"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" (John 10:28-29).
These verses are often quoted by Christians who believe and teach that once a person chooses to believe in Christ they can never be lost. The doctrine is sometimes referred to as “eternal security.” It is the assurance of salvation to all who once accepted Christ as their Saviour, regardless of what they might believe or do from that moment onward. Is this what the Bible teaches?
Freedom of Choice
The idea that a person can never lose their salvation once they’ve accepted the gift of salvation is akin to the doctrine of predestination, which is the belief that God alone chooses who will be lost and who will be saved and human beings have no real say in the matter. These doctrines of “eternal security” and predestination rule out freedom of choice. But freedom of choice is a fundamental principle of Bible teachings and the fairness of God depends upon it. Therefore, the above Scriptures must be interpreted in light of this overarching principle of freedom of choice.
Does Salvation Take Away Your Freedom of Choice?
The Bible clearly teaches that people have the freedom to choose whether they will be saved or lost and whether they will serve God or Satan. Does God take away a person’s right to freely choose or change his mind once he becomes a Christian? Or can someone turn away from following Christ once they’ve been saved and defect to the enemy? Is it possible to be lost once you’ve been saved? Let’s see what Jesus teaches about freedom of choice and eternal security.
Dangers of Once-Saved-Always-Saved Doctrine
The main problem in believing the once-saved-always-saved doctrine is that it leads to complacency toward personal spiritual growth and the state of fellow-believers and leads to a false sense of security that can actually result in eternal loss.
Complacency
If one believes that once they’ve accepted salvation there is nothing they can do to ever lose their salvation, they can become complacent about their relationship with Christ, because regardless of whether they spend time nurturing that relationship or not, they believe they will always be saved. This is an extremely dangerous attitude. The Bible clearly teaches otherwise.
Lack of Growth
Consider also the effect of the doctrine of eternal salvation on spiritual growth in believers. A relationship with Christ is dynamic. Jesus expects us to learn and grow because sanctification is a process. Remember that Jesus compared believers to branches on a vine. As a Christian studies the Bible, he learns new truth, applies it to his life and grows. Jesus called Himself the bread of life because He knew that everyone understood that eating is a continual necessity throughout life and that physical maintenance and growth are the result of taking food daily. Christians must grow.
Peter applied this principle of Christian growth to the necessity of ongoing assimilation of spiritual food from the Word of God and encouraged new believers to study the Scriptures: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Paul also described new believers as being like milk-fed infants who need to grow and mature before they can handle more solid food (1 Corinthians 3:2). The author of Acts points to Apollos as a real-life case study of the kind of spiritual growth that must exemplify the life of every believer. Read his story in Acts 18: 24-28.
Lack of Response
Significantly, James warned that once a Christian understands God’s will he must act upon it. Not acting upon truth as it is discovered during our study of God’s Word is sinning, James warned.
"Therefore to him that knoweth how to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).
Sadly, some evangelists have discovered that the doctrine of eternal salvation is a hindrance to spiritual growth in those who believe it, because they feel no necessity in assimilating new spiritual truths when they discover them, since there is nothing they can do to lose their salvation, regardless of James’ warning to the contrary.
In addition to disregarding sin in their own lives, believers in the doctrine of eternal security must also become complacent to the sin of other Christians, since it matters not whether a “saved” Christian falls into sin. The doctrines of eternal security and predestination make exhortation against sin unnecessary, since by predestination God saves some and damns others apart from their free choice, and the once-saved-always-saved doctrine may excuse sin in those who consider themselves to be safely secure for all eternity.
Conclusion
The doctrine of “eternal security” is not supported by Scripture as a whole. It is based on a shallow reading of some verses and requires rejection of the Biblically solid doctrine of freedom of choice. Since freedom of choice is God-given and absolute, it is possible for a person to change his or her mind at any time and reject salvation.
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" (John 10:28-29).
These verses are often quoted by Christians who believe and teach that once a person chooses to believe in Christ they can never be lost. The doctrine is sometimes referred to as “eternal security.” It is the assurance of salvation to all who once accepted Christ as their Saviour, regardless of what they might believe or do from that moment onward. Is this what the Bible teaches?
Freedom of Choice
The idea that a person can never lose their salvation once they’ve accepted the gift of salvation is akin to the doctrine of predestination, which is the belief that God alone chooses who will be lost and who will be saved and human beings have no real say in the matter. These doctrines of “eternal security” and predestination rule out freedom of choice. But freedom of choice is a fundamental principle of Bible teachings and the fairness of God depends upon it. Therefore, the above Scriptures must be interpreted in light of this overarching principle of freedom of choice.
Does Salvation Take Away Your Freedom of Choice?
The Bible clearly teaches that people have the freedom to choose whether they will be saved or lost and whether they will serve God or Satan. Does God take away a person’s right to freely choose or change his mind once he becomes a Christian? Or can someone turn away from following Christ once they’ve been saved and defect to the enemy? Is it possible to be lost once you’ve been saved? Let’s see what Jesus teaches about freedom of choice and eternal security.
Dangers of Once-Saved-Always-Saved Doctrine
The main problem in believing the once-saved-always-saved doctrine is that it leads to complacency toward personal spiritual growth and the state of fellow-believers and leads to a false sense of security that can actually result in eternal loss.
Complacency
If one believes that once they’ve accepted salvation there is nothing they can do to ever lose their salvation, they can become complacent about their relationship with Christ, because regardless of whether they spend time nurturing that relationship or not, they believe they will always be saved. This is an extremely dangerous attitude. The Bible clearly teaches otherwise.
Lack of Growth
Consider also the effect of the doctrine of eternal salvation on spiritual growth in believers. A relationship with Christ is dynamic. Jesus expects us to learn and grow because sanctification is a process. Remember that Jesus compared believers to branches on a vine. As a Christian studies the Bible, he learns new truth, applies it to his life and grows. Jesus called Himself the bread of life because He knew that everyone understood that eating is a continual necessity throughout life and that physical maintenance and growth are the result of taking food daily. Christians must grow.
Peter applied this principle of Christian growth to the necessity of ongoing assimilation of spiritual food from the Word of God and encouraged new believers to study the Scriptures: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Paul also described new believers as being like milk-fed infants who need to grow and mature before they can handle more solid food (1 Corinthians 3:2). The author of Acts points to Apollos as a real-life case study of the kind of spiritual growth that must exemplify the life of every believer. Read his story in Acts 18: 24-28.
Lack of Response
Significantly, James warned that once a Christian understands God’s will he must act upon it. Not acting upon truth as it is discovered during our study of God’s Word is sinning, James warned.
"Therefore to him that knoweth how to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).
Sadly, some evangelists have discovered that the doctrine of eternal salvation is a hindrance to spiritual growth in those who believe it, because they feel no necessity in assimilating new spiritual truths when they discover them, since there is nothing they can do to lose their salvation, regardless of James’ warning to the contrary.
In addition to disregarding sin in their own lives, believers in the doctrine of eternal security must also become complacent to the sin of other Christians, since it matters not whether a “saved” Christian falls into sin. The doctrines of eternal security and predestination make exhortation against sin unnecessary, since by predestination God saves some and damns others apart from their free choice, and the once-saved-always-saved doctrine may excuse sin in those who consider themselves to be safely secure for all eternity.
Conclusion
The doctrine of “eternal security” is not supported by Scripture as a whole. It is based on a shallow reading of some verses and requires rejection of the Biblically solid doctrine of freedom of choice. Since freedom of choice is God-given and absolute, it is possible for a person to change his or her mind at any time and reject salvation.