Why Protestants and Catholics should revisit 'once saved, always saved'
Some Protestants promote the idea of “once saved, always saved,” while some Catholics think this theological concept is used to excuse unholy behavior on the part of professing Christians. Personally, I think Protestants and Catholics alike should revisit this particular subject and dig deep into Scripture to discover what the Bible actually teaches.
Unbelief and works righteousness are, of course, damning sins that prevent a person from receiving God's grace, forgiveness and salvation. While unbelief is man's default position, attempting to earn your way to Heaven is an impossibility. You see, “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)
And the Bible makes it abundantly clear that anyone who lives for sin rather than for the Savior is heading toward eternal punishment in Hell, even if they claim to be saved. The Apostle Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the churches in Galatia: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction” (Galatians 6:7).
Paul added, “The one who sows to please the Sprit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:8). Paul wanted every believer who was sincerely following Christ to be assured of his eternal salvation. After all, Paul was absolutely certain of his own salvation (see Philippians 1:21-24) and this assurance empowered his life of discipleship.
Repentant Christians should not be forced to continually live under the fear of committing a “mortal sin,” thereby losing their salvation. This unbiblical idea plagues Catholicism, as I addressed in a CP op-ed: “Rather than trying to nail down specific instances of individual sins that are said to immediately drive the Holy Spirit out of your soul and instantly remove you from a ‘state of grace,’ the vast majority of Christian theologians over the centuries have followed St. Paul's approach and St. Peter's method of addressing the wicked intentions and consistently bad behavior of unconverted people.”
The New Testament focuses on a person's current attitude. If someone is trusting in Christ's sacrifice on the cross for salvation rather than his good works, and turning away from sin to live for Jesus, he is in God's family. Followers of Christ are saved today and saved forever.
On the other hand, if a professing believer claims to be saved while planning to pursue sinful pleasures, he must be warned that Scripture does not support the idea of “once saved, always saved,” for unrepentant sinners. Regardless of past or present professions of faith, persistently impenitent individuals are spiritually dead as evidenced by their lack of repentance and wicked lifestyle.
Paul wrote, “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 5:5-6).
Paul also wrote, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
God's Word places sinful labels on unrepentant and unconverted souls, but the Bible describes everyone who is “in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 3:28) much differently. We are referred to as: “Disciples,” “believers,” “saints,” “Christians,” and “children of God,” while spiritually immature believers are “infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1). Every believer is of course imperfect, and yet thankfully, our Heavenly Father does not kick us to the curb when we mess up.
Karl Keating wrote on catholic.com: “It is a mortal sin to miss Mass knowingly, but not if one has a sufficient reason, such as illness or the incapacity to get to a church.” While deliberately skipping a weekly worship service with your church family is certainly detrimental to your spiritual health, doing so will not remove the Holy Spirit from a believer's soul, despite it being labeled a “mortal sin” by Catholic officials.
When a professing Christian appears to “lose his salvation,” a debate sometimes ensues regarding whether or not he was ever saved in the first place. But the more important issue, in my opinion, is how the Bible addresses contrite sinners, as compared to unrepentant sinners.
The Holy Spirit comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. Those who are troubled by their sins and sincerely sorry for disobeying the Lord need to be comforted with the good news of God's forgiveness and the Lord's free gift of salvation, (see 1 John 1:9; John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-13) while those who are comfortable sinning need to be afflicted by the Holy Spirit with a conviction of sin, alerted to God's wrath against sin, and commanded to repent.
Jesus warned people, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3). Jesus never offered the forgiveness of sins and the gift of salvation to someone who was determined to continue sinning. But Christ gave this wonderful promise concerning true believers: “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 10:27-28).
Repentant believers in Jesus experience the assurance of their salvation by relying upon the finished work of Christ on the cross. If that describes you, my friend, be assured that you are saved today and saved forever.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
