Someone who continues to willingly and blatantly live in sin has not truly accepted Christ (1 John 2:19; 1 John 3:6; James 1:26). While this false belief may be held by some, it is not a part of the teachings of any true Christian church (Romans 3:8).
A person who willingly, humbly, repents of sin and turns towards the cross, trusting Christ as their Savior, will be saved (Acts 16:31; John 6:37; John 14:6). That salvation is once and for all, eternal, and secure. Those who truly trust in Christ are saved once, and saved always.
I tried to walk away from this conversation, but I am so bothered by it that it almost hurts my heart. I can understand the point you are trying to make, and why you take this position. But I have to totally disagree. Before I explain let me say, I agree with the statement that
a Christian can never lose his salvation. Once you become a child of God nothing and no one can ever take that away from you. So yes, you are right.
However...
If you say that we can not freely choose to walk away from the grace of God, and turn back to our wicked ways, denounce our faith and live in sin, then you are removing free will. If you argue that if I turned my back on God, I must not have been truly saved, then Acts 2:38 is not the way to salvation. When I look back at my past... with good intentions I repented, I was baptized and I received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tounges. I may not understand that, but I cannot deny it happened. So I was saved with every intention to follow His plan for my life from then on.
Years later, I turned away. I denounced my faith in God, I became a drunk, a drug addict, a drug dealer, a thief, a liar, full of blastphemy. I participated in all types of sexual immoralities. I lived for the moment, and loved my life with no intention of ever returning. I laughed in the face of God.
According to Galations 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
So either I wasn't ever truly saved, according to Acts 2:38 and every other verse that says to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, or I was saved and I willingly surrendered God's grace in my life so I could be the ruler of my own world, because I thought I could do a much better job.
God did not bring me back to Him, I willingly came back because I was tired of falling flat on my face over and over again, by running the show on my own. I thought, what do I have to lose? I was not pricked in my heart to turn to God, it was more an act of desperation. I made the first move. And He was waiting there for me to turn to Him. It was a complete act of faith, because at the time I fell on my face before God and begged for His mercy, I was not even sure He really existed. But again, I had nothing to lose by trying. I was totally unworthy, after rejecting Him for so long, but He wrapped me in His arms and forgave me.
That is where grace happens. That is where the transfer occurs from, it being salvation by my actions to salvation by grace. I did not save myself by running to Him. He saved me by
grace! In His mind my salvation was already assured when Jesus paid the price for me on Calvary. But my salvation was not complete until I accepted that gift. You can say salvation has nothing to do with our actions, but oh it does! Repentance, turning away, and living according to His will are all actions we do, that represent us reaching out and taking His gift. He will not give us salvation, until we ask for it. Ask... a verb, and action that my salvation is dependent on! Once we have received the gift of life he has for us, we can never lose it, it can never be taken from us. That is His promise, but it is something we can shove back in His face... and though His love will remain, his grace will remain it will not abide in us!
No saint should ever be afraid of falling from grace, so long as they strive to live their lives accordance to God's will. As long as you are placing on foot in front of the other, and doing what you
truly believe is right, you can and will never lose your salvation! And I think, my friends, that was the whole point of this topic right?
(Sorry for the lengthiness!)