move away from him, He pursues us.

Jesus said that God is like the shepherd who loses a

sheep and leaves the rest of the flock to find the one

who is lost. It is much harder to get away from God

than you imagine.

Listen to the Psalmist who said in my favorite, Psalms

139:7-10 "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where

can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven,

You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You

are there. If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there

Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay

hold of me."

The Psalmist knew that God is always seeking our

companionship, always with us, always longing for us.

His love is always pursuing us, even when we are

running from Him. It is our nature to run from God; it is

God's nature to pursue us wherever we go.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39; "For I am convinced