God is all about life! As a matter of fact, Jesus described Himself as life, and not just any life, but "the life" (Jn. 14:6). We are saved by Christ's life (Rm. 5:10) and revealed to God through Jesus' life (Col. 3:4).

If we are participants in the life of Christ as His followers and disciples, how secure should we be?

By God's definition of "life," if you are without Christ, you are without life. In other words, you are dead.

The logic of those who believe you can lose your salvation must go something like this: If Christ is our life, and from God's perspective there is no life apart from Christ, then sometimes you have life and sometimes you do not based solely upon your performance, not God's definition of life.

There are many who cling to this theology rooted in performance-based acceptance. But since God's value for eternity is based upon life—the life of Christ—to hold to performance-based theology in order to determine acceptance is a serious problem to resolve theologically. I have yet to hear convincing arguments to resolve this problem. Certainly, I run across those who proof-text their performance-based standing with God from isolated Scriptures that they interpret from their perspective. But solid theology anchored in the whole counsel of Scripture? No. Never.

If salvation means that you are transferred from one lineage to another, from death to life, from separation to fellowship, from alien to family, from in Adam to in Christ then to drift back and forth between these opposing positions is a formidable trick!

Make no mistake: God is not soft on His requirements for solid performance, and neither am I; we just have not addressed that subject yet.

Keep reading.