Evangelicals/Born Agains - Once saved, always saved?

Answer 1

Absolutely!

With all due respect, those who subscribe to the erroneous idea that one who has been chosen by God "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4) can ever be lost, display an inadequate knowledge both of the sovereign Lord of the Universe and of His holy word, the Bible.

"Once saved, always saved" - the Scriptural proof:

God's sovereignty -

"Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of my hand; I work, AND WHO WILL REVERSE IT?" (Isaiah 43:13, caps for emphasis. cf. Ephesians 2:10).

"Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, AND I WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE,'" (Isaiah 46:10, caps mine).

"In Him also we have obtained (In the Greek, the aorist tense, generally rendered as past tense, applies) an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS WILL" (Ephesians 1:11, insert & caps mine).

The security of the TRUE believer -

The following Scripture ties in quite nicely with those in the previous category which prove God's sovereignty over ALL things, and what He desires to do, He brings to pass:

""This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all THAT HE HAS GIVEN ME I SHOULD LOSE NOTHING, but should raise it up at the last day." (John 6:39, caps mine)

In addition -

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life (cf. Romans 5:15), and they shall never perish; NEITHER SHALL ANYONE SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; AND NO ONE IS ABLE TO SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY FATHER'S HAND." (John 10:27 - 29, insert & caps mine)

The response to those verses of one who believes that salvation can be lost, is often something like, "Ah! No one can be snatched out of God's hand, but they CAN choose to walk away."

Is that REALLY the case? Can weak, fallen mankind resist the will of the sovereign, omnipotent One? Is it possible for human "free will" to be stronger than the will of God?

Please give consideration to the following -

" 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 CREATED THING (does that not include man and his will?), shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38 & 39, caps & insert mine).

Pretty clear, isn't it?

All TRUE believers in God through Jesus Christ are kept under the care of an all - powerful, loving heavenly Father, who SHALL bring ALL that he has chosen into eternal glory -

"...eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, WHO WILL ALSO CONFIRM YOU TO THE END, THAT YOU MAY BE FOUND BLAMELESS IN THE DAY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST." (1 Corinthians 1:7 & 8, caps mine)

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. HE WHO CALLS YOU IS FAITHFUL, WHO ALSO WILL DO IT." (1 Thessalonians 5:23 & 24, caps mine)

The Bible says that TRUE believers are "..kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:5). Question - Is God all - powerful or not?

Romans 8:28 - 30 is a marvellous, comforting word to God's people concerning not only their eternal security, but also (again) God's sovereignty over their lives -

"And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified ("glorified" is in the aorist tense in the Greek, again, generally rendered in the PAST tense. A done deal, in other words)." (caps & insert mine)

In regard to various Bible passages which are cited as "proof" that a TRUE Christian can be lost -

First of all, it is important to consider such Scriptures (such as the parable of the sower, for example) in the light of the following verse -

"They went out from us, but they were not of us; FOR IF THEY HAD BEEN OF US, THEY WOULD HAVE CONTINUED WITH US; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us." (1 John 2:19, caps mine)

The book of Hebrews - in particular, chapter 6, verses 4 to 8 - is often quoted by the "Once saved, always saved?" crowd to support their view.

In order to properly understand these verses, we must consider the CONTEXT OF THE WHOLE LETTER, which is basically a call to PROFESSING Jewish Christians not to discard their profession of faith in Christ and return to the old Mosaic sacrificial system. The writer of this letter (as with the human authors of all the other epistles) was not omniscient. He apparently did not know for certain who was truly saved and who was not. He wrote to a CONGREGATION of professing believers, a percentage of whom may not have possessed genuine God - given (John 6:44, Ephesians 2:8) saving faith in Christ. By the grace and mercy of God, such ones may have gone on to be granted such a faith, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit by this word.

The verse which immediately follows the warning in 6:4 - 8 offers further insight -

"But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, THINGS THAT ACCOMPANY SALVATION, though we speak in this manner." (Hebrews 6:9, caps mine)

Those who disbelieve the biblical teaching of the eternal security of the TRUE Christian, also refer to 1 Corinthians 10:1 - 12 as "evidence" in favour of their view.

At this point, I would remind you of my earlier comment. Here also, Paul was writing to a congregation of professing Christians, and he almost certainly did not have insight into the spiritual condition of every INDIVIDUAL. This was a BLANKET warning.

In addition, these particular verses do not make explicit reference to any believer forfeiting salvation. However, there is STRONG possibility that this warning pertains to God's CHASTISEMENT of disobedient Christians (TRUE Christians CAN be living in disobedience, take the example of the apostle Peter - Galatians 2:11 - 21). Later in chapter 10, Paul warns the Corinthians against participating in both the Lord's table AND the table of demons, thereby provoking Him to jealousy. The implication is that chastisement will result (as with Israel, including even Moses - Deuteronomy 32:50 & 51).

In the following chapter, Paul continues this thought with reference to the subject of the believer's participation at the Lord's table. This time, the principle of God's CHASTISEMENT (Hebrews 12:5 - 11, Revelation 3:19) of HIS (irreverent) people is clearly delineated -

"For this reason (i.e. participating in communion in an unworthy manner) many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, THAT WE MAY NOT BE CONDEMNED WITH THE WORLD." (1 Corinthians 11:30 - 32, insert & caps mine)

Therefore, strong argument can be made for 1 Corinthians 10:1 - 12 referring to DISCIPLINE, rather than loss of salvation.

I don't mean to sound patronising, sunnyannie, but how sad for you that you do not have assurance of salvation, based upon the truth of God's word. Is this the result of Mormon teaching? God's FREE GIFT of forgiveness, justification & eternal life awaits you & all who sincerely turn to Him - and NOT man - made teachings - believing in Christ crucified & risen from the dead (Romans 3:21 - 26).

May God be gracious to you.

Answer 2

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to get anyone to confess Jesus as Lord and be saved (1 Corinthians 12:3). When one is saved the Holy Spirit comes and lives in one forever (John 14:16). The New Covenant is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2) so the Holy Spirit must inspire one to speak the words that allows the promise of God (be it salvation or other blessings) to manifest in one's life. Here are a few verses to show that our salvation is eternal, complete and forever. Therefore once saved we are always saved:

Hebrews 5:9 And, having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost (marginal note states completely and forever) those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once and for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.

Hebrews 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Answer 3

If you can lose your salvation, then there are some questions that also have to be answered:

- Johnny accepts today, then denies tomorrow, then accepts the next day, then denies the day after that...his death becomes a roulette wheel.

- Acceptance today, He was predestined. Denial, nope, not predestined.

- Acceptance today, Jesus died for Johnny and he's forgiven. Denial, Jesus hands the sins back.

- Johnny falls into a coma and can't accept or deny any more. Now put Johnny in a coma for years and years, it just goes back to his last decision.

- Johnny falls asleep, and it goes back to his last decision.

- Johnny forgets about his last decision, and it goes back to the last time he thought about it. Many years ago.

- Johnny was saved yesterday because he was below the age of reason. Today he denies Christ. If he had been aborted, he would have been saved. Therefore abortion is a good thing.

- God just sits on the sidelines during all of this and begs Johnny to come to him. Some God. Should he be praying to Johnny?

- God knew which decision Johnny would end up with. Oops, wrong day, Johnny goes to Hell. God knew this, and created Johnny anyway. That's not very nice of God. I thought He was loving.

- But now God sadly tosses Johnny in Hell. After creating it for Johnny. God is not only mean, He's schizophrenic.

- "You can't lose salvation but you can forfeit it" -- now there's a shell game with words. God will keep you, but you don't have to keep Him. Leave God out of it if it's up to you.

Answer 4

Jesus said whatever is in my Fathers hands, no one can take out of. When we accept Christ, we are not perfect. Some of us still grossly sin. Some of us backslide. But, when we invited Jesus into our hearts, we were His automatically. If we were sincere about it in our hearts. Satan trys to tear us away from God. He will do all he can. But, we are God's, satan cannot tear us away from God, but he sure can do a number on us and have us believing that we are not saved anymore. Which is why you have so many people inviting Jesus into their heart numerous times, when all you have to do is repent sincerely and ask God to direct your paths.

Edit: I would like to respond to Matt D. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the bible says the old has gone--the new has come. If we truly have accepted Christ, we will have a desire to sin no more. And if we truly repent, we will change. The bible says "you will know them by their fruits." Talking about the fruits of the Spirit. When you accept Christ you will start bearing the fruits of the Spirit. So it is not a point of us being able to sin all the time and it not mattering. Of course, we will still sin and like I stated above, some of it is gross sin. Look at David. He was a man after God's own heart. Didn't he stage a murder to steal a woman from another man? Only God knows our hearts.

Answer 5

Has God indeed said...Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away."? (Luke 8:13)


the scripture clearly teaches BOTH the sovereignty of God AND the free will of men. To deny this is irrational, and must be caused by something other than reason based on scriptural precepts.

The scriptural position is that a person who is saved can forfeit that salvation. The bible teaches those at highest risk of forfeiting their salvation are those who are newly saved, and those who continue on in known disobedience, after being born again.

The elect are those whom God chose, whom God foresaw would both trust in His Son AND who would endure or persevere in the faith given them until the end of their physical life, or the return of Jesus.

Those whose hearts are seeking the Lord with all that is in them, should have no concern about "losing" their salvation. Nor should they have any concern about forfeiting their salvation.

Salvation cannot be lost, but it can be forfeited - this is the nature of covenants in the bible. The bible no where guarantee's someone that salvation once received cannot be turned away from or forfeited by the individual that possesses it.

Receiving salvation involves man's will, and not works. Forfeiting salvation involves man's will, and not works. In the same way the Lord did not force His salvation on anyone, He neither forces anyone to remain in the covenant.

Answer 6

i say.. once TRULY saved, always saved.. because there are countless people who SAY that they are saved but live opposite of what God really wants, they don't really accept Him as personal savior, they don't really love Him, it doesn't really mean anything to them.. But when you're truly saved, you become a new creation.. 2 Corinthians 5:17.. and Jesus is now in you, and i don't believe this can disappear or can be taken away... once you are His, you are His forever..

Answer 7

Jude verse 5 shows how God saved the isrealites and then later punished them So the theory of once saved always saved is not a bible teaching

Answer 8

Evangelistics/Born agains.....they delude themselves in whirling pools of fantasy. Once saved, always saved? Dream on. As if they are going to be saved over all other forms of creation......

Answer 9

Would you give up the greatest thing in your life?

Neither will I.

Will you give away the greatest gift in your life?

Neither will I.

Salvation (being Saved) is the greatest gift of all because it is eternal.

God gave it to me and all believers even though we am a sinner and am not worthy.

John 3 16 For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Answer 10

The parable of the sower shoots this demonic idea stone dead. Jesus said that, for His part, He will never fail. However, that does not mean that a saint cannot reject Him. It is those who persevere to the end who will be saved, those whose love does not grow cold. Satan wants people to stop persevering, get complacent and backslide, and people who believe this teaching very often are spiritually dead. There are churches full of them, singing hymns with gusto (or bravado) on the way to hell.
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Answer 11

To be able to accept such things, you have to accept the other 4 absurd points of calvinsim.

If we are irreversibly saved when we accept Jesus as Lord. why then would Jesus tell us to keep watch? To deny ourselves daily?

So after doing such, I could sin as much as I want and that wouldnt matter? What does Scripture say about that??

Always remember that if your beliefs lead to absudities, then you need to retrace your steps and find out what went wrong because Christianity is a reasonable faith, not an absurd one.