Can you Lose your salvation?

Introduction

So first not all Christians agree on the issue. Most say YES (you can lose your salvation), others say Nope! But despite our opinion, the fact is: some people are in church one moment, and the next they are no longer there!! So what happened!?!

The person who brought me to church the first time, was a professing Christian back then, today (I believe) he professes “Richard Dawkins”. So what does the Bible say anyway? Can you become a Child of God, and then un-become a child of God?

What is salvation?

Let’s define terms! What is Salvation? Maybe understanding it better will help us understand if it is something that can be lost. We are saved from something. So in the garden man sinned (Genesis 3), our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2, Ps 5:4-5, Romans 6:23, John 3:16). Jesus offers the forgiveness of sin (John 1:29, Acts 2:38, Matthew 26:28). So we are now saved from the coming wrath (2 Thess 1:9-10, Revelation 21:8, Matthew 25:46 ). The Book of Zephaniah describes this really well, wrath is coming because of sin (Zeph 1:14-18) but God saves his people from this wrath (Zeph 3:14-20). So all this to say, when people want to know, if you can lose you salvation, I think they mean can you no longer be saved from the coming wrath of God.

How do you get saved?

John 3:16 (3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

A great text which explains salvation is the whole John 5:19-47. It describes what God’s role in the process is, and what man’s responsibility is. God is the one who saves, in fact he knew before the foundations of the world who he would save (Eph 1:3-7). God draws people to Jesus (John 6:44), and only Jesus can reveal God to them (Mat 11:27), and God gives faith (Eph 2:8, Hebrews 12:2). So what must I do? Believe! (John 1:12, 6:29, Acts 2:37-38).

What happens at Salvation?

God “delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Col 1:13-14). He washes our sins away (1 John 1:7) so we are presented “holy, blameless, and above reproach” (Col 1:21-23), you become children of God (John 1:11-13, Romans 8:14). We are given God’s righteousness (2 Cor 5:21, Romans 5:17), we are baptized in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13), and the Holy Spirit testifies to us that we are the children of God (Romans 8:9-11), and no one with the Holy Spirit can say “Jesus is accursed”(1 Cor 12:3).  

So what can we conclude already?

So all that said we have not even began to look at the verse which people use to make a point on either side. But I feel like you can already come up with some conclusions. If you look at everything that happens at salvation, to lose your salvation would mean that all these things would have to be undone. If someone denies Christ (or says he is accursed), they do not have the Holy Spirit, and if you do not have the Holy Spirit (You are not a child of God… Romans 8:9)! So what happens to people who one moment seem to profess Christ, and the next deny Christ? I know people who seem to have taken that route, and I think the following verses help me make sense of it all.

Verses that show people can lose their salvation?

 - People who are almost there!

So verses that people use to say you can lose your salvation (Heb 6:4-6, 10:26-27, 2 Peter 2:19-22, Matthew 13:18-22).

Heb 6:4-6 4For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Heb 10:26-27  26For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

I would argue that it seems like there is a state when people get more interested in Christianity, experience the joy of going to church, singing powerful songs, being around a loving community of Christians; but then, something happens and they leave! Hebrews 6 says that it is then impossible to get these people saved, this is because Jesus is the only way, so while they reject him, there is no way for them to be saved. If they stop rejecting then it will become possible again!

2 Pet 2:19-22 20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

2 Peter says that for these people who have been exposed to the faith and have shown signs of interest that it will be worse for them than if they never received anything. So there is a sense of responsibility for what you receive (Luke 12:47-48), and people who have turned away after being involved in Church are the hardest to bring back to church, because they already think they know what church is all about. I don't think these people were truly converted. 

In Matthew 13, the explanation of the parable of the Sower, Jesus describes some who accept the word, but when trouble came they just left. I know some people who seemed to be this kind of Rocky ground, described in the parable. The curious thing was that when I ask them about Christianity now, even a simple: what is the gospel? They have no idea how to answer. Which kind of tells me that they never really got it in the first place. The best verse to confirm this is:

1 John 2:19  (2:19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

 - Are we saved conditionally?

Colossians 1:21-23  (1:21-23)  21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

A good way of knowing if you are truly saved is that you will persevere! If you notice the fruit accompanying your faith, you should have great confidence. If not, then you must start worrying about getting right with God! Again refering to 1 John 2:19 those who do not continue in the faith, were those who only appeared to be in the faith, but in reality they were never disciples of Jesus.

Verses that show nothing can separate us from God

Then you have verses that teach that God knows his children and he will never let them Go! (John 10:27-29, Rom 8:28-39 (specially 39), Phil 1:6). I actually believe that you cannot lose your salvation, and believe these verse do not need any explanation, when people quote them to affirm you cannot lose your salvation, I believe they are absolutely correct!

If you do not bear good fruit…?

What about when Christians misbehave?! And what about those who seem to have left the faith?

First what if a Christian does not behave? there are verses like John 15:2 that people use. Because you do not bear good fruit you are then cut down. If you are a Christian, but don’t behave you can lose your salvation. I would argue, with James 2:17, that if your faith does not come with good fruit, it was never the right faith to start with!

What if the prodigal Son died before coming home?

I have known people who have left and then come back! So two possibilities. Maybe they were in the group that was never saved in the first place. But I also believe some were saved all along. And even in their “rebellion” they were still saved while they probably did not look like they were! This means, we might have some surprises in Heaven!! So 2 passages: Paul is rebuking the church in Galatia because they have took up some false teaching. You can make mistakes and still be a Christian, it was never a question of them no longer being part of God’s people. Just they had gone astray! (Galatians 3:1-3). And the most famous example would be the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. The son went wild, spent his father’s money, went partying and all that. When he finally returns home his father accepts him with his arms wide open. So the question is, if the son represents rebellious Christians who seems to have left the faith, and the father is God. What would have happened if the son died before returning to the father?!

I believe that though the Son was Partying the whole time he still knew whose son he was, which is why he returned. And so I believe many Christians who rebel have the Holy Spirit testifying to their Spirit that they are the children of God, and so even if they die before confessing, I still think we will see them in heaven! On the other hand, some others who have “rebelled” I would say have never been saved! So if you know people have seem to have left the faith,  which ones are which?!? Only God knows!! (Deut 29:29). Just pray that they return!

Conclusion

Some people are in Church one day, and no longer there the next! So we deal with: can you then lose your salvation? After looking at what I believe are all the relevant verses my conclusion, is that no you cannot lose your salvation, meaning that either the person was never a Christian to begin with, or even though they seem to have fallen away they are still a child of God, and are saved!

I do not really like this question, because often people ask to know if they can become a Christian, and then just live the way they want and still go to heaven. I think it is a good question when you are concerned for others, and so I think my conclusion is really important. Those who “were Christians, and no longer are” I believe often they were never Christians in the first place anyway, so do not let that worry you, God promises: no one can snatch God’s sheep out of his hands (John 10:27-29), as nothing in creation can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:39). God gave us faith as a gift (Eph 2:8) so he who began the good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6).