Can you lose your salvation? By Ron Knight

Here was a question that was sent from a reader:
People have argued that OSAS (Once saved always saved) proponents don't have any foundation of their belief. But I think that something you never earned can't be lost. My question is, if someone commits apostacy (departs from the faith), do they really fall from the Grace of God? How does repentance relate to the OSAS debate?

Answer: Good question, and thanks for writing. Yes, once a person puts their faith and trust in the shed blood of the Lord Jeus Christ they are saved eternally! I often ask those who ask me about this, and who are unsure about their eternal security one question, and that is....What does the word "ETERNAL" mean? And they will obviously answer: FOREVER! So I tell them that if God gave them the "gift" of eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that once God gives you and gift, He will NEVER take it back...because Paul writes in Romans 11:29...,"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance"....meaning God will NEVER change His mind and take it back:-)! That means that once God gives us His ETERNAL life, it's our's and belongs to us ETERNALLY:-)! Praise the Lord Jesus for that!

Our Apostle Paul gives MUCH evidence and proof of this fact in other places as well. In Romans 5:1-5, Paul says that once we trust Christ's death at Calvary for our sins and are justified by faith alone, God gives us the Holy Ghost to live in our hearts. He also says in Ephesians 1:13-14, that when you believe the "gospel of YOUR salvation"...that is, the one that Paul preached in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, that Christ died for your sins...then God "SEALS" you with His Holy Spirit of promise. Just like you put down earnest money on a home, and give it to a realtor as PROOF that you are serious about buying that home, God (who can not lie...Titus 1:2...Paul says in speaking about our eternal life)...gives the "earnest" deposit of His Spirit as PROOF that you can never lose your salvation.

Our brethren the Corinthians shamefully sinned worse than some of the lost gentile heathens around them, yet Paul said that they are still secure IN CHRIST (1 Corinthians 1:4-8). In the book of Galatians our Apostle dealt with SAVED people who were apostates (they left the faith that Paul preached, and mixed Israel's Law program with God's Grace program to the Body of Christ). Paul calls this "fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:4). Why? Because by mixing the doctrine that God wrote to the Nation of Israel, with what God wrote to us thru Paul, you render your Christian life and service USELESS! It will not function as God intends and you can NOT bring forth the "fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ...." Philippians 1:11.

You must rightly divide the scriptures,...which is simply understanding that God's commands TODAY to you are found in Paul's 13 letters (Acts 9:15, Romans 11:13, 1 Corinthians 14:37). It's by taking heed to what our Apostle Paul writes that a person who has "fallen from grace" and has "opposed themselves" can allow God to "give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."...2 Timothy 2:25-26. Please do not take my word for all this, but study all these passages for yourself. Well, I hope this all helps,...