Can You Lose Your Salvation?

Someone recently asked me if someone who is saved, someone who has accepted Jesus, fall away and lose their salvation?


In a word -- no. Having said that, some explanation is in order. When a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they must be sincere in that acceptance. They must have a right heart. They cannot just be playing a game or dabbling in Christianity. They must develop a personal relationship with Jesus. True believers won't fall away though they may have times where they "backslide." Luke 8:13 speaks of falling away, but I believe this is referring to the appearance of falling away, rather than truly falling away. I think anyone who "falls away" was not truly sincere in their acceptance. John 10:28 says "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." Since "no one" includes us, we cannot do anything to take ourselves away from God. Again this assumes we were sincere in our acceptance. Salvation is a gracious gift of God. Once accepted, it is ours and we cannot lose it.


Relevant Scripture

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8


I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
John 10:28–29

Be blessed,
Wayne

www.Capstone-Ministries.org


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How can a loving God sentence people to eternal suffering in hell?

Our God is indeed a God of love. As such he gives us free will. He does not "sentence" us to hell. We get to make that choice. Hell is eternal separation from God. Since God is love, hell is the absence of love. Since God is light, hell is the absence of light.

Our God is not only the God of love, He is also perfect righteousness and absolute holiness. As such, there can be absolutely no sin in his presence in heaven. We are all sinners, forgiven by God's grace and Christ's sacrifice in place of us. The truth is we all deserve hell, but God provided an alternative: heaven.

God's word makes it clear that He would prefer every human being spend eternity in heaven with Him, but He left the choice to us. Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, or accept hell. Easy choice for me!

So God does not "sentence" anyone to hell. He gives us a choice. It is truly up to each of us individually. Choose heaven, or choose hell.

In the grip of grace,
Wayne

Love all - Trust some - Harm none

http://www.Capstone-Ministries.org

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And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God... - Romans 8:28

'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'- Ronald Reagan

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson

We are always the same age inside.
Gertrude Stein (1874 - 1946)

Football is a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life. Violence and committee meetings.
George F. Will (1941 - )

Good morning to all... I am on Cabo countdown. 11 days. It will be a great 2 weeks. Have a blessed week. Let me know if I can pray for you.

SAINT WAYNE

Yep… that’s right I am a saint. Oh, I am not saying I have been declared a saint by the Catholic church or anything like that. I have been declared a saint by God. He’s even higher than the Catholic church, you know…


Seriously, a while back I was asked: I have heard Christians refer to one another as saints. Why is that?

I answered: Because that is what we are. Let me explain. The word “saint” literally means one who is set apart. As used around the time that both Romans and Philippians were written (about A.D. 57 to A.D. 62) it meant those who were dedicated to God. This included all who believed in Jesus, regardless of their individual character or spiritual maturity. Today it means the same thing. A saint is not someone who, through their own power or strength, has attained a certain level of purity. A saint is someone who believes in Jesus Christ and because of that belief has had the stain of sin washed away by the blood of Jesus. Because of Jesus, saints are clean. We are saints because of what Jesus did for us, and not because of anything we do. His death on the cross did away with the sin problem for all who believe in Him. That sets us apart, and makes us saints.

Some relevant Scripture

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints; Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Philippians 1:1


Saint Wayne signing off. Thanks for reading!

www.Capstone-Ministries.org

Love all – Trust some – Harm none

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The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.
Thomas Jefferson

'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.'- Ronald Reagan

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson

When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.
Bernard Bailey

Remember -- Love all – Trust some – Harm none

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.
Aldous Huxley

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson

The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.' - Ronald Reagan

Never take your own revenge... "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. -- Romans 12:19

Good day all…God wants you to let Him know your needs. I will gladly do that for you. Feel free to send me your prayer requests. DM ok.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson

'The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' -Ronald Reagan

Love all - Trust some - Harm none

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe,
we shall become as corrupt as Europe.
Thomas Jefferson

Walking isn't a lost art: one must, by some means, get to the garage.
Evan Esar (1899 - 1995)

This is my first post via ping.fm. Just checking it out.

THE BATTLE is GETTING HOT

THE BATTLE is GETTING HOT
-Darren Smith. (5 Jul 09).

[Author of the "FALL OF BABYLON" word - reprinted below at the end]

Many people have labeled me as a doomsday prophet over the
last few weeks as God has sent the Words He gave me all over
the world. The overwhelming response has stretched us to the
breaking point....

I would like to share a couple of things with you guys about the
whole doomsday thing. I believe that Gods Kingdom will crush
all the kingdoms of the world. I also believe that we bring forth His
Kingdom when we live the Gospel and not just talk about it.

Just yesterday in the street in Galveston we saw 4 people
receive healing and all 4 where born again on the spot. We also
had testimony of several that received healing the week before as
well. 3 different people received the miracle of getting a house and
off the street after we prayed with them last week. As we minister
to these people, we share with them the power of God over every
aspect of their life and the fact that if they die to this life they are
raised with Christ and it is Christ in them, the hope of glory that
rules their life.

It's amazing that people who are in such bondage to sin and
so broken by this life can receive and step right into the Kingdom
so quickly when many who have been religious all their life still do
not live in the power of God. These miracles are available to all who
believe and enter into Christ but few ever enter in. We see so many
miracles because we are trying to expand the Kingdom of God and
not trying to build our own kingdom. Everyday we live a faith walk
trusting God for our daily bread and to use us in His Kingdom with
no care for what this world has to offer.

The freedom is understanding that if you are in Christ you are
dead to this world. Dead men have no rights but you do have an
inheritance that is secure in Christ.

With this said I will be faithful to speak what the Lord has me speak.
I believe words such as the Fall of Babylon are warnings to come
out of her and live for Christ. As far as the timing I believe that these
shaking's are already in motion, but I do realize that God may have
mercy and hold back giving more time to repent. Either way I stand
ready to advance His Kingdom in times of wrath or in times of peace.

Last, I would ask you to pray for us as we have come under attack
for the very words the Lord gave me to send out. Many have taken
these words as an attack on the USA, but they are not an attack,
they are indeed an indictment on the hedonistic culture that we
have created and the god of self that rules this land. This government
is so corrupt and is a tool in Satan's hand to hinder the Kingdom of
God, but many still hold to the thought that it is a God fearing
government to the point that they have sent the message of Fall of
Babylon to the authorities. I have been called a terrorist,
anti-American, anti-government, as well as a false prophet just for
simply sending out the word that God gave me. Even though this
troubles me, I will stand on the Word of God and continue to shout
from the mountains this message, as well as spreading the word of
the Gospel with signs and wonders without fear of man.

The time may come that the true church has to go underground, if
so we are ready for what ever comes. With this said, we will increase
the call to repent to this nation and its leaders who are spinning out
of control. May God give us time to bring in the harvest. If you are
dead to this world step into faith and live the Gospel.

"FALL of BABYLON" - REPRINTED from 4 WEEKS AGO
-by Darren Smith. (1 Jun 09).

The Lord kept me up most of the night bringing a word for me to
share and to share now. Many times I wait until I have prayed over
what I hear in my spirit, but I can't wait to send this word out.

Last night while praying before I went to bed, The Lord gave me a
vision that really rattled me. In the vision I saw this land split into
four parts with each one under its own flag. Each region had terrible
destruction and many people were dead. As I looked over the
destruction I was crying and the Lord asked me, "Why are you
crying over the fall of Babylon? As a matter of fact, why have you
been praying for the healing of Babylon?"

In this vision I didn't have an answer and the Lord opened a scroll
and started reading off the indictments against our country, but
before each one he clearly called the USA Babylon.

The list was long and to the point, with such points as the killing
of several generations of unborn children. Beside this charge He
added that these babies had been sacrificed to the god of self. The
list also included greed, idolatry, pride, fornication, and many others,
so many I could not even read them all.

As I looked at the list of charges I was overwhelmed and broken
by the fact that we live every day in a nation that is so far removed
from God and in total opposition to the Kingdom of God, yet we are
comfortable here. We have become just like Lot living in Sodom,
the prosperity that the nation offers us has blinded us from the evil
that rules this land. We complain about how bad it is but still stay
attached to it with every ounce of strength we have.

The Lord told me to look at the nation as He sees it, not through
my eyes but through His. I could not look too long before I had to
agree and repent of loving Babylon. Once I repented the Lord told
me to prepare for the fall as time is running out. I must preach the
Gospel of The Kingdom not the Gospel of America. America is
already judged, the time of shaking is now and will increase rapidly
this summer. Water shortages and food shortages will become
common this summer, as well as fuel shortages. Civil unrest will
become common place in large cities first but will spill over into
the rural areas as well.

Natural disasters will stretch the resources of the nation to the
breaking point and the government will use this to take freedom
away. Brothers up north take note, you will see this start to happen
quickly. Please seek the Lord for direction as you are out of time.
The west coast will see this soon as well, please prepare.

In this vision there was a great wasteland that appeared to be in
the center of the nation where everything was wiped out and I saw
masses of people wandering without direction. They were dirty and
ragged, almost dead and there was no relief in sight. Most of you
reading this think I'm crazy I'm sure, but I must be faithful to share
what I'm given to share.

The Lord told me to cry from the mountain tops to repent and seek
the Lord now!! We don't have any more time to seek after the things
of this world. He has also given me teaching to prepare people to
pass through this time of shaking into the Kingdom and I must be
faithful to preach this word anywhere I have an open door.

If you want to hear this word please contact me to set up times
and places, but again I must warn you, we are running out of time.
We must stop living like we have all the time in the world. We
must stop crying over the fall of Babylon and press into the Kingdom.

-Darren Smith - EMAIL -
streetscapeministries@yahoo.com

--
YES! - You have permission to post these emails
to friends or other groups, blogs, boards, etc. Go for it!


God bless,
Wayne

Love all - Trust some - Harm none

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Arizona Woman's Open Letter to U.S. Leadership

The following letter, read on Glenn Beck's show, is rapidly circulating around the country. Americans everywhere identify with this 53-year-old woman. She has gi ven us a voice. Once you read this, you will want to forward it to all of your friends...

GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona . She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: "I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues a re that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me? Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation: One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration. Two, the STIMULUS bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal. Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it. Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say. Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down! Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there. Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate. Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit? Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves. Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us. Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me. Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now. Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the busines s of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave. I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far o ff course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending. From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington . Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons. We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution. Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming."

Makes sense to me...

Wayne

Love all - Trust some - Harm none

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The Biggest Economic Mistake Since The Days Of Herbert Hoover

Rep. McClintock gave the following floor speech in opposition to the Cap and Trade legislation on June 26, 2009.

I had a strange sense of Deja Vu as I watched the self-congratulatory rhetoric on the house floor tonight, and I feel compelled to offer this warning from the Left Coast.

Three years ago, I stood on the floor of the California Senate and watched a similar celebration over a similar bill, AB 32. And I have spend the last three years watching as that law has dangerously deepened California’s recession. It uses a different mechanism than Cap and Trade, but the objective is the same: to force a dramatic reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Up until that bill took effect, California’s unemployment numbers tracked very closely with the national unemployment rate. But then in January of 2007, California’s unemployment rate began a steady upward divergence from the national jobless figures. Today, California’s unemployment rate is more than two points above the national rate, and at its highest point since 1941.

What is it that happened in January of 2007? AB 32 took effect and began shutting down entire segments of California’s economy. Let me give you one example from my district. The City of Truckee, California was about to sign a long-term power contract to get its electricity from a new, EPA-approved coal-fired electricity plant in Utah. AB 32 and companion legislation caused them to abandon that contract. The replacement power they acquired literally doubled their electricity costs.

So when economists warn that we can expect electricity prices to double under the cap and trade bill, I can tell you from bitter experience that in my district, that’s not a future prediction, that is an historical fact.

Gov. Schwarzenegger assured us that AB 32 would mean an explosion of new, green jobs — exactly the same promises we’re hearing from cap and trade supporters. In California, exactly the opposite has happened. We have lost so many jobs that the UCSB economic forecast is now using the D-word – Depression – to discuss California’s job market.

M. Speaker, the Cap and Trade bill proposes what amounts to endlessly increasing taxes on any enterprises that produce carbon dioxide or other so-called greenhouse gas emissions. We need to understand what that means. It has profound implications for agriculture, construction, cargo and passenger transportation, energy production, baking and brewing – all of which produce enormous quantities this innocuous and ubiquitous compound. In fact, every human being produces 2.2 pounds of carbon dioxide every day – just by breathing.

So applying a tax to the economy designed to radically constrict carbon dioxide emissions means radically constricting the economy.

And this brings us to the fine point of it.

When you discuss the folly of the Hoover Administration – how it turned the recession of 1929 into the depression of the 1930’s, the first thing that economists point to is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that imposed new taxes on over 20,000 imported products.

Waxman Markey is our generation’s Smoot Hawley. In fact, it’s worse because it imposes new taxes on an infinitely larger number of domestic products on a scale that utterly dwarfs Smoot-Hawley.

Let’s ignore for the moment the fact that the planet’s climate is constantly changing and that long term global warming has been going on since the last ice age. Let’s ignore the fact that within recorded history we know of periods when the earth’s climate has been much warmer than it is today and others when it has been much cooler. Let’s ignore the thousands of climate scientists and meteorologists who have concluded that human-produced greenhouse gases are a negligible factor in global warming or climate change.

Ignore all of that and still we are left with one lousy sense of timing. In the most serious recession since the Great Depression – why would members of this house want to repeat the same mistakes that produced that Great Depression? Watching how California has just wrecked its economy and destroyed its finances, why would they want to do the same thing to our nation?

M. Speaker, this is deadly serious stuff. It transcends ideology and politics. This House has just made the biggest economic mistake since the days of Herbert Hoover.

If this measure becomes law, two things are certain.

First, our planet will continue to warm and cool as it has been doing for billions of years.

Second: Congress will have delivered a staggering blow to our nation’s economy at precisely that moment when that economy was the most vulnerable.