This Faith That You Gave Me (A Prayer)

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Phil 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake...

2 Pet 1: 1 To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ...

Phil 1: 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

John 6: 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 10: 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.

Heb 12: 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith...



THE FAITH YOU GAVE ME (A Prayer) by John Samson

"Lord, I thank you for this confidence I have in You, Your Person, Your word, Your promises. I thank You for this because it was not anything of my own doing, but from first to last, Your gift to Me.

I once thought that the grace was your part, the faith my own, but now, through Your word, I see that You gave me faith as a gift - yes, You gave me the gift of trust, the gift of confidence, the gift of an assurance that You are true, that You are all You say you are, and that You will do all You say. Oh, how I thank You for this! Left to myself I would never have come to You, would never have trusted You, and I would never know the assuring, priceless comfort of Your promises. But You did not leave me to myself, but you granted me faith to believe You and when I did so, You justified me forever.

I know that faith is simply a belief in You, a faith that does indeed lead to action on my part. Romantic feelings between couples ebb and flow and my fear was that what I feel about You today may not last forever. How this fear robbed me of sacred and blessed assurance - the assurance of my salvation. Could I keep this thing up? Would I feel the same thing next Friday as I do today? Would I really? Really would I?

Now I know that You complete every project You start. This faith is much more than a feeling, but a sure and steadfast confidence that Your promises are true. You are the ground and depth of my faith. It is You (not me) who began the good work in me and therefore You will bring it all the way to completion. By Your grace I will be found trusting You ten thousand Fridays from now. The faith that You require is the faith You Yourself gave me, and this faith is not a casual temporal interest in You, but a faith that endures all the way to the end. That is its very nature.

Oh, how this knowledge thrills my soul. My faith is not the product of my prone to wandering heart, but the gift of a Sovereign and sure Savior. I once thought that the one thing I brought to the table of redemption was my puny but hoping faith... now I see that this faith I have was something You gave me. It is as strong and eternal as You are, unshakable in the midst of trial... a constant sure thing when all around me fails!

And even when my faith seems to fail... even when I might lose sight of You and even deny You by my words or my actions, and start walking in another direction, like Peter before me, you pray for me that my faith would not fail and I am turned around so that I see You once again. You do this Lord, over and over again, and that is why You never lose any of Your true sheep.

Oh how this truth sets me free... Salvation is truly of the Lord.

Lord, when I feel weak and when faith seems to be failing, I now know that all I need do is look away from Me and look instead to You. You will help me to look up and see You, Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. Yes, yes, yes, You are the source of my faith. You are faith's initiator and perfecter. Though frail and tiny, my faith looks to You now and will always look to You to find a God big enough and trustworthy enough to rest in. I do believe You Lord and I know I always will. This is not because of some feeling I have, but because Your word teaches me that my confidence in You is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that for even this, I cannot boast.

Oh how I love You Lord. Oh, how I love You."

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Does Hebrews 10:26 mean that a believer can lose salvation?

Question: "Does Hebrews 10:26 mean that a believer can lose salvation?"

Answer: “For if we are willfully sinning after receiving the full knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice concerning sins.” Hebrews 10:26-29 warns against the sin of apostasy. Apostasy is an intentional falling away or defection. Apostates are those who move toward Christ, right up to the edge of saving belief, who hear and understand the Gospel, and are on the verge of saving faith, but then reject what they have learned and turn away. These are people who are perhaps even aware of their sin and even make a profession of faith. But rather than going on to spiritual maturity, their interest in Christ begins to diminish, the things of the world have more attraction to them rather than less, and eventually they lose all desire for the things of God and they turn away. The Lord illustrated these types of people in the second and third soils of Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23. These are those who “receive with joy” the things of the Lord, but who are drawn away by the cares of the world or turned off by difficulties they encounter because of Christ.

“Willful sinning” in this passage carries the idea of consciously and deliberately rejecting Christ. To know God’s way, to hear it preached, to study it, to count oneself among the faithful, and then to turn away is to become apostate. Sinning willfully carries with it the idea of sinning continually and deliberately. Such a person does not sin because of ignorance, nor is he carried away by momentary temptations he is too weak to resist. The willful sinner sins because of an established way of thinking and acting which he has no desire to give up. The true believer, on the other hand, is one who lapses into sin and loses temporary fellowship with God. But he will eventually come back to God in repentance because his heavenly Father will continually woo and convict him until he can’t stay away any longer. The true apostate will continue to sin, deliberately, willingly and with abandon. John tells us that “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” (1 John 3:9).

Apostates have knowledge, but no application of that knowledge. They can be found in the presence of the light of Christ, mostly in the church, among God’s people. Judas Iscariot is the perfect example—he had knowledge but he lacked true faith. No other rejector of the truth had more or better exposure to the love and grace of God than Judas. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, eating, sleeping, and traveling with Him for years. He saw the miracles and heard the words of God from Jesus’ very lips, from the best preacher the world has ever known, and yet he not only turned away but was instrumental in the plot to kill Jesus.

Having turned his back on the truth, and with full knowledge choosing to willfully and continually sin, the apostate is then beyond salvation because he has rejected the one true sacrifice for sins: the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ’s sacrifice is rejected, then all hope of salvation is gone. To turn away willfully from this sacrifice leaves no sacrifice; it leaves only sin, the penalty for which is eternal death. This passage is not speaking of a believer who falls away, but rather someone who may claim to be a believer, but truly is not. Anyone who apostatizes is proving he never had genuine faith to begin with (1 John 2:19).

Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/