MANY DENY THAT A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR SALVATION.
Their thought is that since one comes to the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior, he or she is saved, forever. Thereby, one cannot lose their salvation. Once you have it, you never lose it.
The Bible doesn’t teach this, of course. Several New Testament verses point to the truth of this. Of those whose thought of “salvation” is once saved, always saved, an argument is made that those who leave Jesus were not “real” Christians to begin with.
For example, see this statement from the website https://www.gotquestions.org/once-saved-always-saved.html, “Once a person is saved are they always saved? Yes, when people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their salvation as eternally secure. To be clear, salvation is more than saying a prayer or “making a decision” for Christ; salvation is a sovereign act of God whereby an unregenerate sinner is washed, renewed, and born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3; Titus 3:5). When salvation occurs, God gives the forgiven sinner a new heart and puts a new spirit within him (Ezekiel 36:26). The Spirit will cause the saved person to walk in obedience to God’s Word (Ezekiel 36:26–27; James 2:26).”
These “believers” state several verses supposedly proving the “Once saved, always saved.” Doctrine. But let’s see the following study.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A “REAL” CHRISTIAN?
Folks say those that leave the church, or Jesus, are not true, real believers of the Christ.
Now, a real Christian is one who, according to the Bible, has believed Jesus is the son of God, John 8:24. He has repented of his sins, and endeavoring to no longer commit them, Luke 13:3. The same one has publicly confessed his belief that Jesus is the Son of God, Matthew 10:32 and Romans 10:9-10. And last, he has been baptized to wash away sins, Acts 22:16.
When a person has accepted God’s terms of salvation surrendering his heart, mind, soul, and strength to the Lord, Jesus adds him to the church, Acts 2:47. He is indeed saved from God’s wrath and hell.
CAN SOMEONE WHO HAS SALVATION EVER LOSE THEIR SOUL?
What does the Bible say about this? Well, let’s go back to the Old Testament as an example, 1 Corinthians 10:1-11. Remember the Hebrews and their Exodus from Egypt. Things were going great for them. They escaped the Egyptian army, Exodus 14:27; they had food from God, Exodus 16:12; they had water, Exodus 17:6; and they made it to the land promised them, Numbers 14:1-38. However, they did not put their trust in God at this crucial time even though He had shown them mighty miracles. These folk, who were accepted by God, were not allowed to enter their land for disbelief that God would help them win their battles. These who were once accepted by God but were now in a “fallen,” state.
Moving on to the New Testament we see the same “accepted until lost” construct. Notice Hebrews 6:4-6. Here’s the NLT version: “For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.”
Now, some would say, these folks weren’t “really saved, to begin with.” Those with this view want to hold to their “once saved, always saved” belief. But one can easily see that the writer is speaking of the one who having been enlightened – that’s knowledge for salvation received from the Scriptures; experienced the good things of heaven – salvation and its itinerant blessings; shared in the Holy Spirit – born again with the blessings contained within the word; tasted the goodness of God’s word – the powerful, precious, promises of God; and the power of the age to come – the resurrection, fearless of judgment, peace, and an eternal home in heaven. This person is no doubt saved.
Now, what does the scripture say? “It’s not possible to bring that one to repentance if he rejects the Son of God. It’s as if he nailed Jesus to the cross again, putting Him to open shame. Note these words: “turn away from God,” Hebrews 6:6. It’s obvious, isn’t it? This one is he who turned away from God, just like the Old Testament Hebrews.
Rather than glorifying Jesus, he who turns away from God shames Him publicly. Is this “once lost, always lost, then?” Of course not. God says anyone can repent and come back to Him, 1 John 1:9. One can always come “home.” However, if this one never repents, he is lost to God forever in the pit of hell.
Hebrews 10 also shows one can lose his salvation, Hebrews 10:26-27, 29. The writer is speaking to the saved and he’s warning Christians to not throw away their salvation by willful sin.
Galatians 5:4 has this: “You are severed {my emphasis, GVD} from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”
Then, there’s the case of Demas, forsaking Paul in the work of the Lord to return to the world, 2 Timothy 4:10.
The Bible clearly shows that one can fall away from God, losing their salvation.
SO, WHAT TO DO?
If one wants the doctrine, “once saved, always saved”, then he must stay with the Lord in truth all the days of his life. Never turning from the Lord.
Paul is an example. He said he would receive the “crown of life,” because he had finished his race and fought the good fight, of faith” 2 Timothy 4:7-8. He stayed with Jesus after receiving salvation. He stayed with Jesus the remainder of his time on earth, serving Him, and bringing many to Him, in salvation.
And, that crown, he said, is available to all who love the Lord. Stay with the Lord, honor Him and do as the Scriptures say, Matthew 7:21-23.
Finally, what did Jesus say about all of this? Consider Revelation 2:10, if one remains faithful, even in the face of horrible persecution, he too will receive the crown of life. It’s Jesus’ promise. So then, don’t throw away your salvation which has great reward, Hebrews 10:35. Amen.
CONCLUSION
There are indeed Bible verses supporting the thought of once saved, always saved. But Bible evidence also clearly states that one can leave Jesus thereby losing their salvation. The only way one can be saved, never losing their soul is live with Jesus, daily, without fail. One must search the Bible diligently to see the truth of the matter.
Garland Van Dyke
Garland.churchofchrist@gmail.com
http://matthewsstreetchurchofchrist.com
https://biblepoints.org/bible-points