Have you ever stopped and wondered if your salvation is truly secured? Is it possible to
lose one’s salvation once the cleansing blood of Jesus has made them whole and the Lord has
added them to His church? These are just a couple of the questions that are asked universally by
individuals seeking to live in a right relationship with God and to attain heaven as their eternal
destination once life and time are ended. Also, this ideology may be recognized by the phrase
“Once Saved, Always Saved.” It is crucial for all of us to have a full understanding of what
salvation is and how it works.
First, it must be understood that salvation defined in the biblical sense is to be delivered
from sin. Jesus made this possible with his coming to earth and living a perfect life and dying on
the cross at Calvary, shedding His innocent blood to cover the debt that we could never pay. We
can read of the denial, trial(s), beating(s) and crucifixion of Jesus in all the synoptic Gospels
(Matthew-Luke) and additional details in the book of John. Jesus defeated death and the grave
when He arose on the third day and then 50 days later ascended to the Father on high (Acts 1).
Now that salvation has been defined, let us examine it in action. The most important thing
that one must realize is that eternal life is totally free if the will of the Lord is followed. One may
ask, “What must I do?”, to which the reply is the same as given by Peter on the day of Pentecost
in Acts 2:38. There Peter tells those present, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” One must hear the Bible taught and believe it
(Rom. 10:17), repent of past sins, confess Christ before men (Rom. 10:9) and then be baptized for
the forgiveness of sins.
So, does this mean that one is saved regardless of how they live their life until they die?
Well, the answer to this question can only be found in the Bible. Beginning in Matthew 7:21-23
Jesus says, “not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but He
who does the will of My Father which is in Heaven.” This passage shows that there are those who
will say they served Jesus but have missed the Christian life altogether. Living faithfully is more
than just saying that Jesus has been accepted into one’s heart as Savior. In James 2:14-26 the
emphasis is made by James that faith alone is not acceptable, but rather faith must be accompanied
by works. James 2:26 finishes the passage off perfectly with James saying, “For as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
A better appreciation of one being secure in their salvation is seen in Acts 8:14-24. Simon
the Sorcerer had obeyed the Gospel, fallen back into the paths of sin, but his erroneous ways
were exposed to him by Peter. It was at this point that Simon repented of his sin and prayed to
God for forgiveness, along with those present praying for his spiritual recovery. Now, turning
over to Hebrews 6:4-12, it is seen that it is possible for those who have once put Christ on in
baptism to turn away from the Lord and crucify Him again and put Him to an open shame. Yet, it
is still possible for one who has fallen into a sinful pattern to come back to the Lord and make
themselves right again, though this passage in Hebrews says such a return may not be possible.
The biblical conclusion for life is this, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of
life (Rev. 2:10b).”
– by Jonathan Bennett
