Can You Lose Your Salvation? (Perseverance of the Saints)

Can a Christian lose his salvation? This is a great question that has been disputed in the world of Christianity for centuries. However, close biblical examination shows that one who is truly saved certainly cannot lose his salvation. Let us look at three reasons for this today. True Christians cannot lose their salvation because...

1. The Bible says you cannot lose your salvation.

2. You did not gain your salvation, therefore you cannot lose it.

3. If you could lose your salvation, you would lose your salvation.

The Bible says you cannot lose your salvation.

"For the gifts and the callings of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29, emphasis added)

"According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-6, emphasis added)

I do not know how anyone can read either of the above verses and not dwell in the beautiful fact that a true Christian cannot lose his salvation. The verses are clear. God's callings are "irrevocable." Our spiritual inheritance is "being guarded" by God. Surely there are many more verses that could be listed here, but I do not think any more are needed. Scripture is clear: you cannot lose your salvation.

The common scriptural objection to this would be to quote many verses, of which I will not even list because there are so many of them, that seem to speak of a Christian losing his salvation. However, let us note that each of these verses are taken out of context, and refer to one of two things: either (1) a true Christian being disqualified from ministry or subject to the third degree of church discipline, yet still retaining his salvation, or (2) someone who was never a true Christian proving his unbelief, though he appeared to be one who was saved. The second reason is why this doctrine is reverred to as "the perseverance of the saints," that is, that all who are truly saved will persevere to the end, and those who do not were never truly saved.

You did not gain your salvation, so you cannot lose it. Perhaps this is not the best way of phrasing this. In other words, your salvation was gained for you, and therefore you do not have the power to lose it. You are not the reason you are saved, Jesus is the reason you are saved. Therefore, you are not the reason why you cannot lose your salvation, Jesus is the reason why you cannot lose your salvation. On the contrary, if you were the one who gained your salvation for yourself, you could certainly lose it. However, this is not the gospel, this is heresy.

If you could lose your salvation, you would lose your salvation. What do I mean by this? Let's phrase it this way: If you were holding your salvation, and thus able to lose your salvation, you would lose your salvation because you wouldn't be able to hold it. This is why scripture speaks of God guarding our salvation (1 Peter 1:5), and not ourselves guarding our salvation. If we could lose our salvation, we would lose our salvation, because we would be the ones holding it and not God himself.

The denial of this doctrine has always puzzled me. Why would anyone want to believe that they could lose their salvation? Unfornately, there is a good answer to this question. Many want to believe that they can lose their salvation because they want to believe that they gained their salvation on their own. If I can lose my salvation on my own, that means that I can gain my salvation on my own, and vice versa. But once again, this is not the gospel, this is heresy.

So, here's the question: would you rather believe that you have saved yourself, and thus have the opportunity of losing your salvation, or that God has fully saved you without any works of your own, and be able to rest in the fact that you are secure in his hand? I certainly know that I'm choosing the second option; I hope you will too.

"If you're losing confidence in your Christianity, that's why. Don't hold your confidence in Christianity; hold you confidence in Christ. You are not held by a thing, but a Person." - Albert Mohler, Jr.