Yes brother your right. I'm trying to say that a born again believer can loose his/her salvation by willfully going astray. I'm not talking about the unbelievers.
But God is a gracious God. He still gives chances, to turn back to Him. He is still faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to Him. There is no other way to eternal life, but through Jesus.
God bless you.
I respectfully think that you have this wrong. Paul is talking about "Willfull" sinners as never being saved in the first place. A "Born-Again" person does not go around willfully sinning. I have news for you, all Christians sin and will until the day they die in the flesh!..but willfuly, no!
Look at Webster's definition of willful: "governed by the will without yielding to reason,obstinate: intentional"
If you have Christ living in you, you are constanly being convicted by the Holy Spirit and you are not going to say: "No, I am goining to do this sin no matter what you say God!...because I want to and it feels good!"
Too many Christians , if they have some degree of habitual sin in their lives , feel they therefore are not saved, that God must not not love and care about them. They often get in this "yo-yo" up and down cyle with God because, of their feeling good about themselves one time and then come crashing down because they just messed up. That is not willful, this is being out of control with the flesh. I know that there are many drug, alcohol,sex addicted people that go through this cyclel, are they all therefore not saved, absolutely NOT!
God tells us that the only unpardonable (un-forgiveable) sin is unbelief. This also means that any willfull sinner, as long as they are alive, can still be reconciled to God and be saved.
Being a believer and receiver of the Holy Spirit, does not automatically free you from sin. It is a life long process of God refining you and making you righteous. But since you are not perfect yet, it is Jesus Christ's righteousness, in you, that will carry you through to the end.
Sin is important because it does seperates us from God but, why? God is absolute perfection and we are not. It is like it is a natural law that He has set up from the begining, that, absolute perfection can not coexist with perfection...Him! Or hope in heaven is not our salvation, the millesecond that you are "Born-Again", your salvation is secure and has already come. Our hope in heaven is in our glory to come, being made perfect (finally sinless) so we can look at God "face to face", as St. Paul describes it and, coexist with Him forever..halleluja and amen!
Your sin is important but unless you are not a true believer, your sin will no longer seperate you from God. You have to keep working on it, through prayer, reading God's word and your own due deligence in allowing Jesus Christ to continually gain control in your life, allowing Him to live His lifer through you.
Have faith in Him and He will continually remove the things that seperate Him from you!
