Can you lose your salvation?

Do some people who  have become real Christians ever  renounce their faith and stop being a  Christian? Or is someone who’s been  saved once always saved?

Christianity is  pretty much divided into two camps. One  side believes in eternal security and  the other side does not. The  Bible clearly teaches that once you’re in  the faith, Jesus keeps you in the faith  unto the end. It also teaches that if you  depart from the faith, you’ll be damned.

First of all, I’m going  to give you a list of scriptures that  teach preservation of the Savior  (i.e. God preserves us in the  faith). Then I’m going to give you a  group of scriptures that teaches perseverance  of the saints (i.e. saints must  persevere in the faith to be saved in  the end).

Verses on preservation of the Savior

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Hebrews  9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Romans 8:30-32 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

1 Corinthians 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

1 Peter 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

second Timothy 4:18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

1 Thessalonians  5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These are the passages that teach  that the saints have an obligation to  stay in the faith unto the end or lose  their salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

“unless you believed in vain” indicates that if they didn’t keep this  gospel that he preached that save them,  they didn’t keep it in memory, if they  threw this gospel away for Mormonism or  Jehovah Witnessism or some other “ism” that  doesn’t make salvation based in Jesus  Christ alone…I met a guy yesterday, he said ‘I was  once a born-again Christian. I’m now an  atheist.” Right now, being an  atheist, he’s not gonna go to heaven  regardless of what he was and thinks he  was. You  must stay in the faith unto the end to  be saved. 

Hebrews 3:5, 14 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;

He talked about how people under  Moses died after coming out because they rebelled  against God and he made a comparison  there. And he said “don’t harden your  heart like they did for we’re made partakers of Christ if we hold the  beginning of our confidence steadfast unto  the end.” 

Hebrews 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.

Hebrews 10:35-39 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Paul  said “but of them that believe to the  saving of the soul” so Paul is talking to  the Christians there. And he said if  you draw back from this faith then you  end up in perdition (i.e. hell).

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

I’ve given you  two groups of scriptures. One group  says when Jesus Christ places you  in the faith he will keep you in the  faith. There’s no passage of scripture that says  once you’re saved, regardless you’re  saved. The Scriptures teach that once  you’re saved, he keeps you in the faith  so that in the end you are in the faith  and remain saved by staying in the faith. Second group of Scriptures teach that if  you depart from the faith, if you throw  Christ away, if you trample under the  foot the blood of the Son of God, count  the Covenant wherewith you were  sanctified an unholy thing, and do  despite under the spirit of grace, then you you’ll  be damned. So you cannot forsake Jesus  Christ and somehow just be resurrected  out of the bar at the end of your life a  saved man.