
Once Saved, Always Saved?
Once saved, always saved? When meditating on this profound topic, some questions arise.
- Were you ever saved to begin with, did you experience the life changing impact of Jesus Christ?
- Can you lose your salvation if you truly accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
Am I Saved?
This article breaks it down more deeply: Are you going to Heaven. But here is a quick check. Did you follow these steps of salvation.
- A – Admit that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour
- B – Believe that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour and died for your sins on the cross
- C – Confess to others that you believe in Jesus (Is Jesus Christ God)
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Romans 10:9-10
However….
Have you claimed that you have believed, but not truly believed?
Sometimes our intentions are in the right place, we yearn for a belief in a god, but haven’t truly committed ourselves to the One true God. The God who’s name is above every name. (Philippians 2:9)
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mark 9:24
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:21
Do your actions demonstrate a repentant heart that seeks God?
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
John 14:15
Have you truly repented (a turning away) from your old life of seeking temporary fulfillment in this world and turn towards a loving God. Seeking Him, knowing Him. God is a holy God, so the more we seek after Him, the more we want to do what pleases Him, out of our love for Him. Sin is contrary to the nature of God. Although we are human and we will make mistakes, our desire is to do what honors God.
The man who says, “I know him but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:3-6
Can we Lose our Salvation?
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand.
John 10:27
If you are truly saved you can’t lose your salvation. It was not yours to earn; it is not yours to lose. However, that is why you have to pay attention to the other aspects of obedience to make sure you are truly saved, and that you have that deep life changing impact of Jesus Christ.
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 2:17
If we are truly saved, are we still free to live as we choose?
No!
Luke 12:45-46 describes a servant who when the master left, the servant did as he pleased, then when the master came back the servant was unprepared, and still involved in many areas of sin that he had gotten himself wrapped up in.
The master of that servant will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. . . and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
To willfully and continually follow a life of sin and disobedience after you have believed in Jesus, would be a mockery to the cross. It would be for example asking for a specific, expensive gift, than using it to drive over with your car. What is the point? We are supposed to use the gift we are given to share the saving knowledge of Christ with others. Our purpose is not to just live this life for ourselves. It is to bring glory to Gods name through living our life for him as a thanks offering for paving the way for salvation, and for the hope we have in the eternity awaiting us when we pass on from this world. Earth is just our temporary home. Only God knows the heart, but if your outward is not reflecting your inward relationship with Christ you should evaluate if you sincerely love Christ. I say this not out of condemnation or arrogance, but out of love for you. So that I know I did everything possible, so you may have victory in Christ in this life and the next.
Luke 12:45-46
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6:1-2
If you are currently living in sin, there is still repentance and forgiveness.
Every day is a new day, to put off the old nature and put on the nature of Christ. But ultimately we have to choose this free gift. One foot in the world with its sinful desires, and one foot with Christ, does not work. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. (Matt 5:37)
When the prodigal son returned, his father embraced him with open arms
Luke 15:11-32
Sin holds us in bondage, but God has come that we may have life to the fullest.
John 10:10
A righteous man falls seven times, and rises.
Prov 24:16
Photo credit: by MartinStr