Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Avoiding Groupthink
Beware of groupthink; it is so easy to become enticed by good-sounding totally wrong things, even in Christianity.
Co-Dependency to a Culture is Bondage
It's called co-dependency when we feel a need to fit into a culture. Those who cannot feel validated and whole unless someone else is fawning over them are showing their weakness.
When we rely on Christ, we do not need the approval of people. We love people, but we don't need them to validate us.
Acts 4:12: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved".
No one else in the world can know us as Christ knows us, knowing our need and our personality. He knows it all and human beings know almost nothing about us, all they have to go on is what they think they see outwardly.
1 Corinthians 2:11 "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no man knows the things of God except the Spirit of God".
Believers can discern the spirit of a person because we have the Spirit of Christ, but only God can know our most intimate needs that even we are not aware of within ourselves.
Eternal Security of the Believer by Neil Ramirez
Neil Ramirez
Eternal Security Challenges Answered: Misunderstood Verses That Do Not Teach Loss of Salvation
Some verses in the Bible appear, at first glance, to suggest that salvation can be lost. But when we rightly divide the word of truth and read in context, we see these passages do not contradict the doctrine of eternal security. Below is a collection of commonly misunderstood verses, followed by a correction and explanation to support the eternal security of the believer.
1. Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Misunderstanding: Salvation must be earned or preserved by endurance.
Correct view: This refers to physical deliverance during the Tribulation period, not eternal salvation.
2. Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Misunderstanding: Even those who call Jesus "Lord" can lose salvation by disobedience.
Correct view: These people were never saved. Jesus said, "I never knew you," not "I used to know you." They trusted their own works, not Christ.
3. John 15:6 "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
Misunderstanding: A believer can be cast into hell if they stop abiding.
Correct view: This is about fruitfulness and fellowship, not salvation. The fire symbolizes judgment and loss of reward—not eternal damnation.
4. Romans 11:22 "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God..."
Misunderstanding: Individual believers can be cut off from salvation.
Correct view: Paul is speaking about Gentile nations receiving the gospel blessings, not individual salvation. The cutting off is national, not personal.
5. 1 Corinthians 9:27 "...lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."
Misunderstanding: Paul feared losing his salvation.
Correct view: "Castaway" means disqualified from reward or ministry usefulness—not from eternal life.
6. Galatians 5:4 "Ye are fallen from grace."
Misunderstanding: Falling from grace means losing salvation.
Correct view: This refers to believers who turned to legalism. It means they stepped out of grace-based living—not out of salvation.
7. Hebrews 6:4–6 "...if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance..."
Misunderstanding: If you fall away from faith, you can never return.
Correct view: This is a hypothetical warning: if salvation could be lost, it could never be regained—but true believers are eternally secure (see verse 9).
8. Hebrews 10:26-29 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth..."
Misunderstanding: Willful sin after salvation cancels salvation.
Correct view: This is a warning to Jews who rejected Christ and returned to the law. It is not about saved individuals losing salvation.
9. 2 Peter 2:20-22 "...the latter end is worse with them than the beginning."
Misunderstanding: A believer can return to sin and be worse off than before.
Correct view: These were false converts or apostates. Peter calls them dogs and pigs—not sheep, indicating they were never truly saved.
10. Revelation 3:5 "I will not blot out his name out of the book of life..."
Misunderstanding: Names can be removed from the book of life.
Correct view: This is a promise of security, not a threat. The overcomer (a true believer) is assured of eternal life (1 John 5:4-5).
11. Revelation 22:19 "God shall take away his part out of the book of life..."
Misunderstanding: A saved person can be erased from the book of life.
Correct view: The warning refers to tampering with Scripture. It’s not about losing salvation, but about losing blessings or inheritance.
12. James 5:19-20 "...shall save a soul from death..."
Misunderstanding: A Christian can become a sinner again and lose salvation.
Correct view: This concerns saving someone from physical death or spiritual ruin—not from hell.
13. Philippians 2:12 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
Misunderstanding: Salvation is maintained through works and fear.
Correct view: Paul says "work out," not "work for." This is about living out your salvation, not earning or keeping it.
14. Ezekiel 18:24 "...his righteousness shall not be remembered..."
Misunderstanding: A righteous man can lose salvation by sinning.
Correct view: This refers to national and physical judgment under Old Testament law—not New Testament eternal security.
15. 1 Timothy 4:1 "...some shall depart from the faith..."
Misunderstanding: Departing from the faith means losing salvation.
Correct view: Departing from "the faith" means apostasy or false doctrine. It doesn’t mean a believer lost salvation.
16. 1 John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin..."
Misunderstanding: A real Christian will never sin again.
Correct view: The verse refers to continuous habitual sin. A believer may sin, but will not live in it without conviction.
17. Colossians 1:23 "If ye continue in the faith..."
Misunderstanding: Salvation is conditional on staying in the faith.
Correct view: This is a test of genuine faith. True believers will continue—not because they must to stay saved, but because they are saved.
18. 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith..."
Misunderstanding: Christians must examine themselves to ensure they haven’t lost salvation.
Correct view: Paul urges self-examination to prove genuine faith—not out of fear of salvation loss.
19. Luke 8:13 "...which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."
Misunderstanding: True believers can fall away and perish.
Correct view: These are shallow believers who had no root. They were never truly saved.
20. Hebrews 3:12-14 "Take heed...lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief..."
Misunderstanding: Believers can develop unbelief and lose salvation.
Correct view: This warns those who had heard the truth but had not yet believed. It’s not about saved people falling away.
21. 1 Timothy 1:19-20 "...concerning faith have made shipwreck."
Misunderstanding: Faith can be shipwrecked and lost.
Correct view: Shipwreck refers to failure in ministry or testimony—not the loss of salvation.
22. Hebrews 4:1 "...any of you should seem to come short of it."
Misunderstanding: We must fear losing salvation.
Correct view: The "rest" in Hebrews speaks of spiritual victory and peace—not heaven. It is about trusting Christ daily, not salvation status.
23. Luke 9:62 "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back..."
Misunderstanding: Looking back in sin disqualifies you from heaven.
Correct view: This verse speaks of discipleship and service—not salvation.
24. 2 John 1:8 "...lose not those things which we have wrought, but...a full reward."
Misunderstanding: Believers can lose salvation by not continuing.
Correct view: This is about rewards—not salvation. Believers can lose rewards but not eternal life.
25. Revelation 2:5 "...remove thy candlestick out of his place..."
Misunderstanding: God will remove salvation.
Correct view: The "candlestick" symbolizes a church’s testimony. God removes the church’s influence—not the believer’s salvation.
26. 1 Corinthians 3:15 "...he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
Misunderstanding: A Christian who sins will be saved only barely.
Correct view: The verse teaches eternal security. Even if all rewards are lost, the soul is saved.
Final Thought:
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." —
John 10:28 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." —
Philippians 1:6 If salvation could be lost, then it was never eternal to begin with. Eternal security is not a license to sin, but a reason to rejoice. It magnifies God's faithfulness, not our performance. Those who are truly saved are kept by the power of God, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and held firmly in the hand of Christ.
Let no confusing verse rob you of the joy and peace Christ has secured for you. Rest in His finished work. Trust in His promise. And live with confidence, knowing that eternal life really means eternal.
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