Can a believer in Jesus lose their salvation?

As the person who is writing the article, let me be straight forward and open from the outset. This article will use scripture and argue that ‘NO’ a believer cannot lose their free gift of salvation. I will call on many scriptures penned by Paul and other writers to prove the consistency of this truth. Let me begin:

Firstly, to be born again, one is choosing to believe. We understand that becoming a believer is independent of good works of obedience and cannot be achieved through any righteous acts whatsoever. Salvation comes purely to those who would receive God’s grace ALONE, through faith ALONE because of Christ ALONE. It is putting your trust in Jesus and his finished work on our behalf (Romans 3:22-26). Jesus himself said that no one comes to the Father but through Him. So, we understand that the ONLY premise by which we are born again is by believing and receiving a person – Jesus. It’s not through ‘understanding’ the Bible or through the obedience of Christian ordinances or through praying a ‘salvation’ prayer. A person becomes a believer by BELIEVING in Jesus and RECEIVING HIM.

It’s on this note that I say a person who begins by believing in Jesus can rightly come to a point (although I don’t know why or how) where they REJECT JESUS, and by so doing, they reject his salvation. This is through a willful turning away and going in another direction altogether. Calvinists would never believe this as its contrary to the ‘perseverance of the saints’ point but if there had to be ONE way that a person loses their salvation it would have to be by REJECTING THE PERSON OF JESUS because by receiving His free gift in the first place, is by receiving HIM.

Secondly, we understand that we are under a new covenant. By that, we need to remember that we are no longer under a covenant of works but a covenant of grace. Under the covenant of works, obedience was the currency to relating to God, receiving from God and pleasing God. If I obeyed, God blessed. If I disobeyed, God cursed. Under the new covenant, God has instituted a covenant that is based on faith. Paul was clear when he said ‘the righteous shall live by faith’ and ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ Faith is the currency of the new covenant and is in direct opposition to the old works based covenant. Under the old, men would be required to obey the rules in order to be declared righteous before God. Under the new covenant, men receive the righteousness of God as a gift and are made acceptable to God through Jesus’ blood. It has nothing to do with performance but all to do with faith alone in Christ alone because of his grace alone.

The Galatian believers fell into the trap of beginning in grace (by getting born again) and then reverting back to commandments in order to STAY saved. Paul rebuked them harshly and called them bewitched. (Galatians 3:2-5) Justification is grace alone through faith alone (Romans 3:26, 4:24-25) Sanctification is by grace alone through faith alone (Galatians 3:2-11). We begin in grace through faith and we finish the race in grace through faith. In no way do we revert back to performance, effort and works in order to keep, maintain or solidify our salvation. Paul was very clear on this point and its truth is very consistent throughout the NT.

What happens at the point of conversion? A person comes to a realization through revelation by the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner, an enemy of God. They need a savior or else they will be lost to hell forever. They realize their desperate need for a savior. (Romans 3:10-20) Faith arises to the point that they believe in Jesus to be the one who can save them. They call out to Jesus to save them and they receive Him (Romans 10:8-13). 

At that very point, by the Holy Spirit, the person is born-again, their old nature is crucified and buried; their new nature rises to new life in Jesus (Romans 6:2-7; 2 Cor 5:17), the Holy Spirit comes and lives in them and with them (2 Cor 1:22) as heaven’s deposit that they now belong to God, they are placed in God’s hand where no one can snatch them out (John 10:26), they become God’s son (John 1:12-13), they receive His gift of righteousness (Romans 3:22), they are justified before the Father (Romans 3:25) and all their sins are forgiven (past, present AND future) (Colossians 2:13, Romans 3:25, Romans 8:1-4, Colossians 1:14).

That person is qualified by God (Colossians 1:12) and is transferred by God from the kingdom of darkness INTO the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13-14). God transfers us from ‘in Adam’ and places us ‘in Christ’. He are now been hidden with God in Christ. Not only that, but by His grace we are being made perfect and being made holy (sanctification) forever by His power (Hebrews 10:14).

We have now been given a position in Christ and we are now God’s son. We are His. The Holy Spirit is heaven’s seal on us that we belong to Him. He saves us by his power by faith alone; totally independent of my performance.

So the question is: If it could take no good deeds, no matter how many I did, to get born again; then what makes us think that it can take bad deeds to get un-born-again?  

I mean, if we apply some genuine logical doctrine to this question, the answer has to be a resounding: Nothing I DO can make me un-born again, lose the Holy Spirit, un-do God’s work in my life and take my gift away which I never earned in the first place! If I did NOTHING to get it; then what makes me think I can do SOMETHING to lose it?? It doesn’t make sound doctrine sense.

No one can tell me or give a straight answer as to when a Christian back slides to a point of losing their salvation. Is it after 2 affairs? Is it after 1 affair and 3 swear words? Or rather 3 affairs, 10 swear words and 23 lies??? Whatever the combination, the believer who believes that salvation can be lost does it on a ‘performance based’ theology. You have to DO a number of bad things to lose the gift. But why? You never did a number of good things to get the gift. So now why can a person suddenly lose it through ‘doing’ when they got it by ‘believing’?  It doesn’t make sense and is a clear error in Biblical theology.

The reason why believers resist this truth is quite simple. One word: licentiousness. If we preached a message that as long as you believe in Jesus and have faith in Him, then that person can sleep around, murder, steal and live the way they want to with complete license because  God’s grace will just forgive, forgive and forgive. Paul was tackled about this very point. And his answer was also: FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE – NO!! Does this mean we can just sin without consequence and misuse God’s grace?? NO!! (Romans 6:1-2) The good news is that God’s grace teaches us to say no to fleshly desires and it teaches us to live lives worthy of God’s call. (Titus 2:11-13) Grace has come to deliver us from sin, not empower us to sin (Romans 6:14).

By living from a position of eternal security and assurance of salvation; we are empowered not to live in fear of hopefully missing the mark; but to rather go BIG for God and live BIG for the gospel. Let us walk in a worthy manner of Christ and demonstrate the King in the way we live.