From Matthew: earlier today, one of my readers wrote me talking about a study she is doing with a person who believes in the once saved always saved doctrine. Here are some thoughts I put together to help her.
Many sincere people have been told that once a person is saved, they can never be lost. The idea sounds comforting, that nothing you do could ever endanger your relationship with God. But that isn’t what Scripture teaches. Salvation is not a one-time event that guarantees eternal security no matter how we live. It’s a living relationship with God, and relationships can be broken.
Salvation Leads to Transformation
Paul wrote, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way” (Titus 2:11–12). The salvation God gives doesn’t just forgive us; it changes us. It calls us to leave behind the very sins that once enslaved us.
If salvation could never be forfeited, the Bible’s many warnings would make no sense. Peter urged the early Christians, “Be on your guard so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position” (2 Peter 3:17). Paul told Christians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Those words remind us that faith must remain alive and active.
A Covenant, Not a Contract
Salvation is not a legal transaction that locks us into heaven the moment we believe. It’s a covenant; a relationship built on loyalty, trust, and love. Think of marriage. A couple makes vows to remain faithful. Those vows don’t mean perfection, but they do require commitment. If one partner abandons the other, the relationship is broken. The same is true of our walk with Christ.
John said, “This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands” (1 John 2:3). Obedience is not about earning favor; it’s how love responds. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15).
Why Obedience Still Matters
Obedience doesn’t save us, but a saved person obeys. We follow God not out of fear or pride, but from gratitude. When we understand what He’s done for us, we want to live in a way that honors Him.
Faith that refuses to follow eventually dies. That’s why Paul warned the Galatians that those who turn back to sin and self-reliance have “fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4). God doesn’t force anyone to remain in fellowship with Him. He calls us to stay near, to keep trusting, to keep walking in the light.
What the Bible Says About Falling Away
Scripture gives clear warnings that salvation can be lost when Christians turn away from faith and return to a lifestyle of sin. Here are just a few examples:
Galatians 5:4 – “You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace.”
Hebrews 3:12–14 – “Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”
Hebrews 6:4–6 – Describes those who “have tasted the heavenly gift” and then fall away.
Hebrews 10:26–29 – Warns that if we “deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth,” there remains no sacrifice for sins.
2 Peter 2:20–22 – If people escape the world through knowing Christ but become entangled again, “the last state is worse for them than the first.”
2 Peter 3:17 – “Be on your guard so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.”
John 15:6 – “If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and withers.”
Romans 11:20–22 – “If God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”
1 Corinthians 9:27 – Paul said he disciplines himself so that “after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
1 Timothy 1:19–20 – Hymenaeus and Alexander “have shipwrecked their faith.”
1 Timothy 4:1 – “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith.”
James 5:19–20 – “If anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back… he will save his soul from death.”
Revelation 2:4–5 – “You have abandoned the love you had at first… repent, or I will remove your lampstand.”
Revelation 3:5 – Speaks of names being blotted out of the Book of Life.
These passages were written to those in Christ — not unbelievers. The danger is real, which is why the call to remain faithful is so strong.
Holding On
The message of Scripture is both comforting and serious. God’s mercy is strong enough to forgive our failures, but He will not save us against our will.
Jesus said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). That’s not meant to produce fear; it’s an invitation to faithfulness. Keep your heart close to Him. Keep walking. Keep believing.
When salvation is real, it always shows up in a life that endures.
Conclusion
Salvation is secure for those who stay in Christ; but not automatic for those who abandon Him. God saves, but He also calls us to remain faithful, to keep growing, and to live in loving obedience until the end.
