I believe what James is talking about here is that you can see the person's spiritual status by what they do. This is much like when Jesus told the disciples that one can see what kind of tree they are looking at by the fruit that it bears. If we are saved, naturally we will do works for Christ, but it is not the works that saves us; works are result of salvation, not a prerequisite.

Furthermore, I think it is clear throughout the Bible that Jesus is everything, that He is enough for our salvation-- Jesus + nothing = enough. And if we start adding anything to Jesus for salvation, that requires Jesus to no longer be enough. This is a direct insult to the cross because when you say you must add something to Jesus to be saved, you are saying Jesus' blood shed was not enough. Jesus + nothing = salvation.

in hebrews 10:26-27 it says that if we continue to sin we trample the precious blood of Jesus. Meaning that if we believe in Jesus through faith, but continue to sin we will still go to hell. This scripture doesn't fit your theology. In 1 John it says that if we do not obey the commands of God then the Truth is not in us. how do you reconcile with the book of 1 John?

You are misinterpreting Hebrews 10:26-27; the author was suggesting that just because you are saved doesn't mean you can live however you want. He was suggesting that because you are saved you should live like it--not that we are perfect when we are saved, because we're not perfect, but we should strive to live as closely to Jesus as we can. What he was suggesting here was that if we are saved yet we continue to live like we lived before we accepted Christ, then that is mocking the Cross because we're basically showing that Christ didn't do anything in us to change us, but that doesn't mean

we are "unsaved;" the author was, again, just urging those who profess to be Christians to live like it, to bear the "good fruit". And about 1 John, it's the same principle. he's talking about how we can typically see who is saved and not saved by the fruit people bear, again, much like Jesus said. As children of God we should want to always stive to obey God's every command for our lives. And that is what those passages are alluding to.

So even tho we are mocking the cross by sinning we are still saved? I think I just read that in your comments...

Yes, once you are saved, you can't be "unsaved" no matter what you do. And just because you are saved, that does not make you perfect while you're here on earth. We won't be perfect until we get to heaven. What happens when we are saved is that we are placed "in Christ" as Paul mentions bountifully throughout his writings. But just because we are "in Christ" does not mean that we cannot sin, it just means when God looks at us instead of seeing our sinfulness, He sees Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.

Further, if you believe that you can lose your salvation, you are again misled, because that is adding works to the cross. Why? because you claim that once you sin, that makes you lose your salvation. What are you saying with that statement? You're saying that Jesus' blood was good enough to save you the first time, but it wasn't good enough to cleanse you of this sin that made you "fall from grace." This is entirely false, because of the fact that Jesus + nothing = salvation. To say you can commit sin (aka a work) and lose your salvation is mocking the cross because that is saying that

the cross was not good enough.

There are several verses that show that you can lose your salvation

First, I just want you to know I hope you don't feel like I was attacking you for this, I honestly didn't mean that if you took it that way. I am just passionate about my faith and sometimes I can get hyper and express my points in ways that come off as "attacking"

no at all

And if I came off that way, I am truly sorry. The fact of the matter is if I am wrong I will readily admit that I am wrong. It's just that at this point I feel that I have the right idea about this. And that's not pride talking, I just really feel that my conviction about this is correct.

Quite alright. a conversation is just a conversation.

look at this question that I had possed quit some time ago

is once saved always saved biblical

and the answer with the clearest scripture is the one that I chose to be correct.

please read all of the answers to this q

You can see that the evidence for losing your salvation is much clearer and much more prominent then the scripture about not losing your salvation.

And also, I feel that I need to do some more research regarding this. I followed your link above and I agree those passages seem to possibly lead to support "falling from grace" But I feel like I still need to research some more about this before I can have a full-on conversation about it, you know?

no problem.

What I'm saying is, can I research this more and come back to you?

I understood your Q.

I really appreciate your comments and challenge because this is obviously a topic God wants me to dig into more.

lol

If you have any questions about losing your salvation please ask me. I've done a lot of research on it.

room topic changed to Can I lose my salvation?: Imported from a comment discussion on christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/3138/… [commandments] [jesus] [salvation]

Renamed per this discussion

Ok, definitely. You'll be hearing from me soon. Thanks!