Why's it Important?

Here are some reasons why the issue of whether a Christian can lose their salvation or not is so important.

1. False doctrine

We have seen that many Bible verses teach that saved people can lose their salvation by falling away back into sin or not persevering in the Lord. That means that teachings which deny this possibility are false. The Bible warns very strongly against accepting or teaching false doctrines, even saying they will cause loss of salvation.

Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 2 Timothy 2:17-18 (NIV)

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 2 Peter 2:1-3 (ESV)

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV)

The above verses aren't necessarily talking about this specific wrong teaching, but they make a point. We can learn from them.

2. Weakened personal stance against sin

A believer can be led away from God and into sin by this teaching. If it is possible for a person to be saved despite unrepentant sinning, perhaps just so long as they aren't habitual about it, what reason would they have for becoming free of occasional sin?

This is a genuine question which somebody struggling with sin might consider. It can be tempting to use it as an excuse for continuing in sin, particularly when the sin is a very tough one to beat, when it's a real trap you're in and you feel helpless about how to get out of it. "If I indulge just once a week, then it's ok." If someone in this situation doesn't believe it really matters in their salvation if they just do it infrequently, they have lost a major reason for repenting. But the Bible says such a person is heading towards Hell.

Additionally, how easy would it be for this to spread to feeling secure in any amount of sins? Sin can be enjoyable and hard to get free of. We are also surrounded by a world that loves to indulge in it and doesn't care about turning to righteousness. So why bother repenting, eternally speaking, if you are going to Heaven anyway?

3. Weakened church stance against sin

This teaching weakens the church's stance against sin and towards repentance and freedom. If we are correct in thinking that many churches do teach this false doctrine, doesn't it seem likely to contribute to less emphasis on holiness overall? It often seems as though most popular Christian writers believe this wrong teaching.

4. We need to tell people

If this false teaching is widespread, as we are led to understand, then we should tell people about how it is wrong. Warning people about sin and error is part of being a Christian. It doesn't mean we are being mean or divisive, it means we are trying to warn people about a deadly problem.

5. Where's the doctrine from?

Where does the teaching that sin can't affect a Christian's salvation come from? The Bible doesn't seem to teach it. It does teach that believers in Christ have spiritual security. However, it also very frequently shows that this security is for those who stay in Christ. It isn't for those who fall away.

Even Bible verses which focus on the security rather than the need for perseverance don't somehow invalidate the aforementioned teachings. Many passages clearly warn believers about the spiritual danger of being away from God. We should use all of the Bible for our understanding, and be careful not to use things inappropriately out of context or in isolation.

We know of no verse which says in effect, "a Christian can murder unrepentantly and still go to Heaven". We do know of verses which say in effect, "anybody who murders unrepentantly won't go to Heaven".

6. But simply

God says we have to teach the truth, so therefore let's try to do so.

You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Titus 2:1 (NIV)

Summing up

The Bible teaches that sin can make you unsaved, whether or not you were previously saved. Sinful believers have to repent and return to the Lord if they are expecting salvation, just as any sinful rejecter of the Lord must. This is greatly in harmony with what the Bible says about repentance. The Christian must live a life of holiness. It isn't just habitual sin we have to watch out for. We can't be saved by our holiness, and we can't be perfectly holy on Earth. But we can reject our sins and become free from them through Jesus, and live a life of repentance in Him. If we don't, then we don't have saving faith.

Note

We haven't really labelled doctrines in this article. That is a matter of personal preference more than anything, but perhaps it will help prevent people getting turned off or offended. We also don't know enough about the background or theology of the differing terms to pretend we would really know what we were talking about.

However, for the sake of completeness, the teaching that a saved person cannot lose their salvation is sometimes known as unconditional security, once saved always saved, the perseverance of the saints, or a Calvinistic viewpoint. There may be differences between these terms, but for our purposes we understand them to be reasonably equivalent with one another. The belief that a saved person can lose their salvation is sometimes referred to as conditional security or an Arminian or Wesleyan viewpoint.

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