1 Reason Why Once Saved, Always Saved is NOT Biblical

Once Saved, Always Saved is a Protestant doctrine that claims you cannot lose your salvation once you come into the faith and accept Christ as your savior. It’s a nice belief because it allows a person to be sure of their entrance into heaven without the repercussions of sin taking a toll on him or her. But is this what Jesus taught? 

Well, today, we will focus on just one passage that denies this claim. Jesus is preparing his disciples on what to expect when they proclaim the kingdom of God in Matthew 10: 16-22. 

“Jesus said to his Apostles: ‘Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.’”

Who will be saved?

As Christians, we can accept that this is our mission on earth. We are to expect that this will happen to us as well since this world hates Christ and his church. Nevertheless, to focus on the Once Saved, Always Saved argument, let’s emphasize what Jesus says in verse 21: “ Whoever endures to the end will be saved.” We need to strive for holiness and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, our advocate. 

Now, let’s clarify that most protestants don’t think Christians get a free card into heaven just by believing. Salvation will be granted to all Christians through Christ’s sacrifice, but their reward in heaven will be based on their good works. It’s hard talking about Protestants as a whole because Once Saved, Always Saved gets defined differently by each denomination. This is interesting because if the Bible is the ONLY source of authority, it should not have different interpretations. But that’s a conversation for another time! 

What protestants argue, however, is that your salvation is sealed and cannot be broken, ever. Clearly, in the passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is saying that those who endure will be saved. Jesus makes no comment on how believing in him is the determinator of salvation. 

Salvation is a process

Salvation is a process made possible through grace. This means that you are saved by having faith in Christ, but to maintain that salvation, you must do good works prepared by God to not lose it. Think about it: You are born without doing anything on your own. God simply brings you into existence. But once you are alive, you have free will to do things that will either keep you alive or kill you.

God wants you to live, and he will provide so that you keep on living, but you can also end your life. This is not to make light of suicide; as a matter of fact, this is to show you how precious your life is. You are wanted in this world, so God continues to let you take another deep breath. You matter so much that God wanted to gift your life without you earning it. However, he allows you to choose how you live it and if you will endure. 

As Christians, we know that God will never stop pursuing us. That is not disputed. But we need to recognize that we are given the power to choose life with God or not. At the end of the day, being in God’s presence and glorifying him is salvation. We can look forward to that in Heaven. Damnation, on the other hand, is choosing against God and renouncing his gift. 

God’s will

I hope this clarifies how Once Saved, Always Saved is not biblical. Many Protestants would simply place Matthew 10 and other verses that contradict their doctrine in a pile of controversial verses that should be ignored. That is not how the Word of God should be treated. But feel free to explain your reasoning better and continue to grow in faith. Jesus gave us a church that is led by our advocate to continue doing His. We trust God on that as Catholics. 

God bless you!