Sudsy wrote:Neto, am I understanding you to be saying we could lose our salvation if we don't fearfully work at it ?
No, I'm saying that a person can reject the Savior, and that would be not persevering to the end, no longer believing. I do not believe that works gains, or preserves our salvation. But Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey him. Salvation is a mystery. I do not claim to understand it fully, so that I could put it into some kind of "logical" presentation.
As far as fear is concerned, an OT text says that "You forgive sin, oh Yahweh, and so you are feared". (Sorry, I can't recall the reference right now, but I've mentioned it before.) It's not a fear like "I'm afraid I will loose my salvation", or "I'm afraid God doesn't love me anymore, because of such & so failure", but it's more of a reverential fear. If God was not a loving and forgiving God, then there would be no reason to fear him, because we would know that there is no chance of pleasing him, So you might as well please yourself for as long as he allows you to live.
Congregation: Gospel Haven Mennonite Fellowship, Benton, Ohio (Holmes Co.) a split from Beachy-Amish Mennonite.
Personal heritage & general theological viewpoint: conservative Mennonite Brethren.