Can a Christian lose their salvation? If not, how do you explain Heb. 6:4-9 and 10:26-29, which talk about eternal judgment on those who continue to sin after having shared in the Holy Spirit and been sanctified by the blood of Christ? Doesn't this idea of "once saved, always saved" promote spiritual apathy, anyway?This is a question that has challenged believers for centuries, and remains a hot topic because there are so many practical implications. If a believer can lose his or her salvation, then there is pressure (in both a good sense and bad sense) to keep on the narrow path. If a believer is eternally secure and can never fall away, then there is a tremendous freedom from anxiety that can result - but also the opportunity for spiritual apathy. In seeking a scriptural answer, we must never let the application determine our theology. Rather, we allow scripture to speak and set the theological agenda, and then we decide how this impacts our faith and obedience.
Another issue that influences our understanding is our view on people who have claimed to be Christians and then have, apparently, completely fallen away from the faith. The idea that they have lost their salvation through their renunciation of Christianity is a simple and somewhat attractive one. The problem is that, from our human vantage, we can never be absolutely sure whether or not another human being is, or ever was, saved. So our desire to account for these people begs the question; they could just as easily be people who never truly believed as people who did truly believe but have lost their salvation. Remember the people who say "Lord, Lord" in the parable of Matt 7:21, begging to get into heaven on the basis of their spirituality-Jesus doesn't tell them that they used to be saved but then fell away. Jesus tells them, "I never knew you." In other words, they were never saved.
This question is further confused because different church systems (including various denominations, Roman Catholicism, and even some of the more prominent cults) have strong views on the topic. Denominations and systems that are more action-oriented tend to side with the position that Christians can lose their salvation. Roman Catholicism generally goes in this direction, as does the Methodist denomination (and this applies to many Charismatic churches which are a historical spin-off from Methodism). Denominations that are more faith-based, or are reactive to Roman Catholicism, have tended to argue that salvation cannot be lost. This includes Reformed churches, such as the Presbyterian denomination, as well as such denominations as the Baptists.
Again, the fact that a denomination has a tendency to go one way or the other on this topic should be secondary to the biblical evidence. To address the issue, I will be considering verses on each side of the debate. The position adopted herein is that salvation is a gift of God that cannot be lost. A Christian with saving faith, even though she may struggle with disobedience, will always "persevere to the end." But for the purpose of discussion, I am going to begin with verses that are frequently used to argue that Christians can lose their salvation.
Two of the most cited passages to support a loss of salvation are in the book of Hebrews. Before discussing these passages individually, I'd like to make a general point based on the context of the book. The author of Hebrews is not interested in answering the question of whether or not someone can lose their salvation. I'd go so far as to argue that it never occurred to the author that someone would attempt to apply his writings to this issue. The author's purposes in this book are primarily practical, not theological. He is trying to address a specific problem that is confronting a house church in Rome. The problem is that some Jewish Christians had decided to back off their Christian commitment and return to their cultural Judaism, undoubtedly to avoid cultural pressures and persecution. The author uses several warning passages (including the two we are about to address) to encourage them to press forward in their commitment to Christ and not shrink back to cultural Judaism.
That said, I think that a careful analysis of the passages still refutes the idea that they are referring to Christians who lose their salvation.
Hebrews 6:4-9
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,
6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.
8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation. (Hebrews 6:4-9)
Verses 4 - 8 warn about the peril of experiencing true Christian fellowship and then turning away from Christ. It is impossible for such people to be brought back to repentance, and in the end such people, like land that produces thistles, are in danger of being cursed, and will ultimately be burned.
The question is whether the author is speaking of Christians here, or if he is speaking of people who enter into the context of a Christian fellowship, experience the work of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the scriptures, but who never actually accept Christ. In other words, cultural "Christians" without any actual commitment. The terms used here are all vague enough to apply to a non-Christian's experience of Christianity. "Enlightenment" (which speaks to an intellectual awakening), "tasting" of the heavenly gift (as opposed to actually receiving it), "sharing" in the Holy Spirit (as opposed to actually receiving him) are all things that can apply to a non-Christian who is fully immersed in a Christian fellowship.
The verse that conclusively argues that the people of vv. 4-8 are not Christians is verse 9: "Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation." In other words, the things the author is warning about in vv. 4-8 are not things that accompany salvation. So the implication of the passage as a whole is that people who fall away are not saved people, and the terms used in vv. 4-8 are commensurate with the experience of an enlightened non-Christian.
Hebrews 10:26-29
The other passage in Hebrews is not as strong as the previous, but is often quoted in support of the view that Christians can lose their salvation:
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
This passage is not clearly referring to a Christian who is in sin. Once again, we are most likely dealing with a non-Christian who has drawn close to the truth but rejected it. The reference to "the blood of the covenant that sanctified him" in v. 29 seems to be referring to a Christian, but this overlooks the fact that the word translated "sanctified" (which is a term often applied to Christians; it is the verb form of the adjective "holy") really just means "set apart," and doesn't necessarily refer to salvation at all. In 1 Cor. 7:14 Paul uses it several times to specifically refer to non-Christians who are "sanctified" or "made holy" by their believing spouse. (And by this Paul does not mean that they are saved!) A non-Christian can be set apart and made holy from other non-Christians and sinful things without experiencing salvation. So nothing in this passage is clearly used in reference to a Christian. In fact, v. 27 seems to be referring to non-Christians, since Christians cannot be considered "enemies of God" (see Rom 5:10).
Like chapter 6, this passage is even clearer when read in context. After these verses, the author of Hebrews (just like in chapter 6) begins to contrast this behavior with his readers, who (unlike the people in the warning passage) are Christians. In v. 39 (like in Heb 6:9) he sets up the contrast that makes it clear that he was referring to non-Christians, not saved people:
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Heb 10:29)
The reason this verse settles it is because the author is contrasting not only destruction and salvation, but he places belief (faith - same word as "belief" in the Greek) on the side of salvation alone. In other words, he does not talk about people who believe but shrink back. People who truly believe do not shrink back; people who shrink back do not truly believe. Thus, neither of these passages is describing a person who has faith in Christ and then falls away.
Conclusion on Hebrews
As I said originally, I don't believe the author of Hebrews is trying to answer the question of whether someone can lose their salvation. The author's single point is that he doesn't want his readers to be like these people. I'm not sure the author is even intimately familiar with the members of this house church in Rome, so he can't speak to whether the offenders are truly Christians or not. His aim is practical and pastoral: Anchor your commitment on Christ or be prepared for the worst. Clearly, this could apply equally well to people who think they are saved but really aren't, or people who are saved but lose their salvation. So these passages could be used on both sides of the debate, but don't actually solve the issue in question.
To truly answer our question, we need to leave these passages and look at other biblical authors who, unlike the author of Hebrews, are interested in answering our question.
1. Since salvation is not acquired through our obedience, neither is it something that can be lost through our disobedience.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:8-10).
This is a simple point, but it is intuitive. If salvation is earned through our effort, then it implies that, through our effort (or perhaps our lack of continued effort) we might also be able to lose that salvation. But if it is bought and paid for by the blood of Christ, our obedience (faithfulness) or disobedience (faithlessness) becomes irrelevant. Scripture indicates that salvation is conditioned on faith in Jesus Christ, and no matter how you understand that faith (even allowing that biblical faith "works," as in James 2), it is still the case that our salvation is not accomplished by our faith, but rather by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Rom 5:10), who is the object of our faith. Believing in him applies his blood to our sins, and washes them away. Disbelieving in him at some future doesn't have the effect of bringing the sins back; what is gone is gone. In reality, the only thing that could cause us to lose our salvation is if Jesus himself fell away; our actions (even to the point of faithlessness) are irrelevant because they didn't save us in the first place.
Note also this passage from Ephesians - it connects our faith to good works, but the good works are something that God has created us for in Christ Jesus - which strongly implies that our obedience follows as a result of salvation, rather than a condition for achieving salvation (or for keeping it, for that matter). V. 10 states that saved people do good deeds because God has ordained it. This suggests that salvation is more than just our preference; it is part of God's sovereign plan.
2. Salvation is a gift that is based on God's love, and not our deservedness; since God's love will never cease, there is no action by which a believer can lose her salvation.
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)How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)
These verses (selected from hundreds) demonstrate that God's gift of salvation is primarily an expression of his love. The question then to ask is: Can we do something to lose God's love? Is there a place we can go, through our own action, that will separate us from his love? Scripture says there is not:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)
This verse doesn't allow for the possibility of anything separating Christians from God's love, and makes sense in light of Paul's earlier discussion of predestination in this chapter (which I'll return to in point #4 below). The reason that this passage is so important is that, unlike the author of Hebrews, Paul is addressing the very point in contention: Should his readers be afraid of missing out on God's salvation? His readers, in the midst of persecution, had reason for concern. Could God have abandoned them for any conceivable reason? Paul's answer is unequivocal. Salvation cannot be lost, because nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus.
3. The Holy Spirit is given to Christians as a guarantee of salvation.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having 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. (Eph 1:13-14)
One might question the value of a guarantee that doesn't in fact guarantee something. If there is a way to lose one's salvation, then the Holy Spirit does not truly guarantee salvation-or else it suggests that God's commitment cannot be trusted (though see Rom 3:3-4, which flatly denies that God's promise is invalidated by our faithlessness; see also Heb 6:17-18). This passage in Eph. 1 uses terminology (guarantee, inheritance, sealed, marked) which suggests that salvation is something done to us that is based on God's action. There isn't much sense in saying that we scrubbed God's mark off of us, or tore off the Holy Spirit's seal. It would imply that God's actions in marking and sealing us were ineffectual. A seal implies the idea of something that cannot be altered until the proper time.
4. Salvation is a process which proceeds from God's plan (predestination) to our ultimate redemption and the resurrection of our bodies. God's salvation is a reflection of his will, and his will cannot be subverted.
For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29)And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Rom 8:28-30)
This last verse is very important, not only because it relates salvation to an act of God's sovereign plan (and it would undermine that sovereignty if God predestined people to salvation and then, later on, those people somehow became unsaved), but because it shows that the people that God predestines ultimately end up glorified, with resurrected bodies in eternity. The process admits of no exceptions: the people that God predestines he calls; the people that he calls (which are those he predestines) he justifies. Those he justifies (which are, applying the property of equality, the same as the ones he predestines) he glorifies. In other words, when God chooses to save people as an act of his sovereign will, those people end up glorified (i.e., with resurrected bodies). The process doesn't allow for anyone to slip outside the realm of his plan.
Once again, Paul's point in writing this is to assure his readers that, though they were experiencing persecution, this did not imply that they had somehow fallen outside the scope of God's plan. Rather, Paul argues that all things (including their present circumstances) work together for the good of God's people, even if the ultimate good was only seen in light of eternity. Paul's words are calculated to address any doubt that they had missed out on God's salvation.
5. Jesus specifically argues that the people who believe in him cannot be lost.
In fact, Jesus goes so far as to say that not a single person that believes in him will ever be lost. Of the verses cited here, this is the most compelling to argue that salvation cannot be lost. Here is the passage:
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. . . And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:37, 39-40)
Let me explain why this is the decisive passage. First, the context shows that Jesus is interested in answering the precise question we are considering. He wants to explain why it does not matter that some of his followers are about to abandon him. His answer gives theological insight into whether or not those people were ever saved in the first place, which is precisely the issue we are attempting to resolve. Is it possible that these were saved people who then rejected Jesus?
In the context of the narrative, Jesus is in the "Bread of Life" discourse, following the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus does not intend to feed the people again, and knows that following his teaching, many of his disciples will abandon him (see John 6:66, which follows Jesus' speech). Jesus is explaining that he cannot truly drive anyone away through his teaching, because of the people that the Father "gives" to him (v. 37) Jesus says he will lose "none of all" (which is Greek for "not a single one") but will raise them up on the last day (v. 39). Verse 40 even more clearly elaborates that everyone who believes will have eternal life and will experience resurrection, with the implication that those who turned from Jesus did not-and could not-lose their salvation. They were obviously people that the Father did not "give" to him; i.e., unsaved people.
One last verse, which adds to the force of the verses cited to this point:
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. (John 10:27-29)
This verse reminds us that neither human nor spiritual agency can cause a loss of salvation. If anyone were to lose their salvation through some action or unbelief, it would imply that they were strong enough to be snatched from the Father's hand-and since the Father is "greater than all," this is impossible.
This really just begins to touch on the New Testament's teaching on salvation; it is a topic rooted in the nature of God and the efficacy of Jesus' death on the cross. Both of these things guarantee that what God freely gives, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we cannot lose or have revoked. Jesus' death cleansed us from our sins, and nothing can undermine the effect of that on a believer's life. Not even a bout of unbelief.