re: How is it possible that some Protestant churches support gay marriage?

One of the greatest dangers in how the phrase “once saved always saved” is often presented is the false confidence it can create in new believers. When someone first comes to faith, they may be told that saying a prayer or making a verbal confession guarantees eternal salvation regardless of how they live afterward. This kind of message can lead someone to believe that no real change is necessary. They may continue living a worldly life while assuming they are spiritually secure.

But that is not what Scripture teaches. The New Testament consistently urges believers to remain faithful, to hold fast to the truth, and to continue walking with Christ. Hebrews warns about those who were once enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift but then fell away. Second Peter speaks of people who escaped the corruption of the world through knowing Christ but returned to it. These are not warnings for outsiders. They are directed at those who were already in the faith. If it were not possible to walk away, these passages would have no purpose. Salvation is not a one-time box we check. It is a relationship we live out each day.

This is especially important for new believers to understand. If we fail to teach the need for perseverance and transformation, we risk leaving people with a false assurance. They may believe they are saved while continuing in disobedience. But true salvation changes us. It produces repentance, obedience, and a new heart. Following Jesus is not just about a moment of belief. It is about a lifelong journey of surrender. Redemption is not simply repeating words. It is becoming a new creation.

This is also where many people misunderstand the idea of faith alone, or sola fide. The Reformers rightly taught that we are saved by faith and not by works. But some have taken that to mean works and obedience do not matter at all. Scripture never presents faith as a passive or shallow belief. True saving faith is alive. It is proven by how we live. As James says, faith without works is dead. If we teach faith alone, we must also teach that real faith always leads to a transformed life.

Now maybe you are right and we truly cannot walk away from salvation once we are in Christ. Or maybe I am right and we can. But either way, the real danger is in how this phrase once saved always saved is received by those who are young in the faith or not well taught. It can become a slogan that creates confusion and false security. It can lead someone to believe they are safe while continuing to live in rebellion. That kind of misunderstanding is spiritually dangerous. So whatever our position, we should be united in teaching that salvation is not just about a beginning. It is about endurance, faithfulness, and a life that reflects the grace we have received.

quote:

---

I don’t adhere to the Old Testament teachings that would condemn her to Hell. There’s a reason there is a New Testament.

---

Jesus spoke about hell more than heaven or any other subject.

quote:

---

We lead from the front [like Christ himself], not pushing from behind

---

Baw, I see what you did there!!!!!!

Furthermore, the idea that God would create souls knowing that they are destined for damnation is not just depressing, it’s devastating.

So what has to happen for us to become saved in your opinion?

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.

I'm taking him at His word. When I heard the gospel and believed it, He saved me. He deposited his spirit in my heart and I am signed sealed and delivered until he comes to get me. That's what it says.

All of the turning from sin and remaining faithful come "after" you believe. If you are truly saved and wander into sin, he comes to get you. If you remain faithless, he remains faithful because he cannot deny himself and when we come to him we are "in Christ"; we are one with him. He will never ever leave us or forsake us. He promised his Father he wouldn't.

If anyone could walk away or drift away it would be me. I give him praise and glory every day for saving me, restoring me when I wandered, and the hope and assurance I have because I know he truly took care of it all. God's plan of salvation is indeed "finished" and he wants us to believe him.

Just so I fully understand, please entertain this hypothetical. A man comes to the realization that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died on the cross for our sins on Wednesday, and then he murders his brother in cold blood on Thursday and does not repent. Is that man saved? Why or why not?

quote:

---

It's not about us. It's about Him. He has accepted responsibility for us once we believe. He made a promise to his Father to not lose one of us. How hard is that to wrap our minds around? He will never let us go. When we start adding all we must do in order to "stay" saved then we are adding "us" to the mix and saying basically that He got the ball rolling but now we have to carry it across the line.

We cannot add to what Christ accomplished on the cross for us. When we believe in his finished work and put our faith in His finished work on our behalf he saves us. Scripture says he marks us with a seal which is a deposit "guaranteeing" what is to come. That's crystal clear. Anything that says something else has to be talking about something else.

As a believer we should try to live a holy life. We should try to remain faithful, but even in our weakest moments he will never leave us. Ever.

That is the essence of the gospel. If we believe we have to add to that then we need to make sure we have truly trusted in Christ's finished work and not something else. God bless.

---

Amen. Anything else is me based, is works based, and is performance based, and the reason there’s no metrics for this in scripture is because it’s all done at the cross by the only one who can save us, Jesus, and His finished work. “It is finished” means that it is finished.

I’ve been down this road and it always boils down to no assurance, always questioning your salvation, and works rather than resting in Christ and His finished work. Only then are you able to be free, and then live in the Spirit and not the flesh.

When I first started reading scripture, and believed on Jesus, the word came alive to me in ways that blew my mind. I spent a lot of time in the word, not being able to put it down as I felt the very real peace and joy of God I had never felt before because I believed it, and the more I read the more I believed, and the more peaceful assurance I had. I wanted to share this with everyone I knew, and did, and let them know how awesome God is, and he’s not looking for our perfection, but a relationship, because the price has already been paid. I was so on fire for Him, and then I started attending this popular church and someone asked me if I had made Jesus the Lord of my life? It was at that point where I had begun to lose my peace and joy, and eventually stopped reading the scriptures because the lens I was using had changed and it was back to me again, and I couldn’t do it, felt defeated, constantly depressed, and no assurance anymore and drifted away, not from belief, but from fellowship believing myself to be under condemnation.

Only now do I know what a trap that was, and I fell right in it.

So as long as a man believes he can rape, pillage, murder, and blaspheme for the rest of his days and still expect salvation? I’m sorry brother but I can’t agree with that.

And with all due respect, I think you are misinterpreting scripture. And I think it is arrogant to suggest that you know you are saved. I hope that I will be saved.

quote:

---

We have our oral tradition that was passed down from Christ to the apostles and then the early church fathers. The New Testament was not finalized until sever hundred years after the the beginning of the church. Personally, I think that learning from the early church fathers, who actually knew the apostles, would be a more credible source than following the interpretations of men that were born 1500-1800 years after Christ’s death.

---

To note, the major Protestant churches affirm the major councils and the creeds.
Is there a specific doctrine in particular you refer to?

As far as communion, many do believe it is more than symbolic.

But I'm not sure any think the chemicals change.