Once saved, always saved

[HEYGwenCOG]

Just wondering how many of you think you can lose your salvation and how many believe that once you're "in Christ" you cannot lose your salvation.

[onesiphorus]

Good to hear from you hey , I for one believe exactly that , brcause that is what God has promised and Christ achieved

[ByHisGrace]

I would say if a person is genuinely saved there is no way that they can lose their salvation John 10:28 look at God's promise Romans 8:28 - 30
1 Corinthians 1:21 - 24 & Romans 8:31

[Jon-Marc]

I take the promise of "ETERNAL" life to mean just that. It is ETERNAL and not "temporary until the next time you sin." God knows we will sin--again and again (but LESS and LESS) as we grow in His grace. He doesn't take away our sin nature--unfortunately. He does, though, provide us with a way to avoid sin, but unfortunately we don't always take advantage of that escape.

If we are born again, we will desire to serve the Lord and become holy. Anyone who doesn't have that desire is NOT born again and never was. Note the scripture in Matt. 7;23 where Jesus says "I never knew you." He doesn't say "I used to know you but no longer do." It's NEVER knew you. Those who are turned away are ones He NEVER knew and not ones who were once saved and lost it.

I thank God that my salvation is not based on my goodness since "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Isa. 64:6. It is based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God will not accept filthy rags as payment for sin. When the Father looks at me, He sees the righteousness of His Son.

[JIP]

Instead of speaking for or against this topic I will just list out the verses in the bible in which some speak for and others speak against. The reasoning I have used here and not some spiritual gift with which I have discerned it nor have I listed it out with the backing of a sound study of scripture. The language is English and within the contraints of the meanings of the words and phrases written in the Bible, it can be deduced simply like this without prejudice to any group.

Firstly every Christian is struggling with sin. Temptation is always at our doorstep, and sometimes we fall into the sin. The child of God Repents, even if we must repent over and over again, we repent! We call out to Jesus to help us. Our hearts desire to serve the Lord, and we strive to turn away from sin and walk in obedience.

Secondly there are others, who use this security as a license to freely sin against God, and walk in disobedience, without a heart of repentance, feeling secure of their salvation while trampling Jesus underfoot and insulting the Holy Spirit of Grace (Heb. 10:29)!

Did Jesus ever teach that once you are saved, that you cannot lose your salvation? We are assured eternal security, yes, but only to those who remain in the faith until the end. To those who Obey Him and overcome!

Let me fisrt list out the FOR verses

John 3:16:"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." The key words in this verse are "whoever believes...shall...have eternal life." "Whoever" certainly appears to be an totally inclusive term, granting salvation to everyone who believes - irrespective of their behavior. It would seem to apply to persons of both sexes, all races, all nationalities, all sexual orientations, all degrees of ability, etc. The "shall" makes salvation definite and permanent.

John 6:37: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Presumably the phrase "him that cometh to me" refers to anyone who is saved. Jesus apparently says that he will never reject a saved individual.

John 6:40: "....every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" This passage appears to imply that every person who is saved will be raised from the dead; none of those who had been saved will be lost. The first phrase is presumably not to be taken literally, as people today cannot visually see Jesus during their life on earth.

John 10:28-29:"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." This is a very strong statement on the permanence of salvation. Jesus appears to state that after He gives an individual eternal life, they shall never perish but continue to have eternal life, even though others might try to interfere.

Romans 8:38-39:"...neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." This passage does not directly mention salvation. However, a connection might be inferred: to have the love of God could means that the person is saved and will go to Heaven; to be subject to the wrath of God would mean that they were unsaved and will end up in Hell.


2 Corinthians 1:21-22: "...[God] anointed us. set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." This passage apparently states that, once we are saved, God guarantees our salvation; we are secure.


Now the AGAINST verses
Matthew 10:22: "...he that endureth to the end shall be saved." The implication is that someone who does not stands firm to the end will not be saved. Some theologians dismiss this interpretation; they believe that a person who does not stand firm never was saved in the first place; thus all that are truly saved will continue in that state.

John 3:16:"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but may have eternal life." The NIV translation of this verse (described above) implies that everyone who believes "shall" have eternal life. The Amplified Bible agrees. But other translations use alternative words: "should," "may," or "might." These latter version of the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) imply that saved persons may have eternal life or possibly may perish. Presumably they could lose their salvation by their actions.

This is an example of how Bible translators can select words which match their own theological belief systems.

John 15:6: "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up , thrown into the fire and burned." A person who "does not remain" in Jesus is apparently a saved person whose behavior or thoughts have become unacceptable. Throwing the formerly saved person into the fire and burning them is an obvious reference to Hell.

1 Corinthians 15-2:"By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."Paul apparently believes that a person is only saved if they continue to believe in the gospel. If they lose faith in the gospel, presumably they lose their salvation.

Galatians 6:8-9:"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in going good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." This passage appears to make salvation dependent on an individual continually working towards their goal of attaining eternal life. If a person gives up prematurely, then they would lose their salvation.

2 Timothy 2:12: "If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us." Elsewhere in the Bible a number of verses refer to saved persons reigning with Jesus. So, the "we" in this passage apparently means saved individuals. But if we "deny and disown and reject" Jesus, then He will do the same to us, and presumably terminate our salvation.

Hebrews 6:4-6: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the son of God afresh and put him to an open shame." The first two verses define precisely an individual who had being saved and was receiving the benefits of salvation. The last verse states clearly that a person is quite capable of falling away from the faith...and if they do so, that it is impossible for their salvation to be renewed.

Hebrews 10:26: "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." The early Christians universally believed that this passage referred to persons who had been saved, had continued to sin, and had thereby lost their salvation. Some present-day theologians teach that this verse refers only to the unsaved.

2 Peter 2:20-21: "For if after they have escaped the pollution's of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered onto them." The first verse appears to refer to persons who have turned away from the corruption of the world, have been saved, and later returned entangled in the world. The implication is that these people will be more viciously treated after death by God's wrath than those people who were never saved.

Which belief is correct?
With so much hanging in the balance -- eternal joy in Heaven or perhaps eternal pain in Hell -- one might ask which of the many views on salvation is the correct one? It is obvious that many intelligent, thoughtful, sincere, devout, prayerful Christians down through the ages have studied the Bible in depth and arrived at conflicting conclusions. It would appear that the Bible is ambiguous on this topic. One can find convincing support in its pages for many different salvation belief systems. Determining the correct answer by assessing the will of God thorough prayer does not seem to be an option. I believe one cannot determine God's will via prayer. The whole topic may have to remain a mystery as long as we live on earth.

[Bloodbought]

Can I put forward my point of view which is a little unusual but I believe is scripturally correct?

When Christ died on the cross he died for the sin of the whole world.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

All sin is forgiven except the unforgiveable sin. ie rejecting the prompting of the Holy Sprit that Jesus died for our sins and acknowledging Him as Lord.

Men will be judged not on whether or not they have sinned but on what they think of the Christ. "whose son is he"! Do they accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord?

If we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour then we are saved from eternal damnation and have eternal life and we can never perish. We may have unconfessed sin in our lives which will block communication with God but to say that we become "Unsaved" as a result is to deny the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

[JIP]

Originally Posted by Bloodbought

1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Dear Bloodbought I would like to point out at the word IF. There is a condition here isn't it? It lead to the overcome verses in the bible.
Endure and overcome brother.

“We have nothing of our own but our will. It is the only thing which God has so placed in our own power that we can make an offering of it to Him.”

[smellycat]

there is a question then about judas who believed and betrayed Jesus.where will he go?

[Lambsy]

Originally Posted by HEYGwenCOG

Just wondering how many of you think you can lose your salvation and how many believe that once you're "in Christ" you cannot lose your salvation.

You must continue in Grace till you die. If you commit a mortal sin you are cut off from Grace, that is why Christians must repent of all deadly sins.

So yes a Christian can lose his salvation, if he commits a mortal sin, and does not repent.

[JIP]

Originally Posted by Lambsy

You must continue in Grace till you die. If you commit a mortal sin you are cut off from Grace, that is why Christians must repent of all deadly sins.

So yes a Christian can lose his salvation, if he commits a mortal sin, and does not repent.

The conditions.....again