Can you lose your salvation? 

Anyone who works with young (physically or spiritually) believers has dealt with this question countless times. Most of us have dealt with it personally. How many of us have prayed the “sinner’s prayer” 10, 20, 30 times? Regardless of your denomination, age, maturity or surroundings, the issue of lost salvation will come up at one point or another. 

As a teacher I was discouraged from saying that there were bad questions. I hated that. And I’m not a teacher anymore. “Can I lose my salvation?” is a bad question. Really bad. It may be good to ask, and it reveals a lot about what we believe, but the question itself is bad. Why? Because it implies that (1) you are the one responsible for finding salvation and (2) you are the one that keeps you saved.

The question should be “Can God lose a Christian?”*, and the beautiful, Biblical answer to that question is a resounding “no”.

Look at John 10:27-30

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Who saves man?

I [Jesus] give them eternal life…

Who gives man to Christ to be saved?

My Father, who has given them to me…

Can the Father lose a Christian?

[the Father] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand

Amen.

It is with this (and the many other passages in scripture like it) in mind that we should approach passages like Hebrews 6:4-8. This is what I will try to do during our study in Hebrews this fall in crossroads. This is why it is so important to regularly read and study scripture as a whole, not just in bits and pieces.

I hope this truth makes God greater in your heart and encourages you to desire the study of Scripture.

*Mark Driscoll and others have used this phrase before, can’t take credit for that!