Is it possible for true believers to fall away from Salvation?

-by Jon Irenicus

I would like to dedicate this particular article to my Christian brother, Opteron (not his real name), an Arminian (I guess so) who is confused regarding my stand about Eternal Security. If ever you are reading this, please take your time absorbing the points I have given in this article. Opteron, this one's for you.
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Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, not by works. The Bible is clear that we can do nothing to save ourselves (Mat 5:48; Rom 3:9-12, 23; Eph 2:8-9; San 2:10). Salvation is made possible by Christ's own merit and death on the cross alone (Rom 5:8; Gal 4:4). This gift is offered to everyone and its benefit will be enjoyed only by those who believe (Jn 3:15-18).

The moment we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, we are saved and we can know it and be assured about it (Jn 5:24, 6:47; 1 Jn 5:13). This doctrine of salvation by faith is agreed by both the camps of Arminianism and Calvinism. But the question we will going to deal with here is whether we can still lose this salvation or not. Are we eternally secure? Would God take away our salvation if we sin? Is it possible to be onced saved, then unsaved later on, then be saved again? Can true believers commit apostasy? If that would be the case, then do we have real assurance?

(Before we proceed, please take note that the position I will establish is not against the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. I'm a 5-pointer Calvinist. Presumably, you may find my statements to be self-contradicting and confusing, and for that reason I will suggest you reading this whole article ( i mean "WHOLE") with deep comprehension to avoid that troublesome assumption.)

Truth #1: Genuine believers could fall away from salvation
(If our salvation is eternally secure, why does the Bible warn so strongly against apostasy?)

Throughout the Bible, we read many passages that warn Christians about the spiritual danger of apostatizing (eg, Heb 10:38). Logically, why would God give us warning about falling away if in the first place it is impossible for us to actually fall away? Therefore, IT IS possible for us to lose our salvation. A good example of a biblical verse that says apostasy of the Christian is possible is seen in Hebrews 6:4-6,

• For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. Hebrews 6:4-6 (KJV)

Examine the description stated in Hebrews 6:4-6: the description is apparently of genuinely saved persons who abandon the faith and thus lose their salvation. Because of the complexity of the issue and the material in the passage, however, a number of interpretations have grown up:*

1. The writer has in mind genuinely saved persons who lose their salvation. It should be noted that once they have lost their salvation, there is no way they can regain it. The one item that is unequivocal in this passage is that it is impossible to renew them to salvation (v.4a), a point which many Arminians ignore.*
2. The persons in view were never regenerate. They merely tasted of the truth and the life, were but exposed to the word of God; they did not fully experience these heavenly gifts. They do in fact apostasize, but from the vicinity of spiritual truth, not from its center.*
3. The People in view are genuinely and permanently saved; they are not lost. Their salvation is real, the apostasy hypothetical. That is, the "if"-clause does not really occur. The writer is merely describing what would be the case if the elect were to fall away (an impossibility).*

Upon close examination, the second explanation is difficult to accept. The vividness of the description, and particularly the statement "[Those who] have become sharers of the Holy Spirit," argues forcefully against denying that the people in view are (at least for a time) regenerate. The choice must therefore be made between the first and third views.*

Truth #2: Genuine believers will not fall away from salvation

Part of the difficulty in interpretation regarding Hebrews 6:4-6 stems from the ambiguity of the word translated "if they then commit apostasy" or "if they fall away." The word is παραπεσόντας, which is an adverbial participle. As such, it can be rendered in many different ways. H.E. Dana and Julius Mantey list ten possible usages of the adverbial participle; it can, for example, denote cause, time, concession, and significant for our purposes here, condition. Thus one legitimate translation of παραπεσόντας would be "if they fall away," but it could also be rendered in several other ways, including "when they fall away" and "because they fall away."*

The meaning in cases like this must be determined on the basis of the context. The key element in the present context is found in verse 9:*

• But, my loved ones, though we say this, we are certain that you have better things in you, things which go with salvation; Heb 6:9 (BBE)

This verse might be understood as implying that the people described in verses 4-6, unlike the people to whom Hebrews is addressed, were not really saved. We have seen however that there is a major difficulty with this interpretation. The other possibility is that the referents in verses 4-6 are the same. They are genuinely saved people who could fall away. Verses 4-6 declare what their status would be if they did. Verse 9, however, is a statement that they will not fall away. They could, but they will not! Their persistence to the end is evidence of that truth.*

The writer to the Hebrews knows that his readers will not fall away; he is convinced of better things regarding them, the things that accompany salvation. He speaks of their past work and love (v. 10), and exhorts them to continue earnestly in the same pursuits (v.11). The full data of the passage would seem to indicate, then, that the writer has in view genuine believers who could possibly fall away, but will not.*

Another strong Biblical passage that supports the idea that genuine believers will not fall away is in John 10:28-29. Jesus' words in John 10:28-29 constitute a powerful declaration of security. Verse 28 is especially emphatic:

• And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Joh 10:28 (KJV)

John uses the double negative οὐ μὴ with the aorist subjunctive, which is a very emphatic way of declaring that something will not happen in the future. Jesus is categorically excluding the slightest chance of an apostasy by his sheep. A literal translation would be something like, "The shall not, repeat, shall not ever perish in the slightest." This assertion is followed by statements that no one can snatch believers out of Jesus' hand or out of the Father's hand (vv. 28-29). All in all, this passage is as definite a declaration that genuine believers will not fall away from their salvation as the Good Shepherd himself had promised to protect God's flock ("they shall never perish" v.28).*

Truth #1 & Truth #2, Reconciled and Combined: Solution to the seeming contradiction

We are now able to correlate John 10 and Hebrews 6. While Hebrews 6:4-6 indicate that genuine believers can fall away, John 10:28-29 and Hebrews 6:9 teach that they will not. There is a logical possibility of apostasy, but it will not come to pass in the case of believers. Altough they could abandon their faith and consequently come to the fate described in Hebrews 6:4-6, the Sovereign Grace of God prevents them from apostasizing, God does this, not by making it impossible for believers to fall away, but by making it certain that they will not.*

Our emphasis in can and will not is not inconsequential. It preserves the freedom of the individual. Believers are capable of repudiating their faith, but will freely choose not to by God's sovereign Grace. Many Biblical verses may prove that God preserves His saints. Here are some of them:

• He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails; 1 Sam 2:9 (NIV)

• Thou art my hiding-place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble; Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. Psa 32:7 (ASV)

• Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Psa 97:10 (KJVA)

• The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. Psa 121:7 (KJVA)

At this point, some may argue that these verses are true, but in the Old Covenant system only (since in the first place, it is written in the Old Testament). This argument logically implies that in the Old Covenant of Laws, saints are eternally secure, but not in the New Covenant of Grace. Does this argument make any sense? I don't think so! God preserves not only the OT saints, but all saints in all ages. In fact, eternal security is even mentioned when the LORD prophesied the giving of the New Covenant long before it was established by Christ:

• I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. Jer 32:40 (NIV)

As for sure, this truth is consistently affirmed by New Testament writers. Paul the Apostle made clear statements declaring the truth that God preserves his saints until the end:

• He will keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 1:8 (ISV)

• Now the one who makes us--and you as well--secure in union with Christ and has anointed us is God, who has placed his seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. 1 Cor 1:21-22 (ISV)
  

Salvation is of God (Jonah 2:9). What God has begun, he will finally accomplish as job-well-done. He does not merely attempt to save his people, but he also bring into completion what he has already initiated for their salvation. This truth is simply irrefutable:

• being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Php 1:6 (NIV)

• ...because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2Ti 1:12 (NIV)

• The Lord will always keep me from being harmed by evil, and he will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. Praise him forever and ever! Amen. 2 Tim 4:18 (CEV)

• Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to give you a place in his glory, free from all evil, with great joy, Jude 24 (BBE)

[See also: 2 Cor 1:21-22; Eph 1:11-14, 4:30; Col 3:2-4; 1 Thes 5:23; 2 Thes 3:3-5; Heb 7:25; Heb 10:14, 36-39, 12:2; 1 Pet 1:4-5; 1 Jn 3:6, 5:4, 18; Jude 1:1; Rom 8:33-39]

At this point someone might ask: If salvation is sure and permanent, what is the point of the warnings and commands given to the believer? The answer is that they are the means by which God renders it certain that the saved individual will not fall away.*

"A genuine believer can fall away, but he will not." - Dr. Millard J. Erickson

Consider as an analogy the case of parents who fear that their young child may run into the street and be struck by a car. One way the parents can prevent that from happening is to build a fence around the yard. That would prevent the child from leaving the yard, but would also remove the child's freedom. Try as he or she might, the child could not possibly get out of the yard. That is the idea some persons have of what perseverance is. Another possibility is for the parents to teach and train the child regarding he danger of going into the street and the importance of being careful. This is the nature of the security we are discussing.*

• God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn't correct you, then you don't really belong to him... Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. Hebrews 12:8, 10 (CEV)

It is not that God renders apostasy impossible by removing the very option. Rather, he uses every possible means of grace, including the warnings contained in the Scripture, to motivate us to remain committed to him. God works in our lives externally (through the Scriptures, sermons, circumstances, etc), and internally (Holy Spirit's conviction). Let us read Philippians 2:13,

• For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him. Phil 2:13 (ISV)

We must not think, however, that God forces us to obey him. Rather, he uses all possible means of Grace to make our will work in concert with His own will. He works in all things for us to be eventually willing to abide in His love until the end. As the 14th article of the Canons of Dorts states:

And, just as it has pleased God to begin this work of grace in us by the proclamation of the gospel, so he preserves, continues, and completes his work by the hearing and reading of the gospel, by meditation on it, by its exhortations, threats, and promises, and also by the use of the sacraments. [Article 14: God's use of Means in Perseverance]

Nothing can separate us from God. Paul is sure enough to conclude that nothing in all creation can separate us, the elected ones, from God. It was plainly written by the the Apostle himself,

• If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God's right side, speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? It is exactly as the Scriptures say, "For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered." In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love--not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! Romans 8:33-39 (CEV)

Paul asked, "can anything separate us from the love of Christ?" (v. 35). This is question is rhetorical, and the obvious immediate answer would be "nothing!" God would not put us to a test beyond what we can bear (1 Cor 10:13), and according to the Apostle, it is Christ who brings us victory to win every battle (spiritual warfare) that we struggle in our everyday Christian life (v. 37)! Therefore, nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord (please note that man's will is also a creation of God!).

Let it be observed . . . [that] that true doctrine is not that salvation is certain if we have once believed, but that perseverance in holiness is certain if we have truly believed. [A.A. Hodge from The Confession of Faith (A Commentary on the Westminster Confession)]

Most moderate-Calvinistic Baptists today hold a different view of Perseverance of the Saints. This view is now widely known as "Once saved, always safe." In a sense this statement is true; however, it is the underlying concept which constructs the modern view of Eternal Security (or OSAS) that I am concerned with. Is there any problem with that "Once saved, always safe" thing? There is!

This unbiblical model of Eternal Security asserts that once you are saved, you are still saved even though you continue to live a morally indecent life. In addition to that, it may at some point reject the idea and necessity of perseverance whereas the Bible teaches every Christians to stand firm in their faith. This a VERY dangerous concept of security. Observe this statement from an article posted in a somewhat apologetic website (or may I call it, a "HATE SITE"), written by a certain Fundamental Baptist apologist named David J. Stewart:

Although I DO agree that a believer can never lose their salvation, NO matter what depth of sin they choose to go into, I do NOT accept the unbiblical heresy by Calvin that we should "persevere" to the end to be saved. . . . The very fact that Calvinism requires a saint to "persevere" to the end is damnable heresy. Eternal security is the preservation of the saints, NOT the perseverance of the saints. To "persevere" is works salvation. . ." ~David J. Stewart
(Source: www.jesus-is-savior.com)

He just declared that the doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints is a DAMNABLE heresy without even consulting his Bible. The Word of God directly exhorts every Christians to PERSEVERE in their faith:

• YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Heb 10:36 (NIV)

This is not some sort of works salvation for perseverance is done by faith, not by works. We do not work in order to persevere therein to the end, but instead we hold on to our faith in Christ who gave his life for our sake. The "will of God" in the passage above refers to our persevering in our faith---it does not pertain to any works or good deeds.

Even as faith is a gift from God, then so as perseverance, which is an outcome of genuine faith. God, therefore, preserves us by his Sovereign Grace so that we may persevere in faith to the very end. He is the author and the finisher of our faith.

The Reformed theology does not, and will never promote the dangerous idea that believers may live a willingly sinful and indecent life and yet remain saved as what other false preachers teach today. R.L. Dabney explained this further,

We do not teach that any man is entitled to believe that he is justified, and therefore shall not come again in condemnation on the proposition "once in grace always in grace,' although he be now living in intentional, willful sin. This falsehood of Satan we abhor. We say, the fact that this deluded man can live in willful sin is the strongest possible proof that he never was justified, and never had any grace to fall from. And, once for all, no intelligent believer can possibly abuse this doctrine into a pretext for carnal security. It promises to true believers a perseverance in holiness. Who, except an idiot, could in infer from that promise the privilege to be unholy? [R.L Dabney, The Five Points of Calvinism, Part V]

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