…or can one’s salvation be lost? While this is often a heavily debated topic among the “Christian scene”, it seems there are also many people in today’s church who DON’T consider it to be an important issue. After all, if a person’s view on this matter of salvation has no effect on their relationship with God, then they can simply accept either side…right? Well, I want to make it a crucial issue because, when discussion about salvation involves differences of opinion on how God operates and the eternal destiny of human beings, it IS a big deal. I prefer not to keep readers in suspense – I strongly disagree with the “Once Saved, Always Saved” stance, so the purpose of this post is to show readers why we cannot always rely on eternal security teachings, even if the pastor or leader is seemingly getting their ideas from Scripture. If I had the time, I could write a whole book on this topic, but I realize many people would still stand firm on the side of eternal security. In order for someone to oppose Once Saved, Always Saved, they must first have an understanding of what it means to truly fear God. That’s what my next post is going to cover, so if you don’t even read this post it is much better if you read the next one. Until then, I want to take a semi-thorough look at both sides of this eternal security vs. apostasy “debate.” First, let’s give a basic definition of each stance (I took each of these from the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry website):
Once Saved, Always Saved a.k.a. Eternal Security: “…what Christ has accomplished on the cross and in us cannot be undone. Though we may sin, even as Christians, Jesus will never leave us. We are always his.”
Loss of Salvation a.k.a. Apostasy: “the falling away from the Christian faith. It is a revolt against the truth of God’s word by a believer. It can also describe a group or church organization that has “fallen away” from the truths of Christianity as revealed in the Bible.”
Before I go any further, I must say this: in my opinion, one of the biggest problems with the debate between eternal security and apostasy is that there’s all this talk about what WE as individuals are doing, while The Lord’s absolute sovereignty gets forgotten. In fact, some even go as far to say that the ultimate decision to follow Christ is up to us as individuals and “not determined by God.” THAT right there is deception from Satan, and a result of a lack of fear of God. Ultimately, each person’s eternal destiny – either Heaven or Hell – is controlled by God. Therefore, when debating between eternal security vs. apostasy, we need to remember that HE is the One Who either keeps us or cuts us off. All of that to say, I also want to make it clear that I’m NOT forgetting we have a responsibility, as well. If we didn’t have to make any kind of effort at all, then the Bible would probably be a quarter of the size it is! Philippians 2:12-13 perfectly sums up what I’m trying to convey: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”
Now we can go on to look at several Scripture passages which are often given as support for each stance. We’ll start with Once Saved, Always Saved:
- Ephesians 1:13-14 – “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of His glory.”
- 1 Peter 1:3-5 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
The two passages above seem to be claiming that this inheritance in Heaven is being kept right at this very moment for all believers. Many will reason and say that, since this inheritance cannot fade away, then neither should our salvation. But they would be forgetting that God is able to see the future. He knows exactly who’s going to press on until the very end and He is the One Who rewards those who persevered (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). This perseverance in the faith is mandatory, which can be seen in the parable of the sower. Just like the seed on the rocky soil, people may receive the Truth joyfully and believe right away, but if their faith isn’t deeply rooted, they will fall away when trouble arises, or when worldly temptations appear (Matthew 13:1-23). Also, consider the letters to the churches in Revelation (Rev. 2 & 3). God warns the church in Laodicea that He is about to spit them out of His mouth because they are lukewarm (3:15-16). This warning makes it clear that He does have limits and will depart from those who don’t fully follow Him. At the end of each letter, He reminds the churches of the reward for those who overcome. It’s easy to be overcome by the world, but it’s difficult to overcome the world. Jesus says, “take up your cross and follow Me.” So yes, eternal security applies to those who believe, BUT they must maintain their faith and overcome the world in order not to be “spit out.”
The next three verses were obtained from the “What we believe” section of a Baptist church website, where they were classified as evidence of eternal security:
- Hebrews 7:25 – “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”
- Hebrews 10:10, 14 – “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all“… “because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
- 2 Timothy 1:12 – “…Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”
These verses are simply stating the powerful attributes of Christ. Saving completely means exactly what it says – Jesus saves us completely when we come to Him. Jesus is perfect so He does not save “partially” or “incompletely.” When someone falls away, that doesn’t mean the blood of Jesus wasn’t powerful enough to save them. Referring to the second verse, Jesus died on the cross as the final sacrifice for sin, yes, once for all. His sacrifice doesn’t have an expiration date. So the phrase “made perfect forever” is a result of what happens to believers who remain in Jesus – they inherit the Kingdom of God where they will be perfect. Finally, God is certainly able to guard our salvation. If He were unable then we would have an imperfect God. Like the inheritance in the previous verses, our salvation can be kept and guarded, but The Lord knows whether or not we will press on and remain in His security.
Lastly, here are three more “common Once Saved, Always Saved passages”:
- John 6:39 – “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day.”
- John 10:26-29 – “…My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
- Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When read in context, we see that the purpose of these Bible passages is to emphasize how much The Lord loves and cares for those who follow Him. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who want to follow Christ will be persecuted. So, passages like these serve as uplifting Truth to believers who are being persecuted, reminding them that The Lord’s love and power are more than enough to help them conquer any hardship and that they should press on towards reaching the Kingdom of God (Philippians 3:14). At the same time, the first two passages serve as warnings to remain in Christ. When Jesus spoke the words of John 6:39, He was stating that it is His Father’s desire for all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). The Lord’s love is great and He does not take pleasure in sending people to Hell (Ezekiel 18:32 & 33:11, 2 Peter 3:9.) But we know He will do it. As for whether or not He will do it to those who were once His – well, John 10:29 does make it clear that no one can take us out of The Father’s hand, but that doesn’t mean we can’t jump out of His hand.
Some may say I’m paranoid or that I’m twisting these verses to make them say what I think they should say. It’s true that the Devil uses Scripture to deceive us, as I stated in my last post. But why would Satan use Scripture to make us more careful about our salvation when he could use it to trick us into thinking we’re eternally secure no matter what? I prefer to be safe rather than sorry, and I know The Lord wants us to have this mindset. Finally, let’s look at what the Bible says about apostasy:
According to Revelation 20:15, people whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Referring to those who are victorious, Revelation 3:5 says, “I will never blot out the name of that person from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and His angels.” The very fact that names can be removed from the Book shows that salvation is not necessarily set in stone and we can fall from righteousness.
- 2 Timothy 2:12 says, “…If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us.”
The word “disown” implies that a relationship with The Lord was once acknowledged, but no longer is.
- Colossians 1:22-23 – “But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation–if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
Paul says IF they continue in their faith, which means they have the ability to leave it.
- Ezekiel 18:24 – “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.
- Hebrews 3:12 – “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”
- Hebrews 6:4-6 – “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.”
These passages clearly state that one can fall away from God. A person can’t “turn from” or “fall away” from something they never had. Therefore, the “they never knew The Lord to begin with” argument is invalid.
- Philippians 1:6 – In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Some may say this passage backs up eternal security because this good work, or life in The Spirit, continues until Christ returns. But when we look closer we see that this is what Paul prays will happen to his fellow Christians. Paul wasn’t ignorant to the Spiritual warfare going on in the lives of all true Christians. He was aware of that possibility they could fall away. This is why he sounds so urgent in many of his letters to the Christians.
Now let’s look at an individual case of apostasy. 1 Samuel 16:14 says the Spirit of The Lord departed from King Saul. Again, if Saul “never knew The Lord to begin with”, then the Spirit wouldn’t have been living in him in the first place. Clearly, salvation can be lost when someone no longer makes it a priority to consult or obey God (we gather from Scripture that this was the issue with Saul). Finally, fast forward to King Solomon and what The Lord says about him in 2 Samuel 7:15. The Lord is talking to Solomon’s father, King David, in this passage: “But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.” Many people say that God’s love is unconditional, but this clearly wasn’t the case for Saul. …But it was for Solomon? …It appears that way from the passage. But how is that fair? As far as we know, Saul disobeyed God on a few separate occasions, and God left him. Yet, Solomon later turned to serve other gods and The Lord’s love remained with him, for his father’s sake? To us, this doesn’t seem right. Obviously, though, The Lord is never wrong; He knows the heart of each person and judges as He pleases. His thoughts and ways are above our understanding.
All of this is pretty scary to consider because who’s to say how The Lord will decide to deal with us? Many would think, “Why am I going to serve an unfair God?” They can say that if they don’t care about their eternal destiny, but the better thing to do would be to humble themselves and to listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 10:28: “…be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell.” Here’s the bottom line: Jesus has the ability to save us completely from Hell. However, God expects us to remain in Him. If The Lord remains with us even if we no longer concern ourselves with Him and continuously ignore Him when He tugs at our heart, that would make Him a pushover. The Lord is not a pushover. If we stay afraid of Him, this will prevent us from becoming careless and, therefore, we will not fall away. God cares and wants us in Heaven with Him. Therefore, if we sincerely ask Him to keep in us this attitude of fear, He WILL do it. This is a simple concept to those who learn to fear The Lord, but while it is also an easy thing to stay afraid of The Lord, the challenge to flee from sin continues to be a daily struggle. I can definitely relate to Paul when he says he is the worst of sinners. For this reason, I almost feel guilty instructing others – I’m constantly messing up, so who am I to teach you? Yet, at the same time, I know how crucial it is to get all of this out there because many people view the fear of The Lord as optional, or even unbiblical. This dangerous, ungodly attitude about fear is permeating throughout the “church”, so it’s time to learn what the Bible REALLY has to say about fearing God. Please know that this is a continuous learning process for me, as well, and that I will likely be coming to new realizations as I write to you, too.
Rethinking Reality 