CAN SALVATION BE LOST?

ROMÂNĂ

Can a person who is born, be unborn? 

One can kill them, but they still existed.

Can a person who is born-again, be unborn-again?

They can turn their back on God and forsake Him, but there will still have been “the time” that they came “in the Light.” They can only forsake the Lord. Will they go to heaven? No way. Jesus says, they who know Him and love Him, follow Him (John 14:23). Jesus says that those who deny Him, He will deny before the Father (Matthew 10:33). Faith without works is dead (James 2:20, James 2:26). We must start, run and finish the race. If “our walk” does not match “our talk,” we might be fooling ourselves, but we can never fool God (Titus 1:16). Once a person “sees the Light,” he or she can “walk away” from the Light, but they will still have “known the Light” for however long they did.

Considering Judas and Peter.

Forthcoming are two examples that explain much. They are both “pre-crucifixion” but their experiences reveal much.

Judas never truly believed on the Lord. Jesus said that Judas was never one of His own (John 17:12). Jesus chose twelve young men to take them into His “discipleship.” Rabbis chose disciples to teach them so that one day, they would be rabbis also. But while Judas had the talk, his heart never found Jesus as Lord. (John 6:63-64).

Peter, on the other hand, knew the Lord (John 6:68-69) and yet erred tremendously. He denied even knowing the Lord three times. Jesus foretold of it and He said this:

• Luke 22:31-34 “And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."

Jesus told Simon Peter of how He had prayed that his faith would not fail. Jesus even told Peter, that He knew Peter would fail, but that He also knew He would return and when he did, “to strengthen his brothers.” Jesus knew that Peter would backslide and deny Him three times. The account of it is recorded in Luke.

• Luke 22:54-62 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance.
  55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
  56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."
  57 But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."
  58 “And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"
  59 “Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean." 60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.”
  61 “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 
  62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Simon Peter backslid; He denied the Lord, not once but three times. Pretty scary huh? What if he had died during that time? The Lord said, if we deny Him, He will deny us before the Father and His angels in heaven.

What did Jesus have to say?

• Matthew 10:32-33 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

And yet, there are those that go from darkness into the Light of the Lord and do not stay. Jesus made it clear, why people forsake Him.

People forsake the Lord every day. Jesus said He will not leave us or forsake us. He did not say that we cannot forsake Him. There are and will be people in hell who were previously born-again but forsook the Lord.

There are people in hell who refused the Gospel and then there are people in hell who forsook the Gospel.

God cannot honor someone who forsakes the Light for darkness. This is even worse than those who refuse to believe.

What does the Bible say about truly repenting and then choosing to continue the sin again?

• Hebrews 10:26-27 “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”

Many who come to the Lord, fail to hold the faith. Some forsake or deny the Lord by literally walking away and some forsake and deny Him by the life they live. The Lord says in the parable about the Vine and the Branches, that we either “bear the fruit of of the vine that we are branches of”or eventually, if the “branch” forsakes “the vine,” he will be “cast into the fire” (John 15:1-6). Notice he was “a branch of the vine.” He did “believe in the Lord” enough to be “a branch of the vine.” This parable is not for those who “never believed,” but for those who “believed;” some bore fruit and some later did not, because they “forsook the Lord.”

• Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Let's take a fresh look at the Parable of the Sower and the Seed.

In the parable about Sower and the Seed, all four “received the seed.” The seed is the Gospel. This is not a parable about the Lost, but about the Found. All four start to grow, but only one really grows to full production. Please read the Parable again carefully.

• Matthew 13:18-23 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
  19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
  20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
  21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
  22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
  23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

Once again, this is "not the parable of the lost." This is the parable of what happens with those who receive the Gospel. All four received the seed.

Receiving the seed is “being born-again” - conversion. But there is a life to live. It is not all about “the start.” Jesus is saying here, the seed though received, needs to grow and prosper making fruit. This is successful godly living. This is what God wants for us.

The first three received, but did not follow through. You won't see them in heaven. They forsook God's plan. All of these first three received the seed, "saw the Light." The first could not last because the darkness really had him.

The second one, wanted out of the darkness, received the seed and was really happy to see the Light- but, he did not “want it enough.” At the first sign of tribulation or persecution for “doing what was right,” he went right back to the darkness.

The third one, received the seed of the Gospel, but he failed for a different reason. Not persecution or tribulation, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choked out the word.

The fourth one, received the seed and followed through  in obedience with God's plans.

Jesus said we must follow Him with our whole hearts. Many start out to follow Him, but are not whole-hearted. The first three received the seed of the Gospel but then forsook it.

How does God feel about being forsaken?

Please read this next verse and consider that this was first said about God's chosen people whom the Lord delivered from the Pharaoh:

• Deuteronomy 31:16-18 And the Lord said to Moses: "Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?' And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.

What will God really allow in through the Pearl Gates?

Let me just ask you something? Why would a holy God, let rebellious evil people into His heaven when they once followed Him and then forsook Him? If you were God, would take in people who betrayed you?

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy (Psalms 103:8), but it is not good to forsake Him. In closing, here is another verse where “God's own people” forsook Him (hopefully anyone could see by now, that it is possible to be one of “His people” and forsake Him).

• Jeremiah 23:39-40 "... therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten."

It is not the point of this article to scare anyone about losing their salvation. The point of this message is to expose "once saved, always saved - false doctrine" that is taught in many churches today. It is possible to be saved and then lose one's salvation through wrong choices. And for those who do, unless they repent again, they are hell-bound.

There is potentially very serious harm in the "once saved - always saved" concept.

If a person believes they are truly saved and that there is nothing that can cause them to lose their salvation, then this is a false sense of security. There is huge danger in thinking that one cannot lose their salvation because once a person finds oneself in hell, it is too late.

Here are some things that can cancel a person's salvation:

- Unforgiveness, for if we do not forgive others, then our forgiveness is cancelled.

• Matthew 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

- Denying the Lord, for if we deny Him, then He has to deny us.

• Matthew 10:33 “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

- Forsaking the Lord, as in any branch that does not bear fruit, is cast in the fire.

• John 15:6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."
  
  This is not a harsh thing to bear fruit. What this means is that there is evidence of the Holy Spirit residing in a person as Jesus being their Lord. Thankfulness, kindness, humility, love, patience, gracefulness, joyful, peacefulness, having integrity, etc. (and all the fruits of the Spirit) as these are the personality of God and if He is truly Lord of someone, this person will be faithful to Him and live with His direction in their life. Does the born again person sin sometimes? Certainly, but the carnal nature is no longer boss. The born again person abides in Jesus and Jesus abides in the person and keeps a clean heart and life through repenting and getting back up and working to do better. Do the good works save the person? No, a person is always saved by grace. The works are evidence (the fruit) that Jesus is their Lord as they are no longer living a life of pleasing a sinful nature, but seeking to please God.

 

• Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
  
  This is not talking about slipping into a sin; this is about willfully sinning after knowing better and repenting and then choosing to go back and continue in that sin.

- The unpardonable sin. There is much opinion on what this really means, but it is the author's opinion, that it means "dying in disagreement with the Holy Spirit after a person committed a "sin unto death" and the Holy Spirit is trying to convict the person and the Holy Spirit is refused," this is not the way to die. This means the person dies with an unclean record before God.

• Matthew 12:31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men."

- Taking the mark and worshiping the beast. The day will come when it could happen. And anyone who bows to the will of evil and succumbs in this fashion, will face eternal doom.

• Revelation 14:9-11 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

Conclusion: Believe the whole Bible and not just verses that sound leaning a certain direction. All the verses matter on any subject. "Once saved, always" saved is an impossible doctrine. Should a person then live in fear of losing their salvation? No, but a healthy respect of "God and what He says" will keep a person from hell. We must not only start the journey of faith, but we must also finish it accordingly.

Keep abiding in Jesus and Jesus will keep abiding in you. Live your life to the end with Jesus as Lord, and you will make it to heaven just fine. Stay true, forgive others as God has forgiven you and hang in there, no one could ever snatch you from God, unless you choose wrongly. He said He would never leave or forsake us. Only we do the leaving and forsaking. The Lord wants you to make heaven and supplies all needed to make it. Just love the Lord with all your heart because He is loves you with all of His!

Bible Verses about Losing Salvation

• Matthew 7:21-23 “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. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

• Ezekiel 18:24-26 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.

 

• 2 Peter 2:20-22 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.

​

• 1 John 2:3-4 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

 

• 2 Timothy 2:11-12 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

 

• 1 John 3:6-9 No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

 

• James 5:19-20 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

 

• John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

 

• Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

 

• 2 Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

 

• Romans 11:22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

 

• Romans 2:6-8 He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

 

• Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

 

• Matthew 13:18-23 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked onecomes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

 

• 1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

 

• Matthew 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

 

• Galatians 5:4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

 

• 2 Peter 3:17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

 

• 1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

 

• Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

 

• Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

- Why? Because they know that Jesus is the Son of God and He died for their sins, and they chose to serve the devil, knowing very well what they were doing. Who can convince them about something they already knew and rejected? But if they decide to return and truly repent, they will be saved.

• Hebrews 10:26-29 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

 

• Hebrews 3:6 But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

 

• 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

 

• Jeremiah 15:19 Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.”

 

• Revelation 2:5-7 “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

 

• Revelation 2:10-11 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

 

• Revelation 2:16-17 “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

 

• Revelation 2:25-29 “But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

• Revelation 3:4-6 “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

• Revelation 3:11-13 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

 

• Revelation 3:19-22 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Copyright ©  2016 Carmen Pușcaș and E. Cockrell. May be used  for personal study or instruction but shall not be copied and/or distributed in whole or part without permission or for financial profit.

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