What does it mean when we say that a believer can lose their salvation?

Can a believer lose their salvation?

●What Does It Mean When We Say That A New Testament Believer Can Lose Their Salvation?

●What Does It Mean When It Is Said That The Person Who Believes In Christ Will Receive Salvation?

●Is The Holy Spirit Received In The Same Manner In The New Testament As He Was Received (On-Resting) In The Old Testament?

●What Are The Bundle Of Benefits Received By The Person Who Believes The Gospel?

…You Decide

CHAPTER 4

What Does It Mean When We Say That A New Testament Believer Can Lose Their Salvation?

This is an interesting question. After much internet-based research on this topic, it appears that losing one’s salvation means the loss of a believer’s eternal destiny to go to heaven following physical death.

How can a believer lose their salvation? The research indicates that one’s salvation can be lost according to the perspective of some

1. Through willful disobedience.

2. When a believer turns completely to the dark side and decides he wants to worship Satan as a result of the wealth and power that Satan may be able to give him while he is still living down here on earth.

3. When a believer has decided to join and live in some type of organized crime, who gets into killing and murdering others for their own gain and profit.

4. When a believer gets into the heavier types of sins on a frequent basis with no intention of trying to pull out of them.

5. When a believer stops believing.

6. When a believer had participated in church activities, perhaps even seemed to be used of God – then dropped it all and walked away.

7. When a believer engaged in certain sins, or a certain amount of sin, or a certain amount of time in sin.

In the various articles that I read on this subject via the internet there was no mention of the Holy Spirit leaving a believer.

With that said what I would like you to read about next is, what does the word “salvation” really mean? If we receive it and then lose it, then what do we really lose?

CHAPTER 5

What Does It Mean When It Is Said That The Person Who Believes In Christ Will Receive Salvation?

What is Salvation?

Before we answer this question let us take a look at the various scriptures that talk about salvation.

In Acts 4:12 salvation refers to the work that the Messiah came to do, to seek and save that which was lost. Salvation denotes not only the deliverance of the soul from sin, but also freedom from all of the ills to which sin exposes man, and the attainment of that perfect peace and joy which will be bestowed on the children of God in the heavens.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Romans 1:16 tells us that the gospel of Christ is the good news that relates to the Messiah, to his character, advent, preaching, death, resurrection, and ascension. Those who believe in Him will be regenerated and given the legal right to become a child of God unto salvation along with complete deliverance from sin and death, and all the foes and dangers that beset man.

Romans 10:10 provides a further elaboration of this idea of believing in Christ.

A man or woman acknowledges Jesus as the Savior with their heart and devotes themselves to Him in order to obtain righteousness. Verbal confession is made openly in agreement with all that s cripture says about Him, and the result is that you are saved. This idea of believing and confessing can occur together in the sense that confession of Christ as to who He is and what he has done is based on believing what we are confessing.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Ephesians 1:13 talks about a person’s response to the gospel and the guarantee received.

After you heard the word of truth, the Gospel, which is the good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again; you acknowledged Him as your Savior and were sealed with the Holy Spirit, God’s gift who indicates you are now His. The bestowal of the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee (a down payment; a first installment; part payment) of much more to come, with the full delivery of all elements of the salvation promised.

Salvation has three components:

Justification—the removal of guilt and the penalty of sin, and the positive righteousness of Jesus Christ that is bestowed at the moment the sinner puts his faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior.
Sanctification—a progressive work of the Spirit in the life of the believer. It is a present possession in which He eliminates sin from the experience of the believer and produces His own fruit.
Glorification—the act of God transforming the present bodies of believers into perfect, sinless, deathless bodies. The believer has the first two now.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 provides for us a further glimpse of the meaning of salvation. God has not chosen us in order to condemn us and make us suffer at the last judgment, but to grant salvation (of one saved out of a general wreck, when all things else are lost) through what Christ has done, especially through his atoning death on the cross.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The last verse which we will look at is taken from 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

From eternity God has chosen you for salvation through belief in the truth of the gospel and sanctification by the Spirit’s power.

But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

In summary, salvation refers to:

a. The work that the Messiah came to do which is to seek and save that which is lost. (Acts 4:12)

b. The deliverance of the soul from sin. (Acts 4:12)

c. Freedom from all the ills to which sin exposes man29. (Acts 4:12)

d. The attainment of that perfect peace and joy which will be bestowed on the children of God in the heavens. (Acts 4:12)

e. Complete deliverance from sin and death, and all the foes and dangers that beset man. (Romans 1:16)

f. The result of believing and confessing all that the scripture says about Christ, which is that you are saved. (Romans 10:10)

g. One saved out of a general wreck, when all things else are lost through what Christ has done for us, especially by means of his atoning death on the cross. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

h. The bestowal of the Holy Spirit as a part payment in the salvation He gives the believing sinner guaranteeing the full delivery of all parts of the salvation given. (Ephesians 1:13)

One of the internet articles which I read entitled What is Salvation? describes salvation as the bundle of benefits received by the person who believes the Gospel and entrusts his or her life to Christ. What are these benefits? Before we take a look at them, the question that comes to mind is, is the Holy Spirit received in the same manner as he was received in the Old Testament?

CHAPTER 6

Is The Holy Spirit Received In The Same Manner (On-Resting) In The New Testament?

According to the scriptures, receiving the Holy Spirit results in His indwelling or living within the New Testament believer.

On the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and said with a loud voice that out of the belly of those who believed or had faith in Him would flow rivers of living water. Jesus was not saying that water would literally pour out of them, but He was referring to the Holy Spirit who satisfies the inner person and enables them to bear fruit.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:37-39)

On the day of Pentecost the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled when He came and filled all of the disciples who were assembled together at Jerusalem, who waited as Jesus had instructed them to.

And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. (Acts 1:4)

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1,4)

For those who have repented to God the Father and believed in Christ their body has become the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who resides within, and as a result they do not belong to themselves because they have been purchased with the blood of Christ.

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30)

…in Christ., In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed,… (Ephesians 1:12-14)

What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

As the Spirit restored Jesus to life from the dead (the resurrection), so He also gives life (spiritual resurrection) to each believer’s mortal body, which becomes the building (temple) in which He lives.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

It was customary during Biblical times for a person, who purchased goods. to mark with his seal that which he had bought. By doing so he could identify and claim it if mixed with the goods of others, and it is this custom to which the apostle may allude. The Holy Spirit is Himself the seal within us and in the symbolism of Scripture a seal signifies:

A finished transaction. (Jeremiah 32:9-10; John 17:4; 19:30)
Ownership. (Jeremiah 32:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:19)
Security. (Esther 8:8; Daniel 6:17; Ephesians 4:30)

To review, the Spirit is the guarantee of much more to come. Those who had tasted the Spirit had begun to taste the life of the future world that God had promised his people.

…Christ … in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1:12-13)

In summary, the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the New Testament saint refers to His dwelling within our mortal body, and not upon us (on-resting) as was the case in the Old Testament. At salvation we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and in the symbolism of Scripture that seal signifies a finished transaction, ownership, and security.

This brings us to an interesting question. Why I say this is because, as you will see there is a lot more the believer receives at salvation besides the indwelling Spirit, and if it’s true that they can lose their salvation, then their lose will be far greater than anyone could imagine.

What are the additional benefits that a believer receives at salvation besides the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?

CHAPTER 7

What Are The Bundle Of Benefits Received By The Person Who Believes The Gospel?

Have you ever wondered now that you have received the Holy Spirit what other benefits have been given to you as a result?

Well wonder no more, as you read below.

1. We are quickened by the Holy Spirit.

Paul addressed the believers at the Church of Ephesus to let them know that even when their souls were dead in sin, God the Father “quickened” them in association with repentance and belief in his Son. This quickening refers to their spiritual resurrection by means of the power of the Holy Spirit and the impartation of divine life, made possible byChrist’s resurrection from the dead.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Ephesians 2:4-5)

2. Our old man is crucified with Christ.

Our old man refers to the sinful and corrupt nature that has been crucified with Christ on the cross through our identification with Him. The body, which has belonged to or ruled by the power of sin, may now cease to be an instrument of sin and is no longer subject to its control.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:6)

3. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, the seal signifying:

a. A finished transaction (Jeremiah 32:9-10; John 17:4; 19:30)

b. Ownership (Jeremiah 32:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:19)

c. Security. (Esther 8:8; Daniel 6:17; Ephesians 4:30)

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1:13)

4. We are baptized into one body.

At conversion the Spirit enters the believing sinner, otherwise known as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. By the agency of the Holy Spirit, the Corinthian believers had all been suited individually with the endowments or gifts of the Spirit necessary for the body of Christ, the church.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)5.

5. We have been made an heir through God.

We are no longer to be treated as servants, being bound by the oppression of the Law, but as sons--members of God’s family. And because we are sons, then we are also heirs who possess God himself, partaking of His nature, and possessing every blessing to which we are entitled by Him.

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:6-7)

6. We are given eternal life.

God the Father has given us eternal life. The gift of eternal life is a person, Jesus Christ. We receive eternal life from Him, and in Him. It is a life, too which includes everything that appertains to it, the pardon of our sins, reconciliation with God, adoption into His family, and all those sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit which constitute the foretaste of this eternal life in the heart of the Christian.

And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (John 5:11)

7. We are seated together with Christ in heavenly places.

God the Father has raised us up from spiritual death to spiritual life—from a death to sin to a life of righteousness, being made alive and raised spiritually with Christ. He has also caused our spiritual position to be in heavenly places in Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father as our Head and Representative. We are admitted to exalted honors in virtue of our connection with Him. Even now our life and thoughts are raised to the heaven lies where He reign.

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6)

8. We are God’s handiwork

For we are God the Father’s workmanship (denotes a work of art or masterpiece; spiritual handiwork), being made a new spiritual creature in which there is a moral and spiritual renewal for good deeds, which God has prepared beforehand a path of good works that He will perform in and through us as we choose to walk by faith.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10)

9. We are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.

The Ephesians Gentile believers, having believed in Christ, were all incorporated with the believing Jews in the city. As fellow citizens, they were called to the enjoyment of equal privileges with the Christianized Jews. They were also members of the same family of God, being entitled to the same privileges, and regarded by Him as His children.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19)

10. We are complete in Him.

We are filled with Jesus, rooted as it were in Him by virtue of the intimate relationship entered into with Him by whom we are provided resources from which we may be filled, that nothing may be wanting to us.This completeness includes the furnishing of men with all that is required for their present and final salvation as individuals (i.e. richly furnished with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit), and for their collective perfection as forming the Church, the body of Christ.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10)

11. We are sanctified.

Jesus atoned for our sins, sanctifying us in Himself with both the Holy Spirit and God the Father, and He is not ashamed to speak of us as brothers.

… Jesus… For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren (Hebrews 2:9,11)

12. We are known by the Lord.

That which God has firmly founded is the church. The church stands permanently immoveable having a mark or impression, which has been made by a seal. The mark or impression serves to identify what is sealed, together with its owner, and to specify its purpose or function. We are marked by God so as to be recognized by Him as His; and this mark also serves as a perpetual reminder to them that they are not their own.

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)

13. We are reconciled to God the Father.
God’s love provided the means for mankind’s reconciliation to Himself. This reconciliation refers to a changed relationship between Him and a lost world. The means of reconciliation is Jesus Christ, who was given as a propitiation for our sins, which removed the rebellious and sinful man’s enmity toward God, thus satisfying His justice.

On the part of God, he (Jesus) has made it consistent for him to pardon. He has made atonement so that God can be just while he justifies the sinner. And on the part of man, He, by the agency of His Spirit, overcomes the unwillingness of the sinner to be reconciled, humbles his pride, shows him his sin, changes his heart, subdues his enmity against God, and secures in fact a harmony of feeling and purpose between God and man, so that they shall be reconciled forever.

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18)

14. We are translated into the kingdom of His Son.

God the Father rescues us from the dominion (the spiritual power by which mankind is held) of darkness and places us in the kingdom of his Son.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Colossians 1:13)

Those who hold that a believer in Christ can lose their salvation promote the idea that the commission of continual sin with no admission or acknowledgement to God, results in the departure of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the loss of the related benefits.

Those who hold that a believer in Christ cannot lose their salvation promote the idea that continual sin will not cause the indwelling Holy Spirit to depart along with the related benefits. God will chastise (discipline) the believer with the hope that he/she will admit or acknowledge their sin to Him and be restored to fellowship. A believer who commits continual sin will experience misery of soul and discipline from God. In the eyes of man he/she might appear to get away with his/her transgressions, but God is in control. He will do what He needs to do in the life of the habitually sinning believer on their behalf.

As I have proceeded along on my spiritual journey I have met many believers who advocate that a believer can lose their salvation. One person in particular stands out. He has had difficulties with drug addiction ever since I have known him. One day he will show up eager to hear the word and then he doesn’t show up again for a month. When he does return he confesses how he is back with God, having recovered his salvation. It is difficult to imagine a fellow believer, who is struggling with an addiction, thinking that God no longer loves him as his child. In a similar sense it is probably fair to say that if I were to believe that I can lose my salvation I would probably regard a fellow believer, who is engaged in continual sin, as being an unbeliever. If a believer were to lose their salvation they would: no longer be considered a new creature; no longer be seated with Christ in their identification with him in heavenly places; no longer be considered as an adopted son; no longer be owned by God; no longer have a new nature; no longer have the indwelling Spirit; no longer go to heaven at physical death.

I’m not supporting the idea as to whether a believer can lose their salvation or not, because that is not the intent of my writing on this topic, but I will leave you with a couple of questions to consider.

Did Jesus atoning sacrifice on the cross pay the debt owed to God the Father for all sin past, present, and future along with providing forgiveness (wipe away the record of the debt)?

Is sin still an issue in relation to the debt owed to God?

Follow this series: on-line at

Weekly Messages: https://www.blockislandtimes.com/affiliate/block-island-christian-fellowship/12074

Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/James-Rondinone-560602797425740/

Website: http://www.makingtheonerightchoice.com/