Board index ‹ Salvation

[Head William]

Can I ask if you hold to loss of salvation? Many teachers preach that one may lose their salvation. What's your view and maybe a couple of scriptures on it? Thank you. How many times can one lose salvation.....once , twice . or none?

[jimwalton]

I know there is some disagreement among Christians, but the overwhelming position of Scripture is that it’s impossible to lose one’s salvation. Once one is saved, he is always saved. I know it gets tricky when we see people walk away from Christ, and some never come back. The eternal station of those people only God knows, and he is fit to judge. It just creates confusion for us mere earthlings, and we make up things like, “Well, then, that person was never really saved, I guess.” And that may be true, but it puts us in the place of judge, trying to balance the equation of “This person really seemed to be saved” with “But they walked away from the faith, for sure.”

Some of the theology behind eternal security:

1. God is powerful and faithful, both willing and able to keep his promises.
2. We cannot earn a place in heaven. Salvation is a gift, and is often described as adoption.
3. God, in love, has made us his children. The family relationship must be a lasting one, lasting forever. Perfect parents don’t get rid of their children. Children may wander, but God never stops being the father.
4. God goes out of his way to express his love to his children, and to know their privilege and security as being members of his family (Romans 8.16).

You wanted some verses.

Romans 8.29-30, 38-39; 14.4; 6.6-11
1 Peter 1.3-5
Philippians 1.6
Hebrews 7.25
John 10.27-30; 14.9; 6.37
2 Timothy 1.12
John 3.3-7 - Spiritual birth, like physical birth, can’t be undone
Ephesians 1.13; 4.30. We are sealed: guaranteed and protected
Luke 8.18 - People who fell away were only deceiving themselves
Hebrews 6.11; 10.22; 2 Peter 1.10 - Eternal security is implied by the teaching that we can be assured of our salvation.
Any reference to eternal life. “Eternal” means it never ends

To be fair, there are places in the Bible where it sounds like you can lose your salvation.

Matt. 24.3-14 - Why would such a warning be necessary if falling away were impossible?
Colossians 1.21-23a
1 Cor. 10.12
Hebrews 2.1; 3.12-14; 6.4-6, 11-12; 10.26-27
1 Corinthians 9.27 - Disqualified?
Acts 5.1-11 - Ananias and Sapphire
1 Tim. 1.19-20
2 Tim. 2.16-18; 4.10
2 Peter 2.1-2
Matthew 7.17-23 - Not everyone who says “Lord” will go to heaven
Mark 13.13 - Salvation is based on your own endurance
Mark 4.16-19 - Some start to grow but don’t survive
Ezekiel 18.24 - It’s possible to use what you had
John 15.6 - A branch, once connected to the vine, doesn’t produce fruit and is cut off and burned

So why do I believe in eternal security? It looks like there’s an even split.

John 10.27-30 and Hebrews 6.4-6. John uses the strongest Greek negative, as if there’s no way it could ever happen. There is a strong and definite rejection of the possibility. But Hebrews 6 is also strong. The key to the Hebrews text is in verse 9: They will NOT fall away; they could, but they won’t. Genuine believers will not fall away; God will make certain that if their faith was genuine, they will be held in God’s hand.

Then what is the point of the warnings? They are the means God uses to keep us in the fold. It’s like a parent warning a child that if he runs into the street he might be killed. They could build a fence, but if they teach the child self-restraint and discipline, the child is both free and safe.

The bottom line is that a true Christian cannot lose his salvation. Salvation is permanent; nothing can separate us from the love of God. On the other hand, the Bible is clear that our security is never meant as an excuse for laziness and sin.

[Head William]

you say “Eternal” means it never ends its everlasting. yet ther are scores of verses that clearly say everlasting is not eternal. I give you one quotation from Exo_40:15: And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

The everlasting priesthood came to an end. Its gone .

I think you are sitting on the fence by not being more definite in your scriptures you give that say yes and no . that is a contradiction cant be both.

I thought eternal meant aoinian life. (possibly not spelt right).

[jimwalton]

You’re right that “eternal” doesn’t always mean “eternal” in the Bible. The context tells us whether they mean something different by it or not. We would be safe in concluding, however, that in most of the there verses about salvation, eternal means eternal, but we would have to discuss them one by one.

You’re right about Ex. 40.15, but that’s not one of the verses I used.

I didn’t think I was sitting on the fence, but trying to be both honest and fair. There are verses in the Bible that seem to weigh in both directions, but I believe that when examined more deeply, it’s not indefinite at all, and I concluded with a confident statement that salvation is a permanent status and situation.

We can talk about the terms more if you would like. They do have a little bit of nuance to them.