Ardent American Patriot and Lover of Israel
Can Christians lose their salvation?
“God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19
Before this question is answered, the term “Christian” must be defined.
A “Christian” is not a person who has said a prayer, or walked down an aisle, or been raised in a Christian family. While each of these things can be a part of the Christian experience, they are not what “makes” a Christian. A Christian is a person who has, by faith, received and fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior:
“Purifying your souls in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, love one another fervently out of a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living Word of God, and abiding forever.” I Peter 1:22-23
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17
“And leading them outside, he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your household.” Acts 16:30-31
“For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
So, with this definition in mind, can a Christian lose salvation? Perhaps the best way to answer this crucially important question is to examine what the Bible says occurs at salvation, and to study what losing salvation would therefore entail. Here are a few examples:
A Christian is a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
This verse speaks of a person becoming an entirely new creature as a result of being “in Christ.” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be canceled and reversed.
A Christian is redeemed.
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
The word “redeemed” refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase that He paid for with the precious blood of Christ.
A Christian is justified.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
To “justify” means to “declare righteous.” All those who receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and “undeclare” what He had previously declared. This is also a stumbling block for those who adhere to “replacement theology” and the idea that, somehow, God has “undeclared” His eternal covenant with a remnant of true Israel – granting His promises of blessing to the New Testament church instead. This doctrine makes God out a liar.
A Christian is promised eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Eternal life is a promise of eternity (forever) in Heaven with God. God promises, “believe and you will have eternal life.” For a Christian to lose salvation, eternal life would have to be taken away. If a Christian is promised to live forever, how then can God break this promise by taking away eternal life?
A Christian is guaranteed glorification.
“And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:30
As we learned in Romans 5:1, justification is declared at the moment of faith. According to Romans 8:30, glorification is guaranteed for all those whom God justifies. Glorification refers to a Christian receiving a perfect resurrection body in Heaven. If a Christian can lose salvation, Romans 8:30 is in error, because God could not guarantee glorification for all those whom He predestines, calls, and justifies.
Many more illustrations of what occurs at salvation could be shared. Even these few, though, make it abundantly clear that a Christian cannot lose salvation. Most, if not all, of what the Bible says occurs to a person when he/she receives Jesus Christ as Savior would be invalidated if salvation could be lost. Salvation cannot be reversed. A Christian cannot be un-newly created. Redemption cannot be undone. Eternal life cannot be lost and still be considered eternal. If a Christian can lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and change His mind – two things that Scripture tells us God never does!
“God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19
The most frequent objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation are:
- what about those who are Christians and continually live an immoral lifestyle?
- what about those who are Christians but later reject the faith and deny Christ?
The problem with these two objections is the assumption “are Christians.”
The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a continually immoral lifestyle:
“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as that One is righteous. He who practices sin is of the Devil, for the Devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might undo the works of the Devil.” I John 3:7-8
The Bible declares that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he/she never truly was a Christian:
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they were of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out so that it might be revealed that they were not all of us.” I John 2:19
Nothing can separate a Christian from God’s love:
“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Nothing can remove a Christian from God’s hand:
“And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never ever perish, and not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand. My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29
God is both willing and able to guarantee and maintain the salvation He has given us:
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25
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November 4, 2009 - 8:34 am
Can an individual wind up in hell after being born again by the power of God? Man says yes because in mans ignorant wisdom negates what Gods power has wonderfully done, man stoops in his intellectual exercise in his own unfaithfulness and tries to rationalize it into some kind of theology 101!
Jesus said
“When he the comforter has come he will guide you in all truth….”
and
If man is unfaithful Jesus will remain faithful for he cannot disown himself….
The only way any that any blood bought born again believer can lose their salvation is that right now one must go to the heavens and destroy all the streets of gold. Then after that bad that individual must destroy all the angels at Holy Gods command. Then after that feat the last thing the individual must do is take on Holy God himself. This is impossible so any individual who called out to Jesus for salvation by repentance cannot and will not lose their salvation it would be a paradox in the face of God’s holy word and the payment of mans sin by the blood of his dear son Jesus Christ!
Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Some point to Hebrews 6:4-6: which says
4. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5. And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh…
(Did it say renew them again unto salvation? no.) Let me give it a go on what was meant in that ole scary verse.
Two friends were told by God that everything in the 7 eleven store is free because he paid for it. The two friends go into the store and just get two sodas, freely. On the way out one friend thinks to himself this is not right I should have to pay for this free soda, while the other friend goes outside resting on Gods promise of the free soda. The other friend pulls out his money, works, and wants to pay for his soda, he is not resting on the promises of God. Does he negate what God has said? Does he now live by his works of righteousness? Is he tossing the standard of repentance out the window with his wanting to pay for the free gift? Will he know”if we confess our sins he is faithfull and just to forgive our sins.”
Think this through asking God for wisdom and this verse will no longer be scary but a loving reminder of the grace you posses through Jesus Christ.