Is there any way to lose your salvation?

 

Sincerely,
Heaven-Bound

Dear Heaven-Bound,

Yes, you can lose your salvation - but not by accident.  There are two extremes when it comes to discussing salvation.

One extreme is the Calvinistic view that your salvation is never in jeopardy regardless of what you do.  This view is called 'Perseverance of the Saints' - the belief that if you are saved, you will always persevere without ever a need to worry about your salvation.  This view is simply not Biblical.  Consider several verses from the book of Hebrews.  Heb 6:4-6 talks about 'enlightened partakers of the Holy Spirit' (certainly this refers to saved Christians) who then 'fall away' and 'crucify afresh the Son of God'.  There can be no doubt that this is talking about people losing their salvation.  Heb. 10:26-27 talks about knowledgeable Christians rejecting the gospel and the terrifying expectation of judgment to come upon them.  Paul said he feared that his preaching had been in vain to the Galatian brethren because they were turning away from the pure word of God (Gal 4:11, Gal 1:6).  Yes, we most certainly must watch how we live and act so as to not miss the prize of heaven (1 Cor 9:25-27).

The other extreme is to have zero confidence in your salvation.  This is the attitude of "unless I am living perfectly, I am going to be lost."  This view is also wrong.  Christ died to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15), and it is His blood that pays the price for your entrance to heaven (1 Pet 1:18-19).  Your salvation is not dependent upon perfect living but FAITHFUL living (Eph. 2:8): hearing God's word (Rom 10:17) and then living by that Word (Jas 2:14-18) to the best of your ability.  Perfection is not a requirement of salvation in Christ - commitment is.  A committed Christian, though he often may fall short of who he wants to be, can be confident in his eternal reward.

     Being in church, we (or at least I) have always been told I don't deserve anything and that only God's grace keeps me up every day.  I have been reminded of this several times and try to utilize it to make me humble.  I'll try to be brief and as candid as possible but... how am I to pray if I am so undeserving?

Yes, I know Jesus reached out to sinners more than anyone else, but what do we sinners pray about?  Am I deserving enough to everyday pray for others’ help?  Is it vanity that makes me pray to better myself everyday?  Let’s say I have the blackest soul alive; what do I actually deserve to do?  What am I allowed to pray for?  Would working out and wearing makeup hurt God as vanity?  Would determination to do my very best at work and school (fully aware that I'm doing it to get a good job financially) hurt God as greed?  Would never cursing out loud once in my life and acting the caring person when I have had inner monologues of foul language and can't seem to ever help judging every single person I meet and know every day hurt God as hypocrisy?

Basically, if I know I don't deserve the life I live and shouldn't deserve it, how can I live it?

Sincerely,
Unworthy

Dear Unworthy,

It is true that we have all sinned and don't deserve to go to heaven (Rom 3:23), but what you are talking about is more than just being undeserving; you are saying that everyone is totally depraved, and even when we do good things, it is all just a sham.  The idea that we are all deeply and totally depraved and don't have a single shred of goodness in us is not from the Bible; it is a teaching called ‘Calvinism’.  Calvinism teaches that you are born sinful and always are sinful and that nothing you can do is ever good enough – this is not true.  After all, God made us in His image... that is a good thing!  Sin is something that you do, not something that you are.  Sin does separate us from God, and Christ's blood is a gift that gives us a chance to be reunited with the Father.  We could never earn what Christ has given us, but that doesn't mean that in your heart of hearts, you are a bad person.  Christ specifically came to save those people that wished to be good but still made bad choices.  Paul dealt with this inner struggle that faithful people have as they fight the battle against the flesh in Rom 7:22-25.  People aren't born inherently bad at the core – we choose to want evil or to want good.  Calvinism is wrong, and we recommend you read the article "Calvin And Sobs" for a complete breakdown of this false teaching that has befuddled quite a lot of good people.

Are we predestinated to be saved according to Acts 13:48 and Ephesians 1:4-5 amongst others?  Is Calvinism true about predestination?

Sincerely,
Chosen By God

Dear Chosen By God,

We here at AYP firmly believe in election, grace, and predestination because they are all terms clearly mentioned in the Bible.  The important questions to ask are:

1. How are we elected?
2. Who receives grace?
3. What is predestined?

Many false doctrines have been created because people failed to ask these questions.  Calvinism (a very popular false doctrine that has infected many churches) teaches that people are elected by God without any conditions and that it is impossible to choose to serve God; it is all up to God.  It also teaches that grace can never be lost and that it is impossible to fall away even if you become an axe-murderer or live a homosexual lifestyle.  Calvinism also teaches that God predestined specific people throughout history to be saved and that only those specific individuals will go to heaven – everyone else is lost by default.  (For further information on Calvinism, please read “Calvin And Sobs”.)  This is an example of how the words ‘election’, ‘grace’, and ‘predestination’ have been abused when we didn’t clarify their biblical meanings.

God teaches that He has elected certain people to be saved.  John 6:44-45 says that God draws people to Him through the Bible.  When we listen to what the Bible says, we are called by God.  2 Thess 2:14 makes it even clearer when it says that we are called through the Gospel. ‘Called’ is another word for ‘elected’.

Those who turn to Christ will receive grace.  ‘Grace’ means ‘unmerited or undeserved favor’; grace is a gift you haven’t earned… in this case, it is the gift of salvation.  We receive grace when we live by faith (Eph 2:8).  Jesus died and paid a price none of us could ever pay – the price of our sins.  When we walk according to His teachings, His blood cleanses us from sin (1 Jn 1:7).  A faithful life isn’t a perfect life, but it is a life that is guided by God’s Word (Rom 10:17).

The Bible also teaches that God predestined something to be saved.  ‘Predestined’ means ‘to set the limits’.  Before God made anything, He set the limits of who would be saved and who wouldn’t (Eph 1:5).  God said that those in Christ will be saved (2 Tim 1:9).  Everyone who is washed in the blood of Jesus will be saved – He is the only way to God (Jhn 14:6).  God predestined only a certain group of people to be saved – the church (Acts 20:28).  The question we must all ask ourselves is: am I a part of God’s church?

When we are born, are we guilty of sin?

Sincerely,
Not Born Yesterday

Dear Not Born Yesterday,

The teaching that we are born sinful is a Calvinist teaching called ‘Total Depravity’.  Total Depravity means that Calvinists believe that everyone is born completely sinful and depraved.  A totally depraved human is incapable of doing good or pleasing God.  This is completely false.  All babies are born without sin and perfect in God’s sight (even David recognized that his dead child was going to be in heaven [2 Sam 12:23]).  Sin is not a birthright; it is a choice (Gen 4:6-7, Jas 1:13-15).  Humans sin when they choose to do wrong; they are not born in sin.

The false teaching of ‘original sin’ is very common in today’s society.  If a congregation teaches that you are born in sin, they are false teachers. Sin is a choice we make in life (Isa 7:15-16), and all humans are born upright and good (Eccl 7:29).

I would like to know if once you are saved, are you always saved?  Can you never lose your salvation no matter what you do?  This is what I was told about this basic teaching in Jhn 10:27-29.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
For Keeps

Dear For Keeps,

The idea that you can’t ever lose your salvation is a warping of Christ’s message in Jhn 10:27-29.  “Once saved, always saved” is a basic doctrine of Calvinism (read “Calvin And Sobs” for more details on the errors of Calvinism).  The Bible clearly says that you can lose your salvation.  Heb 3:12 says that we must be wary and protect our hearts because an evil, unbelieving heart can fall away.  2 Pet 3:17 says that we can lose our salvation if we get caught up in false teaching (1 Tim 4:1 also states this).  If we return to a life of ungodliness, then we crucify Christ again (Heb 6:4-6).