Once saved Always saved

It is hard to believe, with the bible so available today, that people are so worried about losing their salvation. “My friend at work told me I can lose my security in Christ; my salvation. Is this possible?”

Is it possible for a Christian to lose salvation? Look at these verses of scripture to find God’s answer on this subject:

1.   God keeps all true believers by His own power. There is no power that a believer may have that is strong enough to keep him in the fold, nor weak enough to sever him from it (2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:5).

2.   Believers stand before God clothed in the imputed righteousness of Christ, and not in their own (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:19-21).

3.   Christians have eternal life which means they shall never perish (John 10:28).

4.   The eternal lives of Christians are forever hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:1-3).

5.   Christians are already seated in heavenly places because they are in Christ, and He is in them and that is where He sits at the right hand of the Father (Eph. 1:3; 2:6).

6.   God is the one who has begun the good work in the believer, not the believer himself. Furthermore, God promised to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

7.   All Christians have the earnest and seal of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph.  1:13-14; 4:30)

8.   They are members of the Body of Christ, each with a peculiar function and without each one, the Body would not be complete (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 5:30).

9.   Backsliding is a sin, but the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7-9)

10. He is able to save them to the uttermost because Christ “ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

11. Nothing can separate them from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38-39).

12. Christians are predesinated to be conformed to Christ’s image (Rom. 8:30).

Background for dealing with the “problem passages.”

• Why do so many churches teach a Christian can lose salvation? Because there are verses that if taken out of context seem to teach a person can lose salvation.
• These passages must be interpreted carefully in light of the context.

             ÆWe interpret less clear passages in light of those that are crystal clear. False teachers, on the other hand, delight in using the more obscure portions of Scripture to overthrow the plain.

• Eternal security is NOT taught in every dispensation. We must rightly divide the Scriptures according to ethnic divisions, covenants, and dispensations (2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Cor. 10:32).

Now to some of the passages most frequently used to undermine eternal security:

EZEKIEL 18:20-32 This is an example of Old Testament salvation and the covenant relationship with the house of Isarel. It has no doctrinal application upon the church under grace.

MATTHEW 7:21-23 This has nothing to do with a believer losing his salvation. It is a “kingdom” passage that applies doctrinally to Israel in the kingdom of heaven. It is dealing with those who profess but do not possess!

        It cannot refer to a believer losing salvation, for the Lord says to these people, “I NEVER knew you…” If they were saved at one time, the Lord did know them when they had salvation (see Gal. 4:9).

        The will of God is defined in John 6:29.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:27 Paul is talking about being profitable unto God as a disciplined minister.

        Jesus promised never to cast out anyone who came to Him for salvation (John 6:37).

GALATIANS 5:4 A believer can fall from grace [God’s favor] when he seeks to be justified by the works of the law. But he cannot fall from sonship.

GALATIANS 5:19-21. This passage does not teach that a believer can lose his salvation, but he can lose his inheritance.

HEBREWS 3:6, 14; 6:4-6; 10:26 All these verses from the book of HEBREWS doctrinally apply to Jews enduring to the end Tribulation period without taking the mark of the beast.

2 PETER 2:20-22 The context is false teachers who promote damnable heresies and deny the Lord (v. 1). It is obvious that saved men are not the focus on this passage, but hypocrites and deceivers.

1.     They escaped the pollutions of the world, but were not saved.

2.     They had a knowledge of the Lord, but were not saved.

3.     They knew the way of righteousness, but never walked in it.

4.     They are likened to dogs and pigs, not sheep. The dog is still a dog, and the pig is still a pig. No change ever took place in their nature (2 Cor. 5:17). The fact that they return to their wickedness proves that they were never regenerate (cf. 1 John 2:19).

REVELATION 3:5

1.  This verse is not a threat but a promise that God WILL NOT blot out the name of an overcomer.

2.  “He that overcometh” is a reference to every born again child of God (1 John 5:4).

3.  If a person is born again, their name is written in the book of God (Luke 10:20; Phil. 4:3).

4.  There is not one verse in the Bible where anyone’s name is blotted out of the book of life. In Exodus 32:32-33, Moses asks to be blotted out of some book God has written, if God will not forgive Israel’s sin. However, this “book” is not said to be “the book of life.” God simply calls it “my book.”

5.  Psalm 69:28 mentions people being “blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” It appears that God keeps a “census roll” of all those who are currently living on earth (cf. Jer. 17:13; Ps. 87:6; Isa. 4:3). Most likely, at death they are blotted out of “the book of the living.”

6.  Revelation 22:19 reveals that “the book of life” has MORE in it than just names. Nothing is said about anybody’s name being “blotted out” of “the book of life” here. Evidently, “the book of life” is like a life history of those whose names are recorded. The warning is anyone who tampers with “the book of this prophecy” will lose “his part” (not his name) in the book of life. That is, he will forfeits his portion of inheritance in the holy city (cf. 2 Tim. 2:11-13)

7.  The important issue is, do YOU know your name is written in the book of life? The only ones who will enter the city of God are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 20:15; 21:27).

CONCLUSION: Seven gospel contradictions if a NT saint can lose salvation:

1.     If a person can lose salvation, then salvation is NOT of grace, but works.

2.     If a person can lose salvation, then Christ’s intercessory prayers are of no avail (Heb. 7:25).

3.     If a person can lose salvation, then God’s own child would be in Hell.

4.     If a person can lose salvation, then the body of Christ will be blemished.

5.     If a person can lose salvation, then Christianity is no better than the false religions of the world.

6.     If a person can lose salvation, then Jesus did not die for all their sins.

7.     If a person can lose salvation, then God would forfeit the Holy Spirit and cease to be God.