Once saved, you will be saved forever. It has been preached in the church for many years, but some people do not fully agree with this statement. Because this problem involves saving or not, it is a very serious problem. In order to get an accurate answer, we must look for the answer from the Bible.
(a) the Lord Jesus said:
1) "Anyone who calls me' Lord, Lord' can't all go to heaven; Only those who do the will of my heavenly father can go in. " (Matt. 7: 2 1) Those who call the Lord the Lord are of course Christians who believe in the Lord. Since you can't all enter the kingdom of God, you can't be saved, because there are only heaven and hell in the Bible, and there is no third place.
2) "On that day, many people will say to me,' Lord, Lord, aren't we preaching in your name, driving out demons and performing many miracles in your name? I told them bluntly, "I never knew you. Leave me, you evildoers! " "(Matt. 7: 22-23) These people not only believe in the Lord, but also serve God. They are talented preachers. The Lord said to them, depart from me, you evildoers! Can they be saved? Absolutely not! They can't be saved because they do evil. Any preacher who serves God still lives in sin and refuses to repent. Since the Lord cannot accept him, how can he be saved? Absolutely not!
3) John 15: 1-2 "I am a real vine, and my father cultivated it. He cut off all the branches that belong to me, and they didn't bear fruit; He prunes everything that bears fruit, so that the branches can bear more fruit. " John 15: 6 "if a man does not live in me, he is like a withered branch thrown outside, and someone picks it up and throws it into the fire to burn." All the branches that belong to me and bear no fruit in the Bible mean that a Christian is still living in the body, apparently a Christian, and still has an unrepentant old life, not to mention doing gospel work (not preaching the gospel). He was cut down by the heavenly father and separated from Christ, just like a withered branch thrown outside and then burned in the fire. Can such Christians be saved? Absolutely not!
4) Matthew 13: 47-50 "The kingdom of heaven is like a net scattered in the sea, gathering all kinds of aquatic animals. When the net is full, people pull ashore; Sit down, put the good ones in the container and throw away the bad ones. So will the end of the world. Angels will come out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the furnace. People will cry and gnash their teeth. " The aquarium in the network is a metaphor for Christians. "Throw away the bad" means getting rid of the evil Christians. Angels want to separate evil Christians from Christians and throw them into the furnace. Can they even be kept in the oven? Absolutely not!
5) Matthew 25: 1- 13 "At that time, the kingdom of heaven was like ten virgins holding lamps and going out to meet the groom. Five of them are stupid and five are smart. Fools hold lamps, but do not prepare oil; The wise man picked up the lamp and prepared oil in the container. As soon as the groom delayed, they all dozed off and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, someone shouted,' Here comes the groom, come out and meet him!' All the virgins get up and tidy up the lights. The fool said to the wise man, "Please give us some oil, because our lamp is going out." The clever answer said,' I'm afraid it's not enough for you and me. Why don't you go to the oil seller and buy it yourself! While they were shopping, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him and sat at the table. The door was closed. The other virgins came later and said,' Lord, Lord, open the door for us! But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I don't know you. Be careful, therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour. "The virgin refers to Christians, and the groom refers to the Lord Jesus. When Jesus comes again, the prepared Christian is a virgin of wisdom, and she is respected. Unprepared Christians eagerly shouted, "Lord, Lord, open the door for us", but the Lord replied, "I never knew you." Since the Lord doesn't know him, can he be saved? Absolutely not!
6) Matthew 13: 3-8 The parable of sowing seeds told by the Lord Jesus, in which the seedlings grow fastest when they fall on shallow stone ground and the soil is not deep. When the sun rises, it dries up because it has no roots; The Lord Jesus explained this parable: the one sown on the stone ground is the one who hears the word and accepts it with joy, because he has no root in his heart, but it is only temporary. When he suffers or is persecuted for the word, he immediately falls down; In short, germination, growth and withering indicate that plants are dead. I would like to ask Christians who believe in the Lord to be saved because they have no roots in their hearts and are only temporary (that is, people who are saved once). After being persecuted and tortured, they immediately fell down. Can they be saved? Absolutely not!
7) Matthew 22: 14: The Lord Jesus said, "Because many people are called, few people are chosen." . God knows that eventually someone will leave because of adversity, persecution or various temptations and temptations, and never come back. Therefore, those who have believed, if their fruit is not commensurate with the so-called grace, can not be saved, or can not be chosen.
(2) What did the apostles' letters say?
1) Romans 8: 5-6 "Because those who follow the flesh cling to the flesh; Those who follow the Holy Spirit stick to the Holy Spirit. He who cares about the body is death, and he who cares about the Holy Spirit is life and peace. " What is the body? The body is the old life, don't believe in the old life before. If a Christian still lives in the old life after believing in the Lord and lives according to what he likes in his heart, it is called cherishing his body. It is death that cares about the body. In this way, can people be saved by living a loving physical life after believing in the Lord? Absolutely not!
2) Galatians 5: 17-2 1 "Because lust and the Holy Spirit contend, and the Holy Spirit and lust contend, we cannot do whatever we want. But if you are led by the Holy Spirit, you are not under the law. Lust is obvious, such as adultery, filth, immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, competition, jealousy, anger, factions, strife, heresy, jealousy, drunkenness, famine and so on. I told you before, and now I tell you that those who do such things will never inherit the kingdom of God. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is kindness, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and temperance. There is no law against such a thing. Everyone who belongs to Christ Jesus has crucified the flesh and its evil feelings and desires. If we live by the Holy Spirit, we should live by the Holy Spirit. Don't covet the false reputation, annoy each other and be jealous of each other. " After believing in the Lord, if people still follow their own desires, they can't inherit the kingdom of God. If you can't inherit the kingdom of God, can you be saved? Absolutely not!
Hebrews 6: 4-8 "As for those who have been illuminated, tasted the grace of heaven, been with the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of God, and realized the power of the afterlife, if they abandon the truth, they will not be able to repent, because they have crucified the Son of God and publicly humiliated him. Just like Kuaitian, it rained many times and planted vegetables suitable for farmers, which is a blessing given by God. If thorns and thorns grow, they will be thrown away and almost cursed, and the end will be burning. " The people mentioned here who have been divided in the Holy Spirit must be Christians who have been reborn and saved, and have received a lot of grace from God. If he abandons the truth, it will grow like thorns and thistles, and its end will be cursed and burned. Can such Christians be saved? Absolutely not!
4) 2 Peter 2: 20 "If they know the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they can get rid of the filth of death and be entangled in it, and their last situation will be worse than before. They know the way of justice, but they betray the sacred life passed on to them. I might as well not know. As the saying goes, it is really: what a dog spits, it turns around and eats; The pig tumbled in the mud after being washed. This is just right for them. " Peter warned Christians that it was best not to know that, as he said, after believing in the Lord and violating the sacred commandments given to them, they were still living in sin. Because his fate is irreversible.
Revelation 3: 5 "He who overcomes will be clothed in white, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life." In other words, some people will be blotted out by the Lord. If a Christian is blotted out of the book of life, can he be saved? Definitely not.
6) Some people say, "Romans 10: 10 doesn't mean,' Because people believe in their hearts, they can be justified, and when they admit it, they can be saved.' Really? "So as long as people believe, they can be saved forever.
The question is what is "believing". "Faith" is not only "knowing" and "agreeing", or the truth of God, which can go on forever. "Faith" means fearing God from the heart and doing the will of the Father. Believers must keep away from evil and live by the Holy Spirit. And believe in everything, always believe, and always try to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and you will be saved. People who "save once" are not like this. They were only temporary, and then they left. If they don't want to come back, it doesn't belong to the scope of this poem!
7) Others say, "The Bible doesn't say' He who sent me', but what he gave me so that I didn't lose anything, but it raised him up in the last day. (John 6: 39) This is to fulfill what Jesus once said. I have not lost anything you have given me. (John 18: 9). Since "no one is lost", those who save once will be saved forever. Of course, none of the people God gave to Jesus will be lost. Jesus is powerful, and no one can snatch the sheep from his hand. However, if a believer is born again, knows the path of righteousness, but is still willing to go back, such a person cannot be saved because he has given up on himself. Just like Adam and Eve, God solemnly warned them not to eat the fruit of the tree that distinguishes good from evil in the garden, and they would die if they ate it that day. Admonishing, moving, and even warning make people repent. If people refuse to repent, they are willing to take the road of destruction. God is sad, but he doesn't force people. This is called "self-destruction". " If a person is still stiff-necked after repeated punishments, his reputation will be ruined and hopeless. "(Proverbs 29: 1)
From what the Lord Jesus and the apostles said, we know that salvation is not always once. What is a believer? When a person hears the gospel, is moved by the Holy Spirit and knows that he is a sinner, he asks Jesus to save me and forgive my sins. This is to bring the Lord Jesus into my heart and let Jesus take power in my life. In other words, my life is no longer like before, but a reformed person. If I commit another crime, I will repent again and pursue holiness and justice. Such people can be saved. If you believe in the Lord and still sin at will and refuse to repent, as in the above example, you cannot enter the kingdom of God, that is, you cannot be saved. Alas, there are still many people in the Christian church who are still in this situation. Maybe they were misled by the "teaching" of "save once and save forever". I write this article in the hope that such people will really repent, lest they will have no share in the kingdom of God in the future, and then they will cry and gnash their teeth.