I can think of few things that are more important than salvation. Because of this, we must make sure that its teaching is accurate and biblical. A false representation of salvation can leave many on the road to hell while thinking they are headed to heaven. It's imperative that our beliefs about salvation line up with the word of God.

After the hearing and acknowledgment of the Gospel, you must confess your sinful state and accept Jesus as both your Lord and Savior. You are essentially admitting that nothing you can do as a sinner will satisfy God and that you accept Jesus as your substitute. You prove your acceptance by living the rest of your life according to His statutes. This is important. You can't merely say it, you must mean what you say. It's actually coming to a place in your life where you know that you are a filthy rag in God's sight.

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. -Isaiah 64:6

You must realize that the only way you can be clean is through the blood of Jesus.

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. -1 John 1:7

True salvation causes you to no longer live according to your plans, but to constantly live according to God's.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. -2 Timothy 2:15

It's to do these things from the heart.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.-Romans 10:9

False: Believing in Jesus saves us.

Nothing man can do can save him apart from totally surrendering his life to Christ. To not just believe in Him, but to believe on Him.

What is believing in?

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Believing in, is believing that something exists and that it can do what it's designed to do. Hence, if I was on a sinking ship and I see a life boat, I may believe in it. I may believe that it can carry me to safety but this belief alone does not save me. Notice the wording in scripture. It says should not perish, not will not perish. If I believe that the boat will carry me then I should get on it.

What is believing on?

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18

Believing on something is to put all your trust and hope on what you believe. Not to stand on your own power but to stand on the power and promise of that which I believe. So then, a man that believes on a life boat will climb on it. He will believe on it. Notice again in scripture that those who believe on Christ are not condemned not should not be condemned. The last part of the verse simply points out the obvious. You can believe on something if you don't believe in it first.

A man who believes on Christ will climb on His plan of salvation knowing that it's sufficient to save him. Part of that plan is obedience. Christ says to you in the midst of a burning building, "There is a hole in the wall on your right. Outside there is a rope that is strong enough to support you. Grab it and you shall be saved,"

If you believe in Christ, you will believe that the rope is outside and that it is strong enough. However, if you do not act on your faith, you shall surely perish in the fire. Faith that compels us to act upon God's promise is called saving faith. Saving faith is a faith that believes on Christ. Notice here that Jesus did it all, He furnished the rope, the hole, and pointed the way. It's up to us to grab hold of the promise, to stand on His salvation, to believe on Him and not just in Him. (Spiritually, all the grabbing and standing we do are internal and not physical acts of faith).

True....& False: Once Saved -Always Saved.

A lot of people teach and believe in assured salvation or what some call “once saved -always saved.” This is the teaching that once we become a believer in Christ we can never lose our salvation. Others teach that man cannot be assured of salvation until he crosses the pearly gates, that during the course of his life, he can indeed lose his salvation.

Both are true.

It's true that a saved man's name is already written in the book of life but it's also true that he won't know this before the judgment. If I had to choose, I would categorize assured salvation as a false teaching because when most people say it, they mean we are saved no matter what we do after our verbal confession of Christ. This is totally false. From man's point of view, assured salvation is a false teaching. It's true that truly saved people are eternally saved, but only God knows who are truly saved.

The argument against Assured Salvation.

There are many biblical scriptures that seem to give validity to both sides of the argument. I will first give a few that speak against assured salvation.

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. ³³ But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. -Matthew 10:32-33

If our lives deny Jesus (in word or deed) then He will not represent us before Father God come judgment day.

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? ⁶ But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. -2 Corinthians 3:5-6

We are told to examine our lives (daily) to see if Christ is indeed with us. We know this by lining our lives up with His word so that we can avoid being considered reprobates. A reprobate is something that is refused, useless.

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; ¹⁵ While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. ¹⁶ For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. ¹⁷ But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. -Hebrews 3:12-19

This scripture warns us to watch ourselves and warn others (daily) so that we will keep our faith in Christ. What we are supposed to watch out for is sin. Sin tends to lull us to sleep because God is slow to punish us. Because of this, many of us loose faith that He even cares about our sins. (Faith in God means that we believe His every word. This also means what scripture has to say about punishment.) It's clear that if we don't maintain our faith then neither do we maintain our salvation.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: -Hebrews12:14

Without love and a holy life, (A life dedicated to godly living), no one will see God.

The scriptures in Hebrews Chapter Three focus on a failure to believe God unto the end. These scriptures were talking about Israel, God's chosen people. It's clear that even though they were all considered God's people, not everyone made it into the promise land. This is also true of the church. If I believe today but not tomorrow, then I'm not saved. The promise of eternal salvation only applies to those covered by the blood of Christ, not to those who reject it. Remember the scripture that says that if we deny Christ then He will deny us?

It's true that Christ is able to cleanse us from every sin but only if we want Him to. What makes once saved -always saved a false teaching is the belief that we must choose Christ once. The Bible tells us to pick up our cross daily. We must choose Christ everyday for the rest of our lives.

If I am a notorious criminal and I get Jesus to be my lawyer, I will be in excellent shape. Jesus has never lost a case and He would eventually get me, a guilty man, acquitted of all charges. However, if I decide to fire Him in the middle of the trial and represent myself, then I will be convicted. Not only must we trust Him, we must trust Him unto the end.

These scriptures seem to stress working hard to maintain our salvation. In other words, if we do not maintain a faithful and holy life, we can lose it.

The argument for Assured Salvation.

Truly saved people exhibit two things, a never ending belief in Christ and a holy life. The Bible makes it clear that we are not saved by our works but by our faith. Since the Bible is not contradictory and we know that we can't be saved by works, what are we to conclude? Scripture must be saying that faith that results in holy living is only the result of our salvation, not the cause of it.

Truly redeemed people will not only love Christ, they will show it. If I have food and my child is hungry, I will give him something to eat. Giving him something to eat doesn't give me love, it's evidence that I already have it.

The only work man needs to do in order to be saved is an internal one. Man must believe on the Son of God.

⁹ Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The scriptures make it clear that this is not just lip service but a true change of heart. The truth is, we can confess Christ with our mouths but reject Him in our actions.

They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate -Titus 1:16 (Bold added for emphasis)

Many think that three scriptures in Hebrews chapter three prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that saved people can indeed lose their salvation.

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. -Hebrews 3:12

For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; -Hebrews 3:14

And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. -Hebrews 3:18-19

The opponents of assured salvation point out that Paul is talking to the church. He calls them “brethren,” yet these same confessed believers will not be saved if they lose their faith. The problem with this is that even a casual church goer realizes that everybody that goes to church is not a true believer. We are not called to judge whether or not someone is saved, that's God's job, we are only supposed to examine ourselves. Because of this, we must call every member brother or sister. Paul's calling them “brethren” is not evidence of their salvation.

Losing faith and reprobate living are warning signs. God wants us to check ourselves. If someone claims that they are saved but stops believing in Christ, or continues to live unholy lives, they only prove that they never were saved.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. -1 John 2:19

The word manifest means revealed, brought to light. People who leave the Christian faith are shown for what they are, not true believers.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? -Matthew 7:21-22

Please notice, reader, these are people who are standing before God in heaven. They are seeking admittance and think that they are truly redeemed.

God doesn't say, ”I use to know you but I don't anymore.”

He doesn't say, “You used to be my child.” He says, “I never knew you.”

In the church there are confessed believers and then there are truebelievers. Dear reader, only true believers are saved, those who love the Lord. A man who is truly saved cannot lose his salvation and he is saved from the moment of his confession of Christ. But let me reiterate, since only God knows this, we are live each day in obedience to prove, not earn our salvation.

To pass your college final exam, you are given a complex problem. Your class is given one week to come up with the correct answer and it doesn't matter how many wrong answers you turn in as long as the right one is received before five o'clock Friday evening. You do your research and email your answer Wednesday. Even though you have done due diligence in your research, you check and double check your findings both Thursday and Friday. You are satisfied with your results but your roommate, after further examination, revises his answer. Saturday morning comes and the grades are posted. Fortunately, both of you have passed! Notice that your professor (who graded your work on Wednesday) knows you passed before you do. Your grade has already been recorded. Not knowing something doesn't change the fact that it's already been written. Also notice that even though your roommate gets it right on Thursday, you both find out at the same time.

Christian, it's never to late to change before the time is up. If he had not done his due diligence in rechecking his answers, he would have missed the mark. Likewise, we must continue to check our lives against the standard of God's word. This, my friends, is salvation.

The Bible calls the church the bride of Christ. In today's marriage our symbol of union is the ring. It's something given to let others know that you are taken. Traditionally, the wedding ring is never supposed to come off. Because of this, the wife could always be identified. Likewise, the church will always wear the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God's gift of promise. Because the church shall wear the Spirit forever and will be easily identified at Christ's return, she is guaranteed a place with Him. It's impossible to lose her salvation.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned earlier is proof to God that you are saved. It's called the earnest of the Spirit. We must remember that God knows all. He knows past, present, and future, so it's nothing for Him to see who will endure and who won't. God has already blotted out the names of those who have failed to trust Him. All other names remain written in the Book of Life. Those of us who are in it are guaranteed salvation upon our confession of Christ.

Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; ²² Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. -2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Anyone who has ever bought a house knows exactly what earnest money is. It's what we more commonly call the down payment. A down payment is our evidence that we are serious about the purchase. It's our promise that we shall return with the full balance at the appointed time (closing).

When we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts on Jesus Christ, God puts a down payment on us. He redeems us (buys us back from our sins). But unlike the normal down payment which is only a percentage of the total cost, Jesus paid it all. We can be sure that if God places a down payment on us that He is serious about coming back for us. The price He paid for us, the precious blood of His Son, is too costly to ignore.

Saved people do good works.

The Bible teaches that sin is basically rebellion or rejection of the laws of God. Man can sin by not doing what he is supposed to do (sin of omission) or by doing things that he isn't supposed to do (sin of commission). Obedient Christians follow scripture as closely as they understand it. Some mistakenly believe that once we make our verbal confession of Christ then it is not necessary for good works to follow. But this is not the case. Let's take another look at Titus 1:16. "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate" (Bold added for emphasis) Being a Christian is more than an outward verbal confession, it is an inner dedication to the work of Christ. Thus, we can deny Christ in our actions. In John 14:15 Christ says, "If you love me, keep my commandments..." and in Matthew He says this, "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 10:33

Of course, this does not apply to someone saved on their death bed or who has had a limited time in their Christian walk. This applies to those who have had ample time to live for Christ. This is for those who live year after year and yet do nothing for Christ. Remember the blood over the doorpost in the book of Exodus?

And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. -Exodus 12:7

This sign told the angel of death who to spare and who to kill. It also told the angel of death who believed God unto faith and who did not.

For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you -Exodus 12:23

Faith without works is dead. Do you think the angel of death skipped the homes that didn't follow this basic command? Certainly not! The Bible is clear is this respect. Not only should there be some sign that you belong to Christ, the Bible says that there will be some sign.
Not only will we start doing good works, we will stop doing evil ones.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, ¹⁰ Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. ⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:7-8

The “overcometh” refers to our former sinful ways. No man comes to Jesus perfect but he has repented of his old evil ways and has dedicated his life to righteousness. What he has overcome is the long list of sin that he no longer practices. These scriptures are in outright contrast to the belief that we will obtain salvation through a sinful life. These scriptures point to the truth that a redeemed life is a changed life (given time) and an unchanged life is an unredeemed one. Reader, this is plain, this is true, this is scripture. Stay away from teachers that teach that it's okay to remain in sin, the Bible assures you that it's not.

Because of this, a lot of other questions come into play. Questions of works. Things like is Baptism Necessary for Salvation. (Let's just say that our works do not save us.) Good works are evidence of our salvation. I repeat, evidence, not proof.

In short, the man that is truly saved, is eternally saved but can only be sure of his salvation at judgment. I believe salvation is designed this way so that man will learn to fear God and constantly evaluate himself. To apply the illustration of a tin can, true salvation not only rescues us from the dumpster of sin but recycles us into a new can. True salvation forces me to think things I didn't previously think and to do things I didn't previously do. I will start to think, and therefore, act like Christ.

The problem with teaching assured salvation is that the believer is sealed with an invisible seal which only God can see. What man can see is the result of his salvation, the fruits of the spirit. Because of this, we must guard our hearts and minds and live a life pleasing to God. The only indicator we have of salvation is a transformed life. Good deeds don't prove that we're saved, but the lack of them prove that we aren't.

There was a preacher who was sharing the gospel. He explained the divine love of God and total forgiveness of sins. He explained salvation from hell and the guarantee of heaven to all those who build their faith on Christ.

"You mean to tell me," said the sinner, "that if I believe on Jesus, no matter what I do He will forgive me?"

"That's right," said the preacher, "No matter what. No matter how many times."

"Well, I want to accept Jesus right now!" he exclaimed. "If I become a Christian, I can sin all I want."

The preacher was crushed. His eyes began to fill with tears as he thought about the sacrifice of Jesus. He thought about all the things that he, himself, had done wrong but God had forgiven him for. He thought about how he loved his Savior.
"I never thought about it that way before," replied the preacher, "You're right, a Christian can sin all he wants, but a Christian, doesn't want to sin.”

False: Since God has placed His Spirit in me, there is no need to evaluate my life.

How do you know that you have the Spirit God unless you check your life against the standard of His word? Man can only be sure he is saved if he doesn't deceive himself. Even a truly saved man can only see his works, however, he should also check the motive in his heart. Again, both views of once saved -always saved are correct depending on whose point of view you are looking from. From God's it's assured, from man's it's not.

The Bible is clear that many will think they are saved who aren't.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. -Matthew 7:22-23

If we could know whether or not we are saved, these people would know it before the judgment. The problem is that in our sinful nature, we have an evil and deceptive heart. Some even sin to the point where they have a mind that God refuses.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient-Romans 1:28

When this happens, they do what they want thinking that they are right when they are wrong. The only way to know is to continuously look into the mirror of God's word and not only compare our actions to it, but our motives as well.

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. -Proverbs 16:25

Ultimately, God expects us to judge ourselves by the standard of His word and to constantly gauge our improvement (spiritual maturity) over time. The power of the Holy Spirit is strong enough to transform anyone more and more into the likeness of Christ.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰ Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. ²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. -Matthew 7:18-21

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. -1 Corinthians 11:31-32

The Damage

Once saved -always saved is true as stated but not as implied. Most people state this with the presupposition that after the confession of Christ, they can continue in sin. This is false. Yes, our salvation is truly assured, but how do we know that we are truly saved? Many will answer, “I just know” and if their hearts aren't deceived, they may be right. I only say that if you are adamant that you are saved and your life doesn't consistently mirror the life of Christ, I would be very leery of such confidence. The Bible says that there will be many, not a few, who will think they are saved and be turned away from the pearly gates. Every day that we live is a new opportunity to make sure that that won't be us.