What is Salvation?

​Growing up in a couple different General Baptist Churches, I can't really remember many discussions about theology, but I can remember that we were taught that we could lose our salvation....it follows that most Sundays we would be preached a sermon that would be described as evangelistic.....I was blessed in that the ministers I sat under growing up were good men, who didn't fall away into some immorality etc as many smaller and larger churches pastors have over the years....it took me some time to think this through but it was an obvious conclusion....IF A PERSON CAN LOSE THEIR SALVATION, THEY WILL! In fact, you'd lose it every day....So it follows that every Sunday we heard some semblance of a fire and brimstone evangelistic message .... having said that, I remember one Saturday while I was preparing a sermon, it was raining outside and I really couldn't do much of anything all day so I decided to do some research on the founder of the General Baptist denomination, Benoni Stinson....From what I can gather, he was an excellent orator and debater, and had a heart for God and evangelism.....I also think he felt it very necessary to speak out against the evils of what we would now call "hyper Calvinism" [no need for furtherance of that for now].....I read where he debated a minister named Joel Hume in Owensville, IN in they year 1863 for 5 days over the doctrine of the Atonement.....it's actually a fascinating read and can be found on various websites if you just google Stinson Hume debate.....anyhow they debated for 5 days basically over mans ability or inability to receive the doctrines of grace on his own ..... I noticed one topic they never debated in those 5 days however.....they never debated whether a man could lose his salvation.....would you like to know why?? Because Benoni Stinson, the founder of the General Baptist denomination, believed in the eternal security of the true believer, that's why.....Over the years I found out that the orthodox position of all Protestant Reformed Churches was that true believers were secure in their salvation [The Roman Catholic Church has always believed salvation is through the church itself, so of course they want you to believe you can be excommunicated ie, lose your salvation].....but over time, certain sects of different denominations and denominations altogether began to reason that one could in fact, lose their salvation.....

In 1949 the General Baptist Denomination, long after Brother Stinsons passing, went the way of other sects and denominations and rewrote their doctrine book to say that man has a free will and can give his salvation away .... 

Now I'm going to refute that notion in 20 seconds time.....if Benoni Stinson were alive, he would have slapped the committee that were putting this doctrine change together in 1949....by simply asking 2 questions: 
 
1. What is Salvation?

We can't use our feelings to answer this question....we can't use our experience to answer this question.....we can only use Scripture to answer this ..... 
Ephesians 2:8–9 (KJV 1900) — 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
there is literally no other scriptural answer for the definition of salvation more clear than this one.....if you add anything to this, you are corrupting the Word of God 

I asked a guy who grew up in a holiness church, what is salvation....his answer was....well it is by grace through faith, and obedience.....I stopped him there....I asked, is obedience an evidence of salvation or a requirement? He said, a requirement....he gave himself away that fast

I said you realize that obedience is a work right?? And it is also very subjective....you see, people who believe things like this are the most miserable of all Christians....don't believe me? Read HA Ironsides classic book "Holiness, the false and the true" 

So, scripturally speaking, salvation is by grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast....

what do all people who are truly saved have in common?? We would all give God the glory for saving us....we would never say something like, well I decided the Christian life was the best life.....because I like to live right and do good things.....

No! Salvation is not by works but by grace through faith.....and God always gets the glory.....

So now, for my 2nd question:

2. If Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works....I'm not going to ask you if you can lose your salvation, I'm going to ask you how can you keep it?? 

You get it?? if you say well, I keep it by praying, by reading, by witnessing, by etc etc etc......again what is salvation?? grace through faith, not by works.....these things we do BECAUSE we are saved, not to keep us saved [there will/should be evidence of salvation in true believers!]....the passage in the very beginning of my now lengthy post gives us the answer as to how one keeps their salvation:
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
 
see how all that works together?? It is God who keeps us.....Jesus said He'd leave the 99 and go get the one lost sheep [true believer]....our salvation is secure in Jesus Christ.....if someone says, well I lost my religion?? Let me explain to you what that person is.... not a true believer but a make believer.....that is the famous J Vernon McGee line:  "I believe in the security of the believer and in the insecurity of the make believer" 

So I can consider myself an "Orthodox General Baptist" haha.....I doubt most GB's even know that this doctrine was changed in 1949....I guarantee the 2 questions I asked above would withstand any argument from any of their "legal scholars" as though they had any....life is difficult enough as it is....I feel like we need to make the Bible as simple to understand as possible without losing the main theme.....the main theme isn't mans works, my friends....the main theme is the work of God in man through Jesus Christ....and this isn't a willy nilly here today gone tomorrow thing.....that's foolishness....this work is for eternity.....and beyond AMEN!