Can We Keep Ourselves Saved?

Note: I'm a female blogger.

Do you think you can keep yourself saved?

If salvation depends at all upon us to keep it, we are lost.
The new birth is from above rather than of us (John 3).

So, the answer to the opening question is that we can't keep ourselves saved.

It is God who is faithful to complete what He has begun (Philippians 1:6). 

Those who turn away from the truth do not have a true living faith (James demonstrates the kind of faith that is genuine).
So, the verses that talk about those who have the knowledge of the truth and disobey or are enslaved to sin again are about those who may go to church & think they are saved, and yet their faith is not genuine. 

They may hear the truth and yet be lying about their claim to know God (1 John 2:4).

Then there are those who are genuine believers who sin, but who repent as believers.

That is where a believer confesses to God, but it is not to be justified all over again.

Other verses that demonstrate God keeps His own saved are 1 Peter 1:4-5; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:35 & 8:38-39.

Nobody can be justified by works or good deeds in order to be made right before God or obtain Heaven.
Old Testament believers were not saved by the works of the Law. 

They were saved by faith (Romans 3; Hebrews 11, Galatians 3) 

Justification has always been by a living real genuine faith (1 John 2:4), but even that faith is a gift of God. Acts 11:17-18...God grants the repentance that leads to life (also you can see Ephesians 2:8-10 & Titus 3:5-7).

So, in review:

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that we could never keep ourselves saved by our deeds. 

Deeds are the fruit ...not the root. We cannot even obey God in repentance without God.

The spiritually dead have no spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear. 

Genuine repentance transforms, and that is a change of heart that a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2;13).

with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
2 Tim. 2:25 NASB

(I notice that it talks about God granting repentance!)

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

2 Corinthians 7:10 NASB

(Simple regret and worldly sorrow is not the true repentance that is from God.)

Between hearing messages and not reading Why We're Protestant by Nate Pickowicz (I'm in chapter 4),  I've been having scriptural teaching reinforced a lot.  This isn't a new belief!