Pretending to be Born Again
One cannot be saved by grace through faith alone and be working to keep what they did not earn by work.
The problem comes when those who think they can lose their salvation don't understand that Christ does all the work in us. We have no ability to be what we should be. God never forces anyone to become saved, nor does He force us to obey the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.
When He seals us with the Holy Spirit we become born again never to be lost again.
We have been changed into a new creation, the old man of sin in our spirit is gone and has been replaced by the new Holy Spirit.
Our flesh is not perfect, but our Spirit has been regenerated.
Romans 7:4-12
"4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.
6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good"
When Christ changes us into a new creation, we then become His child and His project in continual sanctification (cleansing).
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are (being) sanctified (cleansed)."
We must understand that we do not keep ourselves. Christ saves us, cleanses us and keeps us.
Those who would say that we still have a free will to walk away, do not understand that we don't want to walk away. When we chose to confess our sinfulness and trust Christ for all things, He then began to give us what we want, and that is to be changed into a new creation, never to return to the old.
When someone walks away from Christ they were never born again. They came to Christ on their own terms, not choosing to be changed by Him, but wanting all the perks they think He has for them, without thought of wanting to be controlled by Him.
Those who still want to hold onto their own power, are operating in the flesh rather than the Spirit.
There are those who believe one can lose their salvation but don't think they will ever walk away, they are so in love with Christ. To these people I say, perhaps in your heart of hearts you know you cannot walk away because of Christ Who lives in you, but you have been listening to the teachings of men rather than seeking Christ for the answer to this dilemma.
A born again blood bought believer will never excuse their sin as under grace, they will be ashamed and eventually flee it.
1 John 3:9 "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
Proverbs 8:13 ""The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate."
Those who do not confess and turn the other way, who live in sin without conscience even defending their sin, are not born again. They are pretenders and rebellious in their hearts. They fall under the category of Matthew 7, if they do not repent and turn.
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"
God says to these pretenders "I NEVER knew you."
If there is no desire within your heart to be under the control of the Holy Spirit or to be changed and growing, then you are probably not saved and need to ask the Lord to save you.
