This was a question that was sparked by the sermon I preached on September 7. In that sermon, I mentioned that if someone professes to be a Christian, but then does not continue to follow God, but rather departs from Him, they are not a Christian. So, some people wondered, “Can you become a Christian and therefore gain salvation from sin, and then un-become a Christian and therefore lose salvation from sin?”
IT'S A GOOD QUESTION
Before I answer it, let me acknowledge that this is a point of disagreement among some Christians. There are some who will answer that question with a yes (and often they will quote a passage like Hebrews 6:4-6) and there are some who will answer that question with a no (and often they will quote a passage like John 10:27-29.) Sometimes this argument comes up as a part of a larger disagreement between whole systems of thought, like Calvinism and Arminianism. In that case, it’s the Arminian who will say “yes, you can lose your salvation” and the Calvinist who will say, “No, you can’t.” However, sometimes this topic is debated without much connection to larger systems of thought. I’m sure there have been times when a Pentecostal had a disagreement with a Baptist, with the Pentecostal saying “Yes, you can lose your salvation” and the Baptist saying, “No, you can’t” and in that particular conversation, neither one of them needed to be thinking about Calvinism or Arminianism. They were just addressing this one issue.
COMMON GROUND
Well, that is what I am about to do in this article. I want to address just this one issue. However, there’s one more thing I want to say before I say what I believe about this. There are some things that both sides can potentially agree on. So, let’s check out these two verses as a way for me to point out where both sides can find some common ground:
IT'S A GOOD QUESTION
Before I answer it, let me acknowledge that this is a point of disagreement among some Christians. There are some who will answer that question with a yes (and often they will quote a passage like Hebrews 6:4-6) and there are some who will answer that question with a no (and often they will quote a passage like John 10:27-29.) Sometimes this argument comes up as a part of a larger disagreement between whole systems of thought, like Calvinism and Arminianism. In that case, it’s the Arminian who will say “yes, you can lose your salvation” and the Calvinist who will say, “No, you can’t.” However, sometimes this topic is debated without much connection to larger systems of thought. I’m sure there have been times when a Pentecostal had a disagreement with a Baptist, with the Pentecostal saying “Yes, you can lose your salvation” and the Baptist saying, “No, you can’t” and in that particular conversation, neither one of them needed to be thinking about Calvinism or Arminianism. They were just addressing this one issue.
COMMON GROUND
Well, that is what I am about to do in this article. I want to address just this one issue. However, there’s one more thing I want to say before I say what I believe about this. There are some things that both sides can potentially agree on. So, let’s check out these two verses as a way for me to point out where both sides can find some common ground:
“You are saved by it [the gospel] if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you” 1 Corinthians 15:2a
“For we have become companions of the Messiah, if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.” Hebrews 3:14
One thing that seems undeniable to me, when it comes to these verses, is that the only people who are truly saved are the people who continue to follow Jesus all the way until the end. If someone does not hold on to the good news of Jesus, they will not experience “salvation” after their death. There’s hardly any other way you could read these verses; it’s what they say.
So, the person who believes you can lose your salvation will say, “Yep. You better hold on to the gospel. If not, you’ll lose your salvation.” And the person who believes you cannot lose your salvation will say, “Yep. A True Christian will hold on to the gospel. If someone doesn’t hold on to it, they show that they weren’t saved.”
In both cases, there is agreement that it is only “the people who persevere to the end” who are “the saved people.” That’s the common ground.
The disagreement comes with this question: When someone falls away from the Christian faith, could you consider them to have been “saved” back during that temporary period of time that they were professing Jesus? One group says “Yes. They were saved. But they lost that status when they fell away.” The other group says, “No. They weren’t saved from anything. Their falling away shows that they never had been saved.”
The reason I point this out, is that I like common ground. I think it’s great that even if people at Good News disagree on this, both sides can give similar counsel to their friend who is drifting away from God. They can both say, “Don’t fall away. Don’t depart. There is only judgment at the end of that road.”
OK, NOW WHICH ONE DO YOU BELIEVE, MARIO?
Well, thank you for asking. I believe that the person who falls away was never saved to begin with. There are several reasons for that.
First of all, I have a hard time categorizing a fallen away person as previously “saved” because I wouldn’t be able to answer the question “saved from what?”
Example: Imagine if someone professed to believe in Jesus at 17 years old, and then fell away from the faith at age 27, and then died at age 37. My best understanding is that they died not trusting in Jesus and therefore will be judged by God after death, experiencing the second death (aka: hell.) Both sides can agree on this.
I realize some Christians will say, “Well, they were saved from 17 until 27, but then they lost their salvation and didn’t have it from 27 to 37.” Sure, I see what you are getting at, but my question would be “What were they saved from between the ages of 17 and 27?” It seems to me they weren’t saved from anything at all. They were never saved, because they were literally never saved from anything.
Let me illustrate this with one of the verses above. Hebrews 3:14 says, “For we have become companions of the Messiah, if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.”
Notice that it doesn’t say, “We remain a companion of the Messiah as long as we hold firmly.” It says “We have become companions of the Messiah, if we hold firmly.”
It seems to me this verse is saying that the people who hold firmly are the companions of the Messiah. If you don’t hold firmly, then you didn’t become a companion of the Messiah.
WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT THIS?
Of course, it’s possible that I am misunderstanding these verses, and that they really were intended to communicate that some kind of salvation truly was received and then somehow lost. But I don’t see it that way at this time. It seems clear that the most important part of salvation is that which is to come (salvation from death/hell/judgment) and that isn’t granted until someone dies, therefore there isn’t much salvation to lose up until that point. Their falling away merely indicates that they were not saved.
But what if I’m wrong? Well, that’s why I spent time on the common ground section above. Even if I am incorrect about this, I and my fellow brothers and sisters (who may disagree with me) can hopefully agree on the importance of not falling away. Regardless of what we call the status of someone who claims to be a Christian temporarily, we can encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, to not be hardened by sin’s deception.
So, the person who believes you can lose your salvation will say, “Yep. You better hold on to the gospel. If not, you’ll lose your salvation.” And the person who believes you cannot lose your salvation will say, “Yep. A True Christian will hold on to the gospel. If someone doesn’t hold on to it, they show that they weren’t saved.”
In both cases, there is agreement that it is only “the people who persevere to the end” who are “the saved people.” That’s the common ground.
The disagreement comes with this question: When someone falls away from the Christian faith, could you consider them to have been “saved” back during that temporary period of time that they were professing Jesus? One group says “Yes. They were saved. But they lost that status when they fell away.” The other group says, “No. They weren’t saved from anything. Their falling away shows that they never had been saved.”
The reason I point this out, is that I like common ground. I think it’s great that even if people at Good News disagree on this, both sides can give similar counsel to their friend who is drifting away from God. They can both say, “Don’t fall away. Don’t depart. There is only judgment at the end of that road.”
OK, NOW WHICH ONE DO YOU BELIEVE, MARIO?
Well, thank you for asking. I believe that the person who falls away was never saved to begin with. There are several reasons for that.
First of all, I have a hard time categorizing a fallen away person as previously “saved” because I wouldn’t be able to answer the question “saved from what?”
Example: Imagine if someone professed to believe in Jesus at 17 years old, and then fell away from the faith at age 27, and then died at age 37. My best understanding is that they died not trusting in Jesus and therefore will be judged by God after death, experiencing the second death (aka: hell.) Both sides can agree on this.
I realize some Christians will say, “Well, they were saved from 17 until 27, but then they lost their salvation and didn’t have it from 27 to 37.” Sure, I see what you are getting at, but my question would be “What were they saved from between the ages of 17 and 27?” It seems to me they weren’t saved from anything at all. They were never saved, because they were literally never saved from anything.
Let me illustrate this with one of the verses above. Hebrews 3:14 says, “For we have become companions of the Messiah, if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.”
Notice that it doesn’t say, “We remain a companion of the Messiah as long as we hold firmly.” It says “We have become companions of the Messiah, if we hold firmly.”
It seems to me this verse is saying that the people who hold firmly are the companions of the Messiah. If you don’t hold firmly, then you didn’t become a companion of the Messiah.
WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT THIS?
Of course, it’s possible that I am misunderstanding these verses, and that they really were intended to communicate that some kind of salvation truly was received and then somehow lost. But I don’t see it that way at this time. It seems clear that the most important part of salvation is that which is to come (salvation from death/hell/judgment) and that isn’t granted until someone dies, therefore there isn’t much salvation to lose up until that point. Their falling away merely indicates that they were not saved.
But what if I’m wrong? Well, that’s why I spent time on the common ground section above. Even if I am incorrect about this, I and my fellow brothers and sisters (who may disagree with me) can hopefully agree on the importance of not falling away. Regardless of what we call the status of someone who claims to be a Christian temporarily, we can encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, to not be hardened by sin’s deception.
