Once saved, forever saved?

The doctrine of the eternal security of the Christian is a controversial subject on which scholars take several diverse positions. On one end of the debate are those who say that a Christian cannot ever lose his salvation once he is saved. This is the famous "once saved, forever saved" school of thought. On the other end are those who believe that even the slightest slip on the part of a Christian who is saved could lead to him losing his salvation. Then, there are those who are somewhere in between.

One pillar of this debate is the role of human agency in salvation. Does the person who is to be saved—the potential Christian—have any role to play in his own salvation? That God is involved is not in dispute but to what extent can the individual affect his own salvation? Generally, those who believe in OSFS argue that the Christian plays no role in his salvation—everything is up to God—while those who reject the OSFS teaching argue that the individual plays a role. Those who uphold the OSFS teaching then argue further that since the Christian plays no role in his salvation, there is no way he could cause himself to lose it by his actions or inactions.

Some verses of Scripture suggest that the Christian is involved in his salvation.

1. Romans 10:9-10 says that to be saved one must express his belief that Jesus is Lord by confessing it with his mouth. That shows human agency.

2. Jesus said in John 3:14-15 that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the son of man must be lifted up so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. When Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness in Numbers 21, an invitation was thrown to all who were bitten by the poisonous snakes and they all had the option to express their faith by looking at Moses’ brazen serpent and live or to decline the offer and die. Jesus likening himself to that serpent suggests that now that he has been sacrificed for the sins of all, all sinners have the option to look at him (accept him) and live or to reject him and suffer eternal death. Jesus said if he is lifted up from the earth, he will draw all men unto himself. (John 12.32) Hence, all men have the opportunity to decide.

Further, the zeal with which the early church and Jesus’ disciples obeyed Jesus’ command to preach the gospel suggests that they did not share the view that one does not have any part to play in his salvation. They believed they could persuade men to be saved with the power of the gospel. If someone believes that the people he is going to preach to will be saved whether he goes or not, it is unlikely that he will risk his life to go. Yet, it was customary for the early disciples to defy death threats and other sanctions for preaching the gospel. Like all Christian doctrine, one's position on this subject has serious consequences for both personal and church life. If you believe that what will be will be so that those whom God wants saved will by all means be saved, there may be no reason to preach the gospel or reach out to the lost. But Jude admonishes us to save some people by snatching them from fire. (Jude 23) Peter also says in 2 Peter 3:3-10 that because God does not want anyone to perish, he has given men ample time to repent and come to him. This means that with an extension of time, more people would be saved who would otherwise not be saved if the coming of Jesus were not delayed.

Hebrews 6:4-6 presents another challenge to the OSFS teaching. It describes a falling away of some people who were once enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age. It says that after such people have fallen away, it is impossible to restore them to repentance because it would require crucifying the son of God all over again, subjecting him to public disgrace. If the people who are said to be permanently damned when they fall away are not Christians, or people who believe, then from what do they fall away? And if they never repented then what need would there be to “restore” them to repentance? The writer in the book of Hebrews was talking to Christians and in this case about Christians. Yet, to hold to OSFS, one has to deny that those described were Christians.

Repentence, Regeneration, Justification, and Sanctification

Affirmation:
We believe all men have to repent of and confess their sins before God, and believe on the vicarious death of Christ Jesus before they can be justified before God. We believe in the Sanctification of the believer through the working of the Holy Spirit and in God's gift of Eternal Life to the believer. (Acts 4.25, Romans 5.16, 1 Corinthians 1.30, 1 Thessalonians 4.3)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10.9 NLT

Under this doctrine we shall look at "how to be saved." This is an important question that naturally arises when we admit that man is depraved, fallen and needs a saviour. The topics under this heading include the definitions of the terms above, the relationship between faith and works with respect to the Christian and his salvation, the controversy over eternal security--that is, the once saved, forever saved? question.