Can A Person Lose Their Salvation?

Posted on by

CAN A PERSON LOSE THEIR SALVATION?

 

SCRIPTURE: 1 Peter 1:2-5

MAIN THEME: If you were to ask the average “Christian”, especially one like those described in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, the answer you would get would probably be either yes, or I just don’t know. However, speaking from a Biblical perspective, it is really simple to know the answer to this question, and therefore be able to live a life rejoicing because you know that you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the answer is: NOT NO WAY IS IT POSSIBLE TO LOSE YOUR SALVATION. You may say that I cannot make such a claim.  If you believe that such a claim cannot be made, then I encourage you to read this message,  and you will learn that I am not making such a claim, I am simply going to share with you the reality of the fact that it is a promise from God, Who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

 

  1. The Scripture Before Us
  • As we look at the Scripture before us, we must view it verse by verse, and especially see what some of the wording means. By doing this, we will get a clear picture of what God is saying to the members of His Church. Verse two will be where we begin.
  1. In verse two, there are several things that we need to see. First of all is the very first word, “Elect”. By implication, it means “chosen”, with the idea of kindness, favor, love. Therefore, those who are chosen are done so out of love, and the favor (grace, unmerited favor, seeing as God had no reason to favor either of us over anyone). This means that we have done nothing to deserve being the elect of God.
  2. The next word we must see to understand in this verse is ‘foreknowledge’ (to know beforehand). Keep in mind what I am about to say because this is difficult for most to understand, or even to comprehend. You and I only know about something before it happens if we are told so by the person doing it, or an advertisement, etc. However, none of us could say, for instance, when something like the day we leave this earth will take place because we simply do not know. We do not know such things, but Almighty God does. He sees our life in its entirety, from birth to death. You may say how does He do it. First of all, because He is God. Secondly, because He has foreknowledge. Just as we see only the present, the present to God is inclusive of all, without any reference to time, for God is not confined to time as we are. He sees the beginning from the end of time here on this earth, and eternity past and future. Nothing is unknown to Him. Our thoughts, our motives, the decisions we will make, the day we will take our last breath, all is known by almighty God.
  3. “through sanctification of the Spirit”, meaning that we are “set apart” by the Holy Spirit of God. The act of “sanctification” is an ongoing process, which begins the moment we are saved, and continues until the day of our death or the day the church is raptured. Once a person is saved, the Holy Spirit begins a process in the believer whereby we are conformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). God uses all that happens in our life in that process (Romans 8:28). If one is truly saved, the evidence will be seen by those around us, as they begin seeing more of Jesus in us and less of us.
  4. “unto obedience”. Jesus made a seemingly forgotten statement in John 14:15, as He said, “If ye love me, keep My commandments.” This speaks of obedience. We shall look at that in the next verse in more detail. Suffice it to say at this point that we are, as Christians, to be obedient.
  5. “the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” may be puzzling to some, but were it not for the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross, we could not be saved (Hebrews 9:22). This verse clearly states that without the shedding of blood our sins could not be forgiven. Therefore, Jesus had to shed His blood for us to be saved.
  6. Finally, grace and peace are both from God, as grace is God’s unmerited favor, and true peace only comes from God (Philippians 4:7, Romans 5:1).

 

  1. The Importance of Jesus’ Resurrection
  • In verse three, we see that it is through and by the abundant mercy of God that we are saved, but it was confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is the proof that God has given to us that we may know that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, that we might be saved. If you will remember, Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, who was the first person to see Jesus after the resurrection, said to Mary, “Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17). Why could Jesus not be touched? Because the sacrifice offered on our behalf had to be pure and had Jesus been touched, he would not have been that pure sacrifice that God the Father required for our salvation. Notice that Jesus calls His Father their Father, something that He could not do before giving Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.
  • “a lively hope” shows that our hope is a living hope, as we serve a living Saviour, One Who is very much alive, in heaven, making “intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). But this verse is speaking of our hope of heaven being one that gives us life, true life, while on this earth, looking forward to heaven one day in the future.
  • The most important portion of this verse is found in three simple words, yet they are the most three simple words found in these verses because they say something about those to whom these verses apply. Those words are, “our Lord Jesus Christ,” which simply means that to all in whom these verses apply to know Jesus as their Lord, as Jesus, and as Christ. Salvation is personal. Though it speaks of us all, it also speaks of our salvation as one which requires a personal decision to choose to follow after Jesus. One does not go to heaven based on the mother or father’s salvation. That decision is a personal one. What do these next three words mean? It is of utmost importance that one knows the answer because there are many whom Satan has deceived, thinking they were saved, yet are not. For one to be saved, Jesus must be all three of these to you. Having said that, let us examine what each word means.
  1. “Lord”. We also read this word found in Romans 10:9, as one who is saved must accept Jesus as “Lord”. What then does the word “Lord” mean? It means “supreme in authority; controller; Master.”

Therefore by calling Jesus Lord, we have given Him the “right” to be the One Who controls our life. We no longer live doing what is “our will”, rather, we are to seek the will of God in every area of our life. Many who call themselves Christians say this to God, “You can have the rule over this part of my life, but not this one. As one preacher once said, “He will be Lord over all, or He will not Lord at all.” What is being said here? As a child of God, we will be convicted when we are not following the will of God. You may ask, “how can I know the will of God?” To this question, there is a simple answer, as the “will of God” will be found in the pages of “the Word of God”. In His Word, God tells us what His commands are. Whenever we read Jesus say something, or a writer of the Word saying something God has had them write (2 Timothy 3:16), then we must realize that these words are not suggestions from God, but commands. They are not optional, for us to pick and choose which ones we will follow and which ones we will not follow. If there is anything in your life that is not in the “will of God”, then God will chastise you (Proverbs 3:11-12 and Hebrews 12:6-8. Please notice something of utmost importance, as God says, in Hebrews 12:8, “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” What is God saying in this verse? Simply put, if you say that you are a Christian, and you are living outside of the will of God, and you feel no conviction from sin in your life, you are not being “chastised”, which means disciplinary correction, education or training, then you are NOT HIS CHILD. Trust me, if God is disciplining you, you will most certainly be aware of it. You may say, “Preacher Eddie said I wasn’t a Christian because God is not chastising me”, but my friend it is not I, but God Himself Who is saying it to you, for it is His Word, not mine. And if you fail to listen to Him in this life, you most certainly will in judgment, as you are before Him as an enemy of God, when you could have just as easily not been in this position at all, simply by listening to God, to begin with. He will honor your request and have you cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:11-15). You may ask, “Where will I be until then? In hell, created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41, Isaiah 5:11), which was never created for you or anyone else, but Satan and his angels. But you may say, I didn’t say no to God”, but by not saying anything you are saying no, because failure to saying “yes” to God is, in reality, saying “no” to God. Look at John 3:16, and you will see a promise from God that most all are familiar with. However, in that same chapter, read John 3:18-20. By saying nothing, you are in reality calling God a liar, not believing that He sent His Son to die for your sins. Where you spend eternity you can blame only one person, yourself. Does God want you to go to hell, of course not, but you have given Him no choice, as He sent His Son to die for you, and you, by failing to accept Jesus as Lord, have to pay for your sin debt, which Jesus had paid, but you failed to accept? I could give you a check, but if you never cash it, then it’s worthless to you. Though Jesus died for you, to pay your sin debt, you never “cashed in”, by accepting the payment Jesus made. Therefore the debt is yours to pay and take my word for it, you will pay for all eternity. Better yet, take God’s word for it, for He will always keep His promises, both to the good and to the evil.

One last word here. I have started reading a book entitled, “The Gospel of Jesus”, written by Dr. John MacAuthur. He makes these statements in his” preface to the anniversary edition, “In the minds and methodologies of most evangelicals, the entire gospel was finally reduced to one easy idea: that Jesus is a kind of Savior who patiently waits for sinners to “accept” Him (or invite Him into their hearts), and that He offers eternal—no strings attached—in exchange for anyone’s decision to do so.” A true Christian knows that this is a false precept of what Christianity is. Dr. MacAuthur goes on to say,  “The faith He called sinners to was a repentant, submissive surrender to the truth—including the truth of His lordship.” Therefore, as I agree with Dr. MacAuthur that this is the true Biblical definition of Lordship, being a “repentant, submissive surrender to the truth”, then anyone preaching or teaching a “cheap” imitation is only leading people to hell.

  1. “Jesus”. The greatest definition of Jesus can be found in Matthew 1:21, as Gabriel says to Joseph, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” From the name JESUS, we get the word SAVIOUR. What is Jesus saving us from? Our sins, both the consequences and penalty of our sins. It would do one well to read in the book of Hebrews, chapters nine and ten, to better understand what Jesus has done for us.
  2. “Christ”. This refers to Jesus as the anointed Messiah, promised to the people of Israel. You may ask if Jesus is the anointed Messiah of Israel, how can He be Saviour and Lord to all Who call (Romans 10:9-10,13) upon Him? Simply put, it tells us so in Romans 3:21-31, which means “God says so”, so that alone should settle such a matter. Jesus is the only one who has ever lived who has fulfilled the prophecies given in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. If you have a good study Bible, such as The Open Bible, you can turn to a section called “PROPHECIES OF THE MESSIAH FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST.” Here you will find 44 prophesies in the Old Testament that only Jesus fulfilled. There is no doubt that Jesus is “The Christ”.

 

 

 

  • A Reason for Rejoicing
  • Several reasons for rejoicing are given here in the Scripture in verse four
  1. An inheritance incorruptible
  • This means that our inheritance will not decay, it is immortal. Is it not amazing that we have an inheritance that we can count on. Everything in this life, all of our possessions, will decay at some point, for there is nothing man-made that will last forever. Even when one inherits land, house, property, he or she will one day draw their last breath, only to leave behind that which they inherited, and even that will one day be gone forever. However, it is not so with our heavenly, eternal, God-given inheritance. For just as God giveth, only He could take away, and God’s Word never fails, nor does God ever lie (Isaiah 55:10-11; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). Therefore, if God says that it is ours, then it is ours for eternity.
  1. Undefiled
  • This means our inheritance is pure. There is no sin or anything impure in heaven. No more times when, because of our sin, that our relationship with God will cause a loss of fellowship between ourselves and God. We cannot lose our salvation, but we can indeed lose fellowship with God. To understand this, imagine that you and your spouse have words between yourselves. You may attempt to talk with the offended mate, but they can act as though they do not hear a word you are saying (like we men do during football games and our wives try talking with us). God does the same thing whenever we have sinned against Him (Psalm 51:4) because our sins are all against Him. Does He hear what we are saying whenever we are out of fellowship with Him, yes and no? God is Omni-present, which is a big word that simply means that God is everywhere present and nowhere absent. There is no place that God is not at. You may say I cannot understand how God can be everywhere and not be absent anywhere. If God wanted to give us a better understanding of that specific Biblical doctrine, He would. However, there are some things that we must simply take His word at, even though we don’t comprehend (Psalm 139:8). If we are children of God, then once we have confessed our sin/sins to Him, He forgives us and He cleanses us (gives us a spiritual bath). We are then able to speak, be heard, and then follow (Hebrews 9:9-14). Once we are in heaven, because our inheritance is undefiled, this can never happen again, as we will experience perfect fellowship with God for all eternity, because no sin is present.
  1. “That fadeth not away”. According to Webster, if something can “fade” then it can become weak; lose strength; it can decay, and it can perish. None of these things can happen with our inheritance. It will never grow weak, lose strength, decay, or perish, as it will last forever. What an awesome promise. And because it is a promise given by God, and not man, you can rest assured it is a concrete promise.
  2. “Reserved in heaven for you”. What does one do whenever they make a reservation? If you are going out of town, and you make a reservation, then whenever you arrive at your destination, you are expecting a room or rooms to be held for you in your name. Yet here on this earth, sometimes a mistake is made, your reservation was never confirmed, or something concerning it was misunderstood, and you have no room reserved. This is  impossible with God, for when a place is reserved, it is specifically for you, according to the Word of God before us in verse four, as it states, “for you.” That’s personal, independent upon nothing but God keeping His Word. That’s what I would call a confident reservation.
  • The location of this reservation is in heaven. What a glorious promise, that there is a place in heaven already reserved for me, for you, and any other true Christian, and it is all promised by God, Who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). What makes it so amazing is that neither myself nor anyone else, has done anything to deserve such a future with almighty God. One can only confess that it is because of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, and say Glory be to God, Who deserves our praise and honor for His great Love bestowed upon us. And if you are a child of God, one glorious day-break, it will be a reality.

 

  1. HOW DO WE KNOW THAT OUR SALVATION CANNOT BE LOST?
  • “Who are kept by the power of God”
  1. Here is where most people who think one can lose their salvation fail to correctly interpret the Scripture. They think the power to keep themselves saved is dependent upon them. As I get older, as I will be 61 in one week at the time of this message, I can lose something so easily that it’s not even funny (I’m guessing that most of you have too). However, I have found that as a Christian, I can ask God to show me where it is, and He will. Therefore, if my salvation was up to me for keeping, or you, we would most certainly lose it also. However, this verse of Scripture is very specific, as it states, “Who”, meaning me, or anyone who is saved, speaking specific to each individual, though we are corporately the body of Christ, is given this promise. That promise is that we are  “kept by the power of God.” Did you read that, if not, let me say it again, “Who are kept by the power of God.” The word kept here means to “mount guard as a sentinel, also meaning to protect”). For anyone to lose their salvation, they, or anyone trying to cause someone’s salvation to be lost, to be more powerful than God. I don’t know about how you feel or believe, by no person, nor spirit is greater than God. Therefore, once one is saved, it is most certainly eternal. So if one asks you if you can lose your salvation, then the answer is found in 1 Peter 1:5. It is an impossibility, because salvation is of God, not man, and He alone does the keeping. One other Scripture you may want to read that talks about this same subject is found in John 10:28-29, as one is shown that to lose one’s salvation would mean that only someone greater than God (and no person/spirit is) would have to pluck them out of the hand of Jesus or that of God the Father’s hands. I like what a preacher friend of mine says. “If someone tried to get my salvation from God, they would first have to go through the seal of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30), then through the hand of Jesus, then through the hand of God (John 10:28-30), and by the time they get there, even if it were the devil, they or he would be saved.
  2. Finally, you may say that I have been good, done many good works. Here is what God will say to those who may make this statement. Please read Romans 3:19-20 and Galatians 3:24-25. The purpose of the law, the ten commandments in the Book of Exodus in chapter twenty, and the laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy were never meant as a means for one to be saved. The purpose of the commandments and law was to reveal to mankind our desperate need of a Saviour, One Who could save us from our sinful ways. Jesus is that One, and He alone can save us. Please read in the Book of Hebrews 9:8-28, then Hebrews 10:1-39, and specifically in Hebrews 10:10-18. Then in Hebrews 10:19-20, we are told that we now, because of the shed blood of Jesus, and our acceptance of His sacrifice, that we have the right to pray to almighty God, to come into His very presence, as one would be allowed into the presence of a King, except this is not “just a king”, but “The Almighty God”. Only the child of God has this right. The prayer of a lost person will not reach the throne room of God, because the blood of Jesus Christ has not been applied to their life, which is the only way access to God is given. (John 14:6)
  • At the end of your life, whenever you stand before almighty God, there will be some who hear the words we read in Matthew 7:21-23, which says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Please notice that those being spoken to here are people that you know who go to “church”. These are those that you may have said the following about them, “If that is what a Christian is, then I am just as well off because I am just as good as they are? Here’s the problem with such a philosophy. Those people are not Christian, nor were they ever Christians. Notice what Jesus says to them, “I never knew you”. This means that they are not, nor ever have been, part of His family. So if you are using a hypocrite, and that is exactly what they are, to be an excuse for your not accepting Jesus, then you will hear the same words from Him, “I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity”, because you too are sinners without a personal relationship with almighty God, which is only possible through Jesus. I plead with you sir or mam, young person, or whoever may be reading this, please open your heart and invite Jesus in (Romans 10:9-10, 13). Admit that you are a sinner (Romans 3:23), as the Scripture, I just placed in here tells you, for we are “all” sinners, none worthy of the grace of God. However, you may say, “I have done too many bad things in my life.” In the Bible, Moses and David had murdered someone. David had also committed adultery, the woman is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his men. Rahab, who was a harlot, is in the lineage of Jesus, so to say that you have done too many bad things may be true, but I believe that God allowed the sins of others to be told in His Word to show His great mercy and grace. If you are reading this right now, then it shows that God loves you enough that He has led you to this site, to this message, specifically so that you will have the opportunity to be one of His children. It’s not about our being good, it’s about our knowing that we are not good, that we are sinful. However, Jesus has made the way, not only for us to go to heaven, but to experience heaven here also. That does not mean that everything will be a bed of roses. God tells us just the opposite in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” We are told upfront that there will be a cost for the true child of God, but my friend, having been a Christian since October 18th, 1972, I can honestly say that the costs are well worth it. I can say honestly that were it not for God, I would not be here. There have been physical, mental, financial things in which I have been through that would destroy most people, and it would have me also, were it not for God. I praise Him for saving such a worm as I. The apostle Paul wrote that of all sinners, he was chief, because he had persecuted the church of the living God before his salvation experience on the Damascus Road, as Christ Himself appeared to Paul. But in my heart and mind, I have been equally as bad, even since being saved, because many times I have failed my God. But blessed be His Holy Name, because each time I have fallen, He has reached out His hands of mercy, and said, “child I love you”, and “He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” (Psalm 40:2) My heart’s prayer is that one day I will see you in heaven. I have now said that which I feel God wanted me to say. Now the choice is yours. May you allow Jesus into your heart, but please don’t wait, for this may be your last opportunity, your last few seconds, minutes, hours, or days on earth, only God knows.

Leave a Reply