By David Ettinger
A few days ago I posted a blog titled, “Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?” My position was no, and several readers agreed. And several readers didn’t agree, believing, yes, Christians can lose their salvation.
The blog inspired fantastic comments (on WordPress and Facebook) on both sides of the issue, and everyone who commented is a longtime Christian who has had a strong walk with the Lord. I found EVERY comment to be informative, thoughtful, and believe it would be great to assemble them here.
Since just about all the commenters are identified by name on both platforms, I’ll use their first names here. The comments begin with those believing that yes, salvation can be lost, followed by the no,-salvation-can’t-be-lost side.
Yes, Believers Can Lose Their Salvation
Alina
“I actually have been thinking a lot about it lately, especially while reading Hebrews – it has more verses about people falling away, but also in other places … so my take on it is: Yes, we are saved by faith.
“However, faith is a) living (active, shown through works), b) continuous. So not something that happened once when I prayed a sinner’s prayer, but something I continually hold on to. If however I stop holding on and turn away, it’s saving faith no more.
“Hebrews 2:1 (we-believers); 3:12-13 (if we hold to the end); 6:11-12, 10:23-29 (was sanctified); Romans 11:20-23 (provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off). 2 Peter 2:20-21 (after they have escaped … they turn back). Matthew 24:9-13, but mostly 13.”
Robbie
“A ‘Christian’ is sealed in the Book of Life. But the question is, Is their name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? This topic is ambiguous because it can be debated equally on each side by Scripture. Therefore, it is best to live a righteous and holy lifestyle.”
Victor
“Nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we are saved, not even Satan himself can ‘unsave’ us. But we can repudiate our salvation, if we come to the point of denying all we believe about Christ.”
Bruce
“Interesting topic and it is one I have wrestled with over the years. I understand your logic about having tasted, etc., and having some understanding on what you are walking away from. There are other Scripture verses that also come to mind, such as Matthew 24:13, which we also find in Revelation 2:11 and Revelation 3:11, inferring that holding fast is a prerequisite.
“Hebrews 6:4-6 talks about having shared in the Holy Spirit, which would appear to me to be being born again. The reason why someone who believes is not condemned is because they ARE in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), but if you remove yourself from Him, that cannot be undone. I would like to agree with you, but I think it is possible to lose your salvation.
“As long as we keep our faith, God will keep us, but if we walk away, I don’t think He will violate our will. Romans 8:37-39 is in play as long as we keep the faith (Hebrews 3:11), like Paul did (2 Timothy 4:7). But I could be wrong.
“There is one additional Scripture verse I would like you to consider: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not BLOT OUT his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5). Note that in order to have one’s name in the Book of Life, one would have to be a true believer, and if he overcomes (endures to the end, keeps the faith), his name is NOT blotted out of the Book of Life.”
Vickie
“One of our pastors once told us that no one can take us out of the Father’s hand, but we can choose to jump ourselves. Bad choice, but it is available to us if we choose earthly pleasures over the eternal promises.”
Lisa Beth
“After searching the scriptures, I no longer believe ‘once saved, always saved.’ Outlining the scriptures would make my comment a post here.
“The Old Testament reveals much of God’s heart, often decreeing promises fulfilled for those whose hearts strive to walk right, ‘… but if you turn away … (destruction).’ ‘… if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.’
“Well, people will say, ‘That’s the Old Covenant.’ But does God’s character change? Is He not the same God? Portraying Himself as the “true vine” and we as the branches, why would He declare, ‘If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are thrown into the fire and burned.’ Obviously, those ‘branches’ were part of Christ, they were attached to the vine but did not remain.
“That Paul admonishes us to ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling’ is antithetical to the smugness of ‘once saved, always saved.’ Why the warnings about falling away? Why the warnings about befriending the world? James talks about those who do become an enemy of God. He’s talking to believers. Why the dire warnings to the churches in Revelation? What’s the threat if we’re eternally secure?
“We are the ‘bride of Christ,’ but adultery breaks the binds of marriage. If we willfully turn away, has God somehow changed who He is and is powerless to act?
“I don’t want to take any more space here. The mantra ‘once saved, always saved’ has emphasized verses, downplayed others, and interpreted Scripture to fit that mold. ‘If we disown Him, He will disown us’ (2 Timothy 2:12).”
No, Can’t Lose Salvation
Craig
“This is a difficult topic indeed, and one which I have seen believers go to loggerheads over.
“As a young believer still discovering biblical truth, I had a dim view of the ‘once saved, always saved’” doctrine, because in my experience I saw it thrown around by folks who appeared to be rank hypocrites, and yet were sure their ticket was punched and they were Heaven-bound because of having made a public profession and having been baptized, despite living a self-centered and self-serving lifestyle.
“I jumped to the conclusion that it was a doctrine that promoted and protected hypocrisy and nothing more. That, combined with the all-too-common experience of seeing others who had appeared to be genuine believers walk away from the faith, ensured it would take me a while to get a better grasp on what I now consider to be the truth.
“The biblical truth, as I understand it now, exalts Christ and glorifies Him far more than my previous understanding, seems to more fully conform to a plain reading of the Scriptures, and truly allows me to trust and rest in Him, and indeed love Him far more than I could before.”
Mandy
“I hold to the perseverance of the saints in which God will keep His people from falling away, He will help them endure to the end. If we can lose our salvation, then we have to be responsible for continually saving ourselves.
“We obey God because we love Him, not because we are afraid of being sent to Hell. Those who fall away were never saved. If we are to keep our faith to keep salvation, that’s works-based and we are trusting in ourselves and not relying and depending on God alone to help see us through to the day of completion/salvation.
“The verses in Hebrews and Revelation aren’t easy verses, I can see why people say you can lose your salvation; however, it goes against the Person and Work of God to lose someone who is in His Hand.”
Tom
“I’m with you. I believe Scripture teaches eternal security. If a person is genuinely reborn in Christ, can they become “unborn”? Since no believer is perfect, at what point does a believer lose salvation?
“There are Scriptures that speak of apostasy, but those refer to the disingenuous Judas tares. It occurs to me that people who believe a Christian can lose their salvation are relying on their good works/obedience as the basis of their salvation, although they will deny it.”
Brian
“If you can lose your salvation, your salvation depends on you. That should be sufficient to scare the pants off anyone. Falling away results in loss of rewards, not loss of justification.”
Anne
“I can’t imagine that anyone in their right mind would knowingly turn their back on Christ, having truly experienced His love. I guess that’s a good argument for the ‘never-saved-in-the-first-place’ position.”
Doug
“I believe that once you understand the nature of salvation it is clear that it can’t be lost. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.” Salvation isn’t a possession, it is a conversion. Alina [who commented earlier] mentioned Hebrews 3:12 & 13 which in context is speaking of unbelievers. They never entered into God’s rest (v. 11).
“They had an evil heart of unbelief (v. 12). They could not enter into God’s rest because of unbelief (vss. 18-19). Hebrews 6 is very clearly a hypothetical saying that if you could lose salvation, it would be impossible to be renewed (v. 6).
“The point of Hebrews 6 is God’s faithfulness (vv. 13-18). Salvation is the circumcision made without hands and the operation of God (Colossians 2:11-12). Once born again, you can never be unborn.”
Alina Replying to Doug
“Hebrews 6 is only hypothetical if you come with a preconceived notion that you disagree with its premise. I don’t see a reason for it to be hypothetical. It says ‘in the case of those …’, therefore there must’ve been such a case. There is also the opposite case in verses 9-12, where they have an assurance of their salvation because they continue to show their faith through their actions.”
Doug Replying to Alina
“That thought continues, and then the writer says at the beginning of chapter 3, ‘Wherefore holy brethren …’ Now, I could make an argument that the writer, who I believe is Paul, is simply referring to his Jewish brethren, not necessarily Christian brethren. But that really doesn’t matter because now he begins to make an analogy to Moses and the nation of Israel wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, and the fact that many did not enter into God’s rest because of unbelief.
“Chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 then clarifies it: ‘Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.’
“He is not talking about people that get saved and then lose it. These are people that never committed to saving faith so that they would be converted.”
Anything to Add?
Great comments on both sides of the issue, don’t you agree? If you care to continue to conversation, please do so below in the comments section!
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Bruce Cooper
June 5, 2021
Hi David, I’m really glad you did this, compared the two opinions. There are other additional Scriptures that reinforce my opinion, that have come to mind, since responding to your initial post, but suffice to say I personally think the stronger case rests with that you can lose salvation. And there is always the erroring on the side of caution aspect to consider. I have no problem whatsoever with anyone who thinks we cannot lose salvation and I would actually hope they are right, but I personally can’t. It obviously does raise an area of uncertainty and only God knows our hearts, including our own, but I think that for each of us, there comes a time when we decide to put our hand to the plow and not turn back, and only God knows that deciding moment. We may loosen our grip at times, but we don’t let go, we cannot let go, because He now truly owns our hearts. We’re in for the long haul and whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. And no, I don’t thoroughly understand how it all works, I just believe that it does. So many times my mind wanders back to Adam and Eve and what they once had, and what God our Father, through Jesus restores, and when the realization truly dawns in our hearts and minds, that we do really need to trust in God’s guidance and direction, on literally everything, over our own ways, and all that which that entails, we are somehow back to where God wants us to be, because we want, we will, to be in His care. Our will has been put back under His will, like it was in the first place. I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone else, but it does to me and I marvel at how God brought it about. Thank you again David, this is a most valuable discussion. Blessings!
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dettinger47
June 5, 2021
Thank you, Bruce. What you wrote most certainly makes sense, and I agree with you. For so many issues we just have to accept the truth you stated: We just don’t know how it works. Well said, Bruce!
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craig
June 5, 2021
Hi David,
Reading over all of the comments I think it is important to add that I believe that one’s stance on this question does not necessarily indicate anything about whether or not someone is saved. I have seen people who hold to both opinions refer to the opposite opinion as a wicked heresy (implying damnation on the holder of the opposing view), and given the propensity for confusion and the abundance of verses that can be called upon to support both viewpoints, I think that is foolish and wrong. We are not saved by holding the correct theological position, we are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ, and I would venture to say that no new believer has a solid grasp on biblical theology and all must grow in grace and in their knowledge of our Savior – a process that will never cease.
One of the things I think that those who hold to the position of eternal security need to wrestle with is what to do with all of scripture’s many warnings about turning away, falling away, crucifying the sinful nature, abiding in Christ, etc. These can surely be taken to imply that one can abandon their faith. They as much say so.
One of the things I think that those who hold to the position that you can lose your salvation need to wrestle with are the many scriptures that declare that salvation is a gift, that it is all of God and none of us, that none can come to Christ unless the Father draws them, that Christ will lose none that he is given, and the scriptures declaring election. This is the essence of the protestant reformation (and the fundamental distinction between “evangelicalism”, a term which is fast becoming useless, and catholicism). These scriptures can surely be taken to imply that those who are saved were first chosen and are kept by God’s power alone.
The interesting thing is that very often these scriptures appear along side one another without apology or explanation. If we hold all scripture to be true then we must believe both and heed both, even if our reasoning mind cannot fully comprehend how to reconcile them with one another. So, as for me, I will believe that the Lord Jesus holds me in His unfailing grip and will never let me go in spite of “myself,” while at the same time I will endeavor to heed the warnings and admonitions of scripture out of love for Him and my desire to honor Him.
In the light of my understanding (a dim light, to be sure) it’s my opinion that those who fall away were false converts / tares, and that at a minimum the warnings of scripture surely make clear to them that they are culpable for doing do. I think that the Lord honors the faculty of reason with which he has gifted men, and at the judgment such people will not be able to utter a word and will understand full well the justice of their damnation.
Another obvious concern is those “false converts” who don’t “walk away” but instead remain in the visible church, thinking themselves saved and secure. For them (and we obviously need to examine ourselves as scripture commands to be sure we are not among them), there are the abundant scriptural commands to holy living and sacrificial love that should make plain to them their state and their culpability (assuming they bother to read scripture or are exposed to good expository preaching).
Anyway, sorry for another rambling tome. I hope it is useful.
God bless,
Craig
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dettinger47
June 5, 2021
Amen. Well said, Ctaig.
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dettinger47
June 5, 2021
Oops. Craig.
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Crissy
June 6, 2021
I missed your first post. I shall go and read it now.
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dettinger47
June 6, 2021
Thank you, Crissy.
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