Lose Salvation

Dear Victorious,

More than once I have heard Christians in churches talking about whether or not someone can lose their salvation. It seems the Scriptures even talk about someone who falls away from the faith, or is handed over to the devil. Even Judas, Jesus' disciple followed Christ and then turned away from him. The Bible says that "the devil entered into him." I know churches teach that you cannot lose your salvation, but is it really true? The Bible seems to be conflicting about this.

Amanda S. - Baton Rouge, LA

Dear Amanda,

The Bible is clear that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Once we have chosen Christ, the only way that we could lose our salvation is if we could somehow "unchoose" Christ. So ask yourself if it is possible for someone who truly knows Christ to somehow stop believing in Him. That would be the only way someone could lose their salvation. As far as we know, it is also not possible.

The better question is whether someone truly had their salvation in the first place. I suspect there are many so-called Christians walking around today without true salvation. They go to church. They may have been baptized or taken communion or confirmed, etc. But they never actually surrendered their life to Christ. Jesus said that, "not everyone who cries, 'Lord, Lord' will see the kingdom of heaven." What He meant is that not everyone who says they are a Christian or who thinks they are a Christian (i.e., is saved) actually is.

Rather than worry about whether we can lose our salvation, we should focus our energy on making sure we have it in the first place. We do that by obeying Christ - which is the evidence of our love for Him.