Is once saved always saved, eternal security biblical? Can a Christian lose salvation?

The Bible teaches that when someone truly comes to Christ as their Savior, their salvation is eternally secure. Salvation is not simply saying a prayer or making a decision but is a sovereign work of God. Through the Holy Spirit, the unregenerate sinner is washed, renewed, and born again (John 3:3; Titus 3:5). God gives the saved person a new heart and spirit (Ezekiel 36:26–27), and their life reflects this transformation. Numerous Scriptures affirm the eternal security of salvation:

The Eternal Work of Salvation

1. Romans 8:30: “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
   This verse reveals that salvation, from predestination to glorification, is a guaranteed work of God. When He justifies someone, their future glorification in His presence is assured.

2. Romans 8:33-34: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
   Since God justifies His people, no accusation can stand against them. Jesus Christ, our advocate and judge, intercedes on our behalf.

3. John 3:3: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
   Titus 3:5: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
   Being born again is a spiritual rebirth that cannot be undone. A believer cannot be “unborn.”

4. John 14:17: “The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
   Romans 8:9: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
   The Holy Spirit indwells all believers. For salvation to be lost, the Spirit would have to leave, which Scripture does not indicate happens.

5. John 3:15-16: “That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
   Eternal life means life without end. If salvation could be lost, it was never truly eternal.

6. Ephesians 4:30: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
   The Holy Spirit seals believers until the day of redemption, guaranteeing their eternal security.

7. Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
   Nothing in all creation can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

8. John 10:28-29: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
   Jesus and the Father hold believers securely, and no one has the power to remove them from this divine grip.

9. Jude 1:24-25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”
   God is the one who preserves believers and will present them faultless before His glory.

Objections to Eternal Security

Some question eternal security by pointing to Christians who live in unrepentant sin or abandon the faith. However, the Bible teaches:

1. A true Christian will not persist in a life of unrepentant sin:
   1 John 3:6: “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

2. Those who abandon the faith demonstrate they were never truly saved:
   1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

The Nature of Salvation

1. 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
   Salvation transforms a person into a new creation, which cannot be undone.

2. 1 Peter 1:18-19: “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
   Christians are redeemed by Christ’s blood, a purchase God will not revoke.

3. Ephesians 1:13-14: “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
   Believers are sealed with the Spirit as a guarantee of their inheritance in heaven.

4. Romans 11:29: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
   Salvation, as a gift of God, cannot be revoked.

Conclusion

Salvation is an eternal work of God, guaranteed by His power, not maintained by human effort. God’s promises are sure, and His love for His redeemed cannot be broken. Those who are truly saved can rest in the assurance of their eternal security, knowing they are held by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed by the Spirit.