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Writer's pictureJonah Mcelhaney

Once Saved, Always Saved?

There’s lots of debate about this from Christians (At the end of this post I will share my own thoughts after going through the common arguments from both sides). Some claim you lose your salvation all the time through sin, others believe you lose your salvation through willful rejection of Christ.


For some, usually those within the reformed camps, they teach that a genuine Christian can never fall away. For them, those who “backslid” or “fell away” were never saved to begin with. One passage used to prove this is 1st John 2:19


19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”


Does this passage actually teach that anyone who goes out from us were never really saved?


The context here isn’t on saints falling away, it’s about false teachers denying that Jesus is the Christ. This is why context is always important when using a single verse, back up to verse 18 and we see the context is very specific.


18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.


These antichrists are the ones that John is referring to in verse 19 who went out from us, when we continue reading we find out what John means by antichrists,


1 John 2:22 “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.”


This passage is about those who come into the church, but refuse to believe the gospel. They bring in heresies and attempt to lead others astray. These people will eventually go out from us, because they were never apart of us. These are false teachers.


‭‭Another passage used is Hebrews 10:14 “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”


This is believed to be saying that when we are saved, we are made perfect forever and if we could fall away then the sacrifice would not be perfect forever.


Heres why we need to read more than single verses, Hebrews 10 continues in verse 26-27,


26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,


27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”


Again in verses 35-36,


35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.


36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.


Why do we see these warnings about falling away and why do we see encouragement to persevere and to remain unmoved if we can never fall away?


John 10:27-28


27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.


28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”


Does this prove that once we are saved we will remain saved no matter what? Yes and no.


The metaphor Jesus is using in this chapter is that of the Good Shepherd, he’s contrasting himself with the Pharisees who are bad shepherds.


In vers 12 Jesus, in reference to the Pharisees, says,


“The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.”


A sheep without a shepherd is vulnerable to being attacked, scattered, or stolen by a wolf. Which is what “snatch” refers to here. Because the Father had given him the sheep, no one can come and snatch them away.


This gives us assurance that salvation is totally dependent on Christ, and that as long as we remain in his hand we will never be lost. However, this is not proof that we cannot willingly walk away from His hand.


Let’s look at a few verses that seem to refute Once Saved, Always Saved.


Colossians 1:21-23


21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.


22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—


23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

‭‭

Why does Paul say IF you continue in your faith? Why does he say, Do not move from the hope held out in the gospel?


2 Peter 2:20-22


20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.


21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.


22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.””


Peter is even more emphatic, there are some who know the Lord Jesus who become entangled again in sin and the world. This suggests that it was a genuine believer who fell away.


Luke 8:11-15


11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.


12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.


13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.


14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.


15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

‭‭

Jesus here refers to several types of people. First, those who hear but before they can believe and be saved the devil comes and takes it away.


The second person is saved, but they have no root. So when tough times come and they are tested, they fall away.


The third person is also saved and eventually the cares of life come and choke out the word and they never mature.


Finally, the last person is saved and hears the Word, retains it, and perseveres.


Notice, only the first person is clearly not saved. To insinuate none of these people were saved is to ignore the clear examples Jesus is giving.


I personally hate the discussion of Once Saved, Always Saved. The reason I dislike it is because I think it’s a flawed discussion. The real discussion they are having is, can a Christian accidentally lose their salvation through mistakes and sins.


I think most of the contentious arguments come from the fact that the discussion isn’t properly understood. If you believe we can lose our salvation anytime we sin or make a mistake, you don’t understand the gospel. It’s never been about our performance, it’s always been about faith.


The truth is, if you are wondering if a Christian can lose their salvation because you have sinned or done something you think is unforgivable, the answer to your question is salvation isn’t dependent on your goodness. If salvation was based on how I measure up and how good I am, the cross would never have been necessary.


Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”


We can have peace because we know that the source of our justification is not ourselves, it’s by grace.


Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”


Salvation is a gift, you don’t earn it, you don’t have to work to keep it. Good works are the natural byproduct of genuine faith, but we must never fall into the trap of believing our good works are necessary for salvation.


Michael Heiser has a great quote that says, “That which cannot be gained by moral perfection cannot be lost by moral imperfection. Merit is not what's required for eternal life. Belief is.”


If you are asking because you are living in a state of sin and want to continue to live that way, the answer is repent.


Heres what’s beautiful about this, even the call to repentance is an act of mercy and grace.


2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

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Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”


As far as Once Saved, Always Saved, I think the best explanation is this. You can’t lose your salvation. You can’t drop it, misplace it, or accidentally lose it. We can have assurance in our faith that when we fall short, grace is always there.


We can trust in the work of Christ to keep us, we don’t have to live in fear of losing our salvation. We can rest, even in our frailties, and believe and be assured in the gospel.


However, I do think the Bible clearly shows that it is possible to willfully reject or return the gift of salvation that Christ has offered us. To once hold dear this gospel message but to later decide you no longer want to live this way.


I believe it is circular reasoning to say that every believer who walked away was never saved. It’s a way to explain away the real world evidence against your theology.

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