Can a saved person ever be lost?

Once a person has repented of sin, trusted Christ for salvation, and been baptized, can he/she ever be lost again? Since the time of the Reformation, the answer according to many people has been a resounding “No!” The belief that a truly saved person can never depart from the faith is known by multiple terms, including “once saved, always saved,” “eternal security,” and “perseverance of the saints.” The denominations that firmly hold to this doctrine include the Presbyterian and Reformed churches as well as many Baptists.

Those who believe that a person can lose his/her salvation usually refer to their position as “conditional security.” Denominations that generally affirm conditional security include Anabaptist, Assembly of God, Catholic, Church of God, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, and Nazarene.

The teaching of eternal security has its roots in the writings of Augustine and the Reformers. It may surprise you to learn that the early Christians, who learned either directly or indirectly from Jesus and the Apostles, taught something very different.

“Ceased to be His sons”

• “Those of you who have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back for some reason to the legal dispensation, and have denied that this man is Christ, and have not repented before death – you will by no means be saved.” – Justin Martyr (c. 160)
• “Those who do not obey Him, being disinherited by Him, have ceased to be His sons.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “We should not, therefore, as that presbyter remarks, be puffed up, nor be severe upon those of olden times. Rather, we should fear ourselves, lest perchance, after [we have come to] the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but are shut out from His kingdom. And for that reason, Paul said, ‘For if [God] spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest He also not spare you’ [Rom. 11:21].” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “It is neither the faith, nor the love, nor the hope, nor the endurance of one day; rather, ‘he that endures to the end will be saved’ [Matt. 24:13].” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “It is a small thing to have first received something. It is a greater thing to be able to keep what you have attained. Faith itself and the saving birth do not make alive by merely being received. Rather, they must be preserved. It is not the actual attainment, but the perfecting, that keeps a man for God. The Lord taught this in His instruction when He said, ‘Look! You have been made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you’ [John 5:14].” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “Some think that God is under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what He has promised [to give]. So they turn His liberality into His slavery. . . . For do not many afterwards fall out of [grace]? Is not this gift taken away from many? These, no doubt, are they who, . . . after approaching to the faith of repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin.” – Tertullian (c. 203)
• “The world returned to sin . . . and so it is destined to fire. So is the man who after baptism renews his sins.” – Tertullian (c. 198)
• “Whoever has confessed Christ is not greater, or better, or dearer to God than Solomon. As long as he walked in God’s ways, he retained the grace that he had received from the Lord. But after he abandoned the Lord’s way, he also lost the Lord’s grace. Therefore, it is written, ‘Hold tightly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown’ [Rev. 3:11]. But certainly the Lord would not threaten that the crown of righteousness could be taken away, were it not true that the crown must depart when righteousness departs. . . . It is also written, ‘He who stands firm until the end will be saved’ [Matt. 10:22].” – Cyprian (c. 250)

The writings of the early church abound with passages like these. No orthodox writer of the pre-Nicene church (up to AD 325) believed in eternal security.

What does the Bible say?

• “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” – 1 Timothy 4:1
• “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” – 2 Peter 2:20-21
• “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62
• “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us – eternal life.” – 1 John 2:24-25
• “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” – John 15:6
• “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.” – Colossians 1:21-23
• “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” – Romans 8:13
• “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” – Hebrews 3:12-13
• “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?” – Hebrews 10:26-29

What about the problem verses?

Scripture abounds with warnings similar to these. It is clear from these verses that falling away from Christ – and thus from salvation – is a very real possibility. However, there are passages that, on the surface, do seem to teach eternal security. Let us examine the verses that are commonly used to support this teaching.

John 10:27-28

• “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” – John 10:27-28

Those who remain in Jesus’ fold (continue to be His sheep) will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of His hand. The verse in no way implies that those who do not abide in Christ will be saved. In fact, Jesus had harsh words for those who do not remain in Him: “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).

Ephesians 1:13-14

• “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that God will fulfill His part of the contract, but we must fulfill our part as well. Losing the Holy Spirit through disobedience is a very real possibility (see Psalm 51:11; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 6:4-8). According to Hebrews 10:36, our salvation is contingent upon our continuance in the faith: “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

Jude 24

• “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…” – Jude 24

The Lord is able to keep us from stumbling – provided we look to Him to do so. Jude 21 (a few verses prior) exhorts us to keep ourselves in His love: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”

John 6:37; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:3-5

• “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” – John 6:37
• “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6
• “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” – 1 Peter 1:3-5

These verses likewise speak of God’s faithfulness to keep His end of the contract. However, salvation is contingent not only on God’s faithfulness but also on our obedience. Perhaps this is why the Scripture exhorts us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

A flawed theology

One of the most troubling aspects regarding the teaching of eternal security is that its proponents have built an entire theology on a few verses that could be read multiple ways, as illustrated above, and they have ignored the whole of Scripture which contains repeated warnings about departing from the faith (Hebrews 3:12-13; Hebrews 10:26-39; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Peter 2:20-21). Throughout the Old and New Testaments, remaining as one of God’s people has always been contingent on obedience:

• “The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” – 2 Chronicles 15:2
• “But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.” – Ezekiel 18:24
• “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses.” – Ezekiel 33:12
• “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” – John 8:31
• “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-2
• “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” – Revelation 22:14 (NKJV)
• “And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” – Hebrews 5:9
• “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” – Romans 8:14

Created to bear fruit

One of the key themes throughout the teachings of Jesus, Peter, Paul and John is that of bearing fruit. John 15:1-11 (abiding in the vine) is an example: “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6). Jesus presents only two options – bearing fruit (abiding in Him) and not bearing fruit (not abiding in Him). A branch can be cut off; it is secure only as it abides in the vine.

The parable of the soils in Matthew 13 also addresses this issue. The perennial question of this passage is, “Which of these people were saved?” The first obviously was not, and the last one obviously was. But what about the one who “withered away” and the one who “became unfruitful”? Jesus said that no man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62), and we are His disciples as we bear fruit (John 15:8). So if we deliberately turn our backs on Him (which is possible – see John 6:66; Hebrews 10:26-39; Hebrews 6:4-8) or do not bear the fruit that He commands us to bear (James 2:14-26; Galatians 5:19-26; John 15:8) and gives us the power to accomplish, how could we logically be called His disciples?

1 John 1:6 says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” So if we say, “I’m a Christian” while walking contrary to Jesus’ teachings, then our speech is a lie. There seems to be no room in John’s theology for backslidden believers or unfruitful Christians.  Maybe this is why Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) and to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Proponents of eternal security often teach that those who appear to fall away from Christ were never saved in the first place. Peter and John did warn about false prophets – people who were just pretending and were never saved at all. But if this argument could be used for every situation, then why would Jesus have asked Peter if he would also turn away (John 6:67)? Why would the author of Hebrews have used such stern warnings about departing from the faith if it was an impossibility (Hebrews 6:1-8; Hebrews 10:26-39)?

The early Christians on falling away

• “It was not to those who are on the outside that he said these things, but to us – lest we should be cast forth from the kingdom of God, by doing any such thing.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “He who hopes for everlasting rest knows also that the entrance to it is toilsome and narrow. So let him who has once received the Gospel not turn back, like Lot’s wife, as is said – even in the very hour in which he has come to the knowledge of salvation. And let him not go back either to his former life . . . or to heresies.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “We ought indeed to walk so holily, and with so entire substantiality of faith, as to be confident and secure in regard of our own conscience, desiring that it may abide in us to the end. Yet, we should not presume [that it will]. For he who presumes, feels less apprehension. He who feels less apprehension, takes less precaution. He who takes less precaution, runs more risk. Fear is the foundation of salvation. Presumption is an impediment to fear. . . . More useful, then, is it to apprehend that we may possibly fail, than to presume that we cannot. For apprehending will lead us to fear, fear to caution, and caution to salvation. On the other hand, if we presume, there will be neither fear nor caution to save us.” – Tertullian (c. 198)
• “God had foreseen . . . that faith – even after baptism – would be endangered. He saw that most persons – after obtaining salvation – would be lost again, by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for their torches.” – Tertullian (c. 213)
• “The soul that . . . is neither holy nor blameless because of wickedness . . . is not part of the church that Christ builds upon the rock. But if anyone wishes to embarrass us in regard to these things because of the great majority of those of the church who are thought to believe, it must be said to him that ‘many are called, but few chosen’ [Matt. 22:14]. . . . ‘Many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and will not be able’ [Luke 13:24]. You will understand that this refers to those who boast that they are of the church, but who live weakly and contrary to the Word.” – Origen (c. 225)
• “How can a man say that he believes in Christ, if he does not do what Christ commanded him to do? From where will he attain the reward of faith, if he will not keep the faith of the commandment? . . . He will make no advancement in his walk toward salvation, for he does not keep the truth of the way of salvation.” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “A son . . . who deserts his father in order not to pay him obedience is considered deserving of being disinherited and of having his name removed forever from his family. How much more so does a person [deserve to be disinherited] who forsakes God? . . . Of what punishments, therefore, is he deserving who forsakes Him who is both the true Master and Father?” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)
• “We believe that our children have been corrected when we see that they repent of their errors. And though we may have disinherited them and cast them off, we again receive, cherish, and embrace them. Why, then, should we despair as if the mercy of God our Father might not be appeased by repentance? He who is both the Lord and a most indulgent Parent promises that He will remit the sins of the penitent. He promises that He will blot out all the iniquities of the one who begins afresh to practice righteousness. The uprightness of one’s past life is to no avail to him who lives badly, for the subsequent wickedness has destroyed his works of righteousness. Likewise, former sins do not stand in the way of him who has amended his life. For the subsequent righteousness has wiped away the stain of his former life.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)
• “The Holy Spirit always abides with those who are possessed of Him, so long as they are worthy. . . . The Holy Spirit remains with a person so long as he is doing good, and He fills him with wisdom and understanding.” – Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390)

Did anyone teach otherwise?

One of the reasons the early Christians wrote so much about the possibility of falling away is that they were combatting the teachings of the Gnostics. Gnosticism was a heretical movement that originated in the first century and was popularized by leaders such as Basilides, Cerinthus, Marcion, Nicolas, Simon Magus, and Valentinus. While their teachings varied slightly, all Gnostics believed that the material world was evil and to be avoided. Based on this assumption, they concluded that Jesus did not come in the flesh, works have no role in salvation, people are predestined to be saved or lost, and those who are saved are eternally secure. The early Christians, who learned either directly or indirectly from the apostles, considered all of these teachings to be heretical, and they actively opposed the Gnostics:

• “The teachings of both the Old and the New Testaments are unnecessary if a person is saved by nature (as Valentinus would have it) and is a believer and an elect man by nature (as Basilides thinks).” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “Certain ones of those [heretics] who hold different opinions misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of salvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot be lost.” – Origen (c. 225)
• “It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons [i.e. the Gnostics]. You should not speak to them either in private or in public.” – Ignatius (c. 105)
• “How much more will this be the case with anyone who by wicked doctrine corrupts the faith of God, for which Jesus Christ was crucified! Such a one becomes defiled. He will go away into everlasting fire, and so will everyone that listens to him.” – Ignatius (c. 105)
• “There are also those who heard from [Polycarp] that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, ‘Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.’ And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, ‘Do you know me?’ ‘I do know you, the firstborn of Satan.’ Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; as Paul also says, ‘A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he is subverted, and sins, being condemned of himself’ [Tit. 3:10].” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “You should keep at arm’s length those [Gnostics] . . . who are servants above their Lord, and disciples above their Master.” – Tertullian (c. 197)

These second-century writers were not the only ones who condemned the Gnostics. Peter, Paul, and John warned against these false teachers in their epistles, as early Gnostic leaders (Cerinthus, Nicolas, and Simon Magus) had already gained influence during their lives. With an understanding of basic Gnostic teachings, it is easy to recognize passages that were specifically referring to these false teachers:

• “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” – Romans 16:17-18
• “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge,’ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.” – 1 Timothy 6:20-21
• “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” – 2 Peter 2:1
• “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” – 2 John 7-9

One of the first Gnostic groups was the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolas, one of the seven deacons appointed in Acts 6:5. Nicolas left the faith and formed this early Gnostic sect that influenced other prominent groups. The Nicolaitans are condemned – not only by the early Christians and the apostles – but by Jesus Himself in the book of Revelation:

• “You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” – Revelation 2:6
• “So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” – Revelation 2:15-16

Although the doctrine of eternal security was popularized by Augustine and John Calvin, its roots are in the heretical movements of the first and second century. As seen in the above passages, the early Christians were not alone in their opposition to Gnostic teachings. They were following in the footsteps of Peter, Paul, John, and even Jesus Himself.

Conclusion

Both the Scriptures and the early church clearly taught that those who abide in Christ and bear fruit are truly saved (John 15), and they condemned the Gnostics who taught otherwise. It is possible to deny Christ after salvation, and it is possible to fall away; and the Bible teaches that those who do so do not retain their salvation. In light of these realities, let us heed the warnings of Scripture: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13).