Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?

There's probably no question I've been asked more often, in over 20 years of pastoral ministry, than this one: Can a Christian lose their salvation?

It's asked by people who are concerned that they may have lost their own salvation, or who are heartbroken for someone else. We can all think of someone who, at one point, walked with us into the house of God, and now we look around and wonder, "Where are they? What exactly happened? Were they ever saved?”

What Jesus Says About Losing Your Salvation

In John 6:37, Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." In John 10:29, he says, "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."

I used to have a good friend who lived in Scotland, and he would always sign off on his emails the same way: "In God's grip and smushed between His fingers." It sounds wild (because it is a little bit wild), but it's theologically packed. You're so smushed between His fingers that no one is able to snatch you from your Father's hand.

So to put it bluntly, you cannot lose your salvation. How could you lose through bad behavior what you did not earn through good behavior? When we think about losing our salvation, it is usually accompanied by the thought, “I've messed up, and I don't deserve it anymore. Well, welcome to the club. Of course you don’t deserve it, and neither do I. None of us deserves it! Salvation isn't based on you. It gets placed on you because of what Jesus did.

When we use the word salvation, it encompasses three distinct aspects: justification, sanctification, and glorification.

Justification: Saved From the Penalty of Sin

The easy way to remember justification is to think of a judge slamming down a gavel and saying, "Not guilty." You were guilty, and you should have paid the penalty for your sin, which is death, but if you put your faith in Jesus, you are immediately not guilty. Every sin you've ever committed, every sin you will ever commit, is gone in a moment. Why? Because it was put on Jesus Christ on the cross.

I like to think of it this way: justified means just as if I'd never sinned. Romans 5:1 says, "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." That's salvation past tense. It is totally and completely done.

Sanctification: Being Saved From the Power of Sin

Sanctification literally means to be holy, to be set apart. It means to be reserved for royal use.

Growing up, we had one big bowl, and you would grab it for movie night, and you would grab it when someone had a stomachache. That is nasty to think about, the same bowl being used for two very different uses. When Christ comes to live inside of you, you begin to be reserved for royal use. God's got dibs on you for popcorn, and He doesn't want anybody puking in that bowl.

The motivation is not "If I do this, God won't love me anymore." No, it's because He loves me and will never stop loving me that I don't want to break the heart of my Savior. Slowly, gradually, day by day, we learn to love what God loves and hate what God hates. That's salvation present tense.

Glorification: Will Be Saved From the Presence of Sin

Romans 13:11 says our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. One day, there will be no sin, no pull in the wrong direction, no more tears. That's salvation future tense.

So when someone asks, “Are you saved?” You can say, "Yep. I'm saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved."

So What Happens When Someone Walks Away?

If you can't lose your salvation, what about someone who walks away? Jesus said in Matthew 7, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Many will say to Him, "Did we not prophesy in Your name?" And He will declare to them, "I never knew you."

Then he told about two houses. The wise man heard His sayings and did them, and built his house on the rock. The foolish man heard His sayings and did not do them, and built his house on the sand.

Both houses looked the same from the outside, but one was built on the rock, and the other was not. So while it is not possible to lose a salvation you never deserved, it is possible to profess a saving faith that you didn't possess. 

You could say with your lips that your life was built on the rock when it never was.

So when someone who once professed Christ is no longer walking with God, there are two possibilities. Either they never truly repented in the first place, or they're still a genuine believer who's simply backslidden, with a saved soul but a wasted life. Either way, our goal is to help bring them to Jesus. For the one who never really knew God, we pray that they would repent and turn to Him. For the backslidden believer, we do anything we can to bring them back into the fold.

Four Ways to Hold Fast

Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Here are a few ways to hold fast in your faith:

1. F — Freedom. Galatians 5:1 says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free." The spirit of religion, where it's all about what we do, only leads to shame, pride, and division, but Jesus invites us to a life of freedom.

2. A — Access. We've been given access to the throne room of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. What a crazy thing to have access to the most powerful being in the universe!

3. S — Siblings. Don't forsake gathering together in the house of God (See Hebrews 10:25). When we see someone drifting, give permission to call that out and to pray for one another.

4. T — Time. How long do we have to serve God until He comes back? Less than yesterday. What are we doing so that our friends end up in Heaven? The stakes are high and the time is short.

Stay Smushed Between His Fingers

So can a Christian lose their salvation? No. But you can be at a place where you neglect so great a salvation.

When the sky rolls back for Him to come, I don't want to say, "Could you give me fifteen minutes, Lord?" I want to say, "What took you so long!?" I want Him to find me doing the will of my Father.

So let's hold fast and stay smushed between His fingers.

FAQ

• Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?

  No. Jesus said in John 10:29 that no one is able to snatch us out of the Father's hand. How could you lose through bad behavior what you never earned through good behavior? Salvation isn't based on you. It gets placed on you, because of what Jesus did.

• What about people who say "Lord, Lord" but are turned away?

  In Matthew 7, Jesus described two houses that looked the same from the outside, but only one was built on the rock. You could never lose a salvation you never deserved, but you could profess saving faith you didn't possess. Salvation is by faith alone, but salvation by faith will never be alone. If God lives inside you, it's going to show.

• What does it mean when someone who professed Christ walks away?

  I see two possibilities. Either they never truly repented, or they're a genuine believer who has simply backslidden, with a saved soul but a wasted life. Either way, our goal is to do anything we can to help bring them back into the fold.

• How do I hold fast to my faith?

  Use the word FAST. Hold on to your freedom, and don't let a spirit of religion pull you back into bondage. Use your access to God's throne room in prayer. Stay close to your siblings in the house of God. And remember that time is running out, because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

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