“Can a Christian lose his or her salvation?” This is a question which I receive on a fairly regular basis. It is a question which I myself struggled with early in my Christian life. It is certainly an important question and there is a lot of division on how best to answer it. My short answer is: No. A true Christian cannot lose his or her salvation. But why is there so much confusion about this issue and what does the Bible say?

Troubling Warning Passages

I think one of the reasons for the confusion is the presence of so many warning passages in the New Testament which warn against apostasy, or falling away. The presence of these passages implies that it is possible to fall away from the faith. Why else would they exist?

Colossians 1:21-23 tells us that Christ reconciled us “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.”

Jesus himself said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” Mark 13:13. He also said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.’” John 8:31.

The writer of Hebrews warns us to strive for holiness “without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb. 12:14).

Many other such passages could be cited which warn the hearer against falling away from Christ.

Those Who Fall Away Are Not Genuine Believers

Scripture speaks frequently of those who profess faith in Christ, but are not genuine believers. Jesus said that many would call him Lord at the judgment, but would be turned away (Matthew 7:21-23. In the parable of the sower, Jesus addresses those who fall away:

“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13:20-21

John states the matter clearly when writing of those who had left the right way for another form of religion: 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

Scripture clearly provides the category of a “false believer” and warns believers to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). This quote has been attributed to several different individuals but sums the matter up well: “A faith that fizzles before the finish was faulty from the first.”

Salvation Belongs to the Lord

I fear that we have too often over-emphasized the human response in salvation and under-emphasized God’s initiative in salvation. It is true that we must repent and believe the gospel. It is equally true that we must be born of the Spirit (John 3:3) – this is something that God must do.

Peter tells us that God “has caused us to be born again to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Our new birth was not brought about by our will, for we were not born by “the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13). Peter continues talking about the new birth and says that we are now “kept by the power of God,” literally we are “being guarded by God’s power” (1 Peter 1:5).

Furthermore, our salvation is rooted in God’s gracious choice. Romans 8:30: “Those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Notice that all those who end up at glorification are those who were predestined. No one falls off along the way. Ephesians 1:3-14 beautifully lays out our election and the fact that we are “sealed by the Spirit.” It is impossible for someone chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be in danger of losing salvation.

Jesus says that his sheep “will never perish and no one will snatch them out of [his] hand” (John 10:27). He also says that when the Holy Spirit comes, he will be with us forever (John 14:16). Some other passages which speak of God assuring our salvation include:

Jeremiah 32:40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

Jude 24-25 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, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Philippians 1:6 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.

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 [Jesus Christ] will sustain you to the end; guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Isaiah 46:3-4 (ESV) “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Psalm 37:28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

Notice in all these passages who it is that is responsible for our salvation. God ensures our sanctification, perseverance, and endurance. He chose us, He called us, He caused us to be born again, He justified us, He sanctifies us, He sustains us, He preserves us, and He will glorify us at the day of Jesus Christ.

I recently read Paul David Tripp’s book, Dangerous Calling. This book is essential reading for vocational ministers and helpful reading for anyone who serves in ministry. Here are five lessons I took away from my reading.

Pastors must beware of mastering theology without experiencing transformation. Tripp says “Bad things happen when maturity is more defined by knowing than it is by being. Danger is afloat when you come to love the ideas more than the God whom they represent and the people they are meant to free” (42). Developing the personal discipline of worship and devotional Scripture reading is necessary to avoid becoming all head and no heart.

Pastors must beware the danger of living two separate lives: one life in the ministry and another life at home. Tripp offers five practical suggestions later in the book for “closing the separation gap.” Tripp instructs to “sit under your own teaching and preaching”, “confess publicly to your own struggle”, “place yourself under wise and biblical counsel”, “be approachable to your friends and family”, and “build a humbly candid leadership community” (209-212). While every pastor and leader will fall short of the very standard they proclaim occasionally, this type of lifestyle can never be tolerated by a Christian leader.

A pastor’s ministry is shaped by the condition of his heart. While training, knowledge, and experience all are significant factors which shape one’s ministry, Tripp correctly observes that “The heart is the inescapable X factor in ministry” (68). It is easy to measure ministry by metrics which ignore the heart condition of the minister, and we do this too often. This truth correlates with the essential oneness of the pastor. Tripp says, “You are one person. The boundaries of life and ministry are not separate and defined. You do not become a different person when you step into some kind of ministry function. You and I are each in possession of only one heart, so the condition of our heart is a huge issue in our ministry. I know this seems blatantly obvious, but I’m afraid it is not so functionally obvious in our churches” (188). The realization that all ministry is essentially the outflow of my personal spiritual condition is a sobering fact, and one that drives me to pursue holiness and devotion to God.

Whatever motivations or “treasures” the pastor has will determine his ministry. Tripp states that our ministries are shaped by our treasures, or motivations. If we treasure the wrong things, we will lead our ministries incorrectly. “Things like appreciation, reputation, success, power, comfort, and control become all too important. Because they are too important to me, they begin to shape the way I think about ministry, the things I want out of my ministry, and the things I do in ministry” (99). Tripp further states that “your ministry will always be either propelled by or victimized by what you treasure” (103).

The pastor’s ministry will be opposed by the forces of Satan. This seems like a simple and fundamental truth that does not need repeating, but we often conduct our ministries as though we are in a neutral playing field. Tripp says, “It’s sad and dangerous, but it’s true that many of us have taken on a functionally unspiritual view of our ministries… There is a devouring Devil. You need to be serious and watchful.” (218-219). Sometimes we minister as though we are merely working with human factors and realities. This can lead to undue frustration when things do not go as we want them to go. We need to realize that God has given us a divine task that will be opposed by Satan. We should expect opposition and hardship.

I highly recommend Dangerous Calling if you are currently involved in ministry or are seeking to enter the ministry. Tripp highlights several danger zones that can destroy a ministry or even worse, destroy a home.

I was recently asked what I thought were the critical issues facing the church today. After some thought, I came up with five issues which I think are the greatest problems which need to addressed. Tell me what you think. Did I miss one?

Immorality inside and outside the church – with the recent legalization of gay marriage and the effects of the sexual revolution, the church is faced with new challenges. The church will need to be ready to confront not only those outside the church with biblical truth, but also those inside the church. It is inevitable that the moral decay around us will begin manifesting itself inside our ranks. As a result, the church will need to begin taking church discipline seriously.

Decreasing finances – the church will soon have to learn to do more ministry with less dollars. Giving on the whole is on the decline and studies show that millennials do not tithe as well as their parents and grandparents. As a result, the church needs to be ahead of the curve and needs to cut waste and become a lean organization.

Overcoming cultural hostility – The American church has enjoyed a favored position in the culture for generations. We are seeing that dissolve largely in the past decade. The church is becoming a stranger in a strange land. Those outside of us hear only the negative press and learn to repeat the talking points of the secular left. This results in a negative, sometimes hostile, view of the church. We will have to combat this by building real relationships and restoring our reputation first in our communities. We can never expect the world to love followers of Christ, Jesus promised this would not be the case, however, we can live lives in such a way that we dispel the myths that are commonly believed about Christians and we can have a favorable reputation among our own community.

The need to increase church security – I recently heard Thom Rainer say that church security will be one of the fastest growing Christian industries in the coming years. I have heard multiple reports of attacks and robberies happening on church property in recent years. This may be due in part to the growing hostility in our culture. The church needs to be prepared against burglaries and even the unspeakable notion of terror attacks.

Biblical illiteracy – For the most part, the average parishioner in the pew is largely ignorant of the Bible. Not only has this been my personal experience, but there are multitudinous surveys to corroborate this observation. The church has failed to disciple this generation and we need to ensure that if our people profess to believe the body of truth called Christianity that they are able to actually articulate that which they say they believe.