Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Can Believers Lose Their Salvation?
Can True Believers lose their salvation? It is a question that we all wonder at one point. As Christians, can we still end up in hell?
In studying the Bible to find God's Truth on whether we can lose our salvation, I followed the rule of "Primary" verses, as I always do now. Learn more about Primary Verses here.
The Truth
There are many who believe that if a Christian falls into a life of sin, they will end up in hell. This is not true! The truth is, we are saved by faith alone. Not by works of any kind, not by water baptism and not by repenting of sin. Only by faith! So long as you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, sin cannot send you to hell!
If you disagree with this statement, please read this article... How we are Saved!
Since we are saved by faith alone, then simple logic would say that "if" it is possible to lose one's salvation, it can only happen if one loses faith. Since sin cannot send a Believer to hell, then sin cannot cause us to lose our salvation. However, the truth of the matter is, it is possible to lose your salvation!
I know many of you do not agree with one aspect of this statement or another, but it is the truth according to God's Word and I will show that if you keep reading. I will not only give verses to back it up, I will explain why all of the main scripture used to support the Once Saved Always Saved theory are not as solid as they seem, and I will give you logic and reasoning as well.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NASB)
4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
The Once Saved Always Saved supporters will claim that this verse is about people who were never truly saved to begin with. This is a false claim and they know it, but they are willing to believe it anyway because basically they have no choice. If they accept this verse as truth, they are forced to accept one can lose their salvation.
The key portion of this verse is "have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit." They will try to claim that these people turned away before the Holy Spirit actually entered them. No! Let's be 100% honest with ourselves here. One cannot be a partaker, unless one actually takes part! One thing I am absolutely certain about, is that everyone who truly believes in their heart is given the Holy Spirit automatically.
Ephesians 1:13 NASB
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
After someone hears the Gospel of Christ, and they believe it in their heart, God sends the Holy Spirit to seal them with a promise. What promise is that? Salvation! So this verse makes it clear that the moment we truly believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. There is no evidence that anyone has a chance to believe but still turn the Holy Spirit away. So there is no chance that one can partake of the Holy Spirit but not be sealed by the Holy Spirit. So there is no possibility that Hebrews 6:4-6 is talking about people who were never truly saved.
The best argument I have heard made against this scripture is that it is not about those who fall away and cannot be renewed in repentance. It is a message to the church showing that if you fall away, you don't need to worry about your repentance because your salvation is already assured. There is no second rebirth because the first one is enough. They argue this verse is a verse of reassurance. .... I just don't buy that.
When you read the verse and the verses after it, it doesn't even begin to come across as a scripture of reassurance. It comes across as a heavy warning. Then shortly after, it lets those of the church know that they don't need to worry about it.
9 But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
Verse 9 is where the assurance begins, so the scripture before that is the warning!
I have heard a couple other efforts to interpret Hebrews 6:4-6 differently, but in being honest with myself, as well as with God, I could not accept them as logical. They came across to me as over reaching in order to save their stance on the debate.
So long as I cannot find an alternate interpretation of this scripture that truly comes across as logical, I must accept the truth is that it is indeed possible to be a true believer and to reach a point so low that you are no longer saved. As I pointed out before, since we are saved through faith alone, then the only possible way we can lose that salvation is by losing faith. This would include one of the following.
* Stop believing God is real
* Stop believing Jesus is the Son of God
* Stop believing Jesus died on the cross
* Stop believing Jesus rose from the dead
The big question is, how can someone who truly believes in their heart, get to the point where they no longer believe? If there is anyone still reading this, who believes sin sends you to hell, they are probably also wondering how someone who is a true believer could turn to a life of sin?
The truth is, nobody just chooses to fall into sin. Not if they are truly saved. Neither does any true believer ever just choose to stop believing. What you forget is that we have a very powerful enemy out there. The devil is extremely intelligent, deceitful and conniving. He and his dark angels will look for any crack in your armor and work at it until they get through. Believe me, in today's churches, Christians have a whole lot of cracks in their armor. They will first try to drag a Believer back into more and more sin and once they have the believer at rock bottom, they will try to convince them God is not real, or that Jesus didn't actually rise from the dead or some other lie.
I believe it would take some extenuating circumstances for a true believer to lose their salvation, but I do believe it is possible. It is possible according to scripture and it is possible using reasoning.
Consequences
You may be wondering if I am saying that Christians have a license to sin since their sin will not send them to hell. That is not what I say at all.
Other than flirting with the possibility of losing your salvation, there are two major consequences to sin. 1) It separates us from God in our personal relationship in this life. 2) It eats away at our rewards in the afterlife.
Paul tells us we are bad. We are not even able to choose God before He chooses us. Yes this is predestination and it is the truth of God's Word and anyone who studies God's Word and doesn't believe it is right, studies the word of God with a biased eye. Predestination is in the Bible and it is made very clear.
When God chooses to save us, the first thing He does is He changes our spirit to desire God. From that point on, our spirit desires to be closer to God. The closer to God we are, the happier we become inside. The further we fall from God, the more miserable we become, because we are separating our spirit from God. So no true believer will choose to chase sin. They are however, quite often dragged into a life of sin by deceit and confusion.
That is the first consequence sin has on the Believers. It separates us from God and makes us miserable in this life. The second consequence is that it eats away at our rewards in the afterlife.
We will not spend all eternity floating around with a harp and a halo and praising God, like the world portrays for heaven. God will be destroying this earth and will give us a new Earth. He will gives us rewards and new positions in life. What those rewards and positions are will depend on the good works and sins of our lives.
If someone stays right with God and focuses on their relationship with God and turns away from sin? They will reap great rewards and be given a high position with authority. A job they will love doing more. If a true believer falls into a life of sin and stays there? in the new life if their sin outweighs their good deeds, they will receive much fewer rewards if any at all. They will be made servants to others. The most important thing to realize is that these are not positions you can work your way up from. These are the positions you will be given for all eternity.
So do we have a license to sin as much as we want and still be saved? Technically yes. But it will only make you miserable in this life and it will keep you from enjoying the afterlife nearly as much as others. However, by denying sin today and getting right with God, you will be happier inside today, and you will reap the rewards and get a great position in the afterlife, making your eternity much better. Trust me, those are some heavy consequences!
Back on Subject
There are many who will want to give more verses as evidence of the Once Saved Always Saved position. As usual, I like to head some of those off ahead of time.
1 John 2:19 (NASB)
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
This is the #1 verse that supports the Once Saved Always Saved belief. To be honest it had me stumped for a bit as well. Then someone in Facebook gave me the answer and it made perfect sense. Everyone just automatically thinks of this scripture as speaking in a spiritual sense. They went out from us means they turned away from God. So obviously this is showing that if they turned away from God, they were never truly saved in the first place.
There is another interpretation that fits very well. Through his letters, Paul is often warning against false teachings bad doctrines. Different Gospels. Why can't this be about people who didn't lose faith in God, but believed in some different teachings and left the church to start their own? He isn't using the word "us" as "Christians" but as "our church"!
Paraphrased...
19 They left our church, but they were never in agreement with our teaching; for if they had been, they would have remained in our church; but they left the church, so that it would be shown that they all are not of the same beliefs as us.
Those who are Always Saved supporters will want to argue this is not the right interpretation. That it is about salvation. However, you need to have solid evidence to prove that other than just saying this is how we interpret it. Currently I see this verse being able to be interpreted either way. So long as it is possible to interpret it the other way, then you have to keep both interpretations as possible.
Now there is another strong verse the Once Saved Always Saved supporters turn to as well.
John 6:39-40 (NASB)
39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
This one also had me stumped. I couldn't see an alternate way of interpreting it. As I continued looking for explanations for it, I found a site that questioned its translation from the Greek. The NASB has " everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him". However this is not a very accurate translation. The KJV in this case is more accurate as it has "every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him". The problem is this is better but still not accurate. The word see and believe should not be a simple translation over. The Greek word is meant in a continuing way. To keep looking or to keep believing. So a more accurate translation should be...
39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who keeps looking to the Son and believing in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Now one website saying this would give me wonder but it would not be enough to convince me this could be true. However, as I continued looking, I found others making this same claim.
I still was not certain how I felt on this, but as I thought on it deeper, another thought his me. The verse says clearly that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. My question then is at what point? Is there anything in the scripture that says so long as they believe at any point in their life? No. It says that if they believe. If I throw a gathering and say that everyone who has straight hair will get a prize, does that mean anyone who ever had straight hair in their life at any time? No. Everyone would understand that to mean when they are at the party.
We all know that the "eternal life" refers to the life after we die in this world. So I believe it should clearly be understood that it is whoever believes when he dies. It doesn't matter if I believed in Jesus as the Son of God for a couple years when I was 14 years old and became an atheist in High school. The question is at what time one needs to believe. At any time in their life or when they die? Logically it would be when they die, but even if you don't agree, it doesn't matter because it could logically be when we die. As long as both are equally possible, then neither can be given more authority as the truth.
John 10:28-29 (NASB)
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
This is yet another very common verse given by those who believe you cannot lose your salvation. The thing is with this one is I fully agree with this verse as it is written. No one can snatch your salvation out of the hand of God. But this does not say that you cant turn away from it. I cannot do anything to take your salvation away. The devil and all of his angels cannot take it away from God. But your salvation is a gift from God and as with any gift, you have the authority to turn it down.
When you study the Word of God, you learn that we are saved by faith alone. Most who support the Once Saved Always Saved theory will agree with that. We are saved by believing in Jesus as Lord. Nothing else! So what happens if you stop believing?
Many of you will try to argue that it is impossible to stop believing. I dont believe that and there is nothing in the Bible that tells us that. One thing I know for a certain is that as humans, we have fragile and malleable minds. If we tell ourselves a lie enough times, we can actually convince ourselves it is the truth. So I have no reason to believe that a Christian who completely believes cannot convince himself that God is not real if he chose to go that route. You as who would choose to go that route? The answer to that is coming in a parable soon.
Romans 8:30 (NASB)
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Predestination, what a wonderful topic. I personally love this topic because I love the look on people faces when I explain it to them the first time. The look of utter shock that something so unfair seeming could be real, and the change to a look of acceptance, knowing they cannot argue the reasoning for why it is not unfair. The only argument against it is to believe that God is not all-knowing and perfect. Since we know He is, they cannot figure out how to deny it.
Still, the many verses for predestination are often used to try and prove we cannot lose our salvation. The reasoning seems flawless. Because God does not make any mistakes!
Think on it for a minute. God chooses us through foreknowledge. That foreknowledge says that God knows ahead of time if he was to change your spirit to desire Him at any point in your life, He knows if you would accept Him or reject Him. So God does not bother choosing those who will not accept Him anyway. God chooses to change only those who will serve Him. So to say that God would choose someone who would one day turn away from Him and lose faith and end up burning in hell, that is to believe God would make a mistake. Case closed right? Not exactly!
I am going to give you a little story. Just a made up story. A parable per say.
God looks into the future and sees that if He changes the spirit of John Doe on his 17th birthday, he will go to Bible college and become a preacher. He will grow very popular and over a 5 year period of time, he will lead an astounding 150,000 people to be saved. But then his wife and children will die in a car accident and John Doe will be devastated. He will withdraw from the ministry and become angry with God. A few years later he will meet another woman who will make his pain and loneliness disappear. Unfortunately her and her entire family are fun, loving and atheist. As they spend time over the years they convince John Doe that a loving God would never put him through so much pain. It was just chance and God is not real. John Doe truly puts the past behind him and becomes an atheist. He truly believes he was duped all those years to believe in a God that never really existed.
First I will point out that this was the example of someone choosing to stop believing. Anger is a powerful, powerful weapon.
Now, keep in mind that John Doe starts out as a true believer. God knows he will one day turn away and be lost forever. God has a choice. Change John's spirit so He can become saved and lead 150,000 people to Christ, but one day he will turn away and die an atheist and end up in hell, or God can never change John's spirit, he ends up in hell anyway, but never leads those people to Christ.
Can you honestly say it would be a mistake for God to change John Doe's spirit so He can be saved and end up losing his salvation?
You see? God has His plan. We don't know what that plan involves. How can we possibly say that for God to change someone who ends up losing his salvation would mean God made a mistake? It may be a part of God's plan to change someone's spirit who will one day lose his salvation, because it will mean a greater number of souls are saved.
Yes Predestination is correct. No God doesn't make mistakes. That doesn't mean God wont choose someone who will one day turn completely away and lose their salvation, if it means to further His glorious plan.
Ephesians 4:30 (NASB)
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Some think that because we are sealed, it is proof positive that we will be saved because nobody can break a seal of God. Do you know who has the right to break a seal? The one it is meant for. If a King sends a document sealed with his insignia to someone, the only person who has the right to break that seal is the one it is meant for. The day we believe, God sends the Holy Spirit to seal us with a promise. We are sealed for the day of redemption. Nobody and no spirit can break that seal, accept you!
Now you might try and argue that there is nothing in the Bible saying we can break our own seals. You would be right. There is nothing in the Bible that says that. I just made it up. Just like you are making up the fact we cannot. Because there is nothing in the Bible that says we do not have the right to break our seal. All we know for certain is that we are sealed once we believe in our heart. Whether we can break that seal or not is anyone's guess. So you cannot use that as evidence that we cannot lose our salvation when all you are doing is assuming we cannot.
Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Paul uses the word "us", he is speaking about Believers. Not the unbelievers. If someone stops believing, they are no longer a believer.
More Evidence We Can Lose Our Salvation
If you do not believe salvation can be turned away from, you might read these verses and believe you can argue them just like I argued the verses supporting Once Saved Always Saved. My answer to that is it wouldn't matter. Before any arguments against these scriptures can make a difference, you first need to explain Hebrews 6:4-6. So long as that verse stays a primary verse, then all interpreted verses must be interpreted to support it. To do anything else does not prove anything. It would only create a contradiction in God's Word. That automatically makes it wrong.
With this understood, I will not say much on these upcoming verses, but I will simply list them as support.
Galatians 5:1-5 (NASB)
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
Romans 11:18-22 (NASB)
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
Revelation 22:19 (NASB)
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Matthew 10:22 (NASB)
22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
1 Corinthians 15:2 (NASB)
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
2 Timothy 2:12 (NASB)
12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Hebrews 3:14 (NASB)
14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
Hebrews 10:26 (NASB)
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Hebrews 10:38-39 (NASB)
38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
I will give you one last bit of logic that I believe proves one can lose his salvation. All one needs to do is look at one of Jesus' own apostles.
Jesus chose 12 apostles and he sent them out to preach the gospel and He gave them authority over unclean spirits. They healed people and they drove out demons. Among them was Judas Iscariot. Some will try to argue that he was never truly saved, but that simply is not true. There is zero evidence that the first two years, Judas was any different than the rest of them. They all recognized him as one of them and he did all the things they did. He gave up everything he had to follow Jesus and after he betrayed Jesus he was so distraught with grief that he returned the money and committed suicide. Yet there is not one scholar who will say that Judas still went to heaven. Jesus said this...
Mark 14:21 (NASB)
21 For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
In studying the Bible to find God's Truth on whether we can lose our salvation, I followed the rule of "Primary" verses, as I always do now. Learn more about Primary Verses here.
The Truth
There are many who believe that if a Christian falls into a life of sin, they will end up in hell. This is not true! The truth is, we are saved by faith alone. Not by works of any kind, not by water baptism and not by repenting of sin. Only by faith! So long as you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, sin cannot send you to hell!
If you disagree with this statement, please read this article... How we are Saved!
Since we are saved by faith alone, then simple logic would say that "if" it is possible to lose one's salvation, it can only happen if one loses faith. Since sin cannot send a Believer to hell, then sin cannot cause us to lose our salvation. However, the truth of the matter is, it is possible to lose your salvation!
I know many of you do not agree with one aspect of this statement or another, but it is the truth according to God's Word and I will show that if you keep reading. I will not only give verses to back it up, I will explain why all of the main scripture used to support the Once Saved Always Saved theory are not as solid as they seem, and I will give you logic and reasoning as well.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NASB)
4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
The Once Saved Always Saved supporters will claim that this verse is about people who were never truly saved to begin with. This is a false claim and they know it, but they are willing to believe it anyway because basically they have no choice. If they accept this verse as truth, they are forced to accept one can lose their salvation.
The key portion of this verse is "have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit." They will try to claim that these people turned away before the Holy Spirit actually entered them. No! Let's be 100% honest with ourselves here. One cannot be a partaker, unless one actually takes part! One thing I am absolutely certain about, is that everyone who truly believes in their heart is given the Holy Spirit automatically.
Ephesians 1:13 NASB
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
After someone hears the Gospel of Christ, and they believe it in their heart, God sends the Holy Spirit to seal them with a promise. What promise is that? Salvation! So this verse makes it clear that the moment we truly believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. There is no evidence that anyone has a chance to believe but still turn the Holy Spirit away. So there is no chance that one can partake of the Holy Spirit but not be sealed by the Holy Spirit. So there is no possibility that Hebrews 6:4-6 is talking about people who were never truly saved.
The best argument I have heard made against this scripture is that it is not about those who fall away and cannot be renewed in repentance. It is a message to the church showing that if you fall away, you don't need to worry about your repentance because your salvation is already assured. There is no second rebirth because the first one is enough. They argue this verse is a verse of reassurance. .... I just don't buy that.
When you read the verse and the verses after it, it doesn't even begin to come across as a scripture of reassurance. It comes across as a heavy warning. Then shortly after, it lets those of the church know that they don't need to worry about it.
9 But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
Verse 9 is where the assurance begins, so the scripture before that is the warning!
I have heard a couple other efforts to interpret Hebrews 6:4-6 differently, but in being honest with myself, as well as with God, I could not accept them as logical. They came across to me as over reaching in order to save their stance on the debate.
So long as I cannot find an alternate interpretation of this scripture that truly comes across as logical, I must accept the truth is that it is indeed possible to be a true believer and to reach a point so low that you are no longer saved. As I pointed out before, since we are saved through faith alone, then the only possible way we can lose that salvation is by losing faith. This would include one of the following.
* Stop believing God is real
* Stop believing Jesus is the Son of God
* Stop believing Jesus died on the cross
* Stop believing Jesus rose from the dead
The big question is, how can someone who truly believes in their heart, get to the point where they no longer believe? If there is anyone still reading this, who believes sin sends you to hell, they are probably also wondering how someone who is a true believer could turn to a life of sin?
The truth is, nobody just chooses to fall into sin. Not if they are truly saved. Neither does any true believer ever just choose to stop believing. What you forget is that we have a very powerful enemy out there. The devil is extremely intelligent, deceitful and conniving. He and his dark angels will look for any crack in your armor and work at it until they get through. Believe me, in today's churches, Christians have a whole lot of cracks in their armor. They will first try to drag a Believer back into more and more sin and once they have the believer at rock bottom, they will try to convince them God is not real, or that Jesus didn't actually rise from the dead or some other lie.
I believe it would take some extenuating circumstances for a true believer to lose their salvation, but I do believe it is possible. It is possible according to scripture and it is possible using reasoning.
Consequences
You may be wondering if I am saying that Christians have a license to sin since their sin will not send them to hell. That is not what I say at all.
Other than flirting with the possibility of losing your salvation, there are two major consequences to sin. 1) It separates us from God in our personal relationship in this life. 2) It eats away at our rewards in the afterlife.
Paul tells us we are bad. We are not even able to choose God before He chooses us. Yes this is predestination and it is the truth of God's Word and anyone who studies God's Word and doesn't believe it is right, studies the word of God with a biased eye. Predestination is in the Bible and it is made very clear.
When God chooses to save us, the first thing He does is He changes our spirit to desire God. From that point on, our spirit desires to be closer to God. The closer to God we are, the happier we become inside. The further we fall from God, the more miserable we become, because we are separating our spirit from God. So no true believer will choose to chase sin. They are however, quite often dragged into a life of sin by deceit and confusion.
That is the first consequence sin has on the Believers. It separates us from God and makes us miserable in this life. The second consequence is that it eats away at our rewards in the afterlife.
We will not spend all eternity floating around with a harp and a halo and praising God, like the world portrays for heaven. God will be destroying this earth and will give us a new Earth. He will gives us rewards and new positions in life. What those rewards and positions are will depend on the good works and sins of our lives.
If someone stays right with God and focuses on their relationship with God and turns away from sin? They will reap great rewards and be given a high position with authority. A job they will love doing more. If a true believer falls into a life of sin and stays there? in the new life if their sin outweighs their good deeds, they will receive much fewer rewards if any at all. They will be made servants to others. The most important thing to realize is that these are not positions you can work your way up from. These are the positions you will be given for all eternity.
So do we have a license to sin as much as we want and still be saved? Technically yes. But it will only make you miserable in this life and it will keep you from enjoying the afterlife nearly as much as others. However, by denying sin today and getting right with God, you will be happier inside today, and you will reap the rewards and get a great position in the afterlife, making your eternity much better. Trust me, those are some heavy consequences!
Back on Subject
There are many who will want to give more verses as evidence of the Once Saved Always Saved position. As usual, I like to head some of those off ahead of time.
1 John 2:19 (NASB)
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
This is the #1 verse that supports the Once Saved Always Saved belief. To be honest it had me stumped for a bit as well. Then someone in Facebook gave me the answer and it made perfect sense. Everyone just automatically thinks of this scripture as speaking in a spiritual sense. They went out from us means they turned away from God. So obviously this is showing that if they turned away from God, they were never truly saved in the first place.
There is another interpretation that fits very well. Through his letters, Paul is often warning against false teachings bad doctrines. Different Gospels. Why can't this be about people who didn't lose faith in God, but believed in some different teachings and left the church to start their own? He isn't using the word "us" as "Christians" but as "our church"!
Paraphrased...
19 They left our church, but they were never in agreement with our teaching; for if they had been, they would have remained in our church; but they left the church, so that it would be shown that they all are not of the same beliefs as us.
Those who are Always Saved supporters will want to argue this is not the right interpretation. That it is about salvation. However, you need to have solid evidence to prove that other than just saying this is how we interpret it. Currently I see this verse being able to be interpreted either way. So long as it is possible to interpret it the other way, then you have to keep both interpretations as possible.
Now there is another strong verse the Once Saved Always Saved supporters turn to as well.
John 6:39-40 (NASB)
39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
This one also had me stumped. I couldn't see an alternate way of interpreting it. As I continued looking for explanations for it, I found a site that questioned its translation from the Greek. The NASB has " everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him". However this is not a very accurate translation. The KJV in this case is more accurate as it has "every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him". The problem is this is better but still not accurate. The word see and believe should not be a simple translation over. The Greek word is meant in a continuing way. To keep looking or to keep believing. So a more accurate translation should be...
39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who keeps looking to the Son and believing in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Now one website saying this would give me wonder but it would not be enough to convince me this could be true. However, as I continued looking, I found others making this same claim.
I still was not certain how I felt on this, but as I thought on it deeper, another thought his me. The verse says clearly that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. My question then is at what point? Is there anything in the scripture that says so long as they believe at any point in their life? No. It says that if they believe. If I throw a gathering and say that everyone who has straight hair will get a prize, does that mean anyone who ever had straight hair in their life at any time? No. Everyone would understand that to mean when they are at the party.
We all know that the "eternal life" refers to the life after we die in this world. So I believe it should clearly be understood that it is whoever believes when he dies. It doesn't matter if I believed in Jesus as the Son of God for a couple years when I was 14 years old and became an atheist in High school. The question is at what time one needs to believe. At any time in their life or when they die? Logically it would be when they die, but even if you don't agree, it doesn't matter because it could logically be when we die. As long as both are equally possible, then neither can be given more authority as the truth.
John 10:28-29 (NASB)
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
This is yet another very common verse given by those who believe you cannot lose your salvation. The thing is with this one is I fully agree with this verse as it is written. No one can snatch your salvation out of the hand of God. But this does not say that you cant turn away from it. I cannot do anything to take your salvation away. The devil and all of his angels cannot take it away from God. But your salvation is a gift from God and as with any gift, you have the authority to turn it down.
When you study the Word of God, you learn that we are saved by faith alone. Most who support the Once Saved Always Saved theory will agree with that. We are saved by believing in Jesus as Lord. Nothing else! So what happens if you stop believing?
Many of you will try to argue that it is impossible to stop believing. I dont believe that and there is nothing in the Bible that tells us that. One thing I know for a certain is that as humans, we have fragile and malleable minds. If we tell ourselves a lie enough times, we can actually convince ourselves it is the truth. So I have no reason to believe that a Christian who completely believes cannot convince himself that God is not real if he chose to go that route. You as who would choose to go that route? The answer to that is coming in a parable soon.
Romans 8:30 (NASB)
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Predestination, what a wonderful topic. I personally love this topic because I love the look on people faces when I explain it to them the first time. The look of utter shock that something so unfair seeming could be real, and the change to a look of acceptance, knowing they cannot argue the reasoning for why it is not unfair. The only argument against it is to believe that God is not all-knowing and perfect. Since we know He is, they cannot figure out how to deny it.
Still, the many verses for predestination are often used to try and prove we cannot lose our salvation. The reasoning seems flawless. Because God does not make any mistakes!
Think on it for a minute. God chooses us through foreknowledge. That foreknowledge says that God knows ahead of time if he was to change your spirit to desire Him at any point in your life, He knows if you would accept Him or reject Him. So God does not bother choosing those who will not accept Him anyway. God chooses to change only those who will serve Him. So to say that God would choose someone who would one day turn away from Him and lose faith and end up burning in hell, that is to believe God would make a mistake. Case closed right? Not exactly!
I am going to give you a little story. Just a made up story. A parable per say.
God looks into the future and sees that if He changes the spirit of John Doe on his 17th birthday, he will go to Bible college and become a preacher. He will grow very popular and over a 5 year period of time, he will lead an astounding 150,000 people to be saved. But then his wife and children will die in a car accident and John Doe will be devastated. He will withdraw from the ministry and become angry with God. A few years later he will meet another woman who will make his pain and loneliness disappear. Unfortunately her and her entire family are fun, loving and atheist. As they spend time over the years they convince John Doe that a loving God would never put him through so much pain. It was just chance and God is not real. John Doe truly puts the past behind him and becomes an atheist. He truly believes he was duped all those years to believe in a God that never really existed.
First I will point out that this was the example of someone choosing to stop believing. Anger is a powerful, powerful weapon.
Now, keep in mind that John Doe starts out as a true believer. God knows he will one day turn away and be lost forever. God has a choice. Change John's spirit so He can become saved and lead 150,000 people to Christ, but one day he will turn away and die an atheist and end up in hell, or God can never change John's spirit, he ends up in hell anyway, but never leads those people to Christ.
Can you honestly say it would be a mistake for God to change John Doe's spirit so He can be saved and end up losing his salvation?
You see? God has His plan. We don't know what that plan involves. How can we possibly say that for God to change someone who ends up losing his salvation would mean God made a mistake? It may be a part of God's plan to change someone's spirit who will one day lose his salvation, because it will mean a greater number of souls are saved.
Yes Predestination is correct. No God doesn't make mistakes. That doesn't mean God wont choose someone who will one day turn completely away and lose their salvation, if it means to further His glorious plan.
Ephesians 4:30 (NASB)
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Some think that because we are sealed, it is proof positive that we will be saved because nobody can break a seal of God. Do you know who has the right to break a seal? The one it is meant for. If a King sends a document sealed with his insignia to someone, the only person who has the right to break that seal is the one it is meant for. The day we believe, God sends the Holy Spirit to seal us with a promise. We are sealed for the day of redemption. Nobody and no spirit can break that seal, accept you!
Now you might try and argue that there is nothing in the Bible saying we can break our own seals. You would be right. There is nothing in the Bible that says that. I just made it up. Just like you are making up the fact we cannot. Because there is nothing in the Bible that says we do not have the right to break our seal. All we know for certain is that we are sealed once we believe in our heart. Whether we can break that seal or not is anyone's guess. So you cannot use that as evidence that we cannot lose our salvation when all you are doing is assuming we cannot.
Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Paul uses the word "us", he is speaking about Believers. Not the unbelievers. If someone stops believing, they are no longer a believer.
More Evidence We Can Lose Our Salvation
If you do not believe salvation can be turned away from, you might read these verses and believe you can argue them just like I argued the verses supporting Once Saved Always Saved. My answer to that is it wouldn't matter. Before any arguments against these scriptures can make a difference, you first need to explain Hebrews 6:4-6. So long as that verse stays a primary verse, then all interpreted verses must be interpreted to support it. To do anything else does not prove anything. It would only create a contradiction in God's Word. That automatically makes it wrong.
With this understood, I will not say much on these upcoming verses, but I will simply list them as support.
Galatians 5:1-5 (NASB)
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
Romans 11:18-22 (NASB)
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
Revelation 22:19 (NASB)
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
Matthew 10:22 (NASB)
22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
1 Corinthians 15:2 (NASB)
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
2 Timothy 2:12 (NASB)
12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Hebrews 3:14 (NASB)
14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
Hebrews 10:26 (NASB)
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Hebrews 10:38-39 (NASB)
38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
I will give you one last bit of logic that I believe proves one can lose his salvation. All one needs to do is look at one of Jesus' own apostles.
Jesus chose 12 apostles and he sent them out to preach the gospel and He gave them authority over unclean spirits. They healed people and they drove out demons. Among them was Judas Iscariot. Some will try to argue that he was never truly saved, but that simply is not true. There is zero evidence that the first two years, Judas was any different than the rest of them. They all recognized him as one of them and he did all the things they did. He gave up everything he had to follow Jesus and after he betrayed Jesus he was so distraught with grief that he returned the money and committed suicide. Yet there is not one scholar who will say that Judas still went to heaven. Jesus said this...
Mark 14:21 (NASB)
21 For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”