Response:

Once a person has received Jesus Christ as personal Savior, he can NEVER lose his salvation. There are numerous verses in the Scriptures that show this. I have broken some down into two areas.

1)The Father's Promise.

I John 5:12. "He that hath the Son HATH life." God promises that those who have received Christ have life NOW, in the present tense, not only at some time in the future when they die. I John 5:13 "...That ye may know that ye have eternal life." Again, see that the believer has eternal life already. It is not something that he receives at death if he has hung on throughout his life.

Also, John clearly states that we can KNOW if we are saved. The person who believes that salvation can be lost never really knows if he is saved or not, which I believe is evident by your own question. How many sins does it take to lose salvation? One? We sin every day in word, deed, thought, attitude, faith, etc. The Bible says that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" I don't always walk by faith, and you probably don't either. Do I always think about things that are "true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy" (Philippians 4:8)? If not, then I am in sin, and if one sin costs me my salvation, then I am constantly losing it.

Besides, James tells us that when an individual breaks one law, he is guilty of all. Therefore, if salvation is contingent upon our actions, no one would be saved. Remember, Ephesians 2:8-9 state that we are saved by grace, and NOT OF WORKS. What if it takes many sins to lose your salvation? How many? Did my last one put me over the edge? I could never really KNOW, could I? What does it take to renounce Jesus? To disobey him? To deny Him? Peter did that, but he obviously was still saved. And if you can lose it, how could you get it back? Hebrews 6:4-6 indicates that if you could lose your salvation, you could never get it back! That is why at the end of that chapter he writes that God, Who cannot lie, gives us a promise that is an "anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast" That promise is that when you get saved you HAVE eternal life.

John 3:16-18. This familiar passage also teaches the eternal security of the believer. It says that "He that believeth IS not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed" What saves a man? Belief. If belief GETS a man saved, then works can not possibly KEEP a man saved.

John 10:27-30. Here Christ teaches that the believer is kept in the hand of God and the hand of Christ. Whose responsibility is it, mine or Theirs? It is obviously theirs! I Peter 1:5 says that the believer is "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." God does the keeping; it is not up to me. John 1:12. According to this verse, when I got saved I became a son of God. Sonship is an eternal relationship. For example, I am my father's son. The possibility may exist that someday our fellowship may not be what it should be. It is possible that I might do something that would break his heart. But in spite of that, I will still be his son. Nothing changes that. So too when I became a child of God, that was a permanent relationship. Sometimes my fellowship with the Lord isn't what it could be. Sometimes I do things that grieve Him. But I am still His son.

2)The Spirit's presence.

I John 4:13. This verse tells us that we know that God dwells in us because we have the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16 states that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit to tell us that we are saved. Ephesians 1:13 tells us that once we have been saved we are "sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise", which means that HE seals me in like we would seal an envelope. Again, whose responsibility is it to see that the letter stays in the envelope? Is it the person sealing the envelope, or the letter itself. Obviously, the answer is the one doing the sealing. Verse 14 then tells us that the Holy Spirit is the "earnest of our inheritance". You know what earnest money is. That is when someone puts down $5oo on a house, to prove that they mean business, and that the seller can expect to get the rest. So the Holy Spirit is the earnest. I don't have Heaven yet, but I have the earnest. If God did not intend for me to have eternal life, He could not have given me the earnest.

You mention Galatian 5:19-21. The idea in these verses is not that a man who commits one of these sins cannot go to Heaven , but rather that a man who is habitually involved in these actions is unsaved. The Bible tells us that "If any man be in Christ, he is a new Creature, old things ARE passed away, behold ALL things ARE become new." (IICor 5:17). James tells us in chapter two that a faith that can not change a mans life has not saved his soul (Faith without works is dead).

The Biblical teaching is that once a man is truly born again, he can never lose his salvation. However, there are people who live wicked lifestyles who are not in danger of losing salvation, but rather they have never been saved in the first place. Christ told us that at the judgement there would be people who cry "Lord Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" Christ then goes on to say, "And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" Notice He doesn't say, "I knew you once, but have forgotten you. He says: I NEVER knew you." See, they talked about religion, and Christianity, but they were never saved in the first place.

Have you been saved? If you aren't sure, go to the Our Priorities section of our web site. It is right at the Main Gate. Read it, and make sure of your eternal destiny. Please feel free to write me back. I will try to deal with some of the other issues in your letter at a later date.

May the Lord bless you.

By Dr Mark Montgomery Ambassador Baptist Church 1926 Babcock Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15209 (412)477-3210