Can I Lose My Salvation?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: Can I lose my salvation? Is once saved always saved taught in the Bible?

Answer: Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) is a title given to a doctrine that many evangelical Christians affirm, which simply is the belief that once a person is saved by faith in the Person and work of Jesus as the prophesied Christ and Son of God who paid their penalty for sin on the cross (John 20:31), they cannot lose their salvation. A believer cannot lose their salvation either through their own works or sins (a position commonly identified by the term Arminianism), or because God has decided that He doesn’t love that person anymore. Neither of these ideas are biblical!

The eternal security of the believer is found throughout the Bible, and it is a glorious truth. It is such a great truth to comprehend because the eternality of our salvation does not depend upon us, but rather it is in the hands of God. It is His desire that all should be saved (John 3:15-17). Because God loves us and does not want to force us into anything, He patiently waits until we ask Him to save us; until we express our faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.

When God saves us, He seals us with His Spirit until “the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). So, the Holy Spirit does not just indwell those who believe (Rom. 8:8-10), but He also keeps them until Jesus raises them up on “the last day” (John 6:44). This threefold transaction of saving, sealing, and raising involves all three members of the Trinity, and spans from the moment of salvation all the way into eternity future.

Now, it is important at this point to make a brief comment about salvation before Jesus died on the cross. There are some who believe that even if OSAS is true now, that it wasn’t under the Old Covenant. This is absolutely not true. One only need look at the lives of David and his son, Solomon, to see that God had saved those men through their faith, and ultimately kept them from losing their salvation.

The love of God has been constant since Adam and Eve were created. This does not mean that God doesn’t discipline, because He does. It also doesn’t mean that all people will be saved, because they won’t. But, what it does mean is that God wants as many people to be His, and as soon as we ask, He takes us and declares us His own. He will not let us go and He will not let us be taken from Him (John 10:25-30). The Apostle Paul was inspired to write of this great “love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” indicating that there is nothing that can separate us from it (Rom. 8:31-39).

In conclusion, it should be clear that the Bible does indeed teach the doctrine of Eternal Security(OSAS). This great truth is presented through the Scriptures as trans-dispensational and indiscriminate. It involves the work of all three members of the Godhead. And ultimately, it is by grace that sinners are saved and kept, through the power of God, and not of ourselves. Hallelujah!