An interesting story is told about a remark by the physicist Wolfgang Pauli when his opinion was asked concerning a paper written by a student. "Not only is it not right: it is not even wrong", was his comment. I wish to say the same to someone who asks "Can I lose my salvation?" David prayed to God: “Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation” (Psalm 51:12). In other words, salvation was never David's to begin with.
The whole problem started in Eden when Adam and Eve wanted to be "like God". They wanted to judge for themselves between good and evil instead of accepting the authority of their Maker. Many Christians only want one thing from their Creator, namely the assurance that they will go to heaven when they die. After they feel confident that they have met the requirements, they want to lead their lives as they see fit. They do not realise that by ignoring God's counsel, they are setting themselves up at the centre of their own universe. I have heard someone say the most common form of idolatry is people idolising themselves.
I think a more reasonable question to ask would be "Can I change my mind about being a Christian?" People have talked about this question for hundreds of years. It leads to another question, namely “Do we have a free will and if so, how free is it?” Christians do not all have the same answers to these questions. That is one of the reasons why there are different churches.
One of the slogans used in this debate is: “Once saved, always saved”. This thinking has as its starting point that God is almighty and does whatever he wants to. He creates some to be saved and others to be lost. The following verses and parts of verses are used to prove this (Calvinist) belief:
- The Lord opened her heart to hear what Paul said (Acts 16:14).
- No man can come to Me unless the Father gives him the desire to come to Me (John 6:44).
- So God has loving-kindness for those He wants to. He makes some have hard hearts if He wants to (Romans 9:18).
- I chose you twelve and one of you is a devil (John 6:70).
- But God chose me before I was born (Galatians 1:15).
- I will never leave you or let you be alone (Hebrews 13:5).
- I give them life that lasts forever. They will never be punished. No one is able to take them out of My hand (John 10:28).
Those who say that a Christian's salvation depends completely on his/her own endurance also base their opinion on the Bible. They say that God will never go against our free will. If he did, we would be no more than machines. Every person is free to decide to become a child of God and also to walk away from God. This (Armenian) outlook is backed up by the following verses and parts of verses:
- He is hard on those who fall away. But He is kind to you if you keep on trusting Him. If you do not, He will cut you off (Romans 11:22).
- If anyone does not remain in Me, he is cut off like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and they are burned (John 15:6).
- You are saved from the punishment of sin by the Good News if you keep hold of it, unless your faith was worth nothing (1 Corinthians 15:2).
- But the one who stays true to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).
- Brothers and sisters, make sure you are among those He has chosen and called out for His own (2 Peter 1:10).
- It is not his purpose that anyone should be destroyed, but that all people should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
- When the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness, he will die because of it. And when the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he will live because of it. (Ezekiel 33:18-19).
Many more verses can be added to both arguments but I believe these scriptures prove neither the strict Calvinistic nor the Armenian view. As an example of the futility of these arguments consider the following question: Was Judas Iscariot "saved" and then lost his salvation? The Arminian will say yes, while the Calvinist will deny that he was ever "saved". I say "God knows; I don't have to know".
The problem with these quarrels is that it hinges on what the opposing parties mean when they use the word "saved". Do I have the ability to deny the free gift of salvation? Am I "saved" because I responded to the gospel, and at that time had the assurance my sins were forgiven? Does it mean that on that occasion my sins were forgiven "past, present and future"? Do I have to change my behaviour after making the decision to follow Jesus? Do I have to be baptised to be "saved"? Do I have to regularly confess my sins in order to remain "saved"? Soteriology is the branch of Biblical studies which busies itself with these questions and many more.
But the average Christian can be helped to gain assurance of salvation by accepting that:
- By receiving Jesus I became a child of God (John 1:12);
- God’s way of working in our hearts is above our understanding (Romans 11:33);
- Every believer must trust God to help him/her overcome sin (1 Corinthians 10:13);
- Martyrdom does not guarantee salvation (1 Corinthians 13:3);
- God's plan for a believer is to be in a Christian community (1 John 3:14);
- We have been saved to do good works (Ephesians 2:10);
- Our assurance is based on our relationship with the Saviour (1 John 5:12-13).
