Why I now believe that salvation can be lost.

It is not a good hermeneutics to take the use of a term in one place and transpose it onto every place it occurs. In one case the context is about literal "little children"
In the other Jesus is using the term "little children" as a term of endearment referring to adults who are His disciples.

All God's children are his "little children". What else could we possibly be when compared to an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, immutable, good, righteous, holy being? How would you characterize mere mortals next to him? Are the clay pots right up there next to the Potter?

And, yes, it is good hermeneutics to see how key terms or phrases are used in scripture. And in this case, especially, since Matthew used the identical phrase in a different context.

i think the right way to study a word or phrase is go collect all the uses of it, put them all beside each other, and look for a pattern in them.
it may or may not be the same meaning in every use - but all the usage together are like a puzzle that fit together into one picture.

Well, as an Israeli, I can honestly say that we never needed the Law to stir up sinful passions in us. Human nature is sufficient in concocting its own plethora of sinful passions. My people are obstinate, hard headed and stiff-necked, just as scripture says, and if you knew anything about historic writings from the ancient cultures that ever had any dealings with Israel, even with Israelis as their captives, you would know how difficult we are as a people.

So, trying to direct a choir of which you know nothing about only leads to disharmony in the cantata...

MM

Yes, but the problem with your Preterist claims is that they are based upon grossly inconsistent claims and lack harmonious consistency with history and the Bible. You are failing to rightly divide the word of truth, so your confusion is therefore understandable.

MM

IF you were truly saved before that episode, then you did not lose your salvation by "drifting away" from God. If you believe you were truly saved, then you had to possess power greater than that of God Himself to lose your salvation.

MM

There is no rational argument behind that assertion. If God chose to create a world where beings could freely choose to have a loving relationship with Him or choose not to, it would not take greater power than God to turn away from Him and prefer friendship with the world.

Was this episode happening before the twelve were called? How long after they were called do you think this episode was happening. "Is" is present tense. Because Judas "is" at this time a devil, does not mean he was always a devil. Jesus is expressing His present knowledge here.

By that definition, everything good is a gift of God. Our ability to hear, see, taste, smell, feel, think, reason, do art, do math, read, speak etc. are all things we do that are gifts of/from God. Do you assert that whenever we seem to be doing any of these things, it is God's hearing, sight, taste, touch, smell, reason, artistic skill, etc. that is doing these things ? That God uses our faith to purify our hearts, does not mean that God is doing the believing that purifies our hearts. When I transfer my chattels from one house to another by truck, it is not necessarily my truck I am using. When I give hope to some depressed soul, it is not me putting my own hope into them.

The point is that it is the fallacy of negative inference to argue that because some people who end up lost never had a relationship with Christ, then the only ones who end up lost are those who never had a relationship with Christ.

Whoever wears this fireproof suit will never get burned. Does this mean that once I have put on the suit I can never be burned, even if I have taken it off later?

I think you reading to much into it sis when I say perfect I mean without sin. God gave them free will. If that is imperfection then I do not know what to think Jesus had free will to yet he did not sin

There is no rational argument that says a God who is all knowing will save a person he knows will willingly walk away In the future. Left alone give them eternal life. And tghe promise they will never die..

Actually there is

we trust someone who has given us an assurance, or a reason to trust them

we only lose faith when the person fails us or become untrustworthy.

so unless you think God is untrustworthy to lose faith in him to save your eternal soul.. there is no reasonable argument to say one would ever lose faith

PaulThomson said:
There is no rational argument behind that assertion. If God chose to create a world where beings could freely choose to have a loving relationship with Him or choose not to, it would not take greater power than God to turn away from Him and prefer friendship with the world.

Adam and Eve did not lose faith when God failed them or became untrustworthy. They lost faith when they were seduced into believing that God was untrustworthy. Nevertheless God was not untrustworthy, nor had he failed them.

As an Israeli, I can say that the simplistic interpretation of that verse is absolutely erroneous.

The Greek meaning in that passage, coupled with our history, points to the fact that, by the coming of the Law, we knew what sin was, which shined a spotlight (so to speak) upon the things that were/are sin that not even we knew about, so the pot of sin definitions was greatly enlarged as many of our lifestyle choices and practices suddenly became sinful, and sin therefore increased as we continued to practice what was sin by habit.

Being so stuff-necked, we didn't like giving up on our habits, just like many other peoples, and so yes, the commission of sin did increase because of the things that were brought into the mix of what became defined as sin. The claim that we started sinning more, only at face value...that's the fallacy in the weaknesses of our English translations. They are translations only rather than expository translations that explain the proper understanding of words that have multiple definitions.

Far too many people out there think that they can pick whatever definition meets with their personal agendas or misunderstandings, and argue those points as if they knew what they were talking about. There are commentaries out there that also get this so very wrong. No wonder so many more people are beginning to hate us Jews as they paint us as being worse than they. That's a level of group-think that any culture can do without.

MM