Earning and Losing Salvation

Tuesday, 2nd May 2007

I have been sparring with a dear brother of mine regarding the topic of salvation.

He has been insisting that persistent sinning would cause a person to lose his salvation.

This difference in opinion is not new - it has been debated down through the ages. Those of the camp that one can lose one's salvation are labelled Arminians, while those who believe that once a person is saved, he is always saved are labelled Calvinists.

I thank God that there is no official Methodist stand, othewise I would have to be ex-communicated :-).

I had lunch with the President of TRAC earlier this year, and he told me that there are both Arminian and Calvinistic Methodists.

It is stated very clearly in the Bible that our salvation is a gift. It is not earned. Paul says in Eph 2:8-9 that by grace, we have been saved through faith and not of ourselves; it is the gift of God.

Jesus also told Nicodemus in John 3:7 that we are to be born again. Not born again... and again... and again...

If we cannot earn salvation by performing righteous deeds, by the same token, how can we then lose our salvation by performing unrighteous deeds?

This concept of doing good to earn merits to outweigh the demerits as a result of bad deeds has sadly infiltrated Christianity.

Let's get back to the Bible. We who are now in the kingdom of God have the spirit of sonship. God does not disown us. He promised that He will never leave nor forsake us.