Christians, what is your view on "once saved, always saved"?

Question

All of my Christian friends tend to believe this. But I tend to believe that if you are saved and don't walk the walk, and have back-slidden then you can lose your salvation.

Answer 1

Wow, good question. "Once saved, always saved" is something I myself just can't agree with. I believe salvation is an ongoing, lifelong, process. I don't think that a person can say a "magic prayer" and BOOM! You're saved and never have to worry about your salvation ever again.

I believe that you have to constantly ask for forgiveness. ACT like a Christian, and work on becoming more Christ-like every day of the rest of your life. If you don't, then you can easily slide back into sin and temptation and fall away from God and Jesus.

Answer 2

I believe once saved, always saved...

You didn't work to get salvation, you can't work to keep it. Salvation is a gift - not a wage. God made sure that salvation was and is available to anyone who would except it through Jesus Christ His son.

I do believe that if a child of God gets to far back-slidden that your life may be shortened, but I believe God is a patient God and is willing to forgive sin.

What sends you to hell is the rejection of God's son. God will deal with all hearts through His Spirit and you will then have an opportunity to accept or reject Him.

No where in the Bible do I read how to be resaved, nor do I read of anyone that was saved and then lost. How can you "undo" a spirital birth?

Christians don't quit sinning - we are still human, but we do have forgiveness through Jesus. We are made a new creature in Him and our old desires are passed away. When you are truly saved you want to please God...

Answer 3

There are currently two views on this issue. One is the Calvinist or Augustinian position (once saved always saved) and the other is the Arminian position (it is possible to lose one's salvation).

I hold to the augustinian.Calvinist view which is based primarily on two doctrines: the doctrine of election (uconditional) and the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.

I hope this helps.

Unconditional Election views election to
salvation as being grounded entirely in the sovereign will of God. Election is “unconditional” in that those who are elected to salvation had nothing whatsoever to do with their being chosen; nothing that they contributed merit-wise or otherwise to influence God in His selection of them for salvation. There is much Scriptural support for unconditional election. On the negative side it has a problem with those verses in Scripture that affirm human free will and human responsibility.

Perseverance of the Saints states that those who once become true (regenerated) Christians cannot totally fall away and be lost (apostatize); that while they may fall into sin temporarily (backslide), they will eventually return and be saved. All who are chosen by God (the elect), redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the very end.

Scriptural Support for the Doctrine of Perseverance:
* Jn. 6: 39-40 - It is the Father's will that the Son does not lose any of those that were chosen and given to Him.
* Jn. 10:27-29 – The “sheep” can never be lost because no one is powerful enough to “snatch them away” from the hand of the Father.
l Rom. 8:35-39 – The promise is that no created thing will ever separate God’s children from God.
* Jude 24 – 25 – God is supremely able to keep believers from falling away.
* Philp 1:6 - If God has really begun a good work in an individual, He will be successful in completing it.

Doctrines that Support the Perseverance
* The Doctrine of Election
* The Doctrine of the Priestly Intercession of Christ
* The Doctrine of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

BUT What about warnings in Scripture about the dangers of falling away? For example, Heb 6:4-8?

It is important to remember that the Epistle to the Hebrews was addressed to people of Jewish background, some of who were genuinely converted, and some not – as is true in any church today! Verses 4 – 5 describes the experience of those who had been exposed to the message of the gospel, understood it, made a profession of faith, associated themselves with the church (like Simon Magus), but have fallen short of actual salvation, i.e., they were not really saved. Under pressure of persecution or the difficulties associated with the Christian life, these people turned away from the faith (apostatized; v. 6). Hardened by this act of apostasy, there is no possibility of bringing them again to repentance. For these apostates, there is only the certainty of eternal condemnation and judgment. Warning passages like this reveal that the writers of Scripture were very keen to alert those whose hope of salvation might be grounded in a spurious faith. Obviously the apostolic authors were not laboring under the illusion that every person in the churches to whom they were writing was genuinely converted.

Answer 4

They make up an answer for that: which you under no circumstances extremely believed in the 1st place, even nonetheless you probably did. Or which you will bypass to heaven no count number what. they often cases quote the verse approximately being in the hand of God and being no longer able to be snatched away, yet Jesus is conversing approximately those which would be in heaven, no longer the human beings on the earth. Now some human beings will say that may not a dazzling interpretation, however the early Church Fathers (John of Demascus for confident) interpreted that passage to be relating human beings in heaven, and he even used that passage to preserve the respect of the saints, who're in heaven. So who're you going to have confidence? some guy that each and one and started a church some years in the past, or 2,000 years of Church historic previous? My money is on the later. OSAS is a pretend coaching.

Answer 5

Once saved you are always saved. We are saved by God's grace, by unmerited favor. We are saved not by any good that we have done and we have not by any means earned our salvation. Jesus died on the cross to save us and we are saved by the finished work of Jesus Christ alone and by His shed blood.
It stands up to reason that since we did not earn our salvation by our good works, on the contrary, any sin committed by us, however gross, will not cause us to lose our salvation. We receive our salvation by believing in Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us to gaurantee us our salvation forever. Our righteousness is a gift from God we cannot earn it. Gal 5:4 says that if we try to earn our justification by obeying the law we have fallen from grace, a far cry from saying you have lost your salvation. It is a settled principle that one who is truly born again is judged by God for rewards never for punishment - for there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus - Rom 8:1. If the Son has set you free you are free indeed! - John 8:36

Answer 6

I believe that once a person exercises saving faith in Jesus Christ, he or she is forever in the family of God. God never kicks anyone our of his forever family. A number of Scripture passages support this view. For example, in 1 Corinthians 12:13 we are told that at the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit places us in the body of Christ. Once we are infused into the body of Christ, we are never excised from the body. In fact, Ephesians 1:12 and 4:30 indicate that at the moment of believing in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are permanently "sealed" by the Holy Spirit. At that point, we are God's everlasting property. That seal guarantees that we'll make it to heaven.
Moreover, we read in John 10:28-30 that it is the Father's purpose to keep us secure despite anything that might happen once we have trusted in Christ. Nothing can snatch us out of His hands. God's plans cannot be thwarted (Isaiah 14:24). Further, Romans 8:29-30 portrays an unbroken chain that spans from the predestination of believers to their glorification in heaven.
Another fact we need to keep in mind is that Christ regularly prays for each Christian (Hewbews 7:25). With Jesus interceding for us, we are sucure. (His prayers are always answered!)
Of course, the fact that a believer is secure in his salvation does not mean he is free to sin. If the Christian sins and remains in that sin, Scripture says that God will discipline him or her just as a father disciplines his children (see Hebrews 12:7-11).
Source(s):
The Complete Book of Bible Answers by Ron Rhodes

Answer 7

I believe in perseverance of the saints, or once-saved-always-saved, because when Jesus hung on the cross and died for me, He took away ALL my sins (even future ones) and He didn't set any conditions at all. When I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior, He didn't say, "OK, I forgive you so far, but if you sin again, the deal's off." Even saved people sin every day, so we have all "backslid." If salvation were conditional, we would have the power to set God's work at naught, and that's absurd.

Answer 8

John 3:16 promises eternal life. That doesn't begin at death, it begins at the point of salvation. Eternal doesn't mean temporary. It is God's promise to the one who believes in Him. I think if people "get saved" and then turn away, it means they never really experienced salvation. Or else they can backslide and lose faith but eventually return.

Answer 9

I believe that God does not force Salvation on anyone. A lot of backsliders and Christians that only talk the talk are just immature in their walk, and God only knows if their hearts are sincere or not. The Bible says we will know them by their fruits. If these immature ones are growing even at a slow pace, then they are still bearing fruit. I have also backslid myself a few times and Jesus said He will never leave me nor forsake me. If He did, I wouldn't know how much He really loves me. I thank Him for not giving up on me when in my weakness, I gave up on Him.

Answer 10

You can not lose a relationship with Christ that is nurtured and pursued. From that relationship, you are able to walk the walk. It's an outpour of your growth in Him as He indwells in you. So the issue may be in discipleship. You see, the battle is for your mind and heart. That is why, when you examine the "armor of God"... you have to forge the helmet of salvation, in a sense as you put it on daily... not that you can lose your salvation but you can lose your confidence that His death on the cross is sufficient. "Study yourself approved" so you will be assured of His precious gift for He indwells you but this "peace that surpasses understanding" is only in Christ Jesus. Don't take for granted the relationship He desires to have with you in this life which leads on to the next.... Dwelling with Christ, on His Word, practicing His ways in gratitude ... surrendering your life to Him because He gave up His for you...
Reflect and live in His peace.

The Salvation we can't lose is hidden in your relationship with Christ - if He indwells you, how then can you lose Him?