162. Bible Questions: Can I lose my salvation? Can I fall (or jump) from grace?

E162:  Bible Questions:  Can I lose my salvation?  (Can I fall – or jump – from grace?)

Once I'm saved. Can I lose my salvation or put another way? Can I fall or jump from God's grace? The answer to this question not only has impact on our hereafter, but our here as well. How we live life out on this planet as followers of God. The answer also largely depends on this question is salvation conditional or unconditional? Is it a unilateral contract by God or a bilateral contract between God and us and it's results based on our performance. Those who say it's unconditional and unilateral feel secure.

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00:00:45

I can't lose it. I can't fall or jump from it. The risks these folks run is presuming on that grace of God, with lazy or reckless, moral living. Those who say it's conditional or bilateral feel anxious and insecure. They may also degrade this lavish gift of God by putting too much on themselves, on their obedience, their behavior, their performance. So, which is it. The Bible sends mixed messages. Not on salvation. Mind you please listen to episode 1 61. Don't bite your nails. You can know if you are saved by the grace of God, but it does send a mixed message on the security of that salvation.

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00:01:29

Once received these two camps I'm secure, or I can lose it, sometimes get into a bit of a battle and both sides have biblical ammunition. Sometimes in fact, the ammunition comes from the same passage. For example, this one in Philippians chapter two, verses 12 through 13 here, Paul carried along by the holy spirit, writes, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That sounds conditional for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good purpose. That sounds pretty unconditional God's on it. And he's got this gee, Paul, thanks for helping make that clear.

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00:02:12

So let's look at the mixed message passages. First, let's take the side of those who believe salvation can be lost, that you can fall away, walk away or even jumped from grace. First. They would cite basic logic. If the image of God includes man's ability to choose. And I believe it very much does it must then mean the ability to <inaudible> or human freedom is lost. Then they would point to history. As examples, history truly is littered with fallen believers. Those who appeared all in, but then shipwrecked their lives completely sliding away or jumping away from faith.

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00:02:53

Then we get into the biblical text. Let's start with Jesus in Matthew 24, Jesus is talking to his disciples about what to expect before he's expected to return. He gives a warning to the disciples, not to be led into a pasta sea then finishes with this statement. The one who endures to the end, he shall be saved in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul adds a bit of doctrine to this. Salvation is conditional camp. He writes be careful how you stand lest you fall. He then reminds them of the vivid example of God's people, Israel in the old Testament, how that nation fell away from following God.

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00:03:35

Also in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives his personal example. He said, I'm a diligent focused disciple. I buffet my body. I make it my slave last while preaching to others. I could be disqualified while Paul you disqualified, where does that leave me? Paul then points to examples in the lives of others. In his first letter to pass their Timothy. He urges him to fight the fight and to keep the faith and then warns him that some have rejected the faith and have suffered shipwreck of their faith. In a second letter to Timothy, he writes if we endure with him, meaning Jesus, we will reign with him.

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00:04:17

If we deny him, he will deny us. The letter to the Hebrews has three prickly conditional sounding passages in Hebrews chapter two readers are warned not to become apathetic and drift away in Hebrews chapter six. An example is given of someone who's repented that is done a 180 about who Jesus is and what he's done and how salvation is achieved, who is grown. Who's been given spiritual gifts and then fell away into permanent damnation. It's really a stretch to argue that these characteristics are not true of a true believer.

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00:04:58

So there you have some of the reasons people believe you can lose your salvation by falling away or jumping away. But the Bible also gives a number of solid supports for once saved, always saved this camp. That once you go all in on Jesus, your salvation is a unconditional unilateral commitment of God would point to the logic of the other camp and say, you did have the ability to exercise freewill you chose when you went all in on Jesus. And when you went all in on Jesus, some things changed things that are not easily undone. We'll get to those as to history, being littered with fallen believers, this camp would point.

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00:05:43

It is revelation, not experience that should drive our belief system. Some would argue those who fell away never were true. Believers to start with. Others would say in the words of Paul, let God in his word be found true. Even though every man can be found a liar. If everyone who proclaimed, they were a believer fell away. That wouldn't change. God's revelation that you can't fall away. One saved. Then they get to scripture. Many of them, the same passages cited by the conditional bilateral camp. As to Jesus' words to his disciples about enduring to the end, they would also point to other words.

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00:06:24

Jesus gave his disciples. How about this one, John 10, 27 through 30. Jesus said my sheep hear my voice. And I know them and they follow me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish. And no one shall be able to snatch them out of my hand, my father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. I and the father are one, the loser salvation camps. Okay. They may not be able to be safe, attached out of God's hand, but can they pry his fingers open? Yeah. And choose to get out to the first Corinthians passage where Paul says he buffets his body.

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00:07:08

He's diligent as a disciple so that he isn't disqualified. The unconditional, you can't lose your salvation camp says disqualified from what? From salvation or from the rewards that come from being a diligent servant of God, they would say, Paul's talking about rewards. That salvation is secure to Paul's example in first Timothy, to fight the fight and keep the faith and not suffer shipwreck in that same passage and a parallel passage in first Corinthians regarding a man living in gross sin with a relative, Paul explains he's turned these shipped wreck people over to Satan to be taught, not to blast FIM or so that their souls might be saved.

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00:07:55

The salvation is secure. Camp would suggest these are shipwrecked believers being refined. That salvation is not lost. It's just that the journey has been interrupted for now. And then there's that Hebrews prickly passage about someone who's repented grown, been spiritually gifted and then fell away. The salvation is secure. Camp says, what if this is just a, what if argument? What if the writer is saying, imagine if a person has gone through all this repented grown as a follower of God experienced God flowing through him or her with spiritual gifts and then walks away, what could God possibly do to bring them back?

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00:08:37

They would suggest this is just a, what if example, then this salvation is secure. Camp would go on to their own passages passages that suggest or outright declare once a believer, you will finish the course that saved means safe. They base this on three basic overriding factors. One God's promises to us to God's investment in us. And three God's love for us. Let me give you a sample. First, Peter, one three through five calls, our salvation imperishable, undefiled unfading and guarded by the power of God, Romans 8 30, 8 and 39 states.

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00:09:23

Nothing in heaven or on earth shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Our Lord Philippians one six says, and I am confident. This very thing that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day Jesus Christ returns. Here's the challenge. Go through the Bible and try to find something. God began that he did not complete. Even despite the frailness and outright disobedience of his people in Hebrews chapter seven, verse 25, we're told Jesus prays for the endurance of believers constantly. He is able to save forever.

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00:10:04

Those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. Wow, Jesus is praying for the security of a believer. Salvation. Second Corinthians to that passage cited by the other camp. If we deny him, he will deny us is bracketed by two other statements, including this one. When we are faithless, God is faithful for, he cannot deny himself in his second letter to Timothy. Paul is absolutely positive that God will guard his salvation throughout his earthly days. He writes for, I know whom I have believed, and I'm convinced he is able to guard what I've entrusted to him until that day was Paul one who waffled on the security of his salvation though.

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00:10:52

He viewed himself as the worst of all sinners. That's in the first letter to Timothy as well. And as a wretched man, that's in his letter to the Romans. He still had an overwhelming assurance that he could not fall from his salvation. And the salvation is secure. Camp throws in a few other factors, you could call them unilateral contract assertions. First God is powerful, willing, able, and faithful to keep all his promises. Even when believers drop the ball. That's in second Timothy, two 13, second salvation. Isn't attained by human effort. It's totally a work of God, Ephesians 2 8, 9.

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00:11:33

Here's the argument. If initial salvation is God's free gift of grace, isn't maintaining our salvation. Also God's gracious gift. And there's a number of things God does at initial salvation that he would have to undo to unsave us. You'd have to be handed back to the hand of the enemy. That's Colossians one 13 through 14. Your righteousness would have to be unrighteous and your death penalty reinstated Hebrews 10, 10 through 12. You would have to be unforgiven and your sins past present and future unforgotten Hebrews 10, 15 through 17.

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00:12:15

You would have to be unreconciled to God. And once again, be divorced from God. Second Corinthians five 18 through 19. You'd have to be unbaptized by the spirit of God. And the spirit would need to vacate his presence from your life and take all he brought with him to your life. Spiritual power, spiritual gifts, character fruits, et cetera. Romans eight, nine, you'd have to be unreal, born and return to the old person. You were spiritually. John three, one through eight. You'd have to have the eternal life. God gave you at salvation and given first John five, 11, and 12, and you'd have to be unadopted by the father and have all the rights, privileges and responsibilities as God's child taken back away, Romans eight, 15 through 17.

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00:13:07

So here's the deal. Does it have to be one way or the other? Is it possible that believers can fall away? But because of God's grace, they will not fall away. That God will preserve them in their faith. I believe this may be the best fit with scripture. Perhaps an illustration will help. You're a parent with a young child and you live on a busy street. You want to protect your child who may run out in front of a car. One way to do this would be to construct a 10 foot fence with barbed wire at the top, the kid couldn't get out. Some people see saved means safe. Just that way that God's children have no freedom to choose to fall or jump, or you might decide against the fence and focus instead on training your child to be careful watching and teaching them to avoid the dangers trained and warned you let the child play.

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00:13:59

But when your child does run headlong toward the street, you sweep him or her out from, in front of the car. At the very last moment, this is a closer description to biblical security of the believer. I've got to give some love to Maillard Erickson and his book, Christian theology for that word picture. So if my students press me, where am I at? I lean pretty hard towards saved, equals safe because of God's promises to us. God's investment in us. God's love for us. But whenever this question comes up in my class, can a believer lose his salvation? Can he fall or jump from grace?

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00:14:39

I want to ask another question. Why are we having this conversation anyway? Why don't we ask the question? What does God want from those? Who've gone all in on him. I'd like to answer this through a word picture Jesus gave in Matthew, mark, and Luke. It's a dandy and we'll do that in our next Bible Questions.