Foundational Doctrines: Apostasy, Salvation's Exit Point

Many Christian denominations today hold to various tenants of Calvinistic doctrine. One of these doctrines is the idea of “the impossibility of apostasy.” This dogma teaches that once a person has been truly saved, there is nothing that they can do to lose their salvation. Many Biblical passages refute this idea, demonstrating the possibility of a true believer falling away. And yet, Scripture also teaches that disciples can have confidence in their salvation and assurance of salvation. Christians should not live in doubt of their salvation. However, there are many warnings in the Bible against our choosing to rebel against God and reject him again. Here we examine the clear teachings of Scripture about apostasy—salvation’s exit point.

1. Once God saves you, no one can take your salvation away. God’s intention is that once you are saved, you will always be saved. Jesus makes clear that no one can “snatch” you out of His hand once you have been saved (John 10:28). Even Satan’s hellish forces cannot overpower God’s gathered people (Matt. 16:18). Those that “draw near” to God will be “completely saved” (Heb. 7:25). By his power, God guards the salvation entrusted to the baptized believer until the final day (2 Tim. 1:12). The presence of the Holy Spirit within the Christian is a “guarantee” of his/her future salvation (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5). For example, children make lots of mistakes but that does not mean their fathers reject them. Fathers love their children despite their mistakes. God’s grace keeps his children safe (and saved) as long as they remain in his house (in real relationship with Him).

2. Occasional sin does not mean that you have lost your salvation. The Apostle John wrote a letter to Christians to show that we can “know we have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). True disciples are those who have “fellowship” with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). Living for God we often sin and must acknowledge this fact (1 John 1:8). This does not mean that a disciple has lost his salvation. The blood of Jesus continually cleanses true disciples from their sin—keeping them saved (1 John 1:7). Of course this does not mean that we have a license to freely sin (Rom. 6:1-4).

3. It is possible to be genuinely saved but choose to reject God and become lost again. A child of God can choose to leave the Father’s house and return to a life of rebellion, “walking in darkness” (1 John 1:6). If we leave the lifestyle of true discipleship to return to a lifestyle of sin, our fellowship with God becomes severed (1 John 1:6). If you return to a lifestyle of sin, this grieves the Holy Spirit inside of you (Eph. 4:30), eventually causing God’s Holy Spirit to leave your life (cf. Psalm 51:11). One can be truly saved, having “tasted the heavenly gift, and having shared the Holy Spirit,” and then fall away (Heb. 6:4-6). A Christian can “wander from the truth” and lose his soul (James 5:19-20). The Hebrew writer warns true Christians, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Heb. 3:12). If you return to a lifestyle of deliberate sin, you have forfeited the sacrifice made for your sin (Heb. 10:26-27). Also, if you stop trusting in Jesus and start trusting in your own goodness to save you, you “fall from grace” (Gal. 5:1-4). Your works cannot save you (Eph. 2:8-9).

Peter writes of a person who once “escaped the defilements of the world” (saved from their sins) but then becomes entangled in them again, “the last state has become worse for them than the first” (2 Peter 2:20-22). You can choose to walk away and exit your salvation. But if you are saved, you will always be saved if you continue in fellowship with God, standing under the protection of his grace (Rom. 5:2).