Is God a gift ungiver?

There are two conflicting teachings within Christianity in regards to salvation. Either we are once saved, always saved or you can loose your salvation if you don't do what God commands. Honestly, I am confused about the matter. On one hand, we know God is merciful, kind, graceful and loving. But God is also a righteous judge and He must punish sin. Gods gift of salvation is free. Its a gift. Why would God take back the gift He gave away? He doesn't need salvation, we do. We have a choice to accept or reject the gift. Maybe its not about the validity of Gods gift, but the validity of our faith. Is our faith real? Did we really repent and were born again? Or were we caught up in our emotions and when the emotions pass, things go back to normal? Was our salvation authentic or fake? The questions are rhetorical questions. They are questions you should ask yourself and examine yourself.

There are folks who will say that God has predestined people and He knows who will be saved. So why do we need to go out into the world and preach the gospel if God already knows who will be saved? If we are predestined, then if a person is supposed to be saved, they will be saved because God commanded it. But we have free will. Some teach that we have no say in the matter when it comes to salvation and that we are too sinful to realize our need to be saved and nor can we make our own choice to follow Jesus. So God forces His salvation on those He predestined. Love doesn't force itself on others. So why would God do such a thing? If we are all predestined, then why is there a command to tell the world to repent and believe in the gospel? Did Jesus give us this task to keep us busy while we wait for His return? Or was it so that we can go find the lost and bring them to the light? Perhaps we are predestined but since God is the only one who knows who are His, and we don't, God would lead us via the Holy Spirit to those who are His so they can be found and set free from their sins. It may be a little bit of both. In Hebrews 2:3 there is great question asked. "How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?"

You know, this is important. We have to get this right in this life because what we do here will dictate where we will spend the rest of eternity. I know at least for me it is. Obviously there are some teachings that are the foundation of the faith and cannot be changed. For example, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is God the Son, the image of the invisible God. Jesus was fully man and fully God the entire time He walked on Earth. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead 3 days later. Our faith is based on those teachings. Most Christians agree with those beliefs. But when it comes to subjects regarding when the tribulation will take place or what skin color Jesus was, those are not subjects that if you don't get quite right, you wont be in sin for believing that. But we have to know and be convinced that we have accepted the gift of salvation that God graciously has given to us. I believe it dictates how a person will live. Will the person be a casual believer or a disciple of Jesus Christ? In my opinion, once saved always saved makes it too easy. Believing in Jesus is so much more profound than believing He lived once 2000 years ago. Its trusting in Him and obey His commands out of love and not out of obligation. But, I also believe that having an unhealthy fear of God is very bad for the growth of someones faith, but also is a false, unbiblical image of Jesus Christ our Lord and God. Once again, perhaps its a little of both?

Some people say "I believe that if you are once saved, always saved, you can live anyway you like because no matter what, you are saved because you prayed a prayer a long time ago." That may not always be the case. If we give Satan an inch, we all know he will take a lot more. So why give the enemy a way into someones life? When you got born again there should have been a change inside you that comes out. You are a new creature and all the old has been done away with. On the other hand, a person who lives thinking that you can loose your salvation, could lead to a life of unhealthy fear of God. Fear that God is waiting to smash you like a tiny ant at any time you commit a sin. It could also lead to a worked based faith where a person feels the need to add to their own salvation by doing works. Yes, I know that the by-product of our faith is works and without works our faith is dead. Its not the works that is the problem, its our heart and our motive. Is the works really for God or is it really for you? That is something, though, that only God can judge because He knows our real motives. There will come a day when God will judge our lives and including our true motives.

Would God take away salvation? The real question is were we ever really saved?