I believe that once a person becomes a genuine Christian, they can never “lose” their salvation. They are saved by grace and they are kept by the power of God. Along that line, I recently read Charles Stanley’s book Eternal Security: Can We Be Sure. In the book, Stanley shares about growing up in a Pentecostal Holiness Church that did not believe in the eternal security of the believer. Not only did the church not believe that a person that is saved is always saved, they often preached against that doctrine.
Stanley’s book is well written and the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer is strongly supported. The book is understandable and written to a wide audience.
Do you believe that you can “lose” your salvation? Well, so did Charles Stanley! But in the book, he documents how he came to believe differently when he began to dig into the Scriptures.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of eternal security, I believe the book will be a blessing to you. Pick up a copy today and decide about this doctrine for yourself.
Steve Rice 
I look forward to reading this book. Great Blog entry! I have become more aware of the importance of reading the Word and having the Spirit speak the truth to me. Just because we were taught something growing up, does not mean that it is so…
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I really believe that a person can be genuinely saved at a point in their life and really mean it, say as a child, or as a teenager. But because of life circumstances or whatever, choose to turn their backs on God. Maybe they’re mad at God or blame God for bad things that have happened to them, so they curse God and turn away from Him and never do another thing in their life to acknowledge God or serve Him. If that person dies in that rebellion and sin, then I don’t believe they will make it to Heaven. The Bible says that no man can pluck you from His hand, but I believe a person with his own free will can walk away from it.
It’s a big, deep question that I a trite “Once saved always saved” doesn’t quite answer. I think it requires a lot of study and prayer for a person to arrive at what they believe about sin and eternal salvation. With that said, I certainly would never dare dismiss the instantaneous miracle that happens in our hearts when we ask Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and be Lord of our lives. That DOES NOT take a lot of study and prayer! It’s a gift that can happen anytime, anywhere, in any heart! But on the same note, to trivialize sin, to lead people to believe that they can live any ol’ way and it be ok with God is something I sure don’t want to have to answer for!
I don’t believe it’s anything we earn by works or by “being good.” I know it’s not anything anyone can take away from us. I also know that even if we continue to sin, or have sin in our lives, that those sins are covered under the blood. I guess I just have a problem squaring up whether a person who turns their back on the Lord outright will not be judged for that.
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Angie, you make several good points. I agree with most of what you say with the exception of the part about a person being able to walk away from salvation. I think of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. He certainly walked away, but his father continued to love him and be in relationship. If we have to “stay” or does something else in order to continue being saved, it seems that salvation is by grace PLUS works. Regardless, isn’t salvation a marvelous thing.
I imagine that those of us who believe that the very moment we received Jesus into our hearts, our eternal destiny was settled forever and God adopted us as His children….we should live in such a way that glorifies God and expresses our eternal gratitude.
And…..those who believe they could “lose” their salvation should serve out of gratitude and the sober thought that God expects them to be faithful to the calling He has placed on their life.
Thanks for sharing.
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But didn’t the prodigal son return and ask for his Father’s forgiveness? I’m talking about those people who were once saved but now want nothing to do with God for one reason or another. If they died and never had the chance to ask their Heavenly Father for forgiveness, what would happen?
For instance, I wonder and worry about a young girl who went to my church and was saved and served the Lord as a teenager and who was on a great path with a full scholarship to UT, etc. etc., and just as sweet as can be. After just 6 months, she flunked out because of excessive drinking and drugs. She’s lived with boyfriend after boyfriend, is involved with men and women, has completely turned her back on her family and after talking with her recently, admits that she has turned her back on God and says she doesn’t believe in Him anymore. Now, I know that this is all just the work of Satan, as he has certainly sought to “steal, kill and destroy” this young girl’s life. I also know that God longs for her and it must break His heart to see her deceived this way. But she is living in complete rebellion. And if she (God forbid) were to die before she had the chance to make it right, what would happen? Would we all be at her funeral wiping our foreheads with a sigh of relief that, “Well, she was saved at 13, so she must be in Heaven.” Even though she was living like and for the devil?
I mean really, I don’t claim to have the answer here. I really don’t know? But I do know that sin aint nothin’ to mess with. And I don’t think that we can live a life that is a slap in the face to God Almighty and not be judged for it.
But then I think of the scripture that says that even our best is as filthy rags before God, and that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And I also think that maybe God so desires that “none should perish” that maybe we can sort of “get in by the skin of our teeth,” so to speak, because He certainly doesn’t want us in Hell. And I also never want to downplay the great power that is in the blood of Jesus. I believe that it can do miraculous things that I don’t claim to understand.
So again, I don’t have the answer. Really, I’m at an impasse.
I guess I need to read Dr. Stanley’s book.
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