Salvation - Saved then lost?

There is a belief in some sections of the Christian faith that you can be saved from your sins and then be lost again. This comes about from not “...rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).

At best it is confusion and at its worst it robs a soul of their assurance of salvation; with a consequent loss of peace in their heart. To put it bluntly it makes salvation dependent on a soul’s good works.

In my last blog post Salvation – By faith or by works? We saw clearly that salvation is by faith and not by works “...lest anyone should boast.”  (Ephesians 3:8, 9). Now to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ can save me and then allow me to be lost again is a lie of the Devil.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 states, “I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it that men should fear before Him.”

God’s salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ is forever! John 3:16, “...whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

Is this true? Yes, it is not only true but a reality in my life and in millions around the world.

How do I know it’s true? Ephesians 1:13 tells me, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”  2 Corinthians 1:21 22 tell me, (21)”Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, (22) who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

What do these verses reveal to us?

1.       We hear the gospel of salvation, the word of truth.

2.       We trust in Him (the Lord Jesus Christ).

3.       We believe the word of God.

4.       We are sealed (instantly) with the Holy Spirit.

5.       The Holy Spirit in our hearts is God’s guarantee that we are saved for eternity.

6.       We are anointed by the Holy Spirit in our lives, set apart for God.

Now someone may say that is all well and good but what about verse 12 in Philippians chapter 2? “...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Let us be careful not to pull this verse out of the context it is set in.

In verses 1-4 the apostle Paul gives the Philippian believers instructions on how to conduct themselves in their daily lives. In verses 5-11 the supreme example of the Lord Jesus is brought before us. His humility, His obedience – even unto death, His exaltation by God and His supreme authority are brought before us.

The apostle Paul is speaking to believers in Philippi – those who are already saved! So when we get to verse 12 he is talking about their obedience in the things of God; not only when Paul is present with them, but also when he is not with them.

The salvation Paul is referring to here is not their eternal salvation – that is already secure. They are to work out on a daily basis how to keep themselves going on in the ways of God.

Verses 12, 13, (12) “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

Can you be saved and then lost again? No, you cannot!

John 10:27-30 [Jesus answered them] (27)”My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (28) And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. (30) I and My Father are one.”

Here is an anchor for your soul! 

In this parable of the Shepherd and His own sheep the Lord Jesus Christ gives us double assurance.

1.       No one can snatch a believer out of His hand.

2.       No one can snatch a believer out of the Father’s hand.

I like to think of this as two cupped hands; the Father’s hand underneath and the Son’s hand over the top. Resting securely inside are all the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing or no one can snatch any believer out of God’s almighty hands!

Jon Peasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]