Why You Can’t Lose Your Salvation

Why can’t you lose your salvation?

That’s an easy one.

Because the One who gave it to you said so:

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” (Seems straightforward enough.)

The way Jesus puts it, there’s no ifs, ands, buts about it.

If there were, salvation would cease being the “free gift” we’re told it is (Romans 6:23) and become something we must earn.

And as everyone knows, you can’t earn a free gift. That’s why you’re not presented a gift at the close of your workweek; you get the paycheck you earned.

And since salvation can’t be earned, it can’t be unearned. It’s given freely—no strings attached. Just like the gracious invite that comes through the prophet Isaiah: Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat without money and without price (55:1).

It’s illogical to imagine you can be disqualified for something you couldn’t qualify for in the first place. The Bible is clear:

“Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12).

GOD DOES NOT CALL THE QUALIFIED;
HE QUALIFIES THOSE HE CALLS.

And if you want to be qualified for everlasting life, trust God’s Son. One and done—at least regarding the question of heaven or hell.

Remember after Jesus took a couple sardines and a few barley loaves and spread a feast for more than 5,000 people? From that moment, the crowds never let Him out of their sight; they thought they had found in Him a perpetual Meal Ticket. And with His correction come some helpful insights about eternal life:

“Don’t work for food that spoils,” He told them, “but for food that brings eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you…” They follow up with the question: “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent” (John 6:27-28). 

Interesting. The work of God is not to work… but to trust.

Believe on the Lord and live forever. Plain and simple.

And once you do believe in Him, there will be evidence of moral transformation, love for God, repentance from sin and obedience to Christ, or your “faith” is not true faith—it’s “dead”(James 2:14-26).  Good works can’t save you, but they can give evidence that you’ve got the real deal.

And with genuine faith comes eternal life, and here’s the thing about eternal life: it’s eternal.

If a person is promised eternal life, but then has it taken away, it was never “eternal” to begin with. If eternal security is not true, the promises of eternal life in the Bible would be in error.

But skittish, untrusting creatures that we are, and knowing how rebellious and wicked we can be, we find it hard to imagine a promise of favor that holds steady through all of our moral inconsistencies.

But the faithfulness of God is unlike anything we’ve ever known. Not even our parents or our spouses have loved us like that or shown us that kind of grace.  So it’s hard for the finite mind of men to grasp the infinite mercies of God.

But if you want to enjoy your salvation instead of giving yourself a spiritual ulcer (thinking it’s heaven on your good days and hell on your bad days), we must believe the Word and trust our God.

Even the Old Testament saints knew they were eternally secure.

Listen to King David’s song: The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid (Psalm 27:1).

Don’t miss what he’s saying here!

My salvation isn’t based on my merit or strength. The Lord IS my salvation; it’s all up to Him. Since this is the case, David has nothing to fear! And neither do we.

The New Testament parallel is seen where Paul informs the Corinthians that Christ has become for us our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

This truth is beyond amazing and sets our hearts free. Paul’s saying…

The requirement for our righteousness (right standing) = Jesus.

The requirement for our holiness = Jesus.

The requirement for our redemption (salvation) = Jesus.

In other words, The Lord Himself is the sole basis for our salvation!

This refrain is repeated throughout the Scriptures: “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16).

And how’s this for amazing: God’s mercy sealed the deal on our behalf before the foundation of the world.

Have you noticed that sometimes salvation is described as if it’s already happened? As if you’re already in heaven?

Here’s an example:

“By grace you have been saved—and (notice the tenses) He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… (Ephesians 2:3-6).

In some mysterious, already-happened-way, we are there with Him, which makes sense—if we are in Christ, and Christ is seated in heaven, then we are seated there with Him.

Even now. 

Salvation is a done deal,

And here it is again: “those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

Theologians call this “the already and not yet.”

In one sense, it’s already over and done with—glorified means perfected in heaven. This is the already.

And in the other sense, we’re told to work out your salvation with reverent fear (Philippians 2:12). This is “the not yet.” 

So.

We are told to work out today what’s already been accomplished a very long time ago. 

And God wants us to do that without fear and with great joy—which is why He makes it clear that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)!

One last thought.

I think it’s God’s love for us that makes the strongest case of all.

Let these words wash over you.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

God sounds very determined to rid us of all needless anxiety about the condition of our eternal souls.

If you’ve been born of His Spirit, He makes sure you “overcome the world” (1 John 5:4). 

The sovereign hand of God the Father started it.

The priceless sacrifice of God the Son accomplished it.

And the eternal seal of God the Spirit secured it.

So let’s just take the Son of God at His word, shall we?

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.