 One of the passages that is often brought up about a person possibly losing their salvation, possibly no longer being in Christ, no longer abiding is John chapter 15. Now that was one of the passages that gave me trouble when I used to believe that a person could lose their salvation, could walk away, could forfeit their salvation. That was one of the passages that I turned to. But when I read the passage, is that really what it's saying? So let's go to John 15 and let's see. Now he starts off saying, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away and every branch that does not bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. What he says, already you are clean because of the word that I spoke in you. So he says, Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit itself unless it abides. Now it is clear that he's saying you have to abide in him. He's commanding abide, remaining him. That part is not disputed, I don't dispute that part. Now let's go on to where he says, if anyone verse six does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. And the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burn. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done. By this my father's glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Verse 10, if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. So it's clear that a person in order to be saved in order to actually have eternal life, that person has to abide. They have to remain. It's true that if you stop believing, it's true that if you stop abiding, it's true that if you don't bear good fruit, you will be cut off and thrown in the fire. You can gather it up and thrown in the fire. That's crystal clear. But wait a minute Corey, doesn't it kind of go against your argument that one saved always saved? No, it doesn't. The Greek understanding as well as the biblical understanding of believing is different than how we see it maybe today. Biblically, as far as salvation is concerned, when a person believes it is understood that a person enters into a continual state of believing, of constant believing entered into one time, continual until that person leaves this earth and goes to heaven. In English, we mark the beginning of that process with an ed with the past tense ed as in believed, but the Greek rendering is almost always in the present active participle. It's in that tense of the word pistas, meaning believing. For example, when you look at John 3 16, it says that whosoever shall believe in him. Well, the word that's used there is the ha pistuan, which is the present active participle, meaning believing the believing ones. Same thing in John 6 47 when he says that person who believes he has currently presently eternal life. Well, the person who believes the word that's used there is also the present active participle of pistuan. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian. Christians do abide continually. Christians keep believing continually. Christians, true Christians, bear fruit. How do I get that from this passage? Well, if I ask you, if a person is going to continue to abide, continue to believe, continue to remain, continue to bear fruit, is that person ever going to lose their salvation? You would have to say no, if that person continually does that. Well, what does Jesus say the person is going to do? I'm going to address two issues here. When we look at the remainder of chapter 15, he says, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide or should remain. The question is going to be, is Jesus talking to his disciples or is he speaking about all of believers in general? I believe that he's speaking about all of us in general. Though he's speaking directly to his disciples, there also is an application that can go towards us and that he chose us. We are already told throughout the scriptures that all believers are chosen. Whether someone disagrees with that, that's another topic, but it's clear that we have been chosen. Anyone who rejects that rejects the clear reading of the scriptures. Now, you can look at this passage one of two ways. He's either talking only to the disciples and the disciples only. Well, if that's the case, then do not use John chapter 15 as an argument to say that a person can be cut off, since he goes on to say that he chose them to remain in him and to bear fruit. Now, I think though that the passage also applies to believers. I don't see any key that shows us that he goes from talking to all of us in general as a whole to now only speaking to the disciples. So let's look and see. Verse 12, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. No longer do I call you servants, but the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends that all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you. Well, what of this that that's just being spoken by Jesus doesn't apply to us as well. All of this also, even though he's speaking directly to the disciples, it also applies to us or can be attributed to us. Now, if someone says that it doesn't, that's fine. Just don't use this passage to state that you can lose your salvation. But if you're going to state this passage so that you can lose your salvation, then you've got to apply it to all of us. And he says that you didn't choose me, but I chose you, which is true for all of us as believers. He chose us first. Then after him choosing us through the spirit, we in turn choose. John also tells us that we loved him after he first loved us. So the initiator of all of this is God. We respond and in responding. So he says that I have made it so that I have chose. I've pointed to you that you will abide. You will abide and you will bear fruit. Well, that's just what God said in Ezekiel 36 when he says that he will put his spirit in our heart. And those people who have God's spirit, they will walk in his statutes and they'll never depart from them. So keeping that in mind, it should be clear that this passage is not teaching that you can lose your salvation.