Christians often say that if you have been saved, then nothing you do can make you lose salvation. But is this really true? Let’s see what the Bible says.
He is faithful and just to forgive all unrighteousness
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9)
Christians can still sin after accepting Jesus, because we are human and imperfect. But God is faithful to forgive us our sins if we confess our sins and turn away from them. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all past and current sins.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Jesus’ blood covers all our sins — past, present, and future. Since humans can never follow all laws of righteousness perfectly, we need Jesus’ perfect sacrifice to save us. This is why we can never attain to righteousness ourselves, because any sin we have makes us unrighteous. Our good deeds cannot cancel out our bad deeds.
But Jesus’s blood is the perfect covering, so that by His blood, His righteousness covers us. Jesus died on our behalf. The righteous God died instead of humans, and He took our punishment for us, so that by trusting in Him we are saved forever.
God will not take away His promise
The promises of God are forever. God is not like man or fickle that He would give us salvation one day to take it away later. Jesus Himself said: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
If we truly believe, then God the Holy Spirit is with us forever as a guarantee for our salvation: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
So God’s promises stand forever.
But we can choose to fall away
Yes, Jesus’ blood covers all sins and through Jesus we are saved forever. However, there are a few scenarios where we can choose to give up our own salvation. Even though the most common teaching of the church today is that no one can ever lose their salvation, the Bible shows clearly a few scenarios where we can choose to fall away and thereby lose our salvation.
We can choose to give up God’s promises on our end, because everyone has the right to choice. Our choice to believe and follow God does not override any choice we make later to quit following Him.
This is why Jesus tells His disciples: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit… If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15: 1-2, 6-8)
God is holy and He desires His children to be holy also. So since through Christ we are given the hope of salvation, in keeping with salvation, we should pursue holiness.
“Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
Scenarios in which we can fall away
1. Unforgiveness
“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us…” (Luke 11:4)
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
Jesus took unforgiveness very seriously. He emphasized that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. He even told a parable to show the importance of forgiving others.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35)
It is evident that our sins cannot be forgiven unless we also forgive others. So if we don’t forgive our brothers and sisters, our own salvation would be in jeopardy. It is possible to choose to lose our salvation if we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts.
Even though it can be hard to forgive others, we can always ask God to help us to forgive. If we ask God to help us forgive others and rely on God’s help to forgive, then we would not be in trouble.
2. Treating others very badly
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:45-51)
If we persecute another person or treat others badly, then we would be in trouble. If we have treated others badly, we need to repent and do good to others. We should not persecute another person. In church history, many so-called “Christians” have done wrong to others in crusades and inquisitions. Such people are like the servant who beat others. They are hypocrites and will be assigned a place with unbelievers, because they acted like they didn’t believe.
If we see other people hungry, we can help feed them. If we see others thirsty, we can give them a drink. If we see others sick, we can visit them and pray for them. And if they have any other needs, we can do good to them to help fulfill those needs, just as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 25: 34-40.
3. Practicing lawlessness
If anyone thinks that he can fool God to use Jesus’ death as a license to sin, he is greatly mistaken. There are some people who think they can simply believe that Jesus died for us, keep sinning and living the way they always have, and in the end they will be saved. This is wrong. They are doing lip service only. They haven’t truly believed.
If we believe in God without any action to turn away from our sins, we are behaving like demons: “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (James 2:18-19)
Think about it. Demons believe God exists and demons recognized Jesus (Luke 4:41). But their actions are evil. So just believing without any actions is no good, and if we act like that, we too are behaving like them.
So if we have believed Jesus, we need to start living like we believe Jesus. If we have any sins, ask God’s forgiveness and ask God’s help to turn away from those sins. We need to start doing good and keep away from doing evil.
It is not true that if we sinned today, we are going to hell. But we should NOT have the mentality of taking advantage of God’s salvation and knowingly living like we used to. We need to turn away from our old life, and live in the grace and power of God. God gave the grace of new life in Jesus, and by relying on God’s power through the Holy Spirit, we can be transformed to be more and more like Christ.
The Apostle Paul said, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)
What does the Bible mean by “practice such things”? The one who practices is the one who does the same deed over and over again. And the one who commits lawless deeds has the assumption that it is ok to keep doing so, and he does not attempt to change by asking for God’s help.
God looks for fruit in our lives and patiently waits to see fruit (Luke 13: 6-9). Have we changed to be more like Jesus? Have we tried to put aside old sins and asked God to help us not commit them again? Have we done things to show our love for God and other people? If not, repent and start bearing fruit before it’s too late.
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:26-29)
4. Quitting the Christian life
“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6)
This is not a case of being mad at God for some reason and then ignoring Him for a while. This is a case of having greatly experienced God and His goodness, and then deciding not to be a Christian anymore. For someone who doesn’t know God very well and falls away, he can repent and still be saved. But for someone who has greatly experienced God and seen His powerful miracles, but then has fallen away, he would be too hard-hearted to repent.
God always gives us the freedom of choice. He does not force us to be Christians. So we always have the right to be a Christian or not. So if someone decides to not be a Christian anymore, he has that right. And in keeping with that right, he will lose the salvation he once had. Since Jesus means nothing to him and he betrays Him by putting Him to open shame, he receives a just penalty for his decision.
Some people might still think that once we decide to be a Christian, nothing we do can jeopardize our salvation. But why would the first decision to be a Christian completely outweigh a second decision to not be a Christian?
5. Denying Jesus publicly
“Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-22)
Denying Jesus publicly affects other people and shows unbelief in God. If a Christian denies Jesus publicly, he hinders others from believing. This is an example of denying one’s faith. If a Christian denies Jesus, how will others believe? If a believer shrinks back in hardship, what will others think?
Similarly, taking the mark of the beast is a public display of denial of Christ and allegiance to the devil. The mark of the beast is the name of the beast or the number of his name, which is six hundred and sixty-six (Revelation 13:16-18). The mark in the future might be a tattoo, a chip injected under the skin, or something else. Do not allow it on your body under any circumstances.
“A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.'” (Revelation 14:9-11)
Think about it this way. Why do people write their names on their belongings? It is so that no one else would take them, because an item belongs to the person whose name is on it. In the future, God will put His name on those who belong to Him: “They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:3-4). Therefore, you want God’s name on you and not the evil one’s name. If you take the mark of the beast, that means you belong to him forever.
It is much better to die than take the mark of the beast.
“And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!”‘ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.'” (Revelation 14:13)
God is merciful
You may be very much afraid and anxious after reading all this. But remember God is also very merciful, and has shown mercy even to people who have committed some of these sins. For example, Paul treated Christians badly by persecuting them to death (Acts 22:4-5), but God gave him a second chance and even made him an apostle. Peter denied Jesus publicly three times (Luke 22:34), but Jesus gave him another chance (John 21:15-17) so that Peter became bold for the gospel (Acts 4:13).
Mark deserted and quit in the middle of a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:37-39). But God gave Mark another chance (Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11), and he became the writer of the gospel of Mark, with a veiled reference to himself and his early life in Mark 14:51-52.
God is merciful, not only to them, but also to us. And if we turn from our sins and start living in obedience to Him, He is merciful to forgive us all our iniquities.
Also, God will not easily cast out those for whom Christ has died. So do not worry. Jesus’s blood is precious. God will not easily or arbitrarily cast out anyone for whom Christ has died, because He “is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Furthermore, do not become legalistic or be afraid for your salvation. God helps you through the power of His Spirit to do His will. And if you falter, He will pick you up and help you. He will keep you from slipping and protect you from falling. He is the keeper of your spirit.
“My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber…
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 121: 2-3,7-8)
Moreover, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit when you believed, and the Holy Spirit is given to you as a pledge of your inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).
“He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5). So “do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Summary
In summary, we are saved entirely by Jesus’s blood, because only His blood is the perfect sacrifice to cover our sins. We can never erase the sins we have committed by doing good deeds. The good things we do cannot cancel out the bad things we have done. Only Jesus’s blood washes us of all our sins so that we can be saved and righteous in God’s sight.
Even though we are saved forever by faith in Jesus, there are a few scenarios in which it is possible we can give up our salvation if we don’t repent:
- Not forgiving other people
- Treating others very badly
- Practicing lawlessness
- Deciding to stop being a Christian
- Denying Jesus publicly
You may be shocked to find this is true. However, if you think about it, these are reasonable expectations God has for us.
Many people quote John 3:16 to imply that it is ok to simply believe and sin like the devil, and still be saved. But a further look into the entire passage of John 3 shows God’s expectations of us.
John 3:16-17 reads: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him…”
Then John 3:35-36 reads: “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him”. Notice, it is assumed that the one who believes is also the one who obeys, because if we truly believe in Jesus, we would do what He says.
And Paul said, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:21). And again he said, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20). So you see, repentance (the turning away from sins) goes with faith.
God is merciful to forgive us our sins if we turn from them and start living for Him. Just as in work or school, we try to do our best. So in the things of God, we should also give Him our best as true children of God. And God helps us by the Holy Spirit so that we can say with Paul: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
For more information, see Faith vs Works and Overcome Temptations.
Read Hebrews 10 and Psalm 121 in the Bible.