Introduction
Eternal Security is the doctrine that states that from the moment you are born again your salvation is eternally secure. This means that you can never lose your salvation. It is sometimes known as “once saved, always saved”.
However, there are many Christians who believe that after you have been born again you can lose your salvation. They say that this is only something that the believer can do to themselves and it is a matter of free will. In other words a born again believer can choose to reject salvation by deciding that they no longer believe in Jesus Christ.
Often those who believe that they can lose their salvation will say that they are secure in their salvation and might even say that they believe in eternal security. But that is a contradiction in terms. If you believe that you can lose your salvation then you do not believe in eternal security. Either your salvation is eternally secure or it is not.
Anything we believe must be based on the teaching of scripture. So I want to look at the scriptures that are used to support the true meaning of eternal security and those that are used to support the idea that your salvation is not eternally secure. Let’s examine the scriptures.
As we do so we must keep in mind that salvation is a free gift from God. It is not something that we can earn or deserve. Salvation is from God and He deserves all of the glory for it. If we have any part in earning our salvation whatsoever, then we would share some of the glory and we could boast; but we can’t. See Ephesians 2:8-10.
Proof Texts For Eternal Security
There are more than 90 passages of scripture that support the doctrine of eternal security. I have chosen a selection of them for examination.
Luke 23:42-43
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
One of the thieves being crucified alongside Jesus shows some faith in Jesus and he promises the man that he will be in Paradise with Him that very day. This meant that the man was saved and that he would be in heaven with Jesus. The promise that Jesus makes is unconditional. No matter what happens between that moment and the death of the man, his salvation is secure and he will go to heaven when he dies. According to those who believe that we can lose our salvation by our own choice (free will) we can choose to stop believing at any time between being born again and dying. So this thief could change his mind before he dies on the cross. But, if this is true then it means that the promise of Jesus to this man is not true. It makes Jesus a liar.
John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.
When we believe, we receive the gift of eternal life but if we can lose this life by losing our salvation it is not eternal life.
Jesus also promises that we will not come into judgement. In other words we will not be judged and punished for our sins. But if we lose our salvation we will come back under judgement so this promise is not true. Notice that Jesus does not put any conditions on this promise.
John 6:39-40
And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
The Father gives those who have been saved to Jesus for safe keeping. And Jesus tells us that it is the Father’s will that Jesus should not lose any of those given to him. So, we cannot lose our salvation because it is the Father’s will that Jesus should not lose us and Jesus is always obedient to the Father. Our salvation is totally in the hands of Jesus and he won’t fail because he can’t sin.
Jesus also says that he will raise up believers on the last day. He is promising resurrection from the dead for believers. After we have received eternal life Jesus will raise us up from the dead. If we lose our salvation, we rob Jesus of his promise. If he says he will raise us up he will do it.
John 6:47
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
See notes above on John 5:24 regarding eternal life.
John 10:28-29
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
These promises of Jesus are for true believers and he says he will give them eternal life. So the same argument given above for John 5:24 applies.
Jesus also says that they will never perish. This is an absolute promise because of the word ‘never’. If we lose our salvation then we will perish. This means that this absolute promise of Jesus is not true.
Finally Jesus says that no one will be able to snatch them from either his hand or the Father’s hand. So who is included in ‘no one’? Well, everyone. And who is included in everyone? Me. So no one, including myself can snatch me from God’s hand. Therefore, I cannot lose my salvation.
John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells within you and will be in you.
Jesus tells us that the Father gives us another Helper who is the Holy Spirit. He also says that the Holy Spirit will be with us, dwell within us and be in us forever. Forever is forever. In other words the Holy Spirit is within us forever. In Romans 8:9 Paul tells us that anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit is not a Christian. So you have to have the Holy Spirit to be a Christian. If you have been a Christian and then you lose your salvation then the Holy Spirit can no longer dwell in you. But Jesus tells us that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us forever. Therefore, you cannot lose your salvation.
John 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.
See notes above on John 10:28-29.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
See notes above on John 5:24 regarding eternal life.
Romans 8:30
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those who he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Paul is talking about the process of salvation and he says that it is God who does it. From predestination to glorification it is all God’s work. And because he is God he can’t fail because he can’t sin.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Speaking of Christians, Paul is at great pains to emphasise that nothing can separate us from God. In other words, nothing can cause us to lose our salvation.
When he speaks of ‘anything else in all creation’ he is including us. So, I cannot separate myself from God once I am in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1:22
And who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
See notes below on Ephesians 1:13-14 regarding the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:5
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
See notes below on Ephesians 1:13-14 regarding the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit and no one except God can break it. That seal is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. And the Holy Spirit in us is God’s guarantee that we will finish the race; that God will complete what he has begun in us until we are glorified in heaven. If we are sealed as a guarantee of our complete salvation, we cannot lose it.
Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Paul is telling us that he is sure that God will complete his work of salvation in our lives. If God is going to complete it, we cannot lose it.
2 Timothy 4:18
The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.
Paul is able to boldly state that God will bring him safely into his heavenly kingdom because God will rescue him from every evil deed. God will rescue or deliver him from every evil deed not just some evil deeds and this includes any evil deeds that I might carry out such as renouncing my faith in Jesus. Everything that Paul says in this statement is true of all believers. So Jesus will make sure that no evil deed can be effective in our lives and he will make sure we get to heaven. We will not lose our salvation because we are in the hands of Jesus and he will not let us down.
1 John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
See notes above on John 5:24 regarding eternal life.
Jude 1:24
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.
Notice that it is God who keeps us from losing our salvation. He will make sure that we make it in the end when we are presented blameless.
Counter Scriptures
The Book of Life
There are a number of passages in the bible about the Book of Life where the names of believers are recorded.
Those who claim that a believer can lose their salvation say that there is evidence in these passages that shows that a believer can be blotted out of the Book of Life, meaning that they can lose their salvation.
Let’s examine the scriptures:
Philippians 4:3
Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have laboured side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are written in the book of life.
This text shows that the names of Christians (believers) are written in the book of life.
Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
This text is part of the passage of scripture which talks about the New Jerusalem and tells us that only the righteous, not sinners will enter it. And the righteous (believers) are written in the book of life.
Revelation 20:15
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This text shows that, if your name is not in the book of life, you go to hell and not heaven.
So, from the first 3 scriptures above we see that the book of life is where believers alone are recorded. Unbeliever’s names are not found in the book of life.
Revelation 13:8
and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
From this passage we see that the names of believers are written in the book of life before the foundation of the world. We also see this in Revelation 17:8.
Now let’s have a look at the scriptures quoted by those who say that a believer can lose their salvation by having their name blotted out of the book of life:
Exodus 32:31-33
So, Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin – but if no, please blot me out of your book you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.”
Moses speaks about a book but he does not give the name of the book. In its context it has to be about the covenanted nation of Israel. Moses is offering to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Jews who have sinned. So the book must be for the Israelites. God says he will blot out of this book those who have sinned by way of idolatry and in verse 36 that is what he does by sending a plague. So this text has got nothing to do with the book of life and cannot be used to say that believers can be blotted out of the book of life.
Psalm 69:27-28
Add iniquity to their iniquity, and may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous.
This is a poem in which David is saying the same thing in different ways in these two sentences. He asks God in verse 27 not to let these people be saved and he says the same thing at the end of verse 28 but from a different angle (recorded with the righteous).
However, in the first half of verse 28 he talks about them being blotted out of the book of life. But this contradicts the other parts of the text. If they are not to be recorded in the book of life how can they be blotted out of it? This tells us that these phrases are not to be taken literally. Rather they are two poetic ways of saying the same thing: punish the guilty. So this text does not support the idea that a believer can be blotted out of the book of life.
Revelation 3:5
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life…….
This is the only text that could possibly support the idea of a believer being blotted out of the book of life. So let’s look at it carefully.
Jesus tells us that he will never blot the name of a conqueror out of the book of life. So who is he talking about? Put simply, a conqueror is a believer. We see this in Romans 8:37 (No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us). Paul is saying that all Christians, including himself, are conquerors, not of themselves, but through Jesus or by Jesus. Jesus is the one who makes us “more than conquerors” or hyper-conquerors. And this statement is found in the famous passage where Paul demonstrates that we cannot be separated from the love of God. And to be separated from the love of God means to have our relationship broken with him. So Jesus is saying, in Revelation 3:5 that he will never blot a Christian out of the book of life. Which means that Revelation 3:5 actually supports the doctrine of eternal security instead of supporting the opposite view.
In the message to the Church in Sardis, Jesus addresses the whole church in verses 1 to 4 but switches to individuals in verse 5. This is because verse 5 talks about the book of life which is a register of individual believers. Notice the use of the singular noun ‘one’ rather than the plural ‘ones’. If Jesus wanted to make it clear that there would be some that would conquer and some that wouldn’t he would have used the plural noun ‘ones’ but he didn’t. The ‘one who conquers’ is talking about a type of person and is just another way of saying ‘a Christian’ because Christians are the type of people who conqueror, they always do.
Those who believe that we can lose our salvation say that it is down to us whether or not we succeed in being a conqueror but Romans 8:37 shows that this is not the case; it’s through Jesus.
So, my conclusion is that there is nothing in the ‘book of life’ texts that supports the idea of a Christian losing their salvation after they have been born again. So, let’s take a look at some other scriptures used by those who believe that a Christian can lose their salvation:
Other Counter Sciptures
Hebrews 6:4-6
For 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, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and 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.
The first thing to say about this passage is that the writer is talking about Christians. I used to think that they weren’t Christians because of the word ‘tasted’. But I was wrong. The way the writer describes these people means that they must be true Christians, especially when he talks about restoring them to repentance ‘again’. So, what is the writer actually saying about these Christians?
When looking at a passage like this we must first consider the context and to do this we need to go back to Chapter 5, Verse 11. We see at the end of Chapter 5 that the writer is talking about a lack of maturity which has resulted from backtracking (falling away) from what they have been taught and practiced. This is carried on into Chapter 6 where the writer is making a plea for growth into maturity. In Verse 1 the writer tells us what has been going on with these Christians; they have gone back to practicing ‘dead works’.
Again, using the principle of context, when the writer talks about ‘repentance’ in Verse 6 he is still talking about the kind of repentance he mentioned earlier in Verse 1: ‘repentance from dead works’. So, the writer is urging these Christians to repent of their dead works. Their dead works were putting them out of fellowship with God.
In Verse 6 the writer says that these Christians have ‘fallen away’. What does fallen away mean? It is translated from the Greek verb ‘parapipto’ which means to turn aside or fall into error. It means to fall away from the true faith. So, on this occasion, the words ‘fallen away’ mean that these Christians have not stopped believing in Jesus. Instead they have gone into error about a particular part of Christian belief or practice. As the writer tells us in Verse 1, they have turned back to dead works. Given that these are Jewish Christians, it is likely that they had turned back to the rituals of Judaism, including animal sacrifices, hence the reference to crucifying Jesus in Verse 6.
Therefore, this passage of scripture is not talking about salvation but about these Christians falling back into error and getting out of fellowship with God.
Matthew 13:3-9
And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
When we look at this parable without the interpretation that Jesus gave in verses 18 to 23, we see that it is about the amount of fruit or the size of crop produced when the seed is sown. The amount of fruit produced depends on the quality of the soil where it is sown. So, this parable is about bearing fruit. Christians should bear fruit; they should be productive.
When we look at the interpretation given by Jesus, we find that the seed represents the word of God or the word of the Kingdom (verse 19). The parable is about how people hear and understand the word of God. There are four parts to the parable, corresponding to the types of ground where the seed fell. These four types of ground represent four conditions of the human heart. And the whole parable is about the effects of the word of God and the amount of fruit it produces.
The first type of ground is the hardened ground which represents a hardened heart. This part of the parable is about unbelievers who are not open to the word of God and reject it (see Luke 9:12). The other three parts of the parable are about believers. The second part represents shallow Christians who start to produce fruit but when trouble comes, they stop producing fruit. The third part represents worldly Christians who produce fruit until they are distracted by the cares of this world and the desire for riches. The fourth part is about the most productive type of Christian who hears and understands the word of God and is not affected by the issues affecting the other types of Christian.
So, this parable is about bearing fruit or being productive and has got nothing to do with salvation. Salvation does not depend on the amount of fruit we produce in our lives. Salvation is about faith in Jesus. Those who say that this parable is about some Christians losing their salvation are misinterpreting it. We see this in particular when they incorrectly interpret verse 21 where we get the phrase ‘falls away’. They say that falls away means loses their salvation. However, falls away is translated from the Greek verb, ‘skandalizo’ which means to stumble or to take offence. In the context of the passage, falls away does not mean to lose your salvation.
Hebrews 6:7-10
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.
In this passage of scripture, the writer is comparing Christians who produce good fruit (useful vegetation) with those who produce worthless fruit (thorns and thistles). The ground or earth represents the Christian and the rain is the Holy Spirit. The Christians who produce good fruit are those that ‘walk in the Spirit’ and those who produce worthless fruit are those that are who are not walking in the Spirit (not in fellowship with God). Those who are producing good fruit are blessed but those who produce worthless fruit are ‘close to being cursed’.
Notice that the latter Christian is not cursed but is only close to it; a Christian is no longer under the curse of the law. The only people who are cursed are unbelievers. The writer then says that the latter Christian ends up being burned. This sounds like they are going to hell but that is not what the writer is saying. Remember that the writer is using an agricultural analogy. After the harvest it is a common practice for the farmer to set his field alight to burn up the useless stubble and weeds. He doesn’t destroy the field; he just gets rid of the useless fruit that remains. So it is with Christians. Come the day of judgement all of the useless fruit (deeds of the flesh) are burned, but not the Christian themselves.
This scripture is only talking about the fruit of a Christian and not his salvation. So, this scripture does not support the idea that a Christian can lose his salvation. This is born out by what the writer says in verses 9 and 10.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games, exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air. But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Paul is using athletics as a way of making a point. He uses the idea of being discipled in order to obtain the prize and not be disqualified. Some people think that Paul is saying that if he doesn’t work hard enough, he could lose his salvation. This is because of the final word in verse 27 which is translated in most bibles as ‘disqualified’. This sounds like Paul is saying that he might be disqualified from winning the prize which some interpret as salvation. This misunderstanding is made worse by the King James Version translating it as ‘castaway’. However, the original Greek word was ‘adokimos’ which should be translated as ‘not approved’.
So, what Paul is concerned about is that his efforts or works should be approved by God. In other words, that he is only doing the works that the Holy Spirit has directed him to do (good works). So, this text is not about salvation but about doing good works or producing good fruit.
1 John 5:16-17
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and is a sin not leading to death.
In this passage, John talks about sin leading to death and some Christians think that this sin results in the loss of salvation. This sin is committed by a believer and it is not the unforgiveable sin. So, there is a sin that leads to death, but what does this mean? Sometimes when a Christian habitually or grievously sins they sometimes die as a result of it. The death is only physical death.
We see an example of this in 1 Corinthians 11:30 when Paul talks about some Christians who became sick and others who fell asleep (physical death). This happened because of the way they were treating the Lord’s Supper. So, they died as a result of this sin. We see another example in Act 5:1-11 where Ananias and Sapphira die as a result of lying to the Holy Spirit.
So, we see that in some rare circumstances, Christians die as a result of some kind of sinful behaviour. What is happening on these occasions is that the Lord is disciplining them so severely that they die. He does this in order to get them to heaven more quickly to stop things from getting any worse. We all have to die sometime for all sorts of reasons but for some Christians it is because of some kind of sin. Physical death does not result in a loss of salvation otherwise we would all lose our salvation when we die. Sin leading to death is not something that affects our salvation.
Matthew 24:13
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Those who believe that we can lose our salvation see this verse as supporting their understanding. However, when they do so they are making two mistakes; they are taking it out of context and they fail to understand the original Greek word which is translated as saved. The Greek word translated as saved is ‘sozo’ and it can mean either saved or delivered, depending on the context. It can also mean healed or made whole. The way in which ‘sozo’ is translated depends on the context.
So, what is the context on this occasion? Jesus is talking about the Tribulation at the end of the age, just before the Second Coming. At that time many believers will be killed and Jesus wants to give assurance that those who endure to the end of this awful period will be saved or ‘delivered’ out of it when Jesus comes back.
So, in its context, this verse has got nothing to do with salvation. It is about the believers of that future period being rescued from a dire situation.
Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
This is another text that is quoted by those who believe that we can lose our salvation. But once again it is being misinterpreted because it is taken out of context.
So, what is the context? The key to understanding the context are the words ‘on that day’. This is referring to the day of judgement and on that day, Jesus will say to some people that he never knew them and he will cast them out of his presence. In other words, there will be some people on that day who will claim to be believers by virtue of the things they have done but we are not saved by works. In order to be saved we must be born again and enter into a relationship with the Father through Jesus. As David Watson once said, ‘Christianity is all about relationships; relationships with God and relationships with our neighbours.’
On the day of judgement, Jesus will say to those who have done some works but have not been born again, “I never knew you.” Notice the word ‘never’. These are not people who where once saved (born again) and lost it at some point. No, these are people who have never been saved (born again).
2 Timothy 2:11-13
It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us: If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny himself.
The part of this text that seems to suggest that we can lose our salvation is in verse 12 where it says, ‘If we deny him, He also denies us.’ But this statement must be taken in context because it also says in verse 13 that, ‘If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
The key to understanding verse 12 is the word, ‘deny’. It is translated from the Greek word, ‘arneomai’ which means to repudiate or disown. But it can also mean ‘to deny someone a blessing or a benefit’. So, the use of the word ‘deny’ in verse 12 does not necessarily mean to disown Jesus.
However, if we do accept it as meaning to disown Jesus, then verse 13 has something important to say about that. In verse 13 Paul tells us that, if we are faithless, Jesus remains faithful to us. In other words, if we lose our faith in Jesus (we disown Him), Jesus remains faithful to us because He cannot deny (disown) Himself. Paul is able to say this because he knows that salvation is the work of God, not the work of man. We see this in Romans 8:30. So, Paul is saying that Jesus cannot disown us because that would mean disowning Himself, which is something He cannot do.
If, after being born again, there comes a time when we lose our faith in Jesus, our salvation is not affected and this is down to the character of Jesus. He is in us and we are in Him. Furthermore, Jesus cannot deny Himself the blessing He deserves and we are His blessing, His inheritance.
Other Considerations
God is omniscient. In other words, He knows everything – past, present and future. So, God knows all about each of us before He chooses us in Christ and this is before were even born. See Ephesians 1:4. Before we were born, He knew everything about us; every detail. He knew every problem, every sin and all of our weaknesses and failings. With all of that knowledge He still chose us to be holy and blameless before Him. He knew exactly what it would take to complete our salvation and He had a perfect plan that covered every eventuality. If He didn’t then He would not be God. No one’s sins or weaknesses can catch God unawares. Some people believe that a person can be saved for a few years and then do something so terrible (that God knew about anyway) that they can lose their salvation. Why would God go to all of the trouble of saving us knowing that we would eventually commit some unforgivable sin or reject Him?
As I pointed out in my introduction, salvation is a free gift from God. In Romans 6:23 Paul tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” A wage is earned, but a gift is given. A gift is never earned or given as a reward. So, eternal life, which is what we receive when we are saved, is a gift. Paul also tells us in Romans 11:29, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Therefore, the gift of salvation is irrevocable. Which means that it will not be withdrawn. Not one person exists who could say to God, “I’m going to reverse the gift of salvation you have given me.” If there was something we could do to lose our salvation, it would mean that we could revoke what God has said is irrevocable.
God the Father planned our salvation. If His plan is flawed then we have no hope. But it can’t be flawed because He is God. See Ephesians 1:3-7. Our salvation began with God the Father and as Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6 He will complete it. If we say that we can lose our salvation then we are saying that the Father’s plan is flawed and that we are greater than He is.
Jesus died on the cross for all the sins of the world. He died for all of our sins; past, present and future. All sins have been dealt with, including faithlessness. Therefore, no sin can affect God’s plan. Not only did Jesus die for all sins, He is now interceding for us constantly. See 1 John 2:1. Jesus is our advocate, interceding for us with the Father each time we sin. Jesus is also our judge. In God’s courtroom Jesus is both our defence layer and our judge. In both rolls he is working for us. As Paul says in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who is against us?” How can we lose? If we believe we might lose our salvation, then we are saying that Jesus, despite being both judge and advocate, may still lose our case. The Father gives those of us who have been born again to Jesus for safekeeping. See John 6:37-40. Will Jesus fail to keep us safe? Of course not.
When we are born again, we are immediately sealed with the Holy Spirit. See Ephesians 1:13-14. Being sealed means that we have been bought (redeemed) and that the transaction is finalised. It also means that we belong to God and that our salvation is secure; it cannot be broken or revoked. It is God’s seal and it cannot be touched or broken.
When we are saved, we are born again into God’s family. See Galatians 3:26. We become sons of God. No matter what we do after that, God the Father is still our father. Even if we deny that God is our Father, He is still our father just like it is with our natural fathers. There is no escape, He will always be our Father and we will always be His son. Family is family.
The purpose of the Christian life is to become like Jesus Christ. When we are born again, we receive Christ and His righteousness in us. His righteousness is imputed to us (justification). But it does not end there. We then begin a process in which His righteousness is imparted to us. This is the process of sanctification or being made holy. Holiness is not an optional extra. One of the marks of a true Christian is that, over time, he is changed to be more like Jesus Christ. Although justification and sanctification are different processes, you cannot have one without the other.
The call to holiness is a major theme in the New Testament and those who believe that we can lose our salvation think that by failing to live holy lives we can lose our salvation. However, those scriptures that appeal to us to live holy lives never contain a threat of lost salvation. Let’s look at some examples:
Titus 2:11-13
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:11-14
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.
Colossians 3:1-5
Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Those who believe that we can lose our salvation often point to people who claim that they once were Christians but that they no longer are. However, many such people were never born again in the first place. Such people can have an outward appearance of being a Christian without any inner change. The Pharisees that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 23:27 were an example of this. The Church has always been plagued with such people; more than most of us realise. When one of these people stop being a Christian too many Christians see this as proof that we can lose our salvation. But often enough they have not examined these people closely enough to see if they pass the bible tests of what it means to be a true Christian.
Those Christians who believe that we can lose our salvation by choosing to deny Christ, fail to understand the character of God, the completeness of His work of salvation and the meaning of the covenant that we are now under in the Church Age. They make the mistake of thinking that we are in control of our salvation; that we choose to believe in Christ and we choose when not to believe in Him. This is what I call an over-realised free will.
Conclusion
Salvation is God’s work and He is in control of it. He planned it and He executes it. We have a part to play in it because of our free will but our part is limited and cannot affected the final outcome. That is what the scriptures overwhelmingly tell us. Those who believe that we can lose our salvation fail to see this because they want to emphasise free will too much and don’t apply proper hermeneutics to the interpretation of scripture. In particular, they do not look at the context and they misinterpret words or phrases such as ‘falling away’.
There is overwhelming evidence in scripture to support the doctrine of eternal security and I cannot find a single text that supports the idea that we can lose our salvation after we have been born again.
Eternal security is one of the most important biblical doctrines and is part of what the scriptures call good news. Understanding eternal security makes Christians strong, knowing that no matter what happens our salvation truly is eternal and that there is no risk of us losing it. Jesus repeatedly told his disciples not to fear. But if we believe that we can lose our salvation then we must live our lives in constant fear. The Lord Jesus does not want us to do this.
Therefore, be assured that your salvation is eternally secure. Once saved, always saved.
Comments of C H Spurgeon on John 10:28
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
We believe in the eternal security of the saints. First, because they are Christ’s, and he will never lose the sheep which be has bought with his blood, and received of his Father.
Next, because he gives them eternal life, and if it be eternal, well then, it is eternal, and there can be no end to it, unless there can be an end to hell, and heaven, and God. If spiritual life can die out, it is manifestly not eternal life, but temporary life. But the Lord speaks of eternal life, and that effectually shuts out the possibility of an end.
Observe, further, that the Lord expressly says, ‘They shall never perish.’ As long as words have meaning, this secures believers from perishing. The most obstinate unbelief cannot force this meaning out of this sentence.
Then, to make the matter complete, he declares that his people are in his hand, and he defies all their enemies to pluck them out of it. Surely it is a thing impossible even for the fiend of hell. We must be safe in the grasp of an Almighty Saviour.
Be it ours to dismiss carnal fear as well as carnal confidence, and rest peacefully in the hollow of the Redeemer’s hand.