I will say I am fairly new to the faith. I was Saved a few years ago. After that time though, I did not have a home church, and fell away from the faith and from God for a bit. I never stopped believing, but I fell away.I have decided to rededicate my life to Christ. I was having a conversation with a very good friend, who is also quite new to the faith, and our conversation did not go the way I had hoped. She said that she wanted me to have a good, deep, meaningful conversation with God, because she didn't know if I was saved or not. Now, obviously, it is not up to anyone else to tell you if you trust and believe in Jesus and his death for you. She brought up some good points though, and I was wondering what other people's thoughts were.She said that when she was Saved, she had a great conversion experience. Emotional, deep, it hit her hard. I know that when I had my Saving experience a few years ago, I had this same thought. I was condemned to hell if I did not repent and change my life. Needless to say, after committing my life to Christ, it didn't go as well as planned. This time, I am trying to change it.What I wasn't so sure about though, was the "RE-Saved" part. Should I be looking for another hard hitting conversion experience this second time around? I know I have sinned greatly in my time away, but what exactly is involved in recommitting your life to Christ? What is the difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word, and being Saved? Is there a difference? Does one always begin their new life in Christ with a deep conversion experience? If you fall away, and begin again, how big of a difference should one expect between the first time, and the second time with the actual belief (if they change themselves and put in the effort to live by God's word to their fullest extent)? There are many more questions that I haven't asked, or even fully fleshed out in my head.This is one of my best friends, which is why these questions she raised have caused so much thought on my part about this subject. I, again, am fairly new to the faith, and am only beginning to dedicate my time to Jesus, reading God's word, changing my life around. I have prayed the prayers of saving every time I have come across them in my pamphlets at church about faith, or when there is a general (private) prayer at Bible study. I have meant it every time I have prayed it.I am just afraid I am missing something. I had the fear of God change me my first time. Now that I am rededicating, after a few years of being away, I have chosen to change my life, but no big changes internally have happened yet. I don't want to be closed off from God, as I know I need his help to fully live out His word, to fully and completely live my life for Him.
Saved once.. Rededicated, or Saved Again?
- Thread starter DiffractedMemory
- Start date
-
Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.
You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
If you were saved and you never stopped believing then all you need do is repent for your falling away thats it. You do not need resaving.
(DiffractedMemory;49518)
I will say I am fairly new to the faith. I was Saved a few years ago. After that time though, I did not have a home church, and fell away from the faith and from God for a bit. I never stopped believing, but I fell away.I have decided to rededicate my life to Christ. I was having a conversation with a very good friend, who is also quite new to the faith, and our conversation did not go the way I had hoped. She said that she wanted me to have a good, deep, meaningful conversation with God, because she didn't know if I was saved or not. Now, obviously, it is not up to anyone else to tell you if you trust and believe in Jesus and his death for you. She brought up some good points though, and I was wondering what other people's thoughts were.She said that when she was Saved, she had a great conversion experience. Emotional, deep, it hit her hard. I know that when I had my Saving experience a few years ago, I had this same thought. I was condemned to hell if I did not repent and change my life. Needless to say, after committing my life to Christ, it didn't go as well as planned. This time, I am trying to change it.What I wasn't so sure about though, was the "RE-Saved" part. Should I be looking for another hard hitting conversion experience this second time around? I know I have sinned greatly in my time away, but what exactly is involved in recommitting your life to Christ? What is the difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word, and being Saved? Is there a difference? Does one always begin their new life in Christ with a deep conversion experience? If you fall away, and begin again, how big of a difference should one expect between the first time, and the second time with the actual belief (if they change themselves and put in the effort to live by God's word to their fullest extent)? There are many more questions that I haven't asked, or even fully fleshed out in my head.This is one of my best friends, which is why these questions she raised have caused so much thought on my part about this subject. I, again, am fairly new to the faith, and am only beginning to dedicate my time to Jesus, reading God's word, changing my life around. I have prayed the prayers of saving every time I have come across them in my pamphlets at church about faith, or when there is a general (private) prayer at Bible study. I have meant it every time I have prayed it.I am just afraid I am missing something. I had the fear of God change me my first time. Now that I am rededicating, after a few years of being away, I have chosen to change my life, but no big changes internally have happened yet. I don't want to be closed off from God, as I know I need his help to fully live out His word, to fully and completely live my life for Him.
The Bible says, "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Now, most people will stop right there and say that there is no more to it, but by answering your next question, maybe I can explain it...What is the difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word, and being Saved? Is there a difference?There is no difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word; if you really, truly believe in Jesus, you will change the way you live. That is what repentance is -- turning around from the course you were on to take a different course. Your lifestyle will show that you really do believe. That is where a lot of people get confused; they think that either you have to work to earn your way into heaven, or you don't have to do anything and you are saved forever and ever, amen. The truth is, when the Bible mentions works, it tells us that we can never earn our way into heaven, but we receive God's gracious gift. After that, we prove our love to/faith in Him by obeying Him, doing what He commands in His word -- changing our lifestyles. And we should never try to change on our own, because we can't; we should ask God to help us, because He is our helper, and He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Does one always begin their new life in Christ with a deep conversion experience?I don't think everyone has a dramatic, conversion experience. Some people don't experience anything dramatic, but they do experience different things (i.e. peace, joy, etc.). Only God knows if a person has truly converted; let Him be the judge of that.
I can promise you, though, that God will be with you every step of the way, and it will be the best experience of a "walk with God" that you will enjoy. That is not to say that there will not be hard times, but He will be with you to help you through them. God will continue to show you things and open your understanding, if you'll let Him, by reading the Bible every day and praying to Him for help. If you fall away, and begin again, how big of a difference should one expect between the first time, and the second time with the actual belief?God is no respector of persons, so if you fall away and you come back, He promised to welcome you back with open arms, because you are His child (read about the prodigal son in Luke 15). There will not be a difference between now and when you first came to Him. He loves you just the same, and He knows if you are serious about "changing yourself and putting in the effort to live by God's word to your fullest extent." If you mess up, and you are really trying to life for God, He will forgive you -- I promise, and so does He.:read: The important thing to remember is this: When you mess up, don't stay down in the dirt. Get back up again, come back to God and repent, and He will forgive you.If you want to talk more about this with me, feel free to PM me anytime... I'll be praying for you. 
ray4:
I will say I am fairly new to the faith. I was Saved a few years ago. After that time though, I did not have a home church, and fell away from the faith and from God for a bit. I never stopped believing, but I fell away.I have decided to rededicate my life to Christ. I was having a conversation with a very good friend, who is also quite new to the faith, and our conversation did not go the way I had hoped. She said that she wanted me to have a good, deep, meaningful conversation with God, because she didn't know if I was saved or not. Now, obviously, it is not up to anyone else to tell you if you trust and believe in Jesus and his death for you. She brought up some good points though, and I was wondering what other people's thoughts were.She said that when she was Saved, she had a great conversion experience. Emotional, deep, it hit her hard. I know that when I had my Saving experience a few years ago, I had this same thought. I was condemned to hell if I did not repent and change my life. Needless to say, after committing my life to Christ, it didn't go as well as planned. This time, I am trying to change it.What I wasn't so sure about though, was the "RE-Saved" part. Should I be looking for another hard hitting conversion experience this second time around? I know I have sinned greatly in my time away, but what exactly is involved in recommitting your life to Christ? What is the difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word, and being Saved? Is there a difference? Does one always begin their new life in Christ with a deep conversion experience? If you fall away, and begin again, how big of a difference should one expect between the first time, and the second time with the actual belief (if they change themselves and put in the effort to live by God's word to their fullest extent)? There are many more questions that I haven't asked, or even fully fleshed out in my head.This is one of my best friends, which is why these questions she raised have caused so much thought on my part about this subject. I, again, am fairly new to the faith, and am only beginning to dedicate my time to Jesus, reading God's word, changing my life around. I have prayed the prayers of saving every time I have come across them in my pamphlets at church about faith, or when there is a general (private) prayer at Bible study. I have meant it every time I have prayed it.I am just afraid I am missing something. I had the fear of God change me my first time. Now that I am rededicating, after a few years of being away, I have chosen to change my life, but no big changes internally have happened yet. I don't want to be closed off from God, as I know I need his help to fully live out His word, to fully and completely live my life for Him.
The Bible says, "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Now, most people will stop right there and say that there is no more to it, but by answering your next question, maybe I can explain it...What is the difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word, and being Saved? Is there a difference?There is no difference between believing with your heart and living out God's word; if you really, truly believe in Jesus, you will change the way you live. That is what repentance is -- turning around from the course you were on to take a different course. Your lifestyle will show that you really do believe. That is where a lot of people get confused; they think that either you have to work to earn your way into heaven, or you don't have to do anything and you are saved forever and ever, amen. The truth is, when the Bible mentions works, it tells us that we can never earn our way into heaven, but we receive God's gracious gift. After that, we prove our love to/faith in Him by obeying Him, doing what He commands in His word -- changing our lifestyles. And we should never try to change on our own, because we can't; we should ask God to help us, because He is our helper, and He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Does one always begin their new life in Christ with a deep conversion experience?I don't think everyone has a dramatic, conversion experience. Some people don't experience anything dramatic, but they do experience different things (i.e. peace, joy, etc.). Only God knows if a person has truly converted; let Him be the judge of that.
ray4:Similar threads
