Once Saved .. Forever Saved ???

I don’t think so! I can present numerous amounts of Scriptures to prove my point. I understand that this debate has existed in Church history over the years, and I am not trying to resolve it here. It’s my thoughts that are presented to support what I believe in.
Salvation is free, of course – no denying that fact. But there is something which I am supposed to do in response to receiving that salvation, until the time I leave this earth … and I am supposed to work out my ‘salvation’ with fear and trembling, as Paul would say to the church in Philippi (cf. Phil.2:12).

Ephesians 1:15-23
It’s one of those prayers, which Paul prays for the ‘believers’ at the church in Ephesus. I believe this entire passage is ONE verse in Greek, which is broken down into many verses for our reading & understanding. Note: it’s for the believers, those who have accepted the Lord Jesus and are part of the Kingdom.

When I look at vs.15 – Paul talks about their FAITH in the Lord, and their LOVE for the saints. The 3rd key element/ingredient for our Christian belief is missing here, ie: HOPE.
And, Paul goes on to mention that he has NOT ceased to pray for them. Why does Paul need to pray for someone who knows God (when there are others, who have not even heard about Him even once), and someone who walks in light of God’s Word.
Paul had spent a considerable amount of time in the city of Ephesus. Though he had passed through Ephesus during his II MJ (cf. Acts 18:19-21), it was during his III MJ in Ephesus that he stayed here for approx. 3 ½ yrs. (cf. Acts 20:31).

In vs.17, he prays that they will be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that they might know God better.
It’s interesting that these people already know God, but Paul’s prayer is that they know more of Him.
- How many of us settle for what we know already of God?
- Is there a desire and a hunger to know Him more?

Vs.18 – hits the nail on the coffin, as it were, as he talks about their hearts being enlightened to the HOPE which He has called them into. So clearly, Paul is not happy with the fact, that these people have 2 out of the 3 cardinal virtues of Christianity.
- And why should we settle anyway? All 3 put together make for an exciting adventure & a meaningful Christian life.

And this is exactly why “ONCE SAVED FOREVER SAVED” concept will not work, in my understanding. The believers in Ephesus had been Christians for a number of years … 3 yrs. under Paul’s guidance and warning and encouragement during his III MJ; and then the rest of the years about 7-9 yrs. until the time he wrote this epistle to them … it’s been a long time.
So, there are a number of necessary ingredients, for a fruitful walk, which is missing the moment we choose to follow our Lord. It needs to be worked out. Certain things are shaped in us as we commit to a discipline and follow it through.

The whole of Chp.3 to the church in Colossae is dedicated to living a disciplined life-style here on earth.
Romans chp.12 is dedicated to renewing our mind and our thought life.
Almost all the epistles which Paul wrote, the latter half of it are dedicated to the way we walk our Christian life on a day-to-day basis.

Let me sum up this thought, with a concept which I once heard in a different context, but works very well here:
If I am wrong in my belief about having to discipline myself to live my life here on earth, then I have nothing to lose at the end (the only thing is that, I could have lived my life a lot more liberally and licentiously); On the contrary, for those who believe that they cannot lose their salvation, by the choices they make here … if they are wrong, then it’s a matter of eternity / life & death.

So, I choose to err on the 'right' side!