Can a person lose their salvation?

The answer revolves around the two kinds of relationship that we have with God if we have come to him in saving faith. The two relationships we have with God are like the two relationships a Father or Mother has with their children. First, there is the legal relationship ' by birth. And there is nothing either the parent or the child can do to change it. In the same way, in the Christian Faith, through Jesus we become adopted by God as his child. As John wrote in his gospel (John 1:12), 'To all who received him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God'. That relationship is irreversible and unbreakable too ' no matter what a person does.

The other parent-child relationship is exactly that, a parental relationship. It can be close and intimate or strained and even broken. But all the time the legal relationship remains intact. There are times when our behaviour will make God sad and it will rob us of the enjoyment of being God's child. However, there is always a way back ' John wrote that 'if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness' (1 John 1:9).

Why do I keep on failing?

It is important to know that we are accepted as we are. We can do nothing to earn or to deserve the grace of God. The Bible says that 'It is by grace you have been saved, through faith ' and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ' not by works, so that no one could boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Just as we can't earn points with God before we are forgiven, we can't earn them now. There will be times when we don't live up to our own goals and aspirations. If this failure is sin, John encourages us that 'if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness' (1 John 1:9). Talk and pray with someone that you can trust with your feelings.

Is there life on other planets? If so, where does this fit into the Christian Faith?

The answer to whether there is life on other planets is that at the present time we do not know and possibly we may never know with any certainty.

The Bible is silent on this topic and gives no hints as to the answer. However, it does say that everything that was made (all of creation) was made by God (the Father) through Jesus ' see both the beginning of Genesis and the gospel of John. God may have created life on other planets, but there again, he may not. The existence of life elsewhere does not affect the reality of God's dealings with us.

C. S. Lewis devotes a chapter entitled 'Religion and Rocketry' to exploring this question in some depth in his book 'Fern-seed and Elephants'. I recommend tracking down a copy of this for a thoughtfully argued essay on the question. The following is a very brief summary of some of his main points.

He observes that, in the past, both Christians and non-believers have both seized upon new scientific discoveries as evidence supporting their differing viewpoints. When the initial hype and speculation subsides and a considered analysis takes place, both sides find themselves much as they were before the discovery. As with these earlier precedents, should evidence of alien life be found, we have no reason to suppose that this pattern will be any different.

For the existence of 'extraterrestrials' to be a serious challenge to the Christian faith, a number of conditions must be met. For example, do animals exist elsewhere and if so are they what we would describe as rational and spiritual? If so, did their race become 'fallen' and if so, was their fall from grace comparable with that experienced by the human race? If we find a 'yes' answers all of these 'ifs', we must then consider whether we believe that God is limited to redeem such 'aliens' in the same way that we have been redeemed. An interesting diversion is to consider whether in such a scenario the redemption of such 'aliens' works through the redemption of mankind, as might be argued from Romans 8 v 19 to 23.

C. S. Lewis ends his essay with a sobering consideration of our poor track record of human behaviour on encountering strangers, new animals and unspoilt environments and the likely disaster we would precipitate upon an 'unfallen' race. He foresees exploitation and theological imperialism and muses whether 'the vast astronomical distances may not be God's quarantine precautions.'

This last thought strikes a chord with me and my personal view is that the Bible is silent on this topic because it is not something we will encounter, regardless of whether or not other races exist at all.

Finally, on a more positive note, I must conclude that the likely ongoing lack of proof of the existence of extraterrestrials will allow continued enjoyment (by some church leaders more than others) of stories of 'long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.'