Salvation, can you lose it? Some churches say you can backslide and possibly lose your salvation. Others may say you can make a conscientious decision and reject your salvation. Yet some will say, once you are saved…you are always saved. Who is right? Again, a lot of this depends on how a church approaches the topic of salvation, whether you believe the grace of God begins in a person’s life when his or her parents dedicate/baptize him or her as an infant or when a person over the “age of accountability” makes a personal decision to publicly profess his or her faith in Jesus Christ.
Several churches teach that the grace of God begins working in a person’s life through infant baptism/dedication. As a result, an infant’s faith is dependent solely upon the faith of his or her parent(s). Thus, a person who received the grace of God through infant dedication/baptism could possibly “reject” his or her salvation, unless he or she affirmed/confirmed the faith of his or her parent(s). In some of these same churches, there are groups who believe that people who profess their faith in Jesus Christ –through affirmation/confirmation of their parents’ faith or a personal profession of faith – also have the same right to reject their faith at a later stage in life. Professing one’s faith falls in line with the inspired words of the Prophet Joel, “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved….” (Joel 2:32a NIV) In other words, whether or not you believe the grace of God begins with infant dedication/baptism, the Word of God clearly indicates that everyone over the “age of accountability” must eventually make a personal decision concerning their faith…to reject or profess their faith in Jesus Christ.
As for churches that believe you can “backslide” and possibly lose your salvation, they often quote several passages to justify their position. For example, the words from the author of Hebrews, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God…so that none you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:12-13 NIV) Further warnings include, “It is impossible for those who have once have been enlightened…who have shared in the Holy Spirit…if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV) However, if one reads the text of the aforementioned verse, he or she would soon realize that it clearly indicates that you are unable to regain your salvation once you lose it. This clearly contradicts other teachings in the Bible, to include the words of God to the Israelites through the Prophet Malachi – “Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you….” (Malachi 3:7 NIV)
Numerous churches teach people over the “age of accountability” must make a one-time personal decision to follow Jesus Christ, because they believe “once you are saved…you are always saved.” One main passage they quote is – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV) Jesus Christ himself defended his followers by saying, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand…no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29 NIV) Of course salvation comes with a price. If we make a sincere decision to trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, God will keep us accountable as his own children and discipline us as needed. The author of Hebrews makes this quite clear – “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” (Hebrews 12:7-8 NIV)
In summary, the way churches perceive salvation usually conveys itself in the aura of its followers. Do the believers possess all nine attributes of the fruit of the Spirit? The Apostle Paul refers to the attributes as, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) In particular, the first three attributes (love, joy and peace) say a lot about how people may perceive their salvation. If people believe that they can lose their salvation, it may be evident by their facial expressions as they may be lacking a certain inner joy or peace. Once people realize the certainty of their salvation through Jesus Christ, they will find that true inner joy and peace that comes with knowing their eternal salvation comes as a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
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