Can I Lose My Salvation?
Can I lose my salvation? It is an unfortunate fact that this question causes heated and hurtful divisions between those who are in pursuit of a close walk with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. There is nothing in this life of more value to a man or woman than a surrendered life to Jesus Christ our Redeemer. We first need to establish what all believers agree on; that is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah, the perfect and pure Lamb of God Whose blood cleanses us from our sins and all unrighteousness.
God loved His creation so much that he promised a better covenant that would be established upon better promises. A covenant through which sins would not just be covered or overlooked from year to year, but a covenant by which our sins can be forgiven, removed, wiped clean, erased from the memory of our Creator. What a beautiful and absolute truth! What is expected of us is that we glorify God the Father through Jesus Christ by obedience to the gospel (Mk.16:15,16) and the perfect law of liberty (Jas.1:25).
The division comes when the question of losing salvation is brought to the table. It is often the well meaning response of someone believing that they cannot lose their salvation that if the person was saved in the first place, they would not have gone back into a life of sin. Let us explore this position and supporting statement.
We will look at a couple of scriptural examples to come to a conclusion. The first example will come from Acts 8. This is Luke the Evangelist’s account of a man named Simon who was a Samaritan.
Acts 8:9-25 (NKJV):
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Simon’s life before he became a child of God consisted of sin. This sin might have been unique as far as the type of sinful activity he was involved in (when compared to our sins), but the consequences of all sins are the same. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). Before Simon obeyed the gospel, he was certainly earning that terrible wage for his works of unrighteousness. Simon was a sorcerer.
He was using evil means to gain a following of people for the soul purpose of self-gratification and gaining power. Luke records that all the people in Samaria gave heed to him because he had astonished them with his sorceries, and they all claimed “This man is the great power of God.”
We understand that Simon was a man of power and influence with the people, but we also learn of his dishonesty and evil character. He was using this act of sorcery to gain his power and influence, to the point that the people were looking at him as someone having the power of God and he was using that to his advantage.
Could someone like this hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and obey it? We might think of a politician or a celebrity that has a reputation for being a leader in a political party or being very successful in movies and television. Their reputation grants them power and influence with a lot of people and they use that power to build themselves up for everyone to see. For many people in this position, it is all about them, their motivations are selfish, and they are constantly reaching for the spotlight and the praises of the masses.
This describes Simon pretty well. What did sorcerers do? Sorcery and magic are essentially interchangeable terms and they are both forms of witchcraft. These practices are strongly condemned in scripture as being sinful and deceptive. Sorcery is mentioned as one of the works of the flesh in Gal. 5:20. W.E. Vine defines sorcery as the use of drugs or potions accompanied by incantations and appeals to supernatural powers, with the use of charms and amulets to protect an individual from the attention or power of demons, but really to impress the subject with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.
So before becoming a Chrisitan, Simon gained his reputation, influence, wealth, and power by employing these practices to trick people into believing that he was protecting them from demon possession. How could a man stoop so low? How could a man live with himself in gaining the trust of people by deception? Could a man like this obey the gospel?
Something else that most people who believe in Jesus agree on is that the gospel has been extended by the grace of God to all! When Philip the Evangelist traveled to Samaria preaching this gospel to the Gentiles, he was performing great signs and wonders in association with his preaching to confirm the word. When people heard this preaching, they did not initially believe because they had no proof, so during the apostolic period, the word was confirmed or proven by miracles and signs performed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw this, he was now the one who was astonished! The preaching of Philip and the signs he used to confirm his preaching were not at all the same as the acts of sorcery that Simon used as a lucrative means of climbing the ladder of worldly influence. This amazing power Philip displayed through the Holy Spirit compelled Simon to obey the words that he spoke. This was the purpose of spiritual gifts in the first century. This is an example of how these gifts were used to establish the kingdom.
In verse 13 we read, Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
The argument will most likely be made that Simon was just doing these things because he was intrigued by the power that he saw and he wanted to have that power for himself, and Jesus was not his motive for following Peter. This position cannot be supported. Luke says that Simon believed. What must we believe in order to obey the gospel? We must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). Simon believed and was baptized, which meant that he was saved according to what Jesus himself said in the great commission. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16).
We know that Simon was saved because he believed and was baptized. If he had not believed, he would have been condemned. We cannot say that he did not believe because Luke recorded that he did, and Luke was an inspired writer of the New Testament. To say that Simon was not saved based on his belief in Jesus as the Christ and his baptism for the forgiveness of sins, would mean that the Word of God has contradicted itself. But we know this is an impossibility because “every word of God proves true” (Proverbs 30:5).
Now we come to Simon’s fall after becoming a Christian. As Simon traveled throughout Samaria with Philip to learn more about Jesus and this New Covenant between God and His creation, there came a time when the apostles in Jerusalem heard about the response to Philip’s preaching in Samaria, so they traveled there to lay hands on some of them, imparting spiritual gifts, so that the church could be established and the gospel spread with more magnitude. Only the apostles could impart spiritual gifts (Acts 8:17-18; 19:6), so it was necessary for them to make the journey from Jerusalem to do this.
When Simon saw the imparting of spiritual gifts by the laying on of the apostle hands, he stumbled. We have to remember that Simon made a big change in his life very quickly. He was a sorcerer who had amassed great wealth, influence, and reputation by sinful means and he left it behind to follow Christ, but he is still a babe in the faith. When he saw the apostles doing this, we see a part of his old self emerge and his lusts overtake him as he approaches Peter and offers him money for this ability. At that time, Simon’s mind transitioned from a spiritual focus to carnal desire, and in so doing, Simon sinned.
How does Peter rebuke him in this sin? This is a very important part of this account. But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
We must remember that Peter is speaking to a born again child of God. This man who has obeyed the gospel committed a terrible sin. He was a Christian, but he stumbled. It is often taught that when a Christian stumbles, he should repent, but if he doesn't have a chance to, God will still accept him. Is this what Peter tells Simon in this rebuke? No. Peter tells Simon “Your money perish with you.”
Peter told Simon that he would perish because of this sin, but how could this be? Simon was a Christian. Simon obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who believe should not perish, but have everlasting life, right?
John 3:16 (NKJV):
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This is the truth and this is what we put our hope and trust in, as we must do!
That one word, should, carries a lot of meaning that is almost always overlooked, to the misfortune of many. “Should” is a modal verb used to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness or to indicate what is probable. We notice that there is no certainty conveyed in the word should, but it implies obligation or duty in order to obtain. If we believe, we should not perish, but we can perish if we do not fulfill our obligation to the Lord to be obedient to Him.
Peter proves this in his statement. He told a man who believed in Jesus Christ that he was going to perish. Simon shouldn't have to perish because of the gospel, but he didn't hold up his end of the deal. He gave over to his fleshly desires and because of that, even though he shouldn't perish, Peter affirmed that he was going to.
Simon was a born again believer, but Peter told him that he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. How could this be if it was impossible for someone who was truly saved to return to a life of sin? How could a Christian, saved by the grace of God, and led by the Spirit be poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity? The only way is that his salvation was lost and God’s light has been removed.
1 John 1:5-7 (NKJV):
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
A popular teaching is that when someone obeys the gospel, the Spirit indwells them and the spirit takes control over their life. If the Spirit had all of the control and the Christian had no ability to resist the guidance of the Spirit, why would the apostle John say to people that were already Christians “IF we walk in the light.” If the Spirit convicts a Christian so that he cannot stray, why was this admonition from the apostle necessary?
God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. We have a contrast between light and darkness. God is light. That means that anything that goes against God and His will for man would be darkness. Sin certainly meets the criteria for darkness. So can God remain with a man who continues in sin, that it may abound, rather than grace? The only conclusion that can be made is no.
Thankfully this is not where the story ends. God is a just God and He knows that we are all human and we all stumble from time to time, but God made a way that we could be restored to Him and His kingdom (the church) when we have been led away by sin. Peter prescribes this remedy to Simon after he sinned. He told him to repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you (Acts 8:22).
If Simon had chosen not to repent, he would have perished. It was all up to Him. God’s grace is freely given, but his mercy is conditional upon our repentance. If a man sins after he obeys the gospel, he separates himself from God and cannot be united with God because sin is in the way. Can we lose our salvation? Yes. Can someone take it away from us? No. Can the devil take it away from us? No. Salvation is not lost by robbery. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:29).
If salvation cannot be taken away, then how can it be lost? Salvation is lost by our resistance to it. God has graciously offered salvation to all men, but you cannot receive a pardon that you do not accept. The offer of grace is unconditional, but salvation is conditional. We have free will to choose the path we take. A person can choose a path of righteousness, then return to the world. Surrendering to Christ is not a one time thing, it is a humble position that we must constantly maintain and build upon.
The sacrifice of Jesus is the most beautiful act of love that has ever been displayed. When we obey the gospel and live our life in pursuit of Him, we express our love in return. Of course, the love that we display could never compare to His love displayed for us, but we can do our very best to pursue perfection and give our total allegiance to Him.
It can be challenging to resist the temptations of the world, the devil is constantly lurking about seeking whom he may devour. We must surrender and persist to overcome. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne (Rev. 3:21). What happens to the Christian who does not overcome? They will not sit with Jesus on His throne. They will be lost. That is the only alternative. May we always be in pursuit of Christlikeness and hungering and thirsting after righteousness in order that we may overcome. It is up to us, God’s grace is sufficient, but will we show our love through faithful obedience, proving our faith and making our calling and election sure?
- Eric Bullock, Evangelist
