Here is my interaction with Judges post. Before you read, please read the question he was replying to. I do disagree with the last line, but a lot of the stuff leading up to the last line I agreed with ONLY as in the context to the question I asked him...
You cannot understand my partial agreement unless you consider the context, that is, the question I had asked. I asked if a born again person could deny the faith to such an extent that he would deny the Gospel and the resurrection. My opinion is NO, a person who truly knows or has known God would not do that. Now to Judge's answer, please consider in the context of the question.)
I have a question for everyone. If a person, say like Bart Eerman, says they used to be a believer, but then turns around and says the Gospels are not reliable, and that Jesus did not rise from the dead.
Do you believe a person who has been born of God can do such
Do you believe a person who has been born of God can do such
The problem is everyone is trying to answer this in an 'either/or, black&white' way. And that, IMO, is a mistake.
According to the Parable of the Sower, it depends on what kind of soil the word is planted in, (True, not every soil receives or retains the Word.) and to what extent of suffering and/or prosperity the word is exposed to (In the case of the one who received the Word in the stony ground, trials and temptation did prevent the Word from producing fruit) that determines if you will retainthe word of God planted in you to the very end with little or no chance of losing it. (Not losing it, per se, but the word becomes unfruitful in two of the four soils, and it does not produce fruit to maturity in the third. )
There are mature believers who will never renounce the kingdom of God, even under threat of death, (True) and there are those who because of immaturity may renounce the kingdom of God at the next broken finger nail (True in a hyperbolic sense) (more hyperbole, lol). What God is doing is warning us along the way to maturity to not lose the word planted in us (Hebrews 2:1) which can save us (James 1:21)and to become more and more the kind of soil in which the word of God perseveres no matter what conditions the soil is exposed to. (preserves from falling into unbelief, the question was regarding a person who denies the faith) This by far is the more useful and practical and edifying approach to this matter of once saved always saved. (It is better to be kept from falling than being kept in a fallen state)
Think of Simon, who in a similar analogy, started out on shifting sands and denied him out of fear of persecution, but who ended up as Peter, solid as the Rock of Jesus himself who, like Jesus, did not refuse to be crucified. (yes)It think it more wise to look at never being able to lose your salvation as a progression, not a one-time state settled at the moment of conversion (Disagree here.).
According to the Parable of the Sower, it depends on what kind of soil the word is planted in, (True, not every soil receives or retains the Word.) and to what extent of suffering and/or prosperity the word is exposed to (In the case of the one who received the Word in the stony ground, trials and temptation did prevent the Word from producing fruit) that determines if you will retainthe word of God planted in you to the very end with little or no chance of losing it. (Not losing it, per se, but the word becomes unfruitful in two of the four soils, and it does not produce fruit to maturity in the third. )
There are mature believers who will never renounce the kingdom of God, even under threat of death, (True) and there are those who because of immaturity may renounce the kingdom of God at the next broken finger nail (True in a hyperbolic sense) (more hyperbole, lol). What God is doing is warning us along the way to maturity to not lose the word planted in us (Hebrews 2:1) which can save us (James 1:21)and to become more and more the kind of soil in which the word of God perseveres no matter what conditions the soil is exposed to. (preserves from falling into unbelief, the question was regarding a person who denies the faith) This by far is the more useful and practical and edifying approach to this matter of once saved always saved. (It is better to be kept from falling than being kept in a fallen state)
Think of Simon, who in a similar analogy, started out on shifting sands and denied him out of fear of persecution, but who ended up as Peter, solid as the Rock of Jesus himself who, like Jesus, did not refuse to be crucified. (yes)It think it more wise to look at never being able to lose your salvation as a progression, not a one-time state settled at the moment of conversion (Disagree here.).