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There is a teaching in the body of Christ that, based on Hebrews 6:4–6 (a text which was already covered), there is a slight possibility of genuine believers to lose their salvation through their own free choice. This teaching says you can’t sin your salvation away, but you can renounce it. Rejecting your faith isn’t quickly done, but it is possible. Before someone would ever renounce such a great salvation, they would have to become hardened toward God (Hebrews 3:13–14). Although your spirit is unaffected by sin, your body and soul are altered, because your perception, wisdom, and understanding of who you are in the spirit gets dulled. If you persist in sin long enough, you can come to a place where Satan would try to make you renounce your faith in Christ with your voice. And if you leave your faith and reject God, you can throw your salvation away. These teachers say it’s not something you lose without knowing, like, for example, misplaced car keys. This rejection is done deliberately and openly. That’s something that takes place over some time. However, the proponents of this view admit not many fall away in this manner.
First, such a possibility of genuine born-again believers renouncing their salvation consciously can never be proved empirically. Even the advocates of this perspective admit it’s almost impossible. So, then I ask, why, for the sake of a 0.000001% possibility of renouncing salvation, would we consider it as a teaching to bring an unjustified fear to the 99.99999% of saved people who will never give up on their faith? If you put just a tiny drop of ink in a cup full of clean water, the whole water will change its color. Such a possibility of renouncing salvation through our free will cancels completely any assurance of salvation or eternal security. Second, there is no clear Bible verse, like Romans 10:9–10, affirming that the new creations can become unsaved by confessing with the mouth that they no longer want Jesus in their lives. Such a possibility is crucial and should have been explicitly mentioned in the Bible. Third, does the Devil have a greater power of conviction upon people, to give up on their salvation deliberately, than the Holy Spirit Who convinced them of the truth of the Gospel, regenerated them, and intercedes continuously for them before God? Of course not! Lucifer and the first Adam renounced their state of perfect holiness by their own free choice in a perfect heaven and earth, without being hardened by sin or having their perception blinded. Even more, in a world full of evil, temptations, appetites and bad habits which are against us as believers, the probability that we can renounce our salvation is exponentially increased unless God keeps us by the power of the Holy Spirit and preserves our salvation, as well as our desire never to reject it by our free will:
Jude 1:24 (NKJV)
24 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.
Another variation of this teaching is that those who renounce their salvation in Christ by their free will, are very mature spiritually and know exactly what they are doing. However, how can a mature person in Christ make such a foolish and immature decision? It’s impossible, because even humanly speaking, the more mature you are, the wiser decisions you take. All the more, that is true spiritually speaking.
Someone once asked: “If a born-again Christian turns his back on God, becomes a satanist and does a covenant with the Devil, will he still be saved?” If a person manages to do a functional covenant with Satan, that means he was not regenerated. In that case, while he lives, he still has a chance to come to Christ. In the case of those genuinely born-again, I think it’s impossible for them to accomplish a pact with the Devil and I will explain why I believe so. First, at the moment of salvation, people become “owned” by the Lord Jesus if I may say so, although the term sounds a bit harsh, but He is the best owner to be under! People under this authority and ownership would never want to leave willingly out of it. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that they are not their own:
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NKJV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Moreover, Jesus promised to protect those under His ownership so that no one can snatch them from His hand:
John 10:27–28 (NKJV)
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Second, the covenant made with Jesus at salvation is not a contract that can be canceled anytime we want. It is a forever blood covenant. I don’t think we fully grasp in our day and age the strength and extent of a blood covenant like ancient people understood it. The Devil may try to overwrite or replace that covenant with another, but he will fail. I believe it’s possible that some born-again believers may attempt to make a pact with the Devil out of frustration or lack of understanding and knowledge, but I don’t think it will work. They might even try to manifest some satanic behaviors. However, in the end, they will either come to their senses and return to Christ after a while, or they will be saved as through fire.
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Session 12 – Eternal Security and Free Will (Saved for Eternity) – July 5th, 2024
