Can a Born-Again Christian Lose Salvation?

Ask Pastor John
Episode: 102

[jdubski]

If your truly born again you don’t want to deliberately sin, your flesh will still crave sin but your spirit that is saved don’t want to sin.

[papermoney]

When you fall, and you have a strong desire to repent that is the evidence of your salvation.

[zackwestrules]

I “fell away” when I was 18 due to severe depression and then turned to drugs cope. Well 8 years later I’m finally sober and free from it all, about 3 months into sobriety the fear of God hit me like a train and pretty much has put me on my knees for 4 months. I’m now going on 8 months sober and I’ll tell you what, it’s like God has said to me “don’t you dare ever leave me again”. Hebrews absolutely terrifies me now. I’m just gonna stay this time. Haha

[mrblack]

I just want to warn anyone who wonder if you can lose your salvation, I personally had a vision while at work of me personally losing my salvation due to constant sin, the vision was clear enough to stop me in the middle of working. I don't do drugs nor drink. There is nothing more important or valuable than your personal relationship with the Lord. Don't let anyone fool you to thinking that constant sin is OK. There is nothing on this planet worth risking your relationship with Him. Please I'm begging you to stay focus and be obedient to the Lord and His will, don't be lukewarm🙏

[kamalapati]

I thank God and his only begotten son Jesus Christ who died for my sins. Amen

[waynelinks]

what saddens me when i read all these comments is the fact that when we as christians differ from interpretation of the holy scriptures we tend to lose respect for one another. We forget that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us, when we address one another, do it with respect unto each other. Many of us will call some pastor false or a doctrine false or the other way around, How do you know for sure that your interpretation is the correct one. It is best to accept that you do not need that any one teaches you except the holy spirit. Let us comment, rebuke, teach in love to one another instead of getting personal and insult someones christian denomination version.  Do not get personal, it is not our job to save a person but the Lord's. Let us not tie a yoke around our own necks but let us worship God the almighty in spirit because it is a beautifull thing to do. If someone rejects your version of interpretation, thats fine because its that persons choice. You have done your part in teaching, exhorting to that person. We all know the devils plan is to seek kill and destroy and to decieve so why fall for it. We as brothers and sisters in Christ are all bonded together through his love.So let us treat one another with respect.

[mikemccormick]

I used to want to go to heaven. I believed for over 30 years in the Trinity. After a fallout with my son I felt alone. I realized I loved my son more than anything. Once I put God number one in my life the depression I suffered from for 20 years started to dissipate. About a year and a half later while praying for my son to come to faith the miracle of being baptized in the Holy Spirit happened to me. I now know as this Pastor says I am sealed with knowing my destination. Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

[Ad-zknz]

Faith in Jesus + Repentance = Salvation ! You must be Born Again with Holy Spirit! 💗

[jsamc]

Salvation is putting your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Repent means to turn away to be in agreement with God. Saved people do not rationalize their sins.

[darellcanup]

"I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day". He saved me, not me myself, so if my salvation was something that could be lost that would be Him losing it not me, and we know he is perfect and cannot break his Word.

[jamiecarson]

“If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If you do not remain”

[LawrenceB]

As someone who was recently born again i know my mind has been renewed and the Holy spirit now leads and teaches me praise be to God thank you my Lord

[prouddaddyme]

The problem with this generation is that they want their ears tickled, ,

[jackravon]

Research this one folks. GAMBLE with eternity, really?
Your not alone, we all struggle with something. Keep moving forward in faith and obedience..Love God, love each other

[lilacook]

I agree 💯 we are SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS ! We are sanctified throughout our lifetimes. We still mess up but feel immediately feel bad about it ! God is faithful when we are faithless, it is my grace you are saved through faith, not by works lest any man should BOAST ❤️ and ✝️🛐 s

[christ-resurrected]

Hebrews 6:4-6 NKJV
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, [5] and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6] if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

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

[Tglvg]

Thabk you Father for saving me, a person who was utterly depraved and lost, thank you for taking me into your arms and giving me the faith to stand strong, thank you Jesus for your sacrifice that I may wear the breastplate of righteousness! Abba!

[alexmercer]

You can't lose your salvation because the bible says "and they are in my father's hands and no one can pluck them out of his hands"

[original_golden_egg]

I think this is a very good interpretation of the Word. I believe a born-again believer won't "lose" salvation once he's saved, but there's a big danger: Many people falsely think they are already saved and use that as an excuse to keep sinning in the lack of fear of God. For that reason, "once saved always saved" is a phrase that must be used carefully, to not lead people into hell.

[tylert]

Question: "Can a Christian lose salvation?"

Answer: First, the term Christian must be defined. A “Christian” is not a person who has said a prayer or walked down an aisle or been raised in a Christian family. While each of these things can be a part of the Christian experience, they are not what makes a Christian. A Christian is a person who has fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and therefore possesses the Holy Spirit (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8–9).



So, with this definition in mind, can a Christian lose salvation? It’s a crucially important question. Perhaps the best way to answer it is to examine what the Bible says occurs at salvation and to study what losing salvation would entail:

A Christian is a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). A Christian is not simply an “improved” version of a person; a Christian is an entirely new creature. He is “in Christ.” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be destroyed.

A Christian is redeemed. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18–19). The word redeemed refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid. We were purchased at the cost of Christ’s death. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase of the individual for whom He paid with the precious blood of Christ.

A Christian is justified. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). To justify is to declare righteous. All those who receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and “un-declare” what He had previously declared. Those absolved of guilt would have to be tried again and found guilty. God would have to reverse the sentence handed down from the divine bench.

A Christian is promised eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Eternal life is the promise of spending forever in heaven with God. God promises, “Believe and you will have eternal life.” For a Christian to lose salvation, eternal life would have to be redefined. The Christian is promised to live forever. Does eternal not mean “eternal”?

A Christian is marked by God and sealed by the Spirit. “You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14). At the moment of faith, the new Christian is marked and sealed with the Spirit, who was promised to act as a deposit to guarantee the heavenly inheritance. The end result is that God’s glory is praised. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to erase the mark, withdraw the Spirit, cancel the deposit, break His promise, revoke the guarantee, keep the inheritance, forego the praise, and lessen His glory.

A Christian is guaranteed glorification. “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). According to Romans 5:1, justification is ours at the moment of faith. According to Romans 8:30, glorification comes with justification. All those whom God justifies are promised to be glorified. This promise will be fulfilled when Christians receive their perfect resurrection bodies in heaven. If a Christian can lose salvation, then Romans 8:30 is in error, because God could not guarantee glorification for all those whom He predestines, calls, and justifies.

A Christian cannot lose salvation. Most, if not all, of what the Bible says happens to us when we receive Christ would be invalidated if salvation could be lost. Salvation is the gift of God, and God’s gifts are “irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). A Christian cannot be un-newly created. The redeemed cannot be unpurchased. Eternal life cannot be temporary. God cannot renege on His Word. Scripture says that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Two common objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation concern these experiential issues: 1) What about Christians who live in a sinful, unrepentant lifestyle? 2) What about Christians who reject the faith and deny Christ? The problem with these objections is the assumption that everyone who calls himself a “Christian” has actually been born again. The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a state of continual, unrepentant sin (1 John 3:6). The Bible also says that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he was never truly a Christian (1 John 2:19). He may have been religious, he may have put on a good show, but he was never born again by the power of God. “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16). The redeemed of God belong “to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4).

Nothing can separate a child of God from the Father’s love (Romans 8:38–39). Nothing can remove a Christian from God’s hand (John 10:28–29). God guarantees eternal life and maintains the salvation He has given us. The Good Shepherd searches for the lost sheep, and, “when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (Luke 15:5–6). The lamb is found, and the Shepherd gladly bears the burden; our Lord takes full responsibility for bringing the lost one safely home.

Jude 24–25 further emphasizes the goodness and faithfulness of our Savior: “To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”