Salvation IS a GIFT.
IOW - it is something God HAS, and a man CAN Receive.
You imply, a man who HAS RECEIVED the Gift of Salvation, FROM GOD, is a GIFT, God foolishly Gave, and can HE TAKE IT BACK, Because a man, AFTER HAVING RECEIVED the GIFT, then Rejected God.
This is where I believe your understanding is secular and not spiritual.
When a natural man ACCEPTS GODS GIFT OF SALVATION...."that GIFT" comes with "TERMS".
It IS a precise CHOICE of the man, exercising HIS FREE WILL, to make a CONTRACT, a VOW, a SUBMISSION to the Lord.
You secularly noted, mans Freewill to Choose, then retaining that Freewill to basically "change his mind", and reject his Salvation.
Scripture teaches....God IS TRUTH. His WORD IS TRUTH.
Scripture also teaches....Inasmuch as He is Truth, He "accepts" mans "HEART'S" thoughts as Truth.
When a man CHOOSES to believe in God, and SOLICITE God Himself, (calling on His NAME), to TELL GOD of the man's (exercised Freewill)......God does not LISTEN to a mans MIND.....God LISTENS to the thoughts of a mans "natural spirit", (his "natural truth") in the mans "natural heart".
ONCE that ( a man exercising his own freewill to proclaim to the Lord his belief in his heart) IS accomplished....
The Lord Himself, Forgives the man, for NOT having believed in Him.
The Lord Himself, kills that body of Sin, washes that body of Sin, sanctifies that body of Sin, keeps that sanctified body with Christ, until the day He gives that body it's own glorification change.
Saves the mans soul, BY restoring it to good, By Gods Power;
And Gives the man an everlasting NEW heart, that it forever shall be KEPT in Belief;
And Gives the man an everlasting NEW spirit;
That it shall forever have Life in it;
And Gives that man His Own everlasting Spirit of LIFE , within the man to KEEP the mans soul, the mans spirit, Forever Alive;
And Gives that man His Own everlasting Truth, written in the mans NEW Heart.
And you propose a man WHO HAS chosen with his own Freewill to Subject himself to ALL OF THIS.....is a man WHO CAN THEREAFTER, supersede Gods Own Power, and undo ALL OF THIS....with his own Mind?
I absolutely do not agree.
Scripture teaches (and perhaps men don't teach so well)....that when a man concludes in his heart to believe in God....
Before jumping in and calling on the Lords Name......TO KNOW what he is commtting to....and to KNOW that it is a PERMANENT VOW....AND TO BE SURE of what he is committing to.
2 Pet 1:10
Wherefore the "rather", brethren,
GIVE DILIGENCE to MAKE "YOUR" CALLING and (your) ELECTION "SURE".
1 Thes 1:4
"KNOWING", brethren beloved,
"YOUR ELECTION OF GOD".
Jas 5:
....let your yea be yea and your nay, nay.
Saving of a mans soul, is completely between the man exercising his own freewill to call on the Lord's Name, with a Confession of Belief in the mans own heart, and the man VOWING to ELECT God, to Give the man the Gift of Salvation.
And no, that is not thereafter undone.
And no, that is not received because of Works of a man.
Faith IS a GIFT from God. When one is hearing/reading the Word of God they are being enlightened, ie being recipients of the TRUTH of God.
When the individual is BELIEVING what they hear/read, they are given measures of Faith.
This is not Saving, this is them receiving Faith, FOR them believing what they hear/read.
Keep hearing, reading, believing the Word...
The man will Keep receiving Faith.
Stop hearing, reading, believing the Word...
The man will Lose receiving Faith.
So can a man Lose Faith? Absolutely.
Can a man WHO is SAVED Lose Faith? No.
The difference is ONE is kept hearing, reading, believing, BY exercising his own freewill.
ONE is kept in Faithfulness, BY Gods Power.
So what about the man WHO claims He believed, WAS SAVED, but is no longer?
We know not, the choice the man made.
Perhaps he chose to submit to God, by the thoughts in his MIND, not his HEART, and then CHANGED HIS MIND.
Was the man EVER SAVED? No.
What about the man WHO claims to be SAVED, but "other men", do not SEE, his "WORKS" as good?
Did the mans "WORKS" save the man? No.
Can another man SEE Gods INTERNAL SAVING and QUICKENING of a mans "soul and spirit" ? No.
So, sure men can hear another mans testimony of being Saved. And men can see another mans Works, and trust to believe the man is Saved.
But how would one man KNOW for sure IF another man IS SAVED?
A SAVED MAN will NEVER DENY Belief IN GOD, precisely Because of the Power of God within the man.
God Bless,
Taken