Can a Believer Lose Their Salvation - What does the Bible say?

Once a person trusts Christ as their Savior can they lose this relationship? Is the salvation that Jesus offers conditional? If it is unconditional, then there is nothing we can do to lose it. If it is conditional, then there is something or some things that we can do to lose it. The real question is - What Does The Bible Say?
As the Scripture is carefully studied, we find that a true believer in Jesus is safe and secure eternally. The following relevant passages make this issue pretty clear.

1. Never Perish
Jesus said those who believe in Him will never perish.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27,28)

These verses could not be stronger. Those who trust Jesus will never perish. Jesus said nobody will take believers out of His hand. This is because believers are securely held in the arms of God the Father.

2 .Eternal Life
The Bible promises eternal life to all who believe in Christ. The often quoted verse in the Bible says:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. (John 3:16)

The promise of eternal life is not true if it can be lost. There is, however, only one condition stated in this promise: if a person believes in Jesus, they shall have everlasting life. Everlasting means forever.

3. Possession Of The Believer
Those who believe in Jesus already possess eternal life.

“I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life”. (John 5:24)

Salvation, therefore, is not something that is far off in the future—it is a present possession of the believer. Salvation is not looked upon as a day-to-day thing. We do not keep ourselves saved day after day. Scripture treats our salvation as something that is secure forever.

4. Eternal Life Defined
So, eternal life has already begun for the believer. The Bible defines eternal life as knowing Christ.

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

4. Nothing Shall Separate
The Bible says nothing shall separate us from Christ.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword . . . 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, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 38,39)

This passage makes it clear that nothing will be able to separate Christ from those who have trusted Him. Nothing! This includes the believer separating themselves from Christ. If you turn your back on Christ, He always awaits your return. Isn't that incredible?

5. Christ Remains Faithful

“That is why I am suffering. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

The Apostle Paul stresses the fact that once you have committed yourself to Christ, He is able to keep that which we have committed.

6. He Keeps Us from Falling

“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy”… (Jude 24)

The idea here is that He is the one who keeps us from falling, we are not keeping ourselves. We have no power.

7. Kept By God's Power
The Bible says that we are kept by God's power, not our own.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

8.We Have Been Glorified
The Bible already speaks of us as being glorified:

"And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified." (Romans 8:30)

9. It Is A Gift
Salvation is a gift. A gift is often confused with something earned. No one can earn their salvation; it is God's gift to us.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9)

Salvation has been given to us by Christ. The fact that we had nothing to do with earning it can not be stressed too much!

10. We Are Joined To Christ
Once a person has been born again by the word and the Spirit of God, he receives new life in Christ. God puts Christ's righteousness in the place of the sinner’s account, which totally cleanses him before God.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

11. Christ's Sacrifice Is Adequate
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was more than adequate for our salvation.

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

There is nothing that can be added or taken away from His sacrifice.

12. He Will Complete What He Started
The Bible says it is God's power that saves us:

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

He started the salvation process, He will finish it.

13 .Kept By God's Power
Furthermore, that which keeps us saved is God's power, not our own.

“…who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5)

We did not save ourselves; we do not keep ourselves saved.

14. We Are A New Creation
We are identified with Christ as a new creation, clean and equipped for service. We can then begin to live out God’s plan for our lives.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“And raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)

15. Christ Paid The Penalty Once
Jesus Christ has paid the penalty once and for all for sins. God will not demand payment for a second time. The Bible says: Since Christ has died for our sins we will never have to die for them!

Questions To Be Answered -
If someone believes salvation can be lost, then there are a number of questions that must be asked. What sin or sins would cause you to lose it? How do you know when you've lost it? If you lose it, can you get it back? Do you have to get baptized again? What does the Bible mean when it promises eternal life for those who believe? How long is eternal life? Finally, if a person can lose their salvation, then how can you explain what John wrote:

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

If a person could lose their salvation then no one could know, from moment to moment, whether they are saved or not. Yet the Bible says that we can know. This is because once a person truly trusts Christ as Savior, they cannot lose that salvation.

Summary:
Once a person trusts Christ as Savior they become His child forever. Because He saves and keeps us, nothing shall separate us from His presence.

I do agree that John 10:27-28 says it all. We are forever His, friends. Happily for us, His precious love is totally unconditional. I deliberately found so many verses to quote on this subject so that you can hereafter know that you’re saved by the love and grace of our Lord Jesus. This is not merely my opinion. This is what Jesus promised us. Controversial or misguided thinking will always exist. That’s okay, it will keep you from taking the things you believe for granted. But remember, whenever you have a question, go to the Word for your answer. You will find what you need to know in the Bible.

We worship a risen, living Savior who has promised to give immortality to all who believe in His name. No longer do we need to stumble in the fog and darkness of hopelessness. He is risen - A light shines brighter than the noonday sun, offering hope to everyone who has been born again. Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26)

    Happy Easter everyone!

Question about Christianity...Can we improve as Christians?

Q: How can I be a better Christian? I get along pretty well most of the time, but then I'll get upset at something and lose my temper, or fall down in some other way, and then I realize I'm not a very good Christian after all.


A: Dear One,
The first step to being a better Christian - is to be sure you truly are a Christian! Have you confessed your sins to Christ and turned your life over to Him? If you are unsure of your relationship to Christ, commit your life without reserve to Him, and ask Him to help you walk with Him every day.

Then realize that you can't become a better Christian on your own, or in your own strength. You need God's help, and you need the resources He has provided to help you grow stronger. In ourselves, we are weak - but when we seek God's help we discover that the Bible's promise is true: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him" (2 Peter 1:3).

Just as we need food to keep us strong physically, so we need the spiritual "food" God has already provided for us through His Spirit if we are to be strong. What is that spiritual "food"? First, God has given us His Word, the Bible. Make the Bible part of your spiritual "diet" every day, both by studying it on your own and by hearing others teach it. Job said, "I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread" (Job 23:12).

Then God also has given you the privilege of prayer, and the privilege of fellowship with other believers. Prayer connects you with God; fellowship connects you with other believers. Through these means, God will encourage you and use you to help others.

Question about Christianity...

From time to time I receive questions about the Bible and Christianity. It occurred to me that these subjects might be interesting to my cyber friends. So,while keeping the identity of those asking the questions annonomous, I thought I'd share with whoever might be interested.

Q: I'm in prison, and everyone here is talking about an inmate who claimed he found God just a week before he died of cancer. How could he live like the devil most of his life but still get into heaven? He didn't deserve to be saved. — L.H.

A: Dear L.H.,
Wow, I hear you, but if God only let people into heaven who deserved to go there - then heaven would be empty! We all have sinned, and even one sin - just one - would be enough to keep you out of heaven. In other words, someone who has followed Christ all their life doesn't deserve to go to heaven any more than this man who had been a Christian only a week. No one "deserves" heaven because we are all sinners. As the Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10, 23). This is hard for us to accept, because down inside we all think God ought to reward us and allow us into heaven if we're good enough. But it isn't true, because God's standard is nothing less than perfection.

This is why we need Christ, for only He can save us. He was without sin - but on the cross, all our sins were placed on Him,(your sins, mine and this criminals - all sin), and He died in our place. Now God in His grace offers us salvation - not as a reward, but as a free gift. The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Don't let another day go by without Christ. No matter what you have done or how others may look at you, God loves you and wants to forgive and save you. And He will, if you ask Him to come into your life. Open your heart to Christ today.

Start Praying More

Do your prayers sometimes become a bit formalized because you think you have to stop whatever you’re doing, bow your head, and then enter the presence of a holy God? When you think that way, exclusively, leaving prayer for a separate, specific time of quiet, you will inevitably pray less – and you may be missing much comfort and support that God wants to make available to you. Though there is definitely a time and place for that kind of reverence in your attitude of prayer, you can also just start talking to God throughout your day, like you would your spouse or closest friend. Whatever you’re doing, include Him in your thoughts and decisions. Imagine that God is with you, listening…because He is!

This kind of continual prayer can keep you closer to Him than you’ve ever imagined. Talk to Him while you prepare breakfast and see if your morning isn’t better. Ask Him how to best listen to and speak to your rebellious teen, right in the middle of a conversation that is going badly. He will give you the words that will communicate rather than alienate. We shouldn’t always make the practice of prayer a formal matter. Too many things happen in a day to remember to pray about the troubling things after the fact.

God wants much more than an occasional part of your day. No matter what your situation is, decide to be hopeful and trust God with all the details of your problems. He wants to be included in your tough times, not just your times of rejoicing. Lean on Him as you live through troubles and challenges. Give God your fear. He will replace it with faith. Faith can always defeat fear. There is tremendous strength in faith.

And finally, know that you can rest in the knowledge that your heavenly father is very present and He is looking out for you and protecting you… Feel His presence. Praise and thank Him for his tremendous love…Stand in awe of how privileged you are!

“O God, You are my God; early will I seek You...” (Psalm 63)