In this video, we’re going to look at whether it is possible for a saved, born again Christian to choose to give up salvation and forfeit eternal life with God. There are many who say that while no one can take away your salvation, it is possible for you to give it up by choosing to live for this world and its sins instead of living for God, going back to a life of sin, abandoning God, and thereby forfeiting your salvation by your choice. How about it? Can a saved Christian choose to give up salvation? The short answer is no, absolutely not, it’s never going to happen, not even once. But wait, don’t we have free will? Yes, God never takes away free will from a saved believer. So, why can’t a saved believer choose to give up salvation if he or she has free will? And wouldn’t that mean a saved believer could then live like the devil, practicing sin, never obeying God, and you’re saying that person will still be saved? Hmmmm. That doesn’t sound right, does it? So, why then can’t saved Christians, endowed with free will, choose to give up salvation? Why will it never happen, not even once? Let’s get into it and look at what Scripture has to say. 

Why Can’t Saved Christians Choose to Give Up Salvation?

Because this is such a debated and broad topic, I’m going to cover it in seven sections.  

1. The Basis for Salvation: The Finished Work of Christ
2. Seven Problems with Saying You Can Give Up Salvation – When you start heading down the path of saying you can give up your salvation, there are numerous problems with that point of view. I’m going to cover 7 of them.
3. Who Keeps You Saved? – Is it you? Is it God? Is it both?
4. Do Saved Christians Have Free Will? – I’ve already said that Christians do have free will. We’ll show an example from Scripture that proves it.
5. How Does God Keep Us Saved Without Violating Our Free Will? – This is the key section. How does God keep everyone saved? There are means that God uses so that everyone stays saved without Him having to violate our free will. We’ll go through some of those means to show you that God doesn’t even need to violate our free will to keep everyone saved. 
6. What About Those Who Walk Away? Don’t They Lose Their Salvation? – Some people choose to leave the church, to go back to the world and live a life of sin. When that happens, don’t they forfeit their salvation? Scripture answers this.
7. The Danger of Deception: Are You Sure You Are Saved? – Many people think they are saved but they are not. How do you know for sure and what assurance do you have that you are not deceived?

These are the topics we’ll go through in this video. So, let’s begin with the first topic.

1. The Basis for Salvation: The Finished Work of Christ

Scripture says in John 19:

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the Ghost.” (John 19:30 KJV)

This word, “finished,” is the Greek word, teleō. It means, “to bring to completion, to bring to a close, to accomplish, to carry out an order just as commanded, to perform the last act which completes a process.”

Our salvation is based on the finished work of Christ, not a partial work. Christ cried out, “It is finished.” He didn’t cry out, “Hey people, it’s partially finished now, so it’s up to you to completely finish the work I started. Live your life so that you finish it.” That’s what people are saying when they say, “Yes, it is possible for you to lose your salvation by your choices.” In other words, they’re saying, “Jesus did His part, now you must do yours or you are not going to be saved. You have to finish the work of salvation yourself.” So ultimately, your salvation is up to you to finish.

The fundamental problem here is that such people do not believe the Gospel that Jesus actually saved them (past tense). They don’t believe the Gospel. But we know the Gospel is complete and it is all we need for salvation. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He really meant it. It is done. There’s nothing more that needs to be added to what He has already done. He completed the work. Therefore, all the glory goes to Him and none to us for us completing His work by living faithfully and obediently. He finished it.

But what exactly was finished?  The answer can be found in Jesus’ own Words just two chapters earlier, in John 17, where Jesus prayed to the Father, saying:

“I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.” (John 17:4 KJV)

What work did Jesus finish?

I could spend the entire video on this topic, but in the interest of time, I’m going to summarize it using an excellent article I found written by Melanie Newton at Bible.Org, called:

Christ’s Finished Work on the Cross
https://bible.org/seriespage/excursus-article-christ-s-finished-work-cross

Using Scripture, she breaks down the finished work of Christ into 6 key words:

1. Propitiation: God’s Holy Wrath Against Us Is Fully Satisfied.
2. Reconciliation: Our Relationship With God Is Restored.
3. Redemption: We Have Been Purchased Out Of Bondage To Sin.
4. Forgiveness: Our Guilt Has Been Taken Away.
5. Justification: We Have Been Declared Righteous in God’s Eyes.
6. Sanctification: We Have Been Set Apart As God’s Possession For His Exclusive Use.

These six words summarize what Christ accomplished on the cross. This is the finished work of Christ upon which our salvation is based. It’s not a partial work. Again, it’s a great article. Melanie Newton did a great job, and she supports it all with Scripture. Please use the link and check it out if you would like an in-depth exposition of this. I’ll also include the link in the description section. She gives you a ton of great information and Scriptural references on each of these key words.

The point is: Christ’s work is complete. It is finished. It’s not partially complete to where we have to now bear the burden of completing our salvation by our own behavior, meaning that if we choose to obey, then we’ll be saved, but if we choose not to obey, we’ll be lost. 

The ONLY choice we make that affects our salvation is the choice to place our faith in Christ and His finished work.

When Christ died, it says in Mark 15:

“And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” (Mark 15:38 KJV)

The temple signified the holiness of God and the veil signified that we are separated from God because of our sin. When Jesus’ work was finished on the cross, that veil was torn in two by God from top to bottom. It was torn, not partially, but completely in two, showing us that, through faith in Christ, we now have direct access to the Father, as it says in Ephesians 2:18:

“For through Him (Christ) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18 KJV)

Through Christ, we can now go directly into the presence of the Father. We are no longer under the old covenant of the Law. Christ’s finished work brought us out of the old covenant of the Law and into the new covenant of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Christ.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that eternal salvation is a free gift, not based on anything that we do.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

The word “grace” means “unmerited favor.” In other words, nothing we do makes us deserve eternal salvation. We didn’t show that we’re worthy of salvation. The fact is, before a perfectly holy God, we’re not worthy. None of us are, either before we’re saved or after we’re saved. No matter how obediently you try to live, you are still not worthy, because God’s standard is His own absolute perfection. None of us are worthy. Therefore, if anyone is to be saved, it has to be a free gift from a loving God Who cares.

James even said,

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10 KJV)

It only takes one sin to fall short of God’s perfect standard, one sin to be condemned under the law and spend eternity in hell. It is totally impossible for anyone to live according to God’s perfect standard, either before they are saved or after they are saved. That’s why we need grace, unmerited favor. Salvation is not based on our performance but on His grace, His mercy, through faith in Christ. That’s why James immediately follow this statement of the law with this:

“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” (James 2:12 KJV)

As Christians, we are not judged by the Law. Christ has set us free from the Law. Through Christ, we have obtained liberty. It is the free gift of God’s grace.

But if it’s a gift, can’t you give it back? No. Romans 11:29:

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29 KJV)

The typical Greek word that is most often translated as the word “repentance” is the Greek word, “metanoia,” which means, “a change of mind.” To repent for salvation means you change your mind about Christ and go from not believing in Him to believing in Him for your salvation. That’s what it typically means to repent, a change of mind.

But in this verse in Romans 11:29, speaking of the gifts and calling of God, a different Greek word is used. The phrase “without repentance” is one Greek word, the word “ametamelētos,” which means “irrevocable.” Most modern translation correctly translate Romans 11:29 as, “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” God’s not going to change His mind about this gift of salvation no matter what you do. Once you place your faith in Christ and He gives you the gift of salvation, He’s not going to take it back. “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” They cannot be revoked, because they are not based on anything we do. God’s gift of salvation is based on the finished work of Christ.

So, why do many people say that while no one can take your salvation from you, it is possible for you to give it up? It’s because they are flat out wrong. Let’s show this by looking at:

2. Seven Problems with Saying You Can Give Up Salvation

Honestly, there are far more than 7 problems with saying you can give up salvation, but 7 is a good Biblical number and, for the sake of time, I’ll limit it to that. The first problem is this:

1. It Contradicts Scripture

It contradicts Scripture to say that you can give up Salvation. If the Bible is the Word of God, which it is, then it is perfect, without error. Psalm 18:30 says,

“As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30 KJV)

This word “tried” is the Greek word “ṣārap̄,” which means completely refined and tested. It was a word used by goldsmiths to say that they have tested a metal and found it to be pure gold, without flaw. Some translations translate this into the English word, “perfect.” The Word of the Lord is “perfect.” It is tried and tested, like pure gold, and found to be without flaw. God’s Word is perfect.

What that means is that there can be no errors in God’s Word. There can be no contradictions, not even one. His Word is pure, without even one flaw, and it is perfect, just as God is pure and perfect.

That is why you can always use clear verses in Scripture on a topic like salvation to help you understand the meaning of unclear verses about salvation, because God’s Word is perfect and will never contradict itself. 

So, if you see a verse that seems to say that you can lose your salvation, but then there are clear verses that conflict with that interpretation, you’ve got a problem. God’s Word cannot contradict itself. It is always in harmony. 

But that’s what people do, when they say that it is possible for you to forfeit or give up your salvation. They are ignoring many, many clear verses that contradict their incorrect interpretation. Verses like these:

“…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5 KJV)

Never means NEVER, no matter what!

Jesus said in John 6:

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37 KJV)

Jesus Himself is saying that once you come to Him, there is absolutely no way He is ever going to cast you out.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24 KJV)

This verse says that the moment you first believe, from that very moment on, you “shall not come into condemnation” and that you have already “passed from death unto life.” Notice that the phrase, “passed from death unto life” is in the past tense. It’s already happened. It happened the moment you first believed. Eternal salvation starts the moment you believe. God’s not waiting until we die to see if we still pass some test.

The Apostle John wrote:

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5 KJV)

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5 KJV)   

According to Scripture, an “overcomer” is someone who believes on Jesus. The very moment you place your faith in Christ for salvation, you are an overcomer to whom Jesus promises that He will NEVER blot out your name from the book of life. It’ll never happen, no matter what.

I did a 21-part series going through many, many verses of salvation assurance. It’s available on my channel and website if you would like to see more of the many verses that clearly state that we can never lose our salvation.

The point is this: 

If you are a person who thinks that it is possible to give up your salvation, you have a problem, because there are many verses that contradict that position and God’s perfect Word can never contradict itself, not even once, which means your interpretation is wrong.

This brings us to the second problem with the belief that you can choose to give up your salvation:

2. It Takes Verses Out of Context

This goes along with the problem above, about contradicting Scripture, and it really explains it, the reason why people end up with wrong interpretations:

They don’t know how to correctly read and interpret Scripture.

Go to any Bible college and I guarantee you, at some point you will take a course called, “Hermeneutics,” which is the methodology or rules for understanding, studying and interpreting ancient texts, in this case, the Bible. I could spend an entire video on this but let’s just summarize some basic rules for interpreting Scripture, beginning with the most important rule of all:

1. Always read a verse in context, not in isolation. How does the verse fit it to what is said before and after the verse. 
2. Who is the audience and why is the writer writing to them? Is the person speaking to believers or unbelievers? To Old Testament Jews or to the New Testament Church?
3. Who is the subject to whom the verse is referring? In many cases in the New Testament, the writer is writing to an audience of saved believers about unbelievers, the unsaved. If you take a verse that’s about the unsaved and try to apply it to the saved believers, a mistake which many people make, you will get a wrong interpretation.
4. How does this verse fit in harmony with the rest of Scripture?  God’s Word never contradicts itself and must remain in harmony. So, we can use clear verses elsewhere in Scripture to interpret unclear verses. If we find even one clear verse that goes against a possible interpretation of an unclear verse, we know that the interpretation of the unclear verse is false.
5. What do the original Greek words mean? Just like we reviewed Romans 11:29: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” This word, “repentance,” is not the same Greek word for “repentance” that is typically used elsewhere, whenever we see the word, “repentance.” This particular Greek word means, “irrevocable.” You would not get that without checking the Greek. There are online Bibles that let you easily check the Greek. The one I use is Blue Letter Bible, available for free at www.BlueLetterBible.org. Check it out. It’s excellent.

 There are other rules for interpreting Scripture, but even if you just follow these five simple rules, you’ll be so much farther ahead than most.

Now, let me give you a few examples of how people who believe you can lose or give up your salvation try to prove it by taking verses out of context. They will quote verses like this one, Philippians 2:12:

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12 KJV)

They’ll say, “See, it says it right there. It’s up to you to work out your own salvation, or you’re not saved, right?”

No. That’s not what it’s saying at all.

It doesn’t say, “work FOR you own salvation.” This verse was written to believers who were already eternally saved. The words “work out” in the original Greek is a Greek word that means, “to bring out of something a result,” “to do that from which something results.” In other words, our salvation should produce something. This Greek word was commonly used in mining gold to say they were to “work out” of the mine all of the gold that could be mined. As Christians, we aren’t here just to be saved. We are to produce, or more rightly, we are to let God produce through us. And that meaning becomes clear when you view this verse in context, by connecting it to the very next verse:

“… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 KJV)

This verse isn’t even about getting saved. It’s about letting God work through you who already are saved. What work is God doing in you? He’s working to conform you to the image of Christ. And that work that God is doing in you should be coming out of you, to do His good pleasure on this earth. Paul is simply telling the Philippians to put into practice what God has developed within them. Why does it say we are to do this with fear and trembling? Because for God to work through us, we’ve got to walk in total dependence on Him. We don’t serve God in our own strength and that can be a scary thing. We’re to do things we can’t accomplish on our own. Also, it can be fearful because, in our freedom, we can fall short of what God desires to do through us. If we choose not to walk in God’s Spirit, we can expect God to chasten us to correct our behavior. He is a good and faithful Father Who will chasten us if we start heading in the wrong direction. We’ll talk more about that in a bit. 

But the point is, those who believe you can lose your salvation will take verses like these out of context and throw them at you, totally distorting the true meaning. 

Another classic example that violates these rules of interpretation is the often-misinterpreted Hebrews 10:26:

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” (Hebrews 10:26 KJV)

So many people misinterpret this verse, thinking, “See, if we willfully sin after we’re saved, we can lose our salvation.” If you believe that, you just violated most of the rules I listed earlier. You’ve taken the verse out of context, not connecting it to the verses before and after, and you are not even correctly identifying who this verse is speaking about. This verse is not even talking about believers. This verse is about unbelievers who were in the church, who were not yet saved, who had seen miracles and understood the Gospel, yet ultimately were deciding to reject it all and return to Temple worship and its animal sacrifices. That’s why verse 1 of chapter 10 starts by talking about animal sacrifices. That’s what these Jewish unbelievers were starting to go back to. That’s why the author was writing. He was writing to Jewish unbelievers in the church, who were not yet saved, encouraging them not to leave.

The willful sin was that of rejecting Christ, rejecting the Gospel, and instead going back to the Temple to practice animal sacrifices for their sins. He told them that if they willfully sin by rejecting the Gospel, there’s no longer any more sacrifice for sin, other than Christ. You won’t get that interpretation if you just pluck out verse 26 and look at it in isolation. You have to read it in the context of the whole chapter, as well as how it fits with preceding chapters. 

What’s more, Hebrews chapter 10 has verses in it that say we can never lose our salvation. Verses like these:

“…we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. … For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. … And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:10, 14, 17 KJV)

If we are sanctified once for all time, perfected forever, our sins remembered no more, then how can anyone say that we could lose it all if we willfully sin? That interpretation just doesn’t fit the context of the chapter. It’s a bad and incorrect interpretation. 

Anyway, I don’t want this to be a video on Hebrews 10. I’ve already done one and it’s on my channel and website if you want more detail. But the point is that there are some simple rules that can help you arrive at a correct interpretation of a difficult verse so that you don’t take a verse out of context.

 The third problem with saying that a believer can choose to give up salvation is this.

3. It Takes Your Focus Off of Christ and Onto Yourself

If you have to walk uprightly, obeying commandments and rules, or you will lose your salvation, then your salvation is really up to you, and the focus becomes you and your behavior. You become the one that saves yourself. If you think that way, consider reading Acts 15, where the Jerusalem Counsel of apostles and elders in the church dealt with this very issue, where people were coming into the church, saying that people had to obey rules and laws or, by their choosing not to do so, they would give up their salvation. To that, the Jerusalem Counsel said:

“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” (Acts 15:10-11 KJV)

By believing that you can choose to walk away from salvation, it makes the Gospel conditional on your behavior, and it puts the focus on you instead of on Christ. In addition:

4. It Robs Christ of Glory.

We could not save ourselves to begin with. So why, after we’re saved, is it suddenly up to us to keep ourselves saved by making the right choices and living uprightly? Other than our choice to believe in Christ, if we think our choices after being saved have any bearing on our salvation, we are robbing Christ of His glory, because then it’s no longer Christ that saved you, but instead it’s Christ + You, which is blasphemy.

5. It Leads to Fear and Anxiety

So many believers are living their lives scared to death that they will not be saved. They write to me all the time. They see their own shortcomings and they are filled with fear and anxiety that they are going to hell. The reason they feel that way is that they have believed this lie that you can lose or give up your salvation and, therefore, have not fully accepted the Gospel that, through Christ, God has completely saved them forever. If saved believers, by their choices, could destroy their salvation, then every saved believer would be lost, because we all still sin. We all still fall short of God’s perfect standard. We are all saved only by His grace through Christ, not by our right choices. And when a believer starts doubting that, it leads to fear and anxiety, because deep down, we all know that none of us are worthy to be saved. We’re not. None of us. But God in His grace and mercy, gave us salvation anyway through His Son, Jesus.

6. It Makes it Impossible to Walk in His Grace

I did a video on Galatians chapter 5 and the term, “fallen from grace.” It’s available on my channel and website if you want to explore this term in depth. The term is not about losing salvation. It’s about what happens to saved believers when they again put themselves under bondage to the law. Instead of trusting in God and believing the Gospel that they are saved, they become fearful and instead start trying to obey laws and rules to show themselves worthy. They haven’t lost their salvation, but they are no longer walking in the grace and power of a saved believer’s life. Instead, they are walking in bondage, in fear of violating the law. Such a person God can’t use to demonstrate His grace, for how can God demonstrate His grace through you if you really don’t believe you have received His grace of eternal salvation and instead believe that you have to follow laws and commandments or you could lose your salvation? You haven’t lost salvation, but you have fallen from grace, fallen from where God’s grace can flow through you to an unbelieving world. 

In contrast, what does Paul say?

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2 KJV)

What is the law of sin and death? That if you sin, you will die, and we’re talking eternal death. But as saved believers, we are free of that. Christ has set us free from the law that says that if we sin, we die. He did that on the cross when He paid for every sin and when He rose from the dead, giving us eternal life.

Therefore, we are not to again put ourselves in bondage to the law. There are so many verses in Romans and the New Testament saying that we are no longer under the law. God wants us to walk in power and victory in Christ. When we walk in His grace and victory, His grace then works through us to do good works and we accomplish His will. But if we place ourselves in bondage again, believing that choices we make to sin or disobey God can cause us to lose salvation, we are no longer trusting in the Gospel, and we no longer have assurance that we’re saved. When that happens, God can’t use us. He grace cannot flow through us to do good works, because we have stopped operating by faith. We have fallen from His grace.

Which then means:

7. It Places You Again Under the Law

If you believe you can choose to forfeit your salvation, then you are obligated to make the right choices, or you will lose it. You have placed yourself under a law, an obligation to choose what’s right or salvation will be lost. You may not be under the Mosaic Law, but you have created your own law and have placed yourself under it instead of trusting in the finished work of Christ. Paul wrote against this to these same Galatians, who were being told that they had to obey commandments in addition to believing in Christ or they would not be saved. Paul told them in Galatians 3:

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” (Galatians 3:10 KJV)

In other words, if you think you have to make the right choices, to do good and to obey commandments to keep your salvation, then you are under the curse of the law and are obligated to do ALL the things written in the law, not just the ones YOU pick and choose are laws for you. 

But we who are saved by faith in Christ are no longer under the law. We are saved by faith in Christ, not in our obedience to laws and commandments. Paul wrote:

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28 KJV)

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” (Romans 5:1 KJV)

You are not justified before God by making the right choices. We are justified by faith in Christ alone. Don’t place yourself under the law again by saying we have to choose the right path and do the right things, or we will not be saved.

So, these are 7 problems with the false belief that a saved believer can choose to forfeit his or her salvation, which is in essence saying that you have to make the right choices, or you won’t be saved. It’s a false belief. Don’t fall for it.

This brings us to the key question:

3. Who Keeps You Saved?

Is it you and your right choices? Is it God? Is it a combination of both? What does Scripture say?

“For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Psalm 56:13 KJV)

“But the Lord is faithful, Who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3 KJV)

“…waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:7-8 KJV)

“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25 KJV)

To all the people who think it is possible to lose your salvation or give it up, according to these verses, who keeps you saved?

God alone keeps us saved!

God is a good Father Who loves His children. A good father protects his children. God is a good Father. He will not let you stumble so as to fall away from salvation. He has taken the responsibility upon Himself for keeping you saved. According to these verses, God alone delivers your feet from falling. He establishes you and keeps you from evil. He confirms you to the end, unto the very day of Christ. He alone keeps you from falling. It’s not up to you to keep yourself from falling. That’s what these verses all say. God is always faithful, and He will do it, so we don’t need to be afraid. Trust in Him.

But don’t we have free will to go the other way? Let’s look at that.

4. Do We Have Free Will?

The answer is yes. We have free will before we’re saved. And after we’re saved, God does not erase our free will. We see proof of this in Acts 5, where Peter confronted Ananias about lying to the Holy Spirit about his gift.

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:3-4 KJV)

Peter affirmed that Ananias had the free will to keep his land or sell it and do whatever he wanted with the proceeds. In his free will, he chose to sell it and lie to everyone that he was giving the full amount to the church, when in reality he was keeping part of the proceeds for himself. The sin was not keeping back part of the money but lying about it. And so, he was put to death along with his wife. Clearly, both of them had free will, which brings us to the key question:

5. HOW Does God Keep Us Saved Without Violating Our Free Will?

This is the heart of the matter. If we all have free will, then how then can God keep us all saved without violating our free will? If someone really wanted to walk away and God simply stopped them, that would violate that person’s free will. So, how does He do it? How does God keep every single one of His children saved so that not even one of His children becomes once again lost, all without violating our free will?

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, that God is a whole lot smarter than we are. He knows how to work with us to keep us saved, without violating our free will. He knows how to do this. It’s not even a challenge for Him. 

Let’s picture HOW God does this.

How God Keeps Us From Falling
The “Means” He Uses

It all begins with free will. God will never overrule our free will. It’s a freedom that He has given us, and we don’t lose free will when we become saved. So, how does God keep us from falling away without violating our free will? Well, God has a number of ways or “means” that He uses to keep each and every one of His children from falling away. Let’s list out some of those means. In addition to these ways or means to keep us from falling, He has one secret weapon: the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

The moment we are saved, God’s Holy Spirit comes to indwell us and live inside us. He never leaves, even when we sin as believers. He’s always there. Jesus said:

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;” (John 14:16 KJV)

The Holy Spirit will never leave us. Never, under any circumstances. Jesus said He will abide with us forever. And for those of you who may be thinking, “Wait a minute. Jesus said He ‘may abide,’ using the conditional word ‘may.’ as in He may or may not abide,” please know that the word “may” is not in the original Greek. The Greek text is unconditional and literally reads, “that He abide with you forever.” There is no conditional nature for the Spirit abiding in us. 

Likewise, Ephesians 1 and 4 both say that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us forever, until the day or redemption when we will get our eternal perfected bodies: 

“…after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30 KJV)

The Holy Spirit was given for this very purpose: to empower us so that we are kept from falling. But how? By teaching us and leading us into the truth. Jesus said:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26 KJV)

“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13 KJV)

It is important to note that the Holy Spirit does not convict believers of sin. He convicts the unbelieving world of sin, but not believers, because sin has been forever dealt with on the cross. Instead, for the believer, He leads us into truth and brings to mind God’s love and teachings. So, in our free will, when we choose to head down a path of sin or apostacy, the Holy Spirit is right there inside us, teaching us, leading us and exposing the lies of the enemy so that we see what’s truly right and wrong, so that we’re not deceived. We can certainly feel convicted of sin as we understand the gap between our sinful behavior and what God desires for us, but that’s not the Holy Spirit accusing us of sin or condemning us. That’s just guilt that we feel as we understand God’s truth and we realize that we’re not living the way God wants us to live.  But God is for you, not against you. His goal is not to convict you of sin because He has already paid for that sin on the cross. His goal is to lead you to truth so that you pull back from that sin.

So, let’s list out some of the means He uses to accomplish this. We already said the first of those means:

1. The leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit sealed inside every saved believer

What are some of the other means?

2. Blessings and rewards

These are positive reinforcements God uses to keep us on the right path. As we see God’s blessings in our life and in the lives of others, we are continually reminded of God’s goodness and love for us. This reinforces our desire to freely choose to walk toward Him and not away from Him.

3. Intercessory prayer strengthening our faith

When Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times, He said:

“But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Luke 22:32 KJV)

Similarly, 1 John 2:1 says:

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1 KJV)

This verse is not about Jesus praying for our salvation. It’s written to believers who are already saved. As saved believers, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, Who continually prays for us, just like He did for Peter, that our faith would fail not and that when we turn back from sin, we will be able to strengthen others. 

This brings us to:

4. The body of Christ working in your life

The reason we go to church each week is so that we are taught God’s Word and are encouraged to remain faithful. Sometimes, that involves calling out sin, with the goal of helping a sinning believer turn back to God. 

5. Angels working in our lives

The Bible says sometimes we have entertained angels unaware. In the life of Job, one of Satan’s main complaints against God was that He had put a hedge of protection around Job so that Satan could not bother him. God typically does this through the protecting work of angels. Satan would immediately kill every single believer (every single human, really) if God would let him. But God uses angels to keep the dangers and evils of this world from overwhelming us, so that our faith isn’t destroyed.

6. Warnings in His Word

God placed warnings in His Word to teach us to fear Him and, in our freedom, to choose the right path. That’s why those warnings are there, because we do have freedom. His warnings train us to know right from wrong and to understand that there are consequences for when we sin. The goal of those warnings is to turn us back to righteousness when we start to stray.

7. Warnings & encouragement from believers

Not only does God give us warnings in His Word, but His Word instructs us that if we see a fellow believer falling into sin, we are to go to that sinning believer to warn and encourage that believer back to righteousness. But what if that doesn’t work? What if the believer, in his or her free will, still chooses to continue in sin?

Then we have:

8. God’s discipline and chastisement

Discipline and chastisement are two sides of the same coin. One can be positive and the other negative, but both with the goal of leading a believer into greater levels of righteousness. As a child of God, each of us will be disciplined. That is a good thing, and we should not fear it. 

“For whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Proverbs 3:12 KJV)

“For they (our earthly parents) verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He (God) for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness….” (Hebrews 12:10-11 KJV)

This word “chastened” is the Greek word, “paideuō,” which most commonly means, “to train a child,” but can also mean, “to chastise with blows, to scourge.” God can chasten us to develop us, or to correct us when we do something wrong.

“But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:32 KJV)

In this verse, we can see that when we sin as believers, our disobedience can lead to chastening, but it will not lead to condemnation. God’s discipline or chastisement can be positive or negative, but it is always for a positive result: to yield righteousness in our lives.

But what if a believer is stubborn about their sin and that still doesn’t work? That brings us to:

9. Allowing consequences of sin to happen

Sometimes, the most loving thing God can do for us when we choose a wrong path is to simply let the consequences of that sinful path affect us. There are saved believers sitting in prison cells today, experiencing the consequences of their sinful choices. They never lost their salvation, but they are feeling the consequences of sin. 

10. Allowing sickness or disease

For a stubborn believer, sometimes God allows sickness and disease to occur as that believer strays outside of God’s umbrella of protection. That’s not to say that all sickness or disease is a result of sin. In most cases, it’s not. When we’re sick, it’s usually because we live in fallen bodies in a fallen world. But sometimes it is a result of sin in our lives. Whenever we’re sick, we should take time to ask God if there’s anything in our lives that could be causing that sickness that we should correct.

11. Lifting God’s protection, allowing spiritual oppression into our lives

I think of God’s protection as an umbrella. As long as I stay abiding in Christ, I remain under that umbrella. But if I stray away from God, indulging in sin, I’m literally stepping out from under His umbrella of protection to where the raindrops can start to hit me. 

There is a demonic world out there that is waiting to pounce on people who are living outside of God’s protection. In our free will, as we choose to step away from God, He can allow some of that demonic activity to start to affect us. A demon cannot possess a saved Christian because we have the Holy Spirit in us, but a demon sure can oppress a saved Christian if God allows it.  

An example of this is pornography. Porn is a MAJOR weapon used by Satan to enslave people, particularly men. Viewing PORN is outright rebellion against God. When a person chooses to rebel against God and view porn, that person is literally inviting the demonic world into their lives. Satan cannot come in to affect your life unless he’s invited, because God has put a hedge of protection around every believer. But when you watch porn, you are opening the door and inviting that demonic influence in. Satan cannot possess a saved believer, but he surely can oppress a believer, creating havoc and guilt in that believer’s life, including suicidal thoughts. God may allow such activity in the lives of His children who stray just to show them how bad it can get if they persist in sin. His goal is not to punish or condemn, but to do whatever is needed to lead us back to repentance and righteousness. Again, He is a good Father Who knows how to correct His children, and He will only let Satan go so far.

But what if all that doesn’t work? What if the saved believer, in his or her free will, still chooses to head down a path of rebellion and sin?

12. Early death – “There is a sin unto death:”  1 John 5:16

1 John 5:16 speaks about a sin unto death. I did a video on this verse. It’s on my channel or website. In summary, the Greek word for “death” that is used here is almost exclusively used to speak about physical death, not eternal death. In fact, this chapter 5 repeatedly talks about our eternal security in Christ, such as verse 13:

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life….” (1 John 5:13 KJV)

John is telling believers that they can know with certainty that they have eternal life. He wouldn’t follow that up 3 verses later by saying, “but if you sin, you can still end up in a fiery hell.” No. Verse 16 is talking about physical death. If a saved believer chooses to head down a path of sin, that believer can reach a point where God simply says, “Enough!” and takes that believer home early. We see this in Acts chapter 5 with Ananias and Sapphira, and we see it in 1 Corinthians 11 with believers who were partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Neither of these examples say that anyone lost salvation. But they did lose their physical lives, and in 1 Corinthians 11, some sinning believers also lost their good health. 

The point is: God is not going to allow any saved believer to reach a point where he or she becomes irretrievably lost. And it will be very difficult for a saved believer to even get near that point because of the Holy Spirit living inside them. God will not violate our free will but will instead use all of these means and more to keep us from falling away. God knows how to persuade His children so that they choose rightly, in their own free will. But if they don’t respond, or they are giving themselves over to sin so much that God can no longer use them for His purposes, God can simply say, “Enough!” and take them home early. Better that, than to lose a child forever.

The thing is, if we choose a path of sin, we don’t know when we could reach that point where God will say, “Enough!” It could be the very next time you turn on pornography or engage in any other persistent, rebellious act. In an instant, God could say, “Enough!” and you are gone. Your salvation is not lost because it was secured by Christ, Who paid your debt of sin in full. But any chance of being used by God to serve Him on Earth would be lost. Heavenly rewards that go along with that will be lost. But salvation will not be lost. Salvation is not a reward for good behavior that can be lost. It is a free gift.

The message though is this: If you are a believer who is engaging in sin, don’t push God to the point where He could say, “Enough!” concerning you. Don’t tempt Him by being rebellious. Instead, repent. Turn back to Him and obey Him. He will forgive and return you to a place of blessing. He will also give you strength to walk in righteousness.

So, God uses all of these means and more to keep each of us from falling. He knows how we think. He knows what things we’ll respond to. And He works all of these things in our lives so that we freely choose to stay faithful to Him. He doesn’t need to violate our free will. Instead, He will use these means and more to make sure none are lost, not even one.

It comes down to the character and the heart of God.

Imagine the scariest cliff ever, one so high and dangerous that if anyone were to fall off of it, there would be absolutely no way that they could possibly survive. Then imaging a human father and his child standing at the very top of that cliff. The father warns his child not to go near the edge of the cliff, but the child, being no more than a child, chooses to go toward the edge of the cliff anyway. While this is happening, imagine the father just standing there, not reaching out to stop the child but instead He lets the child plunge over the cliff, falling headlong to his death. Then imagine the father going to that child’s dead body, pouring gasoline on it, setting it on fire and then turning his back and walking away forever saying, “I told you not to go there.”

What would we think of such a father? Heartless? Negligent? Mean? Even criminal? Worse than a bad parent? No parent at all, really. Certainly not loving. 

Yet that is what we are saying about God when we say that it is possible for a saved believer to choose to forfeit salvation. It’s saying that God is going to warn each believer but ultimately, He’s just going to let us fall away. He’s just going to let a believer plunge over the cliff to his or her destruction if that’s what the believer chooses to do. And then He’s going to set that believer’s dead body on fire for eternity in hell. Is that the God you worship? Is that His true character? Is that the heart of God?

What good parent would not do everything possible to reach out in love and keep that child from plunging over the cliff? Will not God do even better? This is the same God Who shed His blood on the cross and died for us that we might be with Him forever. Will He not do everything in His power to keep us from falling headlong into destruction? And if He will do everything in His power to keep us from falling, will He not succeed? He’s God! He’s going to succeed!

It comes down to the heart of God. What is His heart? What is His character? I’ll tell you what it is:

• God is always good
• He is always faithful
• He always does what’s right for your good 
• He’s always aware and mindful of your situation and He cares about the things going on in your life
• He’s always going to treat you with perfect love
• That’s because He is the perfect Father

The moment you placed your faith in Christ, all of your sins (past, present and future) were washed away. Your debt has been paid forever. He gave you His Holy Spirit to live inside you forever. He adopted you into His family. You are His child now. He’s never going to allow you to plunge headlong over a cliff to your destruction. He’s not going to set you on fire. That’s never going to happen, even once. He loves each of His children with perfect love. That’s why Hebrews 13:5 says,

“…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5 KJV)

Never means NEVER. Your salvation is based on His unconditional perfect love.

Romans 5:8 says:

“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 KJV)

While you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you. Keeping your salvation is not up to you and your choices, your obedience. It’s based on His perfect character, His perfect heart. He is the perfect Father Who will never abandon you and Who knows how to lead you freely down the right path, without violating your free will. And He will do it.

But…

6. What About Those Who Walk Away?

We’ve seen examples in the news of Christian leaders who have renounced their Christian faith and left the church. What happens to people like that? Will God save them anyway? 

This situation is not new. The first century Christians asked the same question to the Apostle John after members of their church had left. Let’s look at how John answered that question about people who had left the faith. He said in 1 John 2:

“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 KJV)

John said that such people who renounced their faith and left the church for good were never saved. “They were not of us.” Further, John said that if they had been of us, if they had truly been saved, then there was “no doubt” in his mind that they would have continued in the faith. 

People who leave for good are giving evidence that they were never saved to begin with. They may have looked saved. They may have even thought that they were saved. But according to John, the fact that they left and never came back is evidence that they were never saved.

But what about a truly saved believer who renounces his or her faith?

When truly saved Christians start having doubts about their faith and leave the church, the Holy Spirit is still inside them. The Holy Spirit doesn’t leave them at the door when they walk out of the church. He continues to remain sealed inside every saved believer, teaching them the truth. It may take a while for that truth to sink in, but God is going to help that straying believer understand the truth so that he or she returns. Either that, or God may take him or her home early. But with the Holy Spirit sealed inside a believer, that believer cannot remain in a state of darkness or deception. Their faith may get interrupted, and they may start to have doubts, but they will eventually return and continue in their faith. If they don’t return, again, that’s a sign that they were never really saved.

Continuing in the faith is the mark of a truly saved believer. You can’t help but continue in the faith because the Holy Spirit inside you is continually telling you the truth. You may stray temporarily or be deceived temporarily, but if you are truly saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, you will come back. 

This also answers the question that I hear repeatedly from people who don’t believe in Once Saved, Aways Saved. They’ll ask:

You mean to tell me that a saved Christian
can live like the devil in sin and still be saved?

Well, first of all, this question is flawed from the beginning, because if you think you are a Christian, but you are living like the devil, what makes you think you are really saved? The mark of a true Christian is that having placed your faith in Jesus for salvation, you are born again, and God’s Holy Spirit is now living inside you. That changes a person to where God is now working inside you to transform you to become more like Christ, walking in holiness. If that transformation is not happening, maybe it’s just a temporary setback in your Christian walk, because we all still sin. Or maybe you are not really saved. In the next section, we’ll talk more about the deception of thinking you are saved when you really aren’t.

But let’s assume a truly saved, born again Christian does fall back into sin and start living like the devil. Is that person still going to be saved?

The answer is a resounding YES! But there are still consequences, and it will not be pleasant.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:2:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2 KJV)

If we have been freed from the power of sin to condemn us to eternal death, then we can no longer be condemned to hell if we sin. Sin has forever been paid for on the cross. Salvation is a free gift that comes through faith in Christ. It is not something we earn or keep hold of by our behavior. The real deceptive part of this question is that the people who ask it don’t really think that they themselves sin. They may think other saved believers may be sent to hell if they sin, but that certainly wouldn’t include them. But the Apostle John said:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 KJV)

John wrote that to saved believers. All saved believers still sin. Hopefully, we sin less and less as we become more conformed to the image of Christ in our discipleship, but we still sin. And it only takes one sin to fall short of God’s perfect standard. If sin can still send a saved believer to hell, then we’re all doomed, because God is perfect and will not allow even one sin in His presence. But “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” To Christ alone be all the glory.

Still, that doesn’t give us liberty to live in sin without consequences. It’s just that being sent to hell is not one of those consequences. We can still lose blessings in this life, eternal rewards in the next life. We can experience God’s chastening and all the of positive and negative means God uses to bring us back to repentance. Plus, God can’t use us for good if we’re living in sin.  

We can also experience great fear and anxiety. When believers engage in rebellious sin, one of the first casualties is our assurance of salvation. Our salvation itself is never at risk, but when we start rebelling against God and acting like unbelievers, our confidence that God will save us and the assurance within ourselves that we are saved begins to falter. You start thinking within yourself, “Wow, I’m acting like an unbeliever. Am I really saved? What if I’m not really saved? And such a wayward believer becomes fearful, even terrified that God will condemn them. They lose confidence that they are saved.

But if they have been saved, God has never left them. He remains faithful even when we are not. He is that good. He is that dependable. If that person is truly saved, they won’t remain in a state of rebellious sin because God’s Holy Spirit is still sealed inside that wayward believer, teaching that believer, and God is at work in that believer’s life, engaging all the means we just looked at to turn that believer around. God acts. He doesn’t just stand there as that wayward believer heads over the cliff.

That saved believer will not be able to go merrily along in rebellious sin. In fact, saved Christians I’ve encountered who are engaging in rebellious sin are miserable. That misery is a good sign that they really are saved, because unsaved people are not miserable about their sin. That misery is the work of the Holy Spirit, not convicting them of sin (because sin has already been paid for on the cross) but teaching them truth and allowing them to see how far away from God they have wandered. That dissonance leads to feelings of guilt and misery first, and then hopefully to repentance. 

That misery and fear is God calling you back to repentance. He will not leave you in a state of sin or rebellion. Worst case, He may take you home early. But He will not let you plunge irrevocably over the cliff to your destruction.

But even though you won’t be condemned, it will not be pleasant for a sinning believer, for we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ and give an account of our lives.

So, if you are a saved believer who is engaging in sin, turn back now. Don’t put God to the test. Pull yourself out of that misery and repent. Turn back to Him. You will find that God never left you and He is ready to restore you. He will give you the strength to walk obediently. You don’t have to do it on your own.

“And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1 John 2:28 KJV)

But what if someone is deceived and really not saved? That brings us to the last point:

7. The Danger of Deception: Are You Sure You Are Saved?

Satan is a deceiver who masquerades as an angel of light. One of his biggest deceptions is getting people to believe that they are saved when they are not really saved. There are a lot of people who attend church every week and think they are saved but are not. They are longstanding members of the church. They tithe. They pray. They’ve been baptized. They do good works. They serve in the church. They live relatively good lives. They pay their taxes. They obey laws. They know Who Jesus is and what He has done. They believe the Bible is true and may even study it. 

But they haven’t done the one thing required for salvation, which is to place their trust in Christ to save them from condemnation because of their sin. That involves recognizing that you are a sinner before a perfectly holy God with no hope of ever being worthy of salvation. It is recognizing that you need a Savior and His Name is Jesus.

John wrote in 1 John 5:

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13 KJV)

Do you know with absolute certainty that you will be saved? John said it is possible for you to know that. John said the way to do that is to believe on Jesus. It’s not just believing in Jesus, that He is the Savior, but believing ON HIM, that He is YOUR Savior, that you are putting your full trust on Him to save you and nothing else. You’re not depending on tithing or baptism or being good so that you will be found worthy. You’re depending on one thing: that the blood of Jesus was shed for you to pay for every one of your sins before a perfectly Holy God and that, without Jesus, you have no hope. He is your hope.