Hi Peggy,
First of all you have to know God to lose Him, and this is not even talking about the many called. The called are not given the Holy Spirit, it is the chosen. But of those few given His Spirit not all keep it. Just look at the parable of the sower, it shows some of the way to lose it.
Mat 13:3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
Mat 13:4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
So here is a person that has his eyes opened, but not for long, here is the explanation of this verse.
Mat 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
Okay there are more that receive His Spirit.
Mat 13:5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
Mat 13:6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
And here are the verses that explain what happened to them.
Mat 13:20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Mat 13:21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
Mat 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
Mat 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Mat 13:8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Mat 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
Mat 13:9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
So I would say yes you can lose God. But understand these were never destined to be the Elect and to endure to the end. But we don't know who will endure to the end and who won't.
Here is a excerpt from the transcript that David mentioned.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,7047.0.html -------
See Paul was in the contest, then he could be rejected.
(YLT) 1 Cor 9:27 but I chastise my body, and bring it into servitude, lest by any means, having preached to others--I myself may become disapproved.
So while you are doing right you are approved, qualified, your in the race. But if you give up or you turn or you just sin willfully, willingly, knowingly hate your brother, then it’s gone. It can happen. Maybe I just need to explain why is that so.
Because the flesh is weak. Know how much spiritual stuff we know, well we are still very very weak. If we knew we didn’t have to persevere, guess what? Maybe most of the time or at least some of the time… we wouldn’t. Maybe sometimes you would try to resist the temptation to go out with another woman, if you were married, but not all the time, sometimes you might give in. So He doesn’t tell us.
That’s the thing I learned a long time ago, probably at least eight years ago. The verse that set that off to me was where it says Christ knows those that are His.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own…
Well what does that mean? Christ knows those that are His. I get from that, that we don’t know, we don’t.
--------------------------------------------------
But we should not give up hope, because we could be among those few. It is worth all the effort we put in this struggle to be one of His.
Here is another excerpt.
---------------------------------------------------
Now I have read you from Peter, which is to me, it is a very inspiring Scripture. Because we are not left totally in the dark. He is like, well it’s Que Sera Sera - maybe you will, maybe you won’t. Now here are some of these promises. Peter says;
2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
v. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
v. 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
v. 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love).
v. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for IF (there that little word “if” again) ye do these things (but here is the consolation, here is the inspiration, the hope and assurance…), ye shall never fall:
Now that’s pretty good. So all these things Paul is talking about here, I bring it into subjection, I bind it, I turn myself into a slave for Christ, lest I myself should be rejected or turned away or unapproved or disqualified. But if we “do these things.”
No matter how hard these things are they are benefits, all of this doing of this stuff is called OVERCOMING. I have a lot of stuff to overcome yet.
------------------------------------------------------
mercy, peace and love
Kat