Here's what I say about this whole stop believing thing.
Once you've been saved, once you've been illuminated,
once the Holy Spirit lives inside you,
you're not gonna stop believing.
Now I believe you can doubt.
Most people in the Bible doubt it at some time or another.
The Bible talks about doubting John the Baptist's dad.
Okay, but here's the thing.
Think about this.
Let's say little kids are lied to
and told that Santa Claus is real.
Well, let's say then they grow up
and they realize, hey, that was a lie.
You know, Santa Claus is not real.
Santa Claus was not delivering those presents.
Now, thank God my parents never told me that lie.
They wanted to take credit for what they're paying for.
(audience laughing)
They're attributed to some, you know,
I don't even know, sorry, we bought that for you.
You know?
So, let's say I realize at some point,
hey, Santa's not real.
You know what I mean?
It's my mom and dad that have been giving me
this stuff all along.
Do you think later on I'm gonna go back to say,
no, Santa was real?
(audience laughing)
Do you think there's anybody who quits believing in Santa
and then goes back and says, no, Santa is real.
He's a real, you know.
No, it's a one way street, isn't it?
Believing in Santa's a one way street.
There are those who start out believing in him
and then quit believing in him,
but there are not those who reject him
and then later they just confess him
and realize Santa Claus is really watching me
when I'm asleep.
I mean, unless the US government, Santa Claus,
he ain't watching you 24/7.
You know, he doesn't have a surveillance drone
or a camera in your phone watching you.
So, you know, Santa Claus is not real.
And so it's a one-way thing.
I believe salvation is the same way.
You know, once you realize the truth of God
and the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible,
you don't go back because now you have the Holy Spirit
inside you bearing witness with your spirit
that you're a child of God.
I'm not saying that you're not gonna doubt
as you quench the spirit, as you go into sin
and get away from the word of God,
your faith may become weaker and you're gonna doubt,
but I don't necessarily believe
that you're just gonna completely just,
I don't believe that at all.
But here's the thing, even if you theoretically did,
you'd still be saved.
- Amen.
- Let's say it is possible for a person to say,
"Well, I don't believe it anymore."
You'd still be saved 'cause you're still,
I mean, if my kids stop believing that they're my kids
and say, "I think we have a different father."
This is not our dad.
You know what?
They're still my kids.
Nothing can change that, and it's the same with God.
Even if I stopped believing,
the Bible says if we believe not,
yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself.
And so if we have everlasting life, we have eternal life,
there's no way to lose that,
even if you theoretically could stop believing,
and that could be debatable, you know,
to what degree a person will stop believing.
You're still saved.
You can't lose it.
There's no way to lose it.