The Tough Question of the Week is: “Can a person lose their salvation?”
This is such a great question because so much is misunderstood about it. First of all the word lose is a misnomer. You can’t lose what Christ has given you. Salvation is eternal and can’t be lost along the way. No one can steal it from you or strip you of it. There is no religious figure on earth that has authority over your relationship with Jesus Christ. It is personal between you and Jesus.
So can someone walk away from their faith? That is probably a better question to ask and one that many people have argued over. If you are what they call a Calvinist your answer would be no. If you are an Armenian the answer would be yes. At Calvary Chapel we are somewhere in the middle of these two camps. We believe that Salvation is eternal and no one can take it away but we also believe that you can live in such a way that you no longer walk with Christ. Where is the line on that? Only God knows. I believe that God is long suffering with us and allows endless repentance.
The Bible is very clear that if a person believes in his heart and professes with his mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord then they shall be saved. I also think that people can turn their back on Christ. While they are allowed to come back at anytime those who once lived for Christ then entered into a life of sin and never repented of it are not guaranteed eternal life. The Bible is very clear that those who live like this shall not inherit the kingdom of God. That goes for both the saved and unsaved.
So while no one can lose their salvation people can walk away from it and pursue a life of sin. Many even verbally profess their rejection of Christ. This is sad and should drive us to our knees to pray for their return to Christ.
