Gateway To Jesus Ministries Presents
The Bible Says!
Consider this example and ask yourself if this murdering, devil worshipping gang member would still be guaranteed eternal life in the Kingdom of God, even though he has now rejected the sacrifice of Jesus that he had at one time legitimately accepted?
A Christian was witnessing to a gang member on the street one day, telling him about Jesus and His sacrifice for sinners. The gang member was genuinely convicted of his sins, filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in Tongues, and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He went to church the next Sunday, walked up the aisle, made a public profession of faith in Jesus, and was baptized. The preacher told him he was now saved and was guaranteed going to Heaven as his reward no matter what happened in his life. This guy was 100% sincere in giving his life to God. He prayed every day, studied his Bible, went to church faithfully, helped the poor in his neighborhood and was a model Christian in every way.
Then a few years later this "saved" Christian became seriously depressed. He had lost his job for not lying for his boss to their biggest client, and blamed Jesus who he felt let him down when he obeyed His commandment. He lost his wife to a heart attack and blamed Jesus who didn’t heal her. He couldn’t provide for his children and lost them to the "system" and blamed Jesus who he had trusted. He developed cancer that the doctors said couldn’t be treated and again he blamed Jesus. He started drinking and using drugs to mask the pain. One thing led to another, and he drifted farther and farther away from God, finally joining his old gang again. He wasn't worried though. The preacher had told him he was “once saved always saved” no matter what he did. He was told he was sealed and could not lose his salvation. He had eternal security and was guaranteed Heaven when he died. After a while he fell back into stealing cars and selling drugs. He knew he could sin and not worry about going to Hell so he wasn't concerned about his criminal activities. Finally after killing a rival gang member he gave up on religion altogether, turned his back on Jesus, and joined a gang of child abusing devil worshippers.
Was he right? Can he really sin all he wants because he can't lose his salvation? Some churches cover themselves by saying someone like this gang member wasn't really saved in the first place, but he was. That may be true in some cases, but there are thousands more who truly gave their heart to the Lord and then later fell away. Will they still receive their crown from Jesus? Will they still get their full reward in the Kingdom? Are they not in danger of judgment in Hell fire? What does the Bible really say about Christians losing their salvation?
A lot of what the Bible says about this "Once Saved Always Saved" question seems to revolve around the "If" condition. Look at how many times keeping a person’s salvation is conditional on "If" they do something or not do something that God says. Salvation is indeed a free gift from God, you can't earn it, but the Bible seems to say continuing the process of salvation AFTER it is begun is conditional. Human beings are free moral beings with choice between right and wrong, and good and evil. Even a Christian can deliberately and willfully choose to disobey. We have "FREE WILL" until the day we die.
Look at what the Bible plainly says about salvation and consider if what the churches teach can really be true, that you are “once saved always saved”? What exactly are we saved from? The obvious answer is we are saved from death in Hell fire and given eternal life in God's Kingdom with Jesus. So the real question is WHEN does this occur and is it possible to lose out on this amazing blessing?
Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-29 are two very important Scriptures that are addressed here first, but there are many more below that clearly show what the Bible, not the church, says.
In Hebrews 6:4-6, God who cannot lie plainly says, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
Every promise of salvation in the scripture has a condition. If we fulfil the conditions the promises are ours. Notice the IF conditions for these authentic Christians who were "partakers of the Holy Spirit". "If they shall fall away", it is IMPOSSIBLE to renew these Christians to repentance. These are real Christians who had repented, received the Holy Spirit, and accepted Jesus as their Savior. The Bible says they can fall away and crucify and shame Jesus with no possibility of repentance.
The Holy Spirit changes us and helps us to do right but does not MAKE us do right. Whether we continue in that change by using the power of the Holy Spirit in us, and doing everything God says we should do, makes all the difference. We all fail once in a while and sin unintentionally and immediately repent. That's not the issue here. It's WILLFUL sin that is the reason good Christians fall away. According to what is plainly written they are lost forever. When the Bible plainly says in Hebrews 6:4-6; "For it is IMPOSSIBLE…. TO RENEW THEM AGAIN UNTO REPENTANCE.", He means it! God does not lie! If He says it’s impossible, it’s impossible, no matter what we want to believe about “once saved always saved”.
In Hebrews 10:26-29, the Bible plainly says, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? “
The NIV makes it ever clearer. "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
Again notice the IF condition. IF these true Christians that "the blood of the covenant sanctified", "sin WILLFULLY", IF “they "DELIBERATELY keep on sinning”, Jesus' shed blood no longer covers their sins and they can lose their salvation. These are willful, intentional, deliberate sinners! These are not backsliders, or someone who used bad judgment, or someone who sins in a weak faith moment. We all do that! This not what Heb. 10:26-29 is referring to.
There is a big difference between sinning willingly and sinning willfully. Adam sinned willingly, but that does not mean he is condemned to Hell because of it. Jesus will forgive any sin that is repented of, even if, through weakness, temptation or habit, the sin is repeated. As long as a person's intention, attitude and desire is to obey God, he WILL repent, and God will forgive him (I John 1:9). So what is a willful sin? If a person has been given spiritual understanding of God's way, and has experienced the blessings of that way, but decides he no longer wants it, changes his attitude, deliberately chooses a life of rebellion, despising God's Law, then this sin is unforgiveable because HE WILL NOT REPENT of it! Such people have been specially called by God and given His Holy Spirit, yet at some point in time they purposely, knowingly, rejected it! Perhaps through bitterness, refusal to forgive others, or neglect of prayer and Bible study, they stopped allowing God to correct them and began deliberately disobeying Him. They have become so calloused to their sins that they, no matter what God could do to try to correct them, will never want to repent. God will not give eternal life to anyone who insists on living Satan's way.
1 Timothy 1:4 plainly says, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons".
"Some will depart from the faith" makes it pretty clear that not everyone who is a Christian will remain a Christian. Some will fall away. Some will sin willfully. Some will lose their faith in Jesus and NOT be saved.
Hebrews 10:38-39; "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
There's that IF condition again. The Bible says a just person living by faith, that would be a true Christian, can "draw back" from his faith.
2 Peter 1:10 says, " Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall."
Another IF. Peter is speaking to Christians. If a person practices these qualities here in verses 5 to 7 they will never fall.
Colossians 1:21-23; “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight, if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard.”
Here's yet another IF condition. The Bible says " IF indeed you continue in the faith " and are "not moved away from the hope of the gospel", then you will be presented to God "holy and blameless". What would be the inverse of this? IF you fall back into your sinful ways and DON'T "continue in faith" you will not be presented to God as blameless. You will still be in your sin.
2 Timothy 2:12; "If we endure we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us."
The IF condition is everywhere in Scripture. The Bible says IF we endure, we shall reign. IF we deny Him, He denies us. This has to be talking about Christians. No one else will reign with Jesus in His Kingdom. Who can blame God if we deny Jesus? It’s our “free will” if we chose to reject Jesus anytime in our life! People can choose to reject God no matter how good of a Christian they were. No one is immune to the deception of Satan. This is why God repeats over and over again to hold fast, to endure, to be on guard, and stay close to Him or we can lose our salvation. Hebrews 10:38-39, Colossians 1:22-23, 2 Timothy 2:12, 1 Corinthians 15:2, 2 Peter 2:20-21, James 1:12, 2 John 1:8, and Revelation 3:11 repeats this message again and again. That’s how important it is to God that we know it. If we think we are immune to falling, that’s when we are most vulnerable. The Bible says if you reject Jesus, His blood, and His grace, you will lose the gift of eternal life that His sacrifice had provided for you.
1 Corinthians 15:2; “you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you….”
Another IF condition. Plainly referring to Christians here, they are told they are being saved ( a process) only "IF" they "hold fast" to the Gospel that Paul preached to them.
2 Peter 2:20-21; “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.”
This is a powerful IF condition. If after knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior you again fall back and get entangled in the sinful "defilements of the world" the Bible says it would have been better that you had not known Jesus in the first place. Your " last state has become worse....than the first”, before you knew Jesus.
Do any of these many Scriptures sound like Christians have Eternal Security, that we are "Once saved always saved"? We are repeatedly warned to look to ourselves and hold fast because we can lose what God has given us IF we do not do what He says. There are other verses in Scripture that add to this line of Biblical truth.
James 1:12; “Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.”
We must endure all temptation to sin to receive the crown of life. Our salvation will be tried and tested but we are required to endure the temptation to receive our crown.
Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Again the salvation of some Christians will be tried with severe tribulation. You must be faithful until your very death to receive the crown of life.
2 John 1:8, “Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward.”
You can lose your full reward in the Kingdom of god if you do not examine yourself daily to be sure you are doing what God says. I know this sounds harsh and extremely difficult to relate to a God we think of so lovingly, but it’s what sets apart an average Christian from an exceptional Christian. Christians often forget that God never changes. NEVER! (Mal 3:6) He’s the same powerful, vengeful, fire and brimstone “burn their cities to the ground” God of the Old Testament that we Jesus lovers have been deceived by Satan to forget all about. Forget about His laws. Forget about His commandments. Forget about His judgments on sinners, etc. God isn’t the one who needs to conform to our belief about Him. It US who needs to conform our beliefs about the Father God, and who He REALLY is, and what He will do to sinners! You know that throne every knee bows before on judgment day? Jesus may be standing next to it as the Advocate for sinners, but guess who is sitting ON it and passing final judgment? So, when God says something, we better believe it, like it or not!
Revelation 3:5 “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life;”
The Angel is speaking to Sardis Era Christians here, and it looks like some of them will not overcome and then lose their salvation. This verse shows that there will be some whose names are in the Book of Life, and some whose names will be blotted out.
Psalm 69:27-28 “Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.”
This verse shows people who add sin onto sin get their names removed from the Book of Life. The Bible clearly shows some people can have their names blotted out, which means their name had to be there in the first place. How else could they be removed if they were not there?
Revelation 3:11; “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
We must hold fast to what we believe until the end, overcoming all obstacles the devil puts before us, enduring faithfully, not drawing back, so that our name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life and no one can take our crown of life.
John 15:16 speaks for itself. "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned".
Another IF. John is speaking to Christians. If a man falls away and no longer abides in Jesus he is cast forth to be burned in Hell fire.
If you believe in the Once Saved Always Saved doctrine you are saying God CAN’T remove a saved Christians name from the Book of Life. Who are we to tell God He can't remove someone from the Book of Life if He wants to, for reasons unknown to us? None of us need to understand the mind of God for any reason. We only need to get in alignment with Him. That’s all.
Some Ministers teach that nowhere in the Word does it say we can renounce or give back salvation, but none of these verses above say anything about “renouncing” or “giving back” salvation. The clever use of these kinds of words makes it look like we can’t lose our salvation, but all of these verses mentioned above show we can fall away for other reasons like not overcoming, not continuing in faith, not enduring, or denying Christ. They say nothing about us “giving back” our salvation.
Some Christians are 100% sure they are NOW saved and can never lose eternal life no matter what. What Goes God say about this attitude?
1 Cor. 10:12 says, "Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
God is speaking to Christians here and He says this about overconfident believers who think they are saved no matter what.
1 Timothy 3:6-7 says, "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
This about someone becoming a Bishop in the church. So God says even a potential Bishop can fall into condemnation. We have to be very careful NOT to get so over confident that we let down our guard thinking we can sin without fear of falling away.
Let's take a moment to look at a few verses that people think supports the Eternal Security idea. The following verse is often used to support the belief that we cannot lose our salvation because we are predestined to be saved.
He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will”. Ephesians 4:1- 5
Has God foreordained that some would be saved, while others are destined to be lost? Predestination has nothing to do with any particular decision you will make, or your fate, it has only to do with the time of your calling. There is not one word in the entire Bible about anyone being predestined to be lost. God has not predestined or foreordained anyone either to accept or reject Christ, to be saved or lost. If God knows I'm going to repent, accept Christ and be saved, I'll have to do it in the end anyway, whether I try or not. My ultimate fate was already predetermined—destined, in advance. And if that is so, then we simply are not free moral agents, we have nothing to say about it and we KNOW that's not true! The decision we make regarding our salvation is not predetermined. God has ordained that we make our own decisions. God has predestined some to be called at certain times for a specific purpose. The rest will be called by God to understand the way of salvation later. You can learn more about this in an up coming study on "Predestination".
So then what does this verse actually say? It says God chose us and predestined our CALLING to become a believer, through Jesus. It says He choose us for this calling. It does NOT say everyone who is called will be saved. It does not say we can’t lose our salvation if we at some point reject God’s calling. Paul says God chose us IN Christ to be holy and blameless. What God chose from the foundation of the world was that whoever is in Christ, (a person who answers God's calling and believes in Jesus as their Savior), will be holy and blameless as long as they do what God says and don't fall away. IF they remain holy and blameless, and endure to the end and don’t fall away, THEN they will then be saved from death to eternal life! Just as every individual born into Israel was not part of God’s chosen people, (only those who kept covenant with God were considered “true Israelites.”), so not everyone CALLED by God will fulfill the requirements of that calling and eventually be saved. Many will not! John 3:15 states that whoever believes IN Jesus Christ will (in the future) "have eternal life." If you believe in Christ today, but fall away and stop believing in Jesus tomorrow you will NOT BE IN CHRIST and you will not have eternal life.
Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
This is absolutely true! No outside force of any kind can separate us from God's love, but a Christian can willfully sin, can fall away, can reject the sacrifice of Jesus and can reach the point that "it is IMPOSSIBLE…. TO RENEW THEM AGAIN UNTO REPENTANCE", as we saw earlier in Hebrews. We have to be very careful not to read into a verse something God didn't actually say just to support our beliefs.
Titus 3:4-5 says, "but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us..."
This is a poor translation and makes it look like Jesus already saved us. The Greek word "sōzō" is a verb that means "to save, i.e. deliver". It should not have been translated "saved" in the past tense. Instead of "our Savior appeared, he saved us," it would be more accurate to translate it as "our Savior appeared, to save us". And that's exactly what Jesus will do based on these dozens of other verses here about our salvation. He will save us from eternal death to eternal life in the end. The other meaning, "deliver", is also accurate and could be translated here even in the past tense when we understand that Jesus died for our sins, and "delivered" us from our current sins on the cross 2,000 years ago. BUT in any event, even with the poor translation it does NOT says He saved us and we can never fall away or lose our salvation, and that's the primary focus of the Eternal Security question being addressed here.
Some churches teach that Romans 8:3 proves we are saved now and forever. It has been translated as, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
This is a true statement by God but it’s necessary to show it with the actual meanings and tenses of the original Greek language God inspired to get a full understanding of why this is not about being saved now and forever. I have already proven the predestination part of this verse, "Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called;" is about who God chose in advance and then called. I will focus on the TENSE question of these two words here.
The word “justified" is from the transliterated Greek word, dikaióō, meaning to render just or innocent, fit to receive the pardon of their sins. It was translated “justified”, in the past tense but it could just as accurately be translated as “also will justify
The word “Glorified” is from the transliterated Greek dox-ad'-zo; meaning to exalt to a glorious condition, render glorious. Again, it was translated “glorified”, in the past tense, but could just as accurately be translated “also will glorify” (to be exalted to the same glorious condition as Christ) in the future.
Men translated the original inspired Greek with the bias they had from their own church’s teachings. Given the dozens of other scriptures that plainly show we are clearly not glorified now in the present, (we all still have physical bodies today), that we are not innocent of all sin yet, it is clear that the more accurate translation for Romans 8:3 should have been this. “Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He will also justify; and whom He justifies, these He will also glorify.”
BUT in any event, even with this translation it does NOT say we can never fall away or lose our salvation. We would remain justified ONLY as long as we obey God and remain spiritually fit to receive the pardon of our sins”. We will remain “exalted to a glorious condition” when we are resurrected with glorified spiritual bodies, only as long as we endure and remain in Christ today. The moment we don’t meet ALL of the “IF” conditions and again "sin WILLFULLY", and “ DELIBERATELY keep on sinning”, and “depart from the faith”, (Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews. 10:26-29 and 1 Timothy 1:4), Jesus' shed blood no longer covers our sins and we will fall away and lose our salvation.
Having said all of this, maybe we are looking at this all wrong in the first place. If we have the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the truth of Jesus, we are true Christians on the path to salvation, but are we actually saved NOW? Is being saved from Hell to eternal life not a future event after the resurrection? Are any of us being literally SAVED by changing to spirit beings with glorified bodies and receiving eternal life in Jesus' Kingdom today? When I see what God actually says about this PROCESS of salvation and the end result I have to ask, how can ANYONE actually be SAVED today now in this life? It's literally impossible!
These verses below show that actually being saved is a future event, that we are not actually saved now, but are only in a process of BEING SAVED when Jesus returns and resurrects us to eternal life. It looks like any time before that, we can fall away from the knowledge of the truth, that we have the promise of eternal life now if we endure, but it is fulfilled when Jesus returns and changes us to spirit beings with glorified bodies. If we don’t endure to the end as several Scriptures state, we will not be saved from Hell when Jesus returns. This explains a lot, and answers a lot of questions that never made sense about being saved.
Philippians 1:6; “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (NLT)
The RSV makes this verse even clearer.
"And I am sure that he who began a good work in you WILL BRING IT TO COMPLETION at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Do these encouraging words from Paul in this verse say we are actually saved from death in Hell fire and given eternal life in God's Kingdom with Jesus today, or when He returns? Philippians 1:6 does not really say Christians are saved today. It actually says the opposite. It says God WILL FINISH, WILL BRING TO COMPLETION (in the future), His work of saving Christians "at the day of Jesus Christ", when He RETURNS". It is clearly a PROCESS. God BEGAN a good work (a process) now with the promise of us being saved if we endure to the end, but Christians are not saved today. They can still fall away and lose eternal life. They can still willfully reject Jesus’ sacrifice and intentionally go back to a sinful lifestyle and not be saved from death in Hell fire and given eternal life in God's Kingdom with Jesus, not be "SAVED".
These verses say the same thing about a future event.
Romans 5:10; “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we SHALL BE SAVED by his life.“
It doesn’t say we ARE or WERE saved today, but we "SHALL BE SAVED". A future event.
Romans 10:13; “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED.”
It doesn’t say IS saved, but "SHALL BE SAVED". A future event.
James 1:12; “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him”.
Afterward we are saved if we endure the "testing and temptation" in this world. Then we receive the promised crown of eternal life, and are saved. A future event.
Mark 13:13 says, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved"
It doesn’t say IS saved today, but "SHALL BE SAVED" in the end if we endure. A future event.
Matthew 24:13 says, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
It doesn’t say IS saved now, but "SHALL BE SAVED" if we endure to the end. A future event.
Words have meanings. God chose these words for a reason, to show us the truth about when we are actually saved. These verses in this study all say Christians SHALL (future tense) be saved, not that they ARE (present tense) saved now. It’s a process for us today but we are not ACTUALLY "SAVED" from Hell to Eternal Life until Jesus returns. These verses totally negate the whole theory that we are "Once Saved Always Saved" because no one is saved now. That’s why we can still fall away, draw back, or turn away.
We can fall away from enlightenment and repentance. (Hebrews 6:4-6)
We can fall away from knowledge of the truth. (Hebrews 10:26-29)
We can draw back from our faith. (Hebrews 10:38-39)
We can turn away from the way of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:20-21)
To hold a belief in Eternal Security and believe you are saved no matter what you do, you have to ignore all of the Scriptures that show we, with free will, can by our choices reject our salvation by sinning willfully, or fall away from our salvation by turning away from Jesus and back to our sinful lifestyle. How do you ignore Hebrews 6:4-6? Do you not believe what God plainly says that they can fall away with no hope of repentance? And Hebrews 10:26-29. Can God speak any more plainly than this? How do you answer Him? There is absolutely no interpretation or personal opinion about what God is saying here.
We should never second guess God, or apply our understanding of what we HOPE Scripture means, instead of what He plainly says. God does look on the heart, so we have to trust Him that when He looks on the heart of someone who has fallen away and rejected Jesus’ sacrifice, He fully KNOWS what is in that heart and judges righteously in saying it is impossible to renew them again if that is the case. We can’t KNOW the mind of God and what criteria He specifically uses to determine “willful sin” in each situation. We don't know what that means for each person’s sinful situation. We need to trust God’s judgment.
We do know when God says “falling away”, it is clearly not just a temporary lapse on the person’s part. He is merciful to those temporary weak lapses. No, it is a conscious rejection of Jesus sacrifice that only God can know, and He says it’s permanent! God cannot lie! When He says it’s “IMPOSSISBLE TO RENEW THEM AGAIN unto repentance ” or “THERE REMAINS NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR (their) SINS” He means it. It’s Hell Fire for that person no matter what WE believe! There are no loopholes. No “yeah buts”. No “I see it in the Bible but here’s what I believe.” It doesn’t matter what we “believe”. It only matters what God says, whether we agree with Him or not doesn’t matter. We need to trust Him! He will do exactly as He says and it is our responsibility as His followers to get in alignment with His “will” and accept it whether we understand it or not.
If being saved really is a future event then it’s easy to see why all the verses about falling away or drawing back, or not enduring before we die are very possible for a believer. "Once saved always saved" does not seem to be supported at all by what the Bible actually says, and the verses I have listed all support this even more. The multiple Scriptures all point to a daily process of being saved that requires us to meet the IF CONDITIONS to be saved in the future at Christ’s return, IF we endure and do what God says. Then, in the future, we SHALL be saved from death in Hell when Jesus gives us the gift of eternal life at our resurrection, when we are changed to glorified spirit beings. We don’t have Eternal Security until we are resurrected to eternal life when Jesus returns. THEN we are SAVED forever from our wages of sin in Hell and receive the gift of God to eternal life. (Romans 6:23). Then, and only then, when we are changed to glorified spirit beings that can never fall away from God for all eternity, can we finally say…… We are “Once Saved Always Saved!