"Make Your Mark for Christ in 2010"

Security

Can a believer who is saved ever lose their salvation?

The answer is “no”.

Sin brings death, both physically and spiritually. God's salvation gives rebirth. And the new life that salvation brings is eternal. A spiritually reborn person can no more become spiritually unborn any more than a physically born person can become physically unborn. The gift of new life that God graciously gives at salvation is eternal. It is eternal because God chose to make it this way.

Just as He chose to make caterpillars in such a way that once they become butterflies they will never return to the state of being caterpillars, so he made the salvation that is received upon trusting in Jesus to be an eternity altering decision that cannot be undone. This eternal security is given to us not because we deserve it, but simply because God chose to make it this way.

To understand how we know this from God's Word, we first look at the fall of man. Before Adam and Eve had ever sinned, God had warned Adam not to eat the fruit of a specific tree, and that if he ate this fruit he would die that same day...

Genesis 2
16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

However Adam did eat of that tree and did not physically die that day.  God's judgment was that the ground would be cursed and Adam would have to work hard to get the ground to grow food.  This tells us that Adam had more days of physical life after this...

Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Then two chapters later the bible specifically tells us that Adam did not physically die...

Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived...

This is a little confusing until we understand the difference between physical life and spiritual life. Man has a spirit, and the spirit is the part of us that makes us able for God to have a relationship with us. It through our spirit that God knows us...

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

When Adam sinned his spirit died and God was no longer able to have any relationship with him. And in order for any relationship to be restored Adam's spirit must be reborn. The book of John helps us to understand this. Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again...

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus was confused about this. He thought that Jesus was talking about physical rebirth, but Jesus made it clear that there are two types of birth, physical and spiritual...

John 3
5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

This rebirth brings with it new spiritual life. It is a gift that God gives to all those who turn to Jesus for the gift. As we read on in the book of John we find verse after verse that makes it clear that this new life is eternal.

Notice the eternal life in the following verses. It is something that we have now, not just when we get to Heaven...

John 3
15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:

 

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

 

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

 

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

 

John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

 

John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Could God have made it any clearer? Sin brings spiritual death, but God's gift of salvation brings spiritual life and that life is eternal...

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This gift is not just life, but eternal life.

Suppose I had a car for sale and I told you that the engine was very special and that it had eternal life and would never stop working. So you buy the car. But what if 5 years later the engine blows a gasket and the motor stops working? You would then have to conclude that either I didn't know what I was talking about when I sold it to you or else I am a liar.

God has put His reputation at stake in telling us we "shall live for ever".

Since I have trusted Jesus and turned to Him for salvation, then God will have to ensure that I never again die spiritually, or else His Word will become untrue.

The only question left is whether we have received the gift. The gift is free for the asking to all who turn to Jesus for it...

Romans 10
12  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

However this calling upon the Lord for salvation must be done before we die physically.  After that it is too late.  If I refuse to call upon Him now, He will not respond to my calls after I am judged...

Proverbs 1
24  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25  But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27  When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28  Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

So turn to Him now if you never have. Read the salvation page for more info on how to be saved.

There are verses in the bible that may confuse us before we become solid in our understanding of God's Word. Some of these verses may seem to lead us at first glance to think that we might be able to lose our salvation. However all of these once taken into context can be shown not to be contradictions. Coming to Church and getting involved in discipleship is a good place to ask questions about any verses that confuse us.