Once Saved Always Saved: The Pitfalls

I generally lean hard on the fact that Christians are now under grace and not under the law. My wife and I both are generally frustrated when we hear a pastor or evangelist that is so works-based in their presentation of the Gospel that he convinces every saint of God in the room that they are a heathen on their way to hell.

So, that’s the last thing I want to do here. However, some issues remain.

If you have grown up attending a Southern Baptist church or quite a few others types of churches you may be very accustomed to hearing the phrase “once saved always saved.”

Growing up in a Baptist church, I was well aware of the term. I also understand that many of you that may have come from similar backgrounds are almost gasping that I would give a title a post as I have this one.

On the other hand, there are Christian friends of mine who came up in a different denominational environment and might be thinking, “he finally gets it!”

But before you make a judgment here, read on.

Is It a Sound Doctrine?

This is not a post where I will announce that I have changed my mind about the doctrine of eternal security. I haven’t. You won’t hear me saying that true Christians can lose their salvation.

I don’t believe they can. Also, this is not a post where I’m trying to change the mind of some Christian brothers and sisters who do not believe the same as I do about this doctrine.

Also, it’s not the purpose here to have Christians worry about and doubt their relationship with God. There are enough legalists out there who do that already. I’m just trying to land on safe ground here.

Here is the purpose of this post if you want to skip the remainder of it. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Our spirits are regenerated when we repent of our sins and place our faith in Christ. It is not because of our good works.

However, to that end, many people are encouraged to say a simple prayer (which may be a very good prayer in itself), but they do so in a repeat-after-me manner.

Then, it seems that a decent percentage of those people live their lives and do not exhibit traits or behaviors that would convince anyone that they are Christian believers. But, they repeated a prayer that may have been given to them 25 years ago and they hang their eternal souls on that moment in time even though it may seem that no change in their life has occurred.

And because of the misappropriation of the doctrine of “once saved always saved” they have no concern about their eternal future.

So, in those cases, we can either

a. Doubt the doctrine of eternal security is true.

b. Have a concern that the person may have never truly experienced regeneration in the first place

I fall into the second camp.

I’m speaking primarily to those who believe in eternal security, “once saved always saved” and to challenge us to use the term in a spiritually responsible way.

This is not a doctrinal thesis. If you’re not a believer in eternal security, this post is not a big attempt to persuade you. There is plenty of writings online for that.

I believe that a Christian’s eternal security is a glorious part of our life in Christ in which we should rejoice. So, why would I put the word “pitfalls” in the title of this post?

The “pitfalls” are not in the doctrine, but in how we handle it, how we use it, and how we communicate it.

Defining Some Terms

First of all, not everyone, even some Christians, knows what those terms mean anyway.

Let’s begin with the word “saved.” What does that mean? What is a saved person as the Bible teaches? Is it someone who just goes to church, behaves morally, gets baptized, dunked, sprinkled, poured, or goes through some type of Christian training? No. It’s much more than that.

The word and concept come from God-inspired texts preserved for us in a 66-book sacred library that is called the Bible.

Here is a look at a few passages from God’s word that use the word “saved.”

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”

Ephesians 2:8

“for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:13

“They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

Acts 2:46-47

Defining the Term

In general, in the Bible, we find that the word “saved” means deliverance. In our context, it is the deliverance from our sins and from a dead spirit to a life of forgiveness and freedom in Christ. We receive salvation, we are “regenerated.”

Being “saved” happens to be one of quite a few terms that various Christian individuals and denominations use to mean basically the same thing. Some Christians may say – I’m a believer, I’m born-again, I’m a Christ follower, I accept Jesus as my Savior, I received Christ into my life/heart, I have accepted Christ as my Savior, I’m a saved person, or simply – I have become a Christian.

If defined correctly, none of those terms are necessarily incorrect. However, they can be confusing to those outside of the faith.

I like this definition of a Christian from a well-known pastor:

“To wholeheartedly and exclusively trust in the person and the claims of Jesus Christ, activating a new birth that results in a lifestyle that mirrors His values, teaching, and ways so that others may see and know Him.”

Pastor Louie Giglio

The Big Question: Eternally Secure?

Since the days of the early church, there have been those who debated the nature of this transformation. For our purposes here, the big question is-

If I have truly repented of my sin and have a life-changed encounter with Christ, thereby becoming a Christian, can I ever lose that?

Okay- that’s a substantial question. It’s a question that screams for an answer.

SO – WHAT’S THE “DANGER” IN THE DOCTRINE?

Well, if I’m stating that a true Christian is eternally secure in their relationship with Christ, then why in the world would I use the word “danger” in the title of this post? Clickbait maybe??

I’m glad you asked.

One More Controversy

But, I’m going to have to bring up another “controversial” topic among conservative evangelicals for the last few years -“The Sinner’s Prayer.” This is a common prayer used in evangelism by someone who is trying to lead a non-Christian to faith in Christ. They might have the person repeat after them and, normally, it will go something like this:

“Dear Lord, I believe and confess that I am a sinner. With my whole heart, I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and that You rose from the dead. I turn away (or repent) from my sins and I ask for Your forgiveness. I ask You to come into my heart and life. Right now I put my trust in You and choose to follow You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.“

Would Jesus reject someone who sincerely prayed that prayer surrendering their life to Him? Nope, I don’t think so.

For many pastors who are a part of the “Anti-Sinner’s Prayer Movement,” their primary complaint is that this type of “repeat after me” prayer has been widely misused in evangelism/reaching others for Christ Jesus.

They observe people being pressured or manipulated to repeat the Sinner’s Prayer which they say results in untold numbers of people who repeat those words without meaning them or even comprehending what they were saying.

Therefore, they would argue, that a person can walk away from the experience of repeating that prayer, and their heart and life remain unchanged.

So, with that in mind, I can totally agree that we should proceed with caution when we use any repeat-after-me prayer as a part of evangelism.

However, I’m not willing to say what Calvinistic Pastor, Paul Washer, has stated: “That sinner’s prayer has sent more people to hell than anything on the face of the earth.”

Not so sure about that one…

The Prayer is Not The Problem

If you take a look at the content of what most would call a prayer of salvation or a sinner’s prayer the content is not the problem. It is the misuse, pressuring, or manipulating someone to say words that they may not have the desire to say.

However, I think many people have become Christians through some form of a Sinner’s Prayer. It can be helpful in giving them an example of what to say. Sometimes people are convicted of their sins and want to trust Jesus as their Savior, but they don’t really know what or how to pray.

We may need to be careful in how we use the sinner’s prayer. But, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater and totally abolish it.

Similarly “Once Saved Always Saved” Is Not the Problem

I use that illustration about the sinner’s prayer, because, just as we can misuse a prayer that is not actually a bad prayer, then we can also misuse a doctrine that is also not a bad doctrine.

And – if the doctrine of eternal security is from God, then it certainly can’t be the problem.

The danger lies in the misuse of the doctrine. Here’s how.

Have you ever known a man or woman who has never shown any indication that they might be a Christian? Maybe they even display ungodliness or immorality. Perhaps they haven’t tried to have a relationship with God in decades or have any desire for the things of God.

However, if you start talking to them about their belief in God, they point to a time when they said they received Christ when they were a child. And, as a part of their church tradition, they remember that phrase from childhood – “once saved always saved.” So, in their eyes- they’re in good shape – on their way to heaven. No worries?

Or, maybe you’re reading this and you haven’t really lived a Christian lifestyle, but 20 years ago you repeated a prayer at Bible School or some type of revival service. Was that prayer something that you meant? Did you really enter into a personal relationship with Christ?

And, in spite of you not being obedient to God in a couple of decades or so, you’re sure of your relationship with Christ and your eternal destination because of the teaching of “once saved always saved?”

There is the pitfall. While some of you reading this may think the doctrine in itself is the pitfall, I believe that the problem is in the misapplication and/or miscommunication of the doctrine.

Is that not a problem for us?

Salvation and the gift of eternal life are by grace alone and not by our good works or deeds. But, what if any of us say we truly repented of our sins and trusted Jesus but we live no differently from non-Christians? Shouldn’t we, at least, be compelled to ask the question – “was our conversion real?”

That’s not to scare anyone, because if it wasn’t you can fix it right now!

Uncomfortable Conversation

Yes, it is an uncomfortable conversation.

What if millions and millions of people who have lived apart from God for most of their lives are hanging onto, and eventually facing death somewhat confidently because of the truth that Christians are eternally secure? But, those people have never been Christians, to begin with.

I’m not God. I’m not the judge.

Family members do this to each other. Cousin Joe maybe hasn’t been to church in 35 years and hasn’t had a real conversation with God since the 80s. But if someone brings up a conversation about death – “Oh, I’m good. I got saved when I was 10. You can’t lose that.”

No. You can’t lose it…. if you had it. The question is whether or not you had it to start with. Or, did you just repeat a prayer or get emotional with some teenagers at a camp one time and you never had a life change?

Assurance of Salvation

Many people use the premise of eternal security as an assurance of their salvation. “I prayed the sinner’s prayer when I was young and the Bible says I’m saved forever.”

I was taught that when you pray to receive Christ, write it down. Write down the date so you can look back and remember and know that was the time you asked Jesus to save you. That can give you assurance of your relationship with Him.

Okay, that’s fine. I think that’s a good thing to do. However, what if a better way to have the assurance that you belong to Christ is what is going on in your life right now? Positively or negatively. Is God really working in your life? Are you seeing the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, etc.?

On the other hand, if you are struggling with your faith – having doubts, not being faithful like you should, not being as obedient to God’s word as you should – does that bother you? Are you convicted of that? Or, can you just go on and disobey God, and not even have a nudge from the Holy Spirit?

Likewise, if you have strayed away from Christianity, but in your heart of hearts you are drawn back to Jesus, then that may be evidence that you are truly a child of God. Maybe you have lost your focus on Jesus, the scripture, your salvation, and the fact that He made you a new creature.

True Christians Can Have Seasons of Spiritually Regression

As believers, we can find the wonderful doctrine of eternal security to be extremely comforting when we go through times when our faith is weak, or we face a crisis of faith where we may not be as faithful to God as we had been.

Or perhaps we fall into a season where we are not pursuing God as we should be. We may fall into acts of sinfulness, but we can tell in the deep recesses of our hearts that the Holy Spirit is calling us to repentance.

Saved people can fall into sin. It happens quite often. However, God’s Holy Spirit does not leave us. His voice is still speaking although we may try not to listen when we are in a state of spiritual regression.

“My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand.

John 10: 27-28 (HCSB)

We are Sealed With His Holy Spirit

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,”

Ephesians 1:13

“And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own[a] by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

Ephesians 1:13-14

Bottom line

Just make sure. If you haven’t had any spiritual formation or activity in your life for years and years, don’t simply depend on what was perhaps just an emotional experience or peer pressure to get you to repeat a prayer years ago.

Maybe you meant it. Maybe it was real. But, with what’s at stake, why take a chance? Turn to Jesus now – believe, repent and receive His sacrifice for your sins. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and live the Christ life that your perfect Heavenly Father wants.

He loves us so much.