Episode 50 - Can You Lose Your Salvation?

What is salvation? What does it really mean to be saved? Can a born-again Christian fall back into sin? Can you lose your salvation? Is "once saved, always saved" truly biblical?

These are some of the most debated questions in Christianity today. In this episode, we dive deep into the Bible to examine what God's Word really says about salvation, repentance, perseverance, and eternal security. Together, we'll explore key passages often used on both sides of the debate, study the original Greek meanings of important words, and examine the context of each passage to better understand its true meaning.

Our goal is not to defend a denomination or tradition, but to let Scripture interpret Scripture. Join us as we seek the truth of God's Word and answer some of the most common questions Christians ask about salvation and following Jesus Christ.

Transcript

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Male Lele Pulavinaka Talafalava and hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Pacific Empowerment Podcast with your host Akanessika Ofusi. So this week it has been uh very busy online with so many debates on the topic salvation, which we will be talking about this week. And um it was a bit late for me to record because um it was interesting for me to see um what people think on social media, and um what was clear to me is that so many people don't understand what salvation means. And uh we'll be talking about what being saved means, what does it mean to be born again, and can you fall back into sin after being born again? And if you fall back into sin, can you lose your salvation? And that is one of the most debatable topics, not just on social media, but among theologians, you know, church leaders, church groups, church members. It's a huge topic. And I have been praying to God uh to give me the wisdom and knowledge and fill me with the Holy Spirit to speak only the truth, so I don't lead people astray, and I fear so much, I fear God so much that I do not want to lead people astray. And that is why I want to talk about salvation because so many church leaders out there are leading so many people astray, and you know, to think that just because you are saved, you can do anything you want, you know, you can sin and it's okay, God can still forgive you because you are saved. But that's not the case. Um, but we will go into detail about it. So, so the conversation is so many people don't understand what it means to be saved. Because I see so many people who are saying online on social media, if someone falls back into sin, that means that person wasn't genuinely saved. They weren't saved in the first place. And I was so confused because what did they mean by that? They weren't saved in the first place. So that is what we'll be looking at first. What does it mean to be saved? We have to go back to the word of God, you know, and see what does the word of God say about being saved? What does it mean to be saved, to be born again, to be a Christian? Let's have a look at Romans 10, 9 to 13. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation. The scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So the key verse here is verse 9 and 10. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So, what does it mean in the original Greek? So I had to go and look at the original Greek meaning of this, so we can understand what it really means. So to confess homologo means openly acknowledging, you know, you openly declare that Jesus is Lord. So it's not just, you know, simply reciting a prayer or just say to someone, you have to openly declare that Jesus is Lord. And believe here, bestwo in the Greek word, and it means trusting and relying on Christ, believing that Jesus Christ is Lord and is risen from the dead. And we also have to look at another verse on being saved. Acts 16, verse 30 to 34. Then he brought them outside and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. They spoke the word of the Lord, meaning the gospel, to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. So this is a prison guard who was looking after Paul and Siles while they were in jail. And he was the one asking, How what must I do to be saved? And it's the same answer here. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. And it's the same Greek words that they are using in this verse, it's the same verse here in Romans 10, 9 to 13. So for someone to be saved, to be born again, you have to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, and you will be saved. So when people said that people weren't genuinely saved, I didn't really understand what they mean because the Bible here is clear about what being saved means. And I and I experienced it myself. I was saved when I was 19 years old. I have to go to the front and confess my sins and repent publically because I was moved by the Holy Spirit, and I felt the Holy Spirit within me, and you know, I felt this so much love for God that I've never felt before, and I love God so much and I enjoy reading my Bible. But then we are human after I was saved. When I was 19 years old, after a few months of having that warmth of loving God, I started to fall back into the ways of the world because I was 19 years old, spent so much time with my friends, I started living the ways of the world. I I fall back. And that comes to the next question: Can a saved person fall back into sin? And my answer is yes, based on my experience. After I was saved, I was committing more sin than before I was saved. It's because that's when Satan attacked you the most. And if you do not guard yourself, if you do not read your Bible, pray, and remain in God, you will be overcome by evil. So that is my experience. But what does the Bible say? Let's look at Galatians 5. Verse 1, 4 and 13, it says, For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to our yoke of slavery. You who want to be reckoned as righteous by law have got yourselves off from Christ. You have fallen away from grace. For you are called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become enslaved to one another. So this is a warning by Paul to his believers. These are people, these are born-again Christians. They have been saved because he's saying here, you have fallen away from Christ. You are only fallen away if you were in in the first place. In the context, the religious leaders told the believers that they have to circumcise in order to be saved. But then Paul said, You don't have to do that, you don't need to do that because you have been saved by grace. And also he's warning here: do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence. So this is a warning: do not fall away. Do not use your freedom to fulfill your fleshly desires. Why would he want them? It's because so they don't fall back into sin, fall back into the worldly ways. Another Bible verse, James 5, 19 to 20. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. So as you can see here, anyone among you, my brothers and sisters, wanders from the truth. The wonders here in the Greek, it means planethe. Wonders in the Greek word planethe, and it means to wonder, to go astray, to be deceived, or to debat from the right path. So why would you wonder or to go astray if you weren't saved? Because people said, oh, they weren't saved in the first place. So why then why do you wonder if you weren't saved? And it says if anyone among you like they were believers, they were believers. You should know that whoever brings back a sinner, why would you bring bring back someone if they weren't saved? So if they weren't saved, it says you go and bring a new, you you save a new soul, you save a new person, but they bring back a sinner. And the reason why he's calling them sinner here is because they've fallen back into sin. And they need to repent of their sins in order, you know, to be made right again with God and to cover his sins that he has committed. Brings back whoever brings back a sinner. So this verse is so clear that anyone can fall back into sin. So in Proverbs 24, 16 it says, For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. So righteous, you know, it means you know, someone is living in a right relationship with God. You know, you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. You know, you fall seven times, they rise again. And that is what happened to me. I was saved and when I was 19 years old, and I kept falling back into sin. But look at me now. Repented of all my sins, and now God is easing me through this. That is what it means to be a born-again Christian. It doesn't mean that you will be perfect like a perfect angel forever. No, you fall back into sin, but you repent and come back. You go back and you don't stay in sin. So just like David, David was a righteous person, you know, he had a really close relationship with God, but then he fell for Bathsheba, you know, and committed the grave sin. So Nathan warns him, so he repented and turned back to God. And that is what it means, a righteous person. So that means any, yes, saved, a saved person can fall back into sin. And that comes into our next question. Our next question is then if a person falls back into sin, if a saved person, if a born-again Christian falls back into sin, can they lose their salvation? And that is this is the most debatable topic on my page. Can they lose their salvation? So many, even church ministers believe that you won't lose your salvation. And I can understand where they come from, but they are leading people astray with that kind of you know explanation, with kind with that kind of understanding. Because they think that just because you are saved, you can continue sinning. You don't need to repent because once saved, always saved, and that that is a huge lie. Let's look here. If a saved person, if a born-again Christian can fall back into sin, can they lose their salvation? Hebrews 6:4 to 6. For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away since they are crucifying again the Son of God to their own harm and are holding him up to contempt. So this verse is talking about a saved person, a born-again Christian, who have fallen away, fallen back to sin, and is not repented, but keeps living in sin. This is what this verse is for. And people said some people say enlightened here, it doesn't mean that they were saved. So let's look at the Greek word. What does enlighten here? So the Greek word for enlightened in this verse is for distenders. And what does it mean? It means to enlighten, brought into the light, illuminated. It means that you have been saved. You have been saved, been enlightened. And the reason why I say this is because in Hebrew, the the same word for distantis in Hebrew 6 46 is also used in Hebrew 10 to 32. Hebrews 10 to 32 means, but recall those earlier days when after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. After you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. So why would they endure a hard struggle with sufferings if they weren't saved in the first place? So this refers to saved, to saved people, born-again Christians. So Hebrews 6.46 is talking about a saved person, a genuinely saved person who have fallen away from grace, fallen away back to his old ways, this sinful ways, and it's not repenting, but keep living. And that is why it says it is impossible to restore again. So if you can say it doesn't say that they repented and come back, they have fallen away. So they have lost their salvation if they don't repent, if they die during that state, they are going back, they are going straight to hell. It doesn't matter if they were saved. Let's look at another verse here. Hebrews 10, 26. This is a verse I use a law in, you know, defending that yes, you can lose a salvation. Let's read Hebrews 10, 26 and 27. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. So with this verse, people say, Oh, it says here we have received the knowledge of the truth. It means that they only hear the gospel, but they didn't accept Jesus Christ. And I disagree. So let's have a look. So the author is saying, for if we, so he's including himself as well. So he is a believer, he's a teacher to the church. And he's writing to the church. For if we, so if he's including himself, it means they are believers, they are saved, genuinely saved. Deliberately keep on sinning, meaning that you keep living in sin without repentance. It's different from stumbling, stumble in sin. If you stumble in sin when it got drunk once and then you repent and then you stop drinking again. Deliberately keep on singing. If you go and drink, you know it's wrong, you keep drinking. It's just like the cover drinkers. Even church leaders are drinking cover, they know it's wrong, but they keep drinking cover, they can't stop it. That is deliberately keep on singing. There's a perfect example of deliberately keep on sinning. So the Greek word for this, the Greek word for deliberately here is hekusios. And hekusios means willingly, intentionally. So it's not accidentally falling into sin or struggling with temptation or you know, repenting after failure, but you are willingly sinning, even though you know it's wrong. So not only this is the reason why I believe this is meant for people who were generally here for born-again Christians, is if you go back to Hebrews, if you read Hebrews 10, verse 10 and 14, and it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. That we have been sanctified. And then in verse 14, for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. He's referring to them as sanctified. So, what does sanctified mean in the Greek word? So, sanctified mean the word sanctified in the Greek language is hechiaste. Hekyaste, what does it mean? It means to be sanctified, to be made holy, to be set apart. So the verb is past tense. So you were saved, sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ. And this is proof that verse 26 in Hebrews 10 is referring to generally saved people, not just by someone who hears the gospel and not accept Jesus Christ. These refers to people who were generally saved. So this proves that you can lose your salvation if you do not repent, if we deliberately keep on sinning without repenting. And for you who said it wasn't referred to generally saved please, read the whole of Hebrews 10 so you can understand that it was referred to people who have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ, that is born-again Christian. 2 Peter 2, 20 to 22. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they are at the beginning. It would have been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness than to have known it, and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them, the proverbs are true. A dog returns to its vomit, and a soul that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud. So, again, this verse. People make excuses, say, by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So knowing our Lord and Jesus Christ, and they think it's referring for people who just listen but they are not generally saved. Let's have a look. Were they saved or not? So the Greek word is for knowledge here is epignose. And epignose means full knowledge, personal knowledge, like complete recognition. It's not just a simple knowledge. Epygnose is also used in 2 Peter 1, verse 2 to 3. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through a knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. So 2 Peter 1 2-3 refers to born-again Christians, believers, people who are saved. So it's just not merely listening or receiving the gospel, it's a pygnosay. It's a pygnosay. They are saved. They are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. They are born again. So if you are saved and are again entangled in it and not overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. So why would you say again entangled if you weren't saved in the first place? It doesn't make sense. So if you say they weren't generally saved, why does it mean again entangled? There is only one explanation. It's because they were generally saved. They were saved from sin, but again entangled. And are overcome. And are overcome meaning if you are entangled, if you stumble into sin and you keep living there without repentance, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. These refer to saved born-again Christians. They were generally saved. Of them, a proverbs are true. A dog returned to its vomit and a soul that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud. So these are two verses that proves born-again Christians can lose their salvation if they do not repent. If they are overcome by sin. For example, the Gava drinkers again. So many of them, it's really hard for them to stop drinking Gava. That is deliberately sinning. That is again entangled. In sin. Let's continue. Matthew 24 9 14. Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

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Many will fall away and they will betray one another and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. One who endures to the end will be saved. So, what does it mean? Love of many? It means you love the Lord. So that means that many generally saved people. Their love will grow cold, they will fall back into sin. But the one who endures to the end will be only the one who endures until the end. And what does it mean to be to be endured? And be faithful, obey God's word until the end. Revelation 3:5. Remember then what you received and heard, obey it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few persons in satis who have not sold their clothes, they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in the in white robes. And I will not erase your name from the book of life. I will confess your name before my father and before his angels. So this is proof that your name can be erased from the book of life. Even if you are saved, your name is it can be erased. He said, I will not erase your name from the book of life. So there's a condition here. Just because you are saved and your name is in the book of life doesn't mean it will be there until the end. Even if you keep sinning, even if you turn away from Christ, you go back to your old ways. It says here, if you conquer, what are you conquering? Evil. If you conquer your fleshly desires, if you conquer your desire to go back to your old ways, if you conquer sinful ways that you used to live, if you conquer all of that, all the temptation of your name will not be erased from the book of life. Isn't that proof enough that you can lose your salvation? Revelation 2.10, it says, Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the ground of life. Hold fast what you have. So the passage, these passages here emphasizes the continuing faithfulness. So why are they warning believers from time and time again if you can't lose your salvation? You only warn them if you are afraid that they will go back and lose their salvation. You know. Romans 11, 20 to 22, if you continue in his kindness, otherwise you will also be cut off. This is all proof that you can lose your salvation. One saved, always saved, is a lie. Only if you endure until the end, if you stay faithful to God, only if you obey the Lord, obey his words. Be holy, for I am holy. If you fall back into sin and you do not repent, and you die while you are at that state, you go straight to hell. Doesn't matter if you were saved before or not. That is why they keep warning us to be faithful unto death. Hold fast what you have, hold it. Why would you hold fast what you have your salvation? You know, you only hold on to things so you don't lose it. You hold on to your keys, your phone, so you don't lose it. So it doesn't make sense. If you can't lose your salvation, why are we warned to hold on to it? You know what I mean? Anyways, let's continue. Now, with these Bible verses, it has proven if you do not stay faithful, if you do not stay in the race, if you do not stumble and then repent and come back, you will lose your salvation. Let's have a look at the Bible verses that they use to argue that you will never lose your salvation. First one is Ephesians 1, 13 to 14. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the price of his glory. Many believe that just because you are marked with a seal, it means that your salvation is sealed. You know, it's it's done forever. But let's continue reading verse 14. Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession? What does guaranteeing or inheritance mean here? The Greek word for guarantee is arabon. And arabon here refers to down payment, deposit or first instalment. So think of it like you're buying a house. You pay a deposit today, you know. The deposit is real, but you haven't yet moved into the house. You know, the full inheritance comes later. So guaranteeing our inheritance means yes, you have been saved by grace. That's your deposit, that is your first payment. You pay a deposit today, but you haven't yet gone into heaven, you know. And it says until the redemption of those who are God's possession. Until this means that your place in heaven will not be confirmed until the redemption of those who are God's possession, until the end. The second coming of Jesus Christ, full redemption. That is, if you endure until the end when Jesus Christ comes, that is when your salvation is confirmed, sealed. You moved into the house, you go to heaven. If you know what I mean. So think of it like this: your salvation, you know, the grace of God, you have been saved. That is your down payment, that is your deposit. You haven't moved into the house, and you weren't moved into the house until the owner of the house comes and gives you the keys so you can move in. So it's the same thing. So while you are here on earth, yes, you have been saved by grace through Jesus Christ. But you have to endure until the end, when He, when the owner of heaven comes, that's Jesus, when the owner comes and takes you to heaven, that is when you guarantee your place in heaven. So that means you can you can lose your salvation if you do not endure until if you do not stay faithful and if you do not um repent. You know. Um let's look at another verse they use. John 10 27 to 30. This is uh verse they quote a lot. My sheep listen to my voice. John 10 27 to 30. My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will 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. I and the father are one. And this is a verse that so many people use to you know to support their saying that you cannot lose your salvation. But let's have a look at the verse. My sheep listen to my voice. So listen here. The word for listen, hear my voice, is akusin. That's the Greek word for listen, akusin. And it means to hear, to listen, to obey. And this is present tense. I know them. So I know them is that Jesus knows them personal, intimately, so very close relationship, intimately with them, and they follow me, follow obeying his every word. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. So does that mean that everyone who are saved will have eternal life? No, it says, Yeah, my sheep. So only the ones who listen to his voice, who have a close personal relationship with him, and who obey his words, they follow me. It doesn't mean that not everyone who's saved, you know, will gain eternal life. Because that's why Jesus said in Matthew 7 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who's in heaven. You know, so that means you have to hold, you have to obey his word in order for your salvation to be guaranteed. And another one they use is 1 John 2, verse 19. They went out from us, but they were not really of us. And so many people said that these people weren't never truly saved. But if you read the whole chapter, 1 John 2, these were referring to false prophets. False prophets who came to their church and they were called Antichrist. It it wasn't referred to uh born-again believers. So 1 John 2, 18 and 19, dear children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going showed that none of them belonged to us. So, in order to understand this Antichrist, you have to read. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the father, but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. Whoever does the will of God lives forever. So, verse 19 is referring to Antichrist, false teachers. And the reason why they call them antichrist is because they reject Christ. It says here, who is the liar? Verse 22. It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father. Also, so yes, these weren't believers, these were Antichrist. But then in 15, the church was warned. Do not love the word or anything. They were again warned. So this is why it's important context. You can't just pick and choose the Bible verse, you have to read the whole chapter to understand what is the context. And it wasn't referring to believers, it was referring to false teachers who pretended to become believers. But also, if you go down in 1 John 2 to verse 24, it also warns them, therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. So if you argue that everyone who leaves was never saved, then so why are they repeatedly warned here to abide in Jesus? Verse 24, let what you heard abide in you. Verse 24, if it abides in you, verse 20, abide in him in Greek. The Greek word for abide means meno. And meno means to remain, to continue, to stay, to dwell, to live in. So it also points to John 15, 5 to 8. I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit apart from me, and you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. That is hell. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. So this is a constant warning for the believers to remain in Jesus, to endure, to persist, to abide in Jesus, because if you don't, you will lose your salvation. Believers are called to persevere. You know? So another Bible verse that these people are using to support their once saved, always saved, is Philippians 1, 5 to 6. Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And the problem is they thought that good works is referring to their salvation. But if you go back to the Greek meaning, what is the Greek word for good work here? The Greek word for good work in this verse is ergon agathon. So ergon agathon meaning good work, good deed, good undertaking. And this doesn't refer to salvation. The word salvation in the Greek is soteria. That is what it means. Salvation in Greek is soteria, salvation, deliverance, rescue, persevation. But in Philippians 1 5 to 6, good work here is ergon acathon. So Philippians 1 5-6 was Paul riding from prison to the Philippians. You know, he thanked them for their partnership in the gospel. So the partnership here is in Greek is koinonia. So the fellowship participation. So it means that these, the church, the Philippians were supporting Paul financially. They were praying for him, standing firm for the faith, you know, they were helping advance the gospel. So these were the good works, you know. So they were being, you know, they hold on to their faith. Yes, they support Paul financially, you know, praying for him, standing firm for the faith. But it doesn't mean you begin a good work, it doesn't mean your salvation. And the verse 6 here, being confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. So this means carried on to completion. This refers to the gospel, and it points to Matthew 24, verse 14. Jesus foretells that the gospel will be preached to all nations before the end comes. And also points to Revelation 14, 6 to 7. John sees an angel proclaiming the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, language, and people during the end time vision. So the day of Christ Jesus refers to Christ's second coming. And that is what Paul is talking about. So Paul here in Philippians 1:5 to 6 is thanking the Philippians for partnership in the gospel. You know, them working together, preaching the good news, telling because because that's what we are told, to go and make disciples, tell, preach the good news, tell everyone. Being confident that who he began a good work in you, so that is the Holy Spirit will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit will work to preach the gospel to everyone in the world until the day of Christ Jesus. It doesn't refer to your salvation. Salvation is a whole different word in Greek, and that is why it's important to read the verse but go back to its original meaning. What does it mean in Greek? So you can understand what the verse is for. That's why so many people misinterpret the Bible because you have to go back to its original meaning. So another one, this is the this is the famous one that they always use. Is for it is grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast, but we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Okay, so the good works here is mistaken by so many people to think it is it refers to how we live, to how we behave, you know, to the way we live. But the good works here in the Greek it means ergois agathos. In Greek, it means works, deeds, actions, you know, activities, good works. So what does that mean? What does it look like? You know, for example, preaching, teaching what I'm doing now, helping others, serving, volunteering, missionary, any good work that you do here on earth. That is what the verse is talking about. It is not talking about you leaving a good obeying God's word, you know, the fruit of the spirit to be patient. That is the difference. So many people are mistaking the work here in Ephesians 2 8 10 to the fruit of the spirit, patience, love, forgiveness, joy, you know, self-control. And that is why so many people are led astray. Because we have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ by grace and not from our work. So the difference is if I'm teaching to you, you know, but secretly, secretly I'm drinking alcohol, do you think I'll go to heaven? No. Because I'm doing the teaching here, I'm teaching you, but secretly, God sees what I'm doing privately. So that is why you need to obey God and live your life for God privately, not publicly, not pretending for people to see. So Ephesians 2 8 to 10 here. You can preach the word, but if you're drinking cover, you're disobeying God. You are drunk, and you won't go into heaven. So your good work, your preaching, will not save you if you are living in sin. Do you understand? I hope if that is clear. So do not mistake the work in Ephesians 2 to living in obedience, fruit of the Spirit. You have to live in obedience in order to go to heaven. That is obeying God, that is doing the will of the Father. Only those who do the will of the Father will go to heaven. That is, that is what it means. It doesn't mean that you have to drink alcohol just because you are saved by grace. No, no, no, no, no. You have to obey God, you have to live in obedience. And that is why in Matthew 7, 21 and 23 it says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. And many of you may say, Well, these people weren't really saved. Well, how can they perform Miracles in Jesus' name, if they weren't saved in the first place. You have to have the Holy Spirit. You have to be saved in order to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. You have to have the Holy Spirit within you. And the Holy Spirit is within you when you accepted Jesus Christ and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that He raised from the dead. So this refers to born-again Christians who prophesy in the name, but they didn't obey God. That's why Jesus said, I never knew you. Again, verse 26, if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? So you only cast out demons if the Holy Spirit is within you, and the Holy Spirit is within you if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. So everything that we have talked about today, what does being saved mean to you? And can you fall back into sin after being saved? Yes. And based on my experience, I have fallen so many times and I got back up. I repented of my sins. I didn't stay sinning. I repented and turned away. And can you lose your salvation? Yes, you can lose your salvation. If you deliberately keep on sinning without repenting. That is why we are warned. That is why the barbell of the virgins, ten virgins, you know, and five wise, five foolish, the five wise they endured until the end. You know, they obey the word of the Lord. They were ten virgins, meaning they were ten believers. They were all saved, genuinely saved. But five was prepared and do hold on to their faith and obey. And five, you know, lukewarm Christians. They are the lukewarm. The foolish virgins are the lukewarm Christians. You know, they're not cold, they're not hot, they're like lukewarm. That is the most dangerous ones. You have to either be for God or be for the devil. You can't serve both. So I hope that answers your question. You know. Um I see so many people are led astray, and so many people are hungry for the truth, hungry for knowledge. And the Bible is true that our people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. People are our people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. So I hope this will make you understand. This is not to prove you wrong, but this is to enlighten your mind, is to open your eyes so you understand what the word means, so you can obey God, so you can repent from whatever sins that you're currently doing, and repent and turn back to God. Once saved, always saved is a lie. You have to stay faithful until the end in order to go to heaven. If you're listening and you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you haven't repented and you don't know how to be saved, um say a small prayer in your room. Ask Lord Jesus to come into your heart, you know, renew you. Say a prayer. I believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior, that God raised him from the dead. I ask you, Lord Jesus, to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Renew me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, Lord, and the Lord will answer your prayer. And that is salvation, and then you'll be saved. And if you're new, you haven't gone to church, go find a good church and go there so you can learn how to stay faithful until the end. Just because you accepted Jesus Christ, if you pray and you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have to read his word, stay in the Bible, read the Bible. I realized that what helped me so much to um fight temptation and fight against evil is reading my Bible every day. So every time I read my Bible every day, you know, my desire to sin is starting to fade away. I no longer desire to sin. I no longer fall into the temptation that I used to fall for before because I read my Bible. And if you have uh a sin that if you have something like addictions that you it's really hard for you to break off, fast. Fasting and praying is the most effective way for you to break off uh generational curse in your family, to break off addictions. Pray and fast. It's very powerful to help you break because I I use it myself. There are so many things that I pray, I pray, I pray, but I just couldn't stop it, just couldn't change until I fasted. I did a Daniel fast and I prayed and it broke off me. Finally, I was able to break free. So I hope you learned something and um make a decision today. If you are a Christian, if you were saved before and you fall back into sin, you have to repent today. Don't wait. Repent now and ask God for forgiveness. He will answer your prayer. That's why you're still alive, he's giving you chances to repent. And if you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I suggest you do it tonight. Don't wait. Do it now. Don't wait. Jesus is waiting. We don't know. Jesus might be coming back tomorrow. You know, you might die tonight. That's why you have to make your decision because once you die, that's it. Hell, that's like burning in hell, is forever. And you cannot die. You'll burn, you'll burn in hell forever. And the burn there is a thousand times worse than the burn here on earth. So decide today who you will serve. Will you serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Or will you serve Satan? The path to our Lord and Jesus Christ is heaven, eternal, happy, joy, peace. Path of Satan is hell, eternal pain, burn, cry forever. So make your choice now. Repent, turn to God. He is so merciful, God is so merciful, his grace, he's so merciful while you're still alive. Once you die, that's it. No more mercy. So make your decision, and I pray that you open your heart so our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can come into your heart and become your Lord and Savior. It's the best feeling, it's the best feeling. I wouldn't make it today if it wasn't for the Lord. You know, I wouldn't make it today if it wasn't for the Lord Jesus Christ. So make your decisions now. Hope you learned something. You know, have a good weekend and have a blessed week. I will talk to you again next week. If you have any questions about salvation and you know how to accept Jesus Christ and everything, send me a message on social media or comments or whatever. Send me a message and I'll help you if you need help or direct you to the right people. So yeah, thank you, my Lopito, Minakabakalevo, Profitai Lava, and have a lovely weekend.