One of the questions I get asked the most sounds like this: ‚Will I get to heaven? How can I know that I’m saved? What if I sin after getting saved?‘
I completely understand the fear of losing your salvation when you sin. You may be afraid that God is mad at you for committing the same transgression over and over again, even if you’re trying to avoid it.
Let’s get into Scripture to shed some light on the topic of losing your salvation.
First of all: How can you get saved?
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10
Salvation is a gift:
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. Ephesians 2:8-9
You get the gift of grace by declaring that Jesus is Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead. You were given free will to decide to believe in what God has done for you.
What about losing that salvation?
Let’s look at what Jesus says about his sheep in John 10:
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. John 10:28-29
No one can take your salvation away. But what if you continue to follow your own fleshly desires?
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Romans 3:12
Each and every one sins. There’s only one who was without sin: Jesus.
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24
With the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, a person already crossed over from death to life. There is no indication in the Bible that a person could get back from life to death. Which means that once the decision for Christ was made and grace and the Holy Spirit were received, a person is being saved.
I believe that what God has done, no person can reverse. If we don’t believe in the full salvation through faith, we may limit what God has done for us in Christ.
What options do we have? A person is either:
-lost (John 3:18)
-not saved but has a false assurance of thinking they’re saved (Matthew 7:21)
-saved, but lets his fleshly desires control him and therefore faces God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:7-11)
-saved (John 5:24)
There’s also a grey area to me: Someone who accepted Christ at one point in their life but refuses to deliberately obey him over and over again (Hebrews 10:26-27).
In the end, we can’t fully know because God’s the one to judge. And I strongly believe that we shouldn’t judge other people but leave it solely to God (Matthew 7:1-5).
The question of losing one’s salvation is interwoven with big and very controversial theological questions like ‘Is God omniscient? Do we have a free will?’ etc. I can’t say that I have all the answers. The topic of eternal security is and stays a controversy because there are a few passages that emphasize the importance of progressive sanctification to stay within the new covenant (2. Corinthians 3:18).
What I presented here is my theological viewpoint to the question if we can lose our salvation. The most convincing passages that strengthen my case are; Romans 8:35-39 / Romans 10 / John 10. But I also keep in mind that there may be the possibility of rejection if a person once got saved and then, later on willfully says no to Jesus and pursues their own way.
To me, when Christians question their salvation, I see much bigger problems than the possibility of ‘not going to heaven’ – as they often refer to. Those kinds of people are usually full of fear. They are frightened by the terror of the world and even more so by God. But do you know who works through fear? The enemy.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1. John 4:18
Fear has to do with punishment. When you fear that you can lose your salvation, it means that you are not made perfect in love yet. Fear controls you and the enemy doesn’t want you to believe in what was freely given to you as a gift by the blood of Jesus: eternal life. There is something else called the ‘fear of God’ which I wrote a blog post about a while back: What does it mean to fear God?
There are many other reasons why someone might question their salvation. Here are just a few:
–A distorted image of God: Usually, when a believer is concerned about their salvation, they have a misconception about who God is and his love for them. They are primarily focused on themselves and not on God’s kingdom. Read here what God’s kingdom is all about: Christianity isn’t about getting to heaven
–Pride: Sometimes pride plays a role as it causes someone to have troubles accepting the free gift of grace. It causes them to ‘do something’ to earn their worth, while everything has already been done on the cross.
–New believer: One might ask the question about losing one’s salvation, when they’re new to the faith and just didn’t know it yet.
Usually, when you are concerned with the things of God and want to live a life pleasing to him, but you fear losing your salvation, you have a problem with your perception of God. Study Romans 8 + 10, read John 10 and the whole letter 1. John. Pray for God’s love to fill your mind and heart.
The more the love of God takes a hold in your life, the more you want to live a life pleasing to him. Growing in a personal relationship with God, you’ll get a deep desire to do his will and therefore you’re getting more and more sanctified.
You can come freely before God without wearing any masks and without pretending to be a ‘better‘ or ‘holier’ person than you already are. Accept that you need God’s forgiveness every day of your life and let his grace transform you from the inside out into the image of God. You are loved and accepted by God!
Read more
Christianity is not about getting to heaven
Overcome shame and insecurity through Scripture
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4 replies on “Can you lose your salvation?”
“If we don’t believe in the full salvation through faith, we may limit what God has done for us in Christ. ” YES! This whole article is so well-written, Madeleine! I especially enjoyed the way you broke it down into the four different options and left room for a grey area. I also really like how you pointed us back to knowing and loving God and accepting His love for us. That’s really the key! Thanks for another great article, my friend!
Oooh, thank you so much, Abigail. I’m so glad you liked it! 🥰
True. I testify to this that
HIS LOVE TRANSFORMS US as we spend time in prayer everyday with Jesus. He eventually convicts us in a way that we overcome sin willfully, not forcefully. He shows us the truth and the way so that we can make right choices in our life. Glory to Jesus. ❤️ ✨
Exactly! 🥰