A Caveat.
Before we begin we must learn something central to God's purposes. Jesus came to speak to Israel. That the Gentiles were recipients of the Kingdom was because firstly Israel rejected Messiah. When we interpret the New Testament we must firstly ask 'what is Jesus saying to Israel?' When we do this we can divide what Jesus was saying only to them and what applies to Gentiles also. This is not rocket science. We are given Matthew's gospel which is primarily written to Jews. Also when Jesus uses Jewish idioms we can guess he has Israel specifically in mind. There are some instances where Jesus ONLY speaks to Israel and Matthew Chapter 25 is an example of this.
Severe Warning to Israel
In Matt 25 Jesus uses a picture of a Jewish wedding where the maidens from the bridal party would go out to search for the groom with lamps. The groom had gone away to build or renovate a room onto the house of his Father. He was due to come back around midnight to collect the Bride. The text may refer to a Royal Wedding as the bridal party were virgins. Five of them have oil when the Groom arrives and five do not. All being of Israeli descent, the hearers would expect all the virgins to enter the wedding feast. But no. This is telling Israel that their national identity as 'God's chosen' does not secure their entry to God's Kingdom. They must have 'oil' which is the Holy Spirit meaning they have accepted Messiah, repented and followed. I have heard non-Israeli preachers say that this passage is Jesus telling believers that if they aren't filled with the Holy Spirit or grieving the Lord when he returns they will be kicked out of heaven. This sows fear among believers and leads to a works-based walk. Be assured though that NOW is the time to fix any shortfalls we have in our relationship with the Holy One but your struggle, even purposed and planned sin cannot affect your Justification before God.
Israel had a unique status as being chosen yet still needing Messiah. All of the cases where Jesus appears to make it possible for chosen people to end up outside the door or kicked out of eternity applies to Israel alone. Israel are not saved because they are God's chosen nation. They still need Messiah. For a Gentile there is no heritage so it is straightforward to be 'in' or 'out.' Here are two more examples of how we apply the principle that Jesus was speaking to israel alone:
John 15:1-8 The vine and the branches
This appears to tell Christians that if you are unfruitful you will be cut off and thrown into the (lake of ) fire. Firstly we have to see who Jesus was talking to. These are Jews. Jews are at the time Jesus was speaking, the chosen nation, the vineyard of the Lord (Isa 5:7). If we read it in this light Jesus is saying to Jew that they must repent and follow Messiah to remain in the Vine because national Identity is not qualification.
This is a transitional time as Israel were about to be rejected. Therefore Jesus is appealing to the nation to remain in the vine. Those who choose to remain in the vine will undergo the normal procedure of discipleship… bear fruit and then be pruned for more fruit. Those who do not bear fruit ie. Are of Israel but not saved…. Will be taken away and thrown into the fire.
Matt 25:12- The parable for the talent
This is a severe warning to the Jews. The illustration is that some are given a lot and some are given a few but its extremely problematic to be the people who were only given one. The Jews were given the Law and this is the nation that were given the one responsibility: to keep the Law. The Law and the Prophets were supposed to pave a golden road to Messiah and Israel recognising him, accepting him and repenting. The others in this Parable are given various amounts but the factor that makes them have more and multiply what they have is that they have accepted Messiah. This accumulates in 25:29 Those who have (the gospel) will be given more but those who have not (got the gospel) even what they have (the Law) will be taken away from them.
Apply to other Scriptures the fact that Jesus was speaking to Israel with the unique status of being chosen yet still needing to be born again and you will find they are solved. Here are some general reasons why You cannot lose your Salvation:
How to be Rejected
Because your sin was judged and wrath poured out on Christ on the cross, you can never be judged for sin. What has people become objects of wrath is rejecting Messiah. If someone knows that Jesus was sent to become their sin on the cross and then refuses to repent... that is rejecting Messiah. A person who has recognised Messiah, repented and followed can never be refused Salvation. However they can be refused the intended reward in heaven as 1 Cor 3:10-15 clarifies.
The Last Straw
Later they can also reject Messiah, or rather, refuse to calibrate their lives to his ways. What happens then? Well they can lose their reward. Be warned also that there is a sin unto death as 1 John 5:17 underlines. After a very long time of Gods mercy and strategies to bring a person back, the Lord will allow death to come to that person. They will scrape into Heaven but receive no Reward. I have debated with those who simply don't think this is the case but it always appears that they are judging an apostate Christian by their own standards. Our opinion about someone who ditches the Beautiful Saviour must submit to the Word of God.
God's 'chosen'
God's chosen people, the Hebrews, went through all sorts of measures and are right now presently temporarily rejected and under God's judgement. However they are still God's chosen nation! The New Covenant was made with Israel but handed over to the Gentiles. God does not disown his own. If you think he does you will need some pretty robust evidence because of the swathes of Bible stories that say "I will never forsake you" in multitudes of different ways.
The 'Gospel'
The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus Christ. That God arranged it for us to be responsible for any part of our Salvation is NOT good news at all. We are utterly foolish and wretched without Grace. It is by all stretch of the imagination ridiculous to claim we have some sort of stakehold in whether we get 'in' or 'out' based on behaviour. Leading on from this... do you think God would have his own Son tortured by stupid humans if their stupidity would mean they can blow it? Theres no ticking time bomb or booby traps brothers and sisters! It is watertight.
For brevity I will leave this one here. Feel free to show me my error if you still think you can lose your salvation once born again, sealed and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Gary Ward
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