Hi Jason, My belief is that for someone who is saved the possibility is there that they can lose that in one of two ways. One way, and the quickest, is to simply renounce Jesus Christ as Savior and proclaim Him an imposter. This would be committing the unpardonable sin and what John spoke of. <br>(1Jo 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. )<br><br>I would say that it is extremely rare for that to happen. One case might be Ananias and Sapphira. They trusted the god of mammon, more than the Word of the Lord and consequently lied about their gift. Since scripture does not record anything else about them we can not know if they were saved or not or how they came to be a part of this company. Another case is Simon the sorcerer. He appears to have effectively been saved, (Acts 8:13) but when he attempted apostasy by offering Peter money was told “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.” (v21) <br><br><br>The other way, which is the slow way, is for a person to just drift away from his walk and relationship with the Lord and His people, eventually returning to their old ways and habits. What happens to this person is not for the Church to decide apart from someone getting a specific word of the Lord as how to deal with them. We are to be always seeking to restore such a one, and as long as there is some action and repentance on their part, they can be restored. (Mat 18:22; Isa 42:3)<br><br>An example here would be Samson. God withdrew His spirit for a time and let Satan have his way with him until his last day when God granted his petition and restored His Spirit. <br><br>But there is a point where this behavior becomes irrevocable. This is the danger which every backslider needlessly exposes them self to. The flask no longer has even the unpleasant smoke and the reed is bruised to the point of breaking. I do not have an example that comes to mind but a scripture.<br><br>Deu 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: <br>Deu 21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; <br>Deu 21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. <br>Deu 21:21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.<br><br>It is not only the son’s behavior, but he does not hearken to the voice of his mother or father. He is deliberately cut off from life and excluded from his inheritance. God allowed this to earthly parents and I believe the backslider who dies in an unrepentant state has experienced the same fate.<br>
