24 Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done.” ~ Matthew 16:24-27
It’s often argued that once we accept salvation that’s it. You’re sealed forever. And if you sin and fall away, then obviously you were never saved in the first place. Now, I want you to think about this, if we can’t give up our salvation or be separated from Jesus, that would mean that we have no control over our soul and our own destiny, but this isn’t the case at all. God has set life and death before us, and it is our choice to choose or to reject.
In fact, Jesus blatantly says we have to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command. He didn’t just say believe in me. Accept my free gift of salvation. Just have faith. No. Jesus said you have to perform a physical and spiritual action in order to retain your salvation. Faith is not just a “I believe, and that’s it” word because even the demons believe and shutter. It is an action word. Faith without works is dead (James 2:20).
There is nothing in Scripture that hints at us not being responsible for retaining our salvation. Yes, we can never obtain salvation on our own, but once we accept salvation we are expected to run the race set before us, not just live our lives however we want to. So, do not be deceived, your actions directly impact your relationship with God and therefore, your eternal destination.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Work Out Your Salvation.