Misunderstanding the Bible

5 of 5 Pages

Once Saved?

Salvation: A Marriage Covenant That Cannot Be Broken

I once spoke to a pastor who believed Christians could lose their salvation. I disagreed with him, and he attempted to explain his view using various passages from the Bible. However, he didn't convince me. I pointed out that while some passages may suggest the possibility of losing salvation, there are many more that affirm we cannot.

When confronted with conflicting passages, we must turn to reason and to the weight of Scripture. I firmly believe that you cannot lose your salvation. The Bible assures us that we are in God's hands, sealed by the Spirit, and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38–39). Our salvation proves that we were predestined—chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:11).

The Pastor’s Question

The pastor’s final response to me revealed something deeper. He asked, “If we can’t lose our salvation, what prevents me from sinning?”

The answer is simple: my relationship with Jesus Christ. It is my love for Him, my union with Him, and my commitment. His question revealed that what was restraining him from sin was the fear of losing salvation. But fear-based obedience only leads to works and religion, not love and transformation.

The Marriage Analogy

Marriage requires principles that protect the relationship. A husband or wife cannot live as if they are single; they must consider their spouse in every decision. But if obedience is motivated only by fear of divorce, that marriage is already broken. True love makes sacrifice joyful, not burdensome (1 John 5:3).

God Himself does not desire a loveless relationship built on fear (Hosea 6:6, Psalm 51:16–17). What He desires is covenant love.

The vows of marriage mirror salvation: “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” In Christ, our marriage covenant is even stronger — sealed not until death, but into eternal life (Hebrews 12:2).

Why Some Fall Away

Some remain in Christianity out of fear, habit, or simply because they have no other alternative. But without a genuine relationship with Christ, faith can eventually stagnate. Religion without love can lead to spiritual burnout, stagnation, or even walking away. As John writes, “They went out from us, but they were not of us” (1 John 2:19).

Knowing Jesus and experiencing His love is evidence that we belong to Him. And those who truly belong to Him are kept in His hands as He continues to sanctify them.

To walk away from Christ would require something far deeper than simply becoming discouraged or struggling with faith. Our salvation does not rest primarily on our love for Him, but on His unshakable love for us. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

So the question is worth asking: If someone has truly encountered the love of Jesus, why would he ultimately walk away from Him? What could cause someone to turn away from the One who has given him life?

The reality is that if someone completely walks away from Christ and never returns, it raises a deeper question: Did that person ever truly know Him? Because when someone truly belongs to God, God does not simply let him go. He pursues him, disciplines him, draws him back, and continues His work in him.

The one who truly belongs to Christ may wander, struggle, and even run—but he cannot ultimately escape the love of the One who holds him.

Bible Verses of Lost Salvation

There are many Bible passages people use to support the idea that a person can lose his salvation. Hebrews 6:4–6, Hebrews 10:26–31, Matthew 24:13, Ezekiel 18:24, 1 Timothy 1:19–20, Revelation 3:5, and Revelation 22:19 are just a few. But these passages are often misunderstood because they are read as though they teach that someone can be truly saved and then become unsaved.

When understood in their proper context, these passages do not teach that Christ loses those who truly belong to Him. Instead, they serve as warnings and examinations of genuine faith. They show us what happens when a person never truly belongs to Christ.

If a person is truly saved, he will endure—not because he is strong enough to hold on to Christ, but because Christ is holding on to him. It would make no sense for someone to be truly saved, become unsaved, and then need to be saved again. If salvation is the work of God, then the security of that salvation rests with God.

The same is true of the warnings about being blotted out of the Book of Life. If someone truly belongs to Christ, he does not suddenly become unknown to God or lose his place because he failed to hold on tightly enough. Likewise, a person who is truly rooted in Christ cannot ultimately be uprooted by his own weakness. Christ is the One who keeps him rooted.

These passages should therefore cause us to examine ourselves—not live in fear that Christ might take our salvation away. They warn us that there can be a difference between appearing to belong to Christ and actually belonging to Him.

The Bible tells us in Luke 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” God is an all-knowing God. He does not rejoice over someone becoming His child, only to discover later that He had somehow made a mistake about that person's salvation. God does not save someone, celebrate his salvation, and then say, “I was wrong about him. He walked away, so I lost him.”

That is not the picture Scripture gives us of God.

Consider marriage as an example. There are people who enter into marriage for the wrong reasons. They go through all the motions, follow the rules, make promises, and may even be excited about the relationship for a time. But eventually the marriage becomes empty and stagnant—not necessarily because of some great conflict, but because there was never the love necessary to sustain the relationship.

They went through the motions, but the relationship did not endure because the love was never truly there.

Our relationship with Christ is different. We are not held by the strength of our love for Him. We are held by His love for us. We love because He first loved us. And when someone truly belongs to Christ, that love does not simply disappear. Christ continues His work in that person, disciplines him when necessary, draws him back when he wanders, and keeps him until the end.

The question is not whether a person can be strong enough to keep his salvation. The question is whether Christ is strong enough to keep those who truly belong to Him. And He is.

The Heart of Assurance

Salvation is not maintained by fear of losing it, but by love that holds fast through every trial. It is Christ who begins and finishes our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Just as a true marriage endures through highs and lows, so the true believer clings to Christ for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.

This is sanctification — the process where God tests, refines, and proves our union with Christ. True faith perseveres not because of our own strength, but because His Spirit within us compels us to love, obey, and remain (Philippians 1:6).

Summary

“Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” ~ 1 Timothy 6:12