YouthPOINT

Question:

Can salvation be lost?

 

Answer:  

The answer is a clear, NO, salvation cannot be lost.

Salvation which is defined as Eternal life (John 3:16) is found in Jesus Christ. It is not temporary life.  All those who are recipients of God glorious salvation are therefore held by God in this saving (eternal life) condition.

In fact, the idea that one can lose their salvation and then regain it again to lose it again, is not even logical.  It is like saying that you can be born – then die – then be born again- then die – then be born again … and so on.  On a logical basis, losing your salvation is not reflective of Christian salvation.

Christian salvation is evidenced by a change that now we hate what we once loved. And love what we once hated. We now hate the sin that we once cherished. Now we love the God which we once depised and did not know. Now we desire to live apart from sin even though at time we may be enticed by sin.  The new and living desire to please God begins to take hold as we grow in grace.  And the hatred toward sin begins to grow in our lives. We no longer wish to live as we once did, apart from God.

If salvation can be lost, then it is in people who save themselves, in which it can be lost. For Jesus clearly indicated that those who are saved are kept saved by God himself.

John 10:28-29

²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand

God is the savior – He saves – and we are not saved to then have to maintain ourselves saved. He does the entire work of salvation from start to finish.

Philipians 1:6

⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

However, when we see people who apparently know God and go to church and then once day reject God and begin to live in the world – or – when we see people live lives that completely apart from God but none the less say they know God we should ask a better question.  Not “did they lose their salvation?” but  “Was such a person every saved at all?”

A person who is not saved can believe they are saved:

Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

But a person who is truly saved will desire to live after God, even when they are weak. This Godly desire manifests itself in a change of heart, mind and direction.  These are those who love God and begin to despise the things of the world that are against God.

1 john 2:15-17

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 

Here is a additional resource to answer this question: