Can you be un-saved as a Christian?

Question

This is in response to another question. I had a pastor once tell me that once you're saved that's it, you're going to heaven no matter what, and that nothing except renouncing God can un-save you. Consider the bridge metaphor: God's on one side, we're on the other, and once we're saved we cross the bridge and we are with God. I guess what I'm asking is could this bridge be a two-way street, or just one-way? Let me know what you all think, I'm looking for serious answers please.

I ask this question from personal experience. I was totally on fire and was very pushy about my salvation when in high school, and when I got to college I majored in Religion, and began to think about it more rationally than emotionally. Now I'm not as on-fire as I was then, but still believe the basic truths of Christianity, and still put my faith in God.

Answer 1

I believe once in never out. Once you've handed your life over to God how is it possible to take it back? We do all sorts of symbolic gestures to maintain our religious status baptism and what not but even if you turn away from God He doesn't turn you away. the Book gives a lost lamb analogy. If you belong to the Shepard even if you run away to the next country you still belong to Him right?
And the marriage analogy about throwing her ring at her husband. Even after you get a divorce you are never Miss again you become Ms. Some trace of that union remains.
Just food for thought.

Answer 2

The people I know who are saved....there is no question of turning back. Their lives revolve around Christ, so to turn away would mean letting go of everything that holds them together. Being saved is like falling in love. If you fall "out" of love, I would argue that you never fell in love in the first place.

To go back to your metaphor, I'd say that bridge is burned. And once you cross you can't even see or remember what was on the other side.

Answer 3

I am a firm believer in "once saved always saved" simply because in John 17 Jesus prays for his followers and states that, "None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled." (v. 12). I have spent the past 20 minutes or so searching for another verse I Corinthians 5:5 ...that there comes a point where we will be handed over to Satan for destruction of the flesh that the soul (spirit) may be saved. This means that God knows our human nature and He knows the choices we will make....and if one of His children start down a path that will lead to the ultimate desecration of their souls He will hand them over to the enemy so that their bodies will be destroyed before their souls are so far gone.

Once you belong to Christ....You will always belong to Christ. Nothing is powerful enough to strip us away from his hand.

Answer 4

Heb 6:4-6
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
NOV

It is a very serious offense, blasphemy. It leads to total rejection of Jesus, and permanent loss of your soul.

There are many arguments about being saved forever and salvation lost.

Is this man still your pastor? Are you asking because you want to know for yourself or just because of another question?

I believe that once you are saved, that you can backslide, but that the Holy Spirit will convict your heart and let you know that you need to repent.

Repent means to turn away from sin, and while we all sin sometimes in our life, we are still saved, by grace.

I have faith that I can learn, stumble, grow, fall short, and that my Abba Father will love me. Just like a father here on earth, he will chastise me, teach me, and help me. Thank goodness for the scripture that says, "Love covers a multitude of sins".

Answer 5

A lot of bible-believing Christians disagree on this one. I have two theories that I cannot decide between:

1. You are once saved, always saved. If you are truly saved, you will never fall away, because you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, or...

2. IF you were saved, but you decide to reject God and live in rebellion to Him, you will "put off" your salvation.

I lean more towards #1. I believe if a person is really, truly saved, they never wish to leave it, because they know what awaits a sinner at death. One thing I'm certain of: Salvation is not accidentally lost. If I lose my wedding band, or if I take it off and throw it at my husband, those are two very different things, right? So losing our salvation may or may not be possible, but it is CERTAINLY something we cannot accidentally do just by messing up.

Answer 6

God knows only humans. He does not understand the divisions that exist in the world of ours. In His world there is no such difference.

All those who continue to believe in God and stay that way till the end, are definitely saved.

Not necessarrily on your judgement day. God will be with you in the present: That is more important than getting saved on a future day where you neither exist nor understand it with your present mind & intellect!

Answer 7

To answer your question I suppose it is possible. You can claim to be a Christian but never have asked Jesus to be your personal Lord and Savior and to turn your life over to him. A true Christian in my opinion is someone who is saved and once you are saved thats it. You can backslide as alot of Christians do because after all we are still human. Even backsliding does not take away your salvation. Jesus loves you and is always there for you in good times and in bad. But Salvation makes you even closer to him.

Answer 8

Once saved, Always saved isn't just rhetoric. It's real.

Remember studying Titus? "Even if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful."

The Holy Spirit cannot lie. If we are Christians, then we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit cannot, indwelling us, say, "I'm not here."

"Faith without works is dead," but if you're a Spirit-indwelled Christian, how can you not have works?

Those who come to say "I USED to be a Christian" either don't want to admit it for some reason, or never were.

Answer 9

Can you be a Christian and be unsaved? Yes. You can be a Christian and be unsaved and out of fellowship. Are there Christians going to hell? Unfortunately, yes.

Being a Christian means that you believe in Jesus and His role as Redeemer.

Being saved, however, means that you have completely given your life to Christ. It takes being a Christian to another level! You're not perfect, but you have made a decision to allow the Lord to guide you in every aspect of your life. You must be SAVED to be with God eternally.

Being out of fellowship means that you once belonged to a body of Christ, but you've dropped out. You have no church home. Fellowship is essential to reep the full benefit of salvation. Once out of fellowship, the enemy has you right where he wants you...alone and vulnerable. For those that say they don't have to be in church to worship God, that's true to an extent. We can and should worship Him wherever we are. But, you also need to be grounded in a church. There are no examples in the bible of Christians on their own...not in fellowship with other Chrisitans. It's just the opposite. Example after example of Christians worshiping together, praying together, suffering together, rejoicing together and supporting each other.

This isn't a message of gloom and doom. Quite the contrary. It is a message of love and salvation. We all have the opportunity to be with God and revel in His glory for eternity. The choice is up to each of us.

Answer 10

"...and I will say to them depart from Me for I never knew you." What constitutes True Salvation? If the evidence is there of the Holy Spirit, a conversion of heart, fruit of the Love of God in the life, then I would say you are there eternally and there will be no falling away, even if you slip and backslide. But, if those things aren't there, and its a case of "with their lips they praise Me, but their hearts are far from Me," then there is doubt they entered the Door. Anyone can claim to be a Christian, even leaders, but just confessing it doesn't make it so.