Salvation Can Be Lost

1 Corinthians 11:30-32 “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.  (31)  For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.  (32) But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”

Before we go any further on the subject of eternal judgement we need to deal with an erroneous teaching that has caused many believers to stumble. The false teaching that I am referring to is that once someone is saved they can never lose their salvation. In other words the error that is taught is that once someone has made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour that decision can never be reversed. All believers however, still have a free will after they are saved and to say that they cannot reverse their decision can therefore not be true. Some will argue that one, who is born-again, will never want to reverse their decision to have Jesus as their Lord. If that statement were true, then why does scripture teach us that it is possible for believers to be condemned with the world? In writing to the church in the above quoted passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals to us that our Lord Jesus judges some believers in this life with weakness, sickness and even early death. So why does He do that? This passage tells us that He does that because He is concerned about our eternal destination. And so when He sees that if we were to continue down a certain path that will lead us to ultimately rejecting His Lordship and thus being condemned with the world, He then judges us in this life rather than allowing us to be eternally condemned.

Romans 11:17-22 “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, (18) do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.  (19)  You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."  (20)  Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.  (21)  For if God, did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.  (22)  Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.”

In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul warns us as believers that if we choose not to continue in the goodness of God, that He will cut us off just as natural Israel have been cut off. Clearly Christians can make the decision of their own free will not to continue in God’s goodness, otherwise the Holy Spirit would never have written this warning to us. There have been a number of instances recently, of “high profile” believers who have publicly renounced their faith in Christ and have chosen to walk away from the Lord Jesus. Each one of these individuals made their decisions of their own free will, which has created a lot of confusion among believers that have always been taught that it is impossible for one to reverse their decision once they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. For those who have been taught correctly however, they recognise that these individuals have, for varied reasons, decided to no longer continue in the goodness of God and have thus been cut off by Him.

Revelation 3:16-19 “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  (17)  Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- (18) I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  (19)  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent.”

When our Lord Jesus wrote to the church in Laodicea as quoted above, He warned them that unless they turned around from the path that they were on, that He would eventually vomit them out of His mouth. In other words, very graphically, our Lord stated that they would no longer be in the body of Christ. Many ministers who teach the error of “eternal security” will go to any lengths to proclaim their message, some even to blasphemy. I have actually heard a minister teach from this passage that the Lord is able to take up that vomit again, thus comparing the Lord Jesus to a dog that returns to his own vomit (Proverbs 26:11). And so we can see that scripture plainly teaches us that it is certainly possible for believers to reverse their decision to yield to the Lordship of Jesus, and the Lord warns us about this. I also want you to notice that in all three scriptures quoted above, the Holy Spirit is writing to born-again believers. Some who teach falsely that no one can lose their salvation; claim that people that fall away were never really saved to begin with. However, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit know the difference between those who are saved and those who are not saved. And in these scriptures they are warning those who are saved.

1 John 5:16 “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not to death. There is sin to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.”

In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle John refers to two types of sin that believers can commit, for in the context of this passage John is writing to believers. He refers to sin which is not to death and he refers to sin which is to death. The death that John is speaking about in this passage is spiritual death, not physical death. And so we see that there is a type of sin that believers can commit which does not result in spiritual death, and he tells us that we can pray for forgiveness for the believer who commits this type of sin, and that the Lord will forgive those sins. But he also refers to a type of sin which does result in spiritual death, and he tells us that we cannot pray for forgiveness for the believer who commits this type of sin. So why can’t we pray for forgiveness for the believer who commits the sin which results in spiritual death? The reason we cannot pray for forgiveness for this type of sin is simply because, just as with the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, there is no forgiveness available for this type of sin and those who commit it are therefore subject to eternal condemnation (Mark 3:29).

James 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  (15) Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

So what is the sin to death that the apostle John speaks about? In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle James give us some insight into what that sin is, for He tells us that full-grown sin brings forth death. In context the apostle James is writing to believers. And so in this passage James teaches the church that if sin is allowed to reach maturity or become full-grown, that it will ultimately bring forth death. The death that he is referring to is spiritual death not physical death. And so what James is saying is that all sin, if left unchecked, will eventually lead the believer to committing the ultimate sin, which is the sin to death that John spoke about. This truth explains to us why it is, as we saw earlier, that the Lord Jesus judges His saints when they refuse to repent from their sinful practices, for the reason given is that Jesus judges His saints so that they will not be condemned with the world. In other words, the Lord Jesus knows that if we continue to practice sin unchecked, that we will eventually commit the sin to death and thus be condemned with the world.

Michael E.B. Maher

Eternal Judgement

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