In the boat.
Can you lose your salvation? What’s a parent to do?
It’s a theological question for scholars and a source of fear for some believers. Others worry, not for their own salvation, but for the eternal future of someone they love. Historically, Calvinists, who teach a limited atonement believe that, if God calls a person to salvation, they cannot be cast aside — and they can’t cast themselves out, either unless they engage in deliberate and conscious apostasy. Arminians, who teach an atonement for all based on a free-will decision to receive the gift of salvation must also believe in a free-will rejection of salvation, even if once claimed. The Molinist view is complex (as are most Molinist views), asserting that, while Christians are able to fall away, they won’t because God’s middle knowledge allows Him to prevent such action.
For parents of children raised in the Christian faith, children who appeared to be solid in their beliefs before college, the young adult years are terrifying. College and adult experiences so often seem to pull people away from the faith, and parents who “checked all the boxes” often feel like they missed something when their children make choices or statements that counter their previous assertions of salvation. The temptation is to pressure grown children to return to their childhood faith, but the pressure is often tantamount to nagging, which only serves to drive them…
