Understanding how salvation works is extremely important. Sadly, there’s much confusion and deception over this topic in
Christianity today. I realize in an article of this length that I can’t possibly cover everything, but I hope merely to provide a biblically faithful, logically persuasive, and easily understandable overview of how salvation works. I’d like to begin by affirming the classic Christian teaching that God saves us based on His grace, not our righteous deeds. It is not possible for you to earn salvation; rather, it is God’s gift. To show you this, I’d like to begin by considering two important texts: Ephesians 2:8 and Romans 1:17.¹.

Ephesians 2:8-9. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

This passage teaches a couple of very important truths: (1) there is such a thing as salvation in the past tense and (2) salvation is God’s gift (not the result of your works). Some Christians allege that salvation is solely in the future—as if no one is saved until Jesus comes back. They get this from the verses in the Bible that clearly point to a future salvation. (See Rom 5:9; 13:11-14; 1 Thes 5:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5). However, that does not negate the fact that salvation is also a past event for the believer. (See Rom 8:24; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 3:5.)² Both are true. If you are a Christian, you can say, “I have been saved” and “I will be saved.” Not to complicate that matter, but you can also say, “I’m being saved”. (See 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15; Phil 2:12-13). Anyhow, my main point for now is simply that we shouldn’t deny that there is such a thing as past-tense salvation. You believed; God saved you. You were saved.

The second point I’d like to draw from this text is that past-tense salvation is not the result of good deeds. One simply believes in the gospel, and God graciously provides salvation as a gift. If salvation resulted from your accomplishments, then you could look down on others who lack the ability, willpower, or skill to achieve it for themselves. However, if salvation is a gift, then your good deeds are a response to the grace you’ve received. Your righteous works are “thank yous” to God for saving you. Tim Keller explained this so well when he contrasted the moral performance narrative with the grace narrative in a talk he gave at Google.

“There are two basic ways of thinking about your self-image. One is what I’m going to call a moral performance narrative. A moral-performance narrative says, “I’m ok; I’m a good person; I feel significant; and I have worth because I’m achieving
something.” So if you are a liberal person and you feel like, “I’m a good person because I am working for the poor and working for human rights and I’m open minded,” you can’t help, in a moral performance narrative, where your self-image is based on your performance as a generous liberal activist person… you can’t help but look down your nose at bigots; you can’t but feel superior to bigots. On the other hand, what if you are a traditional, religious person and you go to church and you read your Bible or you go to synagogue and read your Bible or you go to the mosque and read the Quran. You’re working hard to feel good and serve God, etc. Now in that case, you have to look down your nose at people who don’t believe in your religion. They’re not being as good as you are. Maybe you’re just a secular person and you’re a hardworking decent chap. You can’t help it—if your self-image is based on the fact that you’re a hardworking decent chap—you can’t help but look down your nose at people who are lazy. But the gospel, the gospel is something different. The gospel says, “Jesus Christ comes and saves you.” The gospel says, “You’re a sinner.” The gospel says, “You don’t live up to your own standards.” The gospel says, “There is no way you are going to live up to your own standards.” The gospel says, “You have failed; you’re a moral failure and salvation only belongs to people who admit they’re moral failures.” Jesus came in weakness and died on the cross. He says that salvation is only for weak people; it is only for people who admit they’re not better than anyone else and they just need mercy. If you have a grace narrative, if you say, “The reason I can look myself in the mirror, the reason I know I have significance is because Jesus died for me. I am a sinner saved by grace.” If you say that, then you can’t feel superior to anybody. I’ve got a Hindu neighbor in my apartment building, and I think he is wrong about…many things but he probably is a better father than me; he could be a much better man, why? “Aren’t you a Christian and he’s a Hindu? Don’t you think you have the truth.” Yeah, but here’s the truth! The truth is I’m a sinner and I’m saved by grace… I’m not saved because I’m a better man. I’m saved because I’m a worse man, really.”³

When you know for sure that you aren’t good enough to save yourself, that you are saved only because of God’s extravagant
generosity, and that you now have a bright future because of His grace and His mercy, you carry yourself differently. You also look at others differently. Your reservoir of gratitude is full, so even when life beats you down with hardship and suffering, you still have a surplus of God’s grace to get you through.

Now, let’s consider a second Scripture that will help us understand how salvation is by faith, rather than works.

Romans 1:16-17. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

When the Apostle Paul says that salvation is for “everyone who believes,” that belief is the person’s decision. There are some
Christians called monergists who believe that God provides the faith one needs to become saved. The idea is that the individual does absolutely nothing. I don’t see that here. Rather, it is the person who believes, as Romans 1:16 says, not God who makes the person believe. People must decide for themselves whether or not to believe. We reach up in faith, and God reaches down in grace to pull us out of the quicksand of sin. Then once you believe, you live by faith. You embrace God’s way rather than our world’s way of life.

Now it is common in Christianity today to hold that once we are saved, we will always remain saved regardless of our actions. This idea is called “eternal security.” I agree that salvation is by faith alone; however, once you are saved, you must persevere in that salvation. Once you believe in Jesus, you must follow him. Once you get rescued from sin, you should not return to that life.

I’d like to present four major problems with eternal security before offering a concluding synthesis. They are: (1) analogies,
(2) conditional statements, (3) warnings, and (4) bad examples. The first three are drawn straight from Scripture, and the fourth
concerns modern examples of people who illustrate the danger of this belief.

1. Analogies

We begin by considering two analogies: one from Jesus and one from Paul. Both teach about perseverance and warn about the fate of those who quit.

John 15:4-6. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and
withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

This illustration is as profound as it is simple to understand. Believers must abide in Christ, or else they will not be able to
produce fruit. Thus, even the good deeds in our lives are not our own, but the result of our connection to the vine. Without him,
we cannot do anything. But, if we fail to abide in him, we wither. This is not an instantaneous process, resulting from a mistake, but a slow turning away from Christ over time. Someone once asked me if Billy Graham, a world-famous evangelist, would lose his salvation if he accidentally drove off a cliff and just before hitting the ground, blurted out a curse word. This is a silly scenario, but it gets to a common misunderstanding. I am not advocating for perfectionism or saying that one sin causes individuals to lose their salvation. However, like a branch on a vine whose leaves are brown and withered from a slow steady process, there is a point at which “the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 14:6). This is a terrifying prospect, but it’s also easily avoidable. Probably the greatest danger to perseverance is believing that perseverance is unnecessary. Otherwise, why wouldn’t you just remain connected to the vine?

Let’s take a look at Paul’s analogy of the two olive trees.

Romans 11:16-23. 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.

Once again, the idea of grace is front and center. He portrays the Jewish people as a nicely cultivated olive tree, whereas the Gentiles are random shoots from a wild olive tree. God graciously grafts individuals into the cultivated olive tree (saving them). Then Paul admonishes his readers, “Do not be arrogant…it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” (Rom 11:18). You didn’t earn your salvation; you couldn’t have grafted yourself into the tree. God had to do it for you. Still, you must remain connected. Others (the Jewish people who rejected Jesus) were cut off because of their unbelief. If they change their minds and come to faith in Christ, they will rejoin the tree. So it is with Gentiles. “You stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear” (Rom 11:20). This analogy well captures the importance of grace in the initial process of salvation, grace as we continue in our salvation, and the warning that those who discontinue will not remain saved. Although we won’t cover it here, another analogy that helpfully shows perseverance is required is the Sower and the Seed parable (Mat 13:3-9, 18-23; Mark 4:3-9, 14-20; Luke 8:5-8, 11-15).

2. Conditional Statements

A second grouping of texts urges perseverance more directly, using conditional statements.⁴ When parents tell their children, “If you do your homework, you can have a treat,” that is a conditional statement. The condition is doing the homework, and the reward is the treat. If the children meet the condition, then they will receive the promise. With that in mind, consider these two texts that employ conditional statements regarding salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2. 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Colossians 1:22-23. 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

1 Corinthians 15:2 tells us that it’s possible to believe in vain. This means that people can genuinely believe for a time, but the end result is futile because they did not hold fast to the word. They had received the gospel; they had stood; they were being saved; but it could still all be in vain if they don’t also persevere. Likewise, Colossians 1:23 encourages us to “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.” This is the condition we must meet if we will be reconciled by his death and presented blameless before him. Once again, Scripture is not asking us to be flawless in our stand. But it tells us to persevere. We know that when we fail, we have a way back to forgiveness and cleansing through confession. (See 1 John 1:9.) God has built in a mechanism so that we can get back up when we fall. That’s not the issue. The issue is persevering, holding fast to the word, and continuing in faith.

3. Warnings

In addition to tree analogies and conditional statements, the New Testament contains several warnings about the possibility of falling away. We’ll look at only two here, but there are plenty of others.⁵

Galatians 5:19-21. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5-6. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

What’s amazing about these two texts is that they are both found in church Epistles—letters written to communities of believers or saints. Paul is not talking to sinful unbelievers here. He warns Christians that indulging in sinful lifestyles will disinherit them from the Kingdom of God. (The Kingdom of God refers to the age after Christ returns and resurrects the saved to eternal life. Thus, getting excluded from the Kingdom is the same as getting excluded from eternal life.) Furthermore, he warns of deception on this subject. Is it any wonder that most of Protestant Christianity wrongly believes that they can have sexual immorality, impurity, or covetousness in their lives, and it doesn’t affect their salvation? Any time you see a warning about deception in Scripture, take it seriously. Chances are there will be widespread deception on that very point today.

4. Bad Examples

Now that we’ve considered some of what the Bible says on the subject of perseverance, let’s briefly examine two modern
individuals who held to the doctrine of eternal security. Our first specimen is George Sodini. He gave the following explanation:
“Be Ye Holy, even as I have been holy! Thus saith the lord thy God!”, as pastor would proclaim… this guy teaches (and convinced me) you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven. Ask him… Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.”⁶

In 2009, this man brought three handguns into a women’s aerobics class, shooting thirty-six times, hitting thirteen people, and
killing three. Then he shot himself. Sodini had attended a nondenominational church. We know from the online diary he left
behind that he took his faith seriously and thought through his doctrine of salvation (soteriology). Sodini was dead wrong about
his interpretation. Scripture states plainly, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). Sodini will not inherit eternal life. He did not continue in his salvation; rather, he gave in to bitterness, jealousy, and hatred.

A second example comes from John Earnest, who held a strong belief in predestination. He wrote the following:

“I did not choose to be a Christian. The Father chose me. The Son saved me. And the Spirit keeps me. Why me? I do not know. … To my brothers in Christ of all races. Be strong… Turn away from your sin. Not because it is required for your salvation—for nobody save Christ can merit heaven based on his own works—but rather out of gratitude for the gift
of salvation that your God has given you. Always remember that it is God that is keeping you alive and in faith. …Know that you are saved in Christ and nothing—not death, nor torture, nor sin—can steal your soul away from God.”⁷

In 2017, Earnest entered a synagogue in California looking for Jewish people to murder. He killed one and injured three others,
including an eight-year-old girl, before his gun jammed, and he ran away. Earnest believed that death, torture, and sin could not take away his salvation. I agree with him about death and torture, but Scripture repeatedly and explicitly teaches that continuing in sin does endanger one’s salvation. The analogies, conditional statements, and plain warnings all demonstrate that sinfulness like Earnest’s prejudice, racism, and hatred are incompatible with salvation.

I’m so enraged when people take the beautiful grace filled truths of Scripture and twist them to justify murder. Such disgusting and despicable actions should not be laid at the feet of our Lord who taught us to love our enemies and then paid the ultimate price with his own blood. As a pastor, I feel a weight of responsibility seeing Sodini and Earnest. They both went to church. They both listened to a pastor like me teach. They both murdered others. But the worst part of all is that their confidence in the doctrine of eternal security provided them comfort shortly before their murderous rampages. This makes me want to shout from the rooftops, “Eternal security is heresy! You must persevere in salvation. You can’t just believe once and then live in sin.”

Now I want to be careful here. I’m not saying that everyone who believes in eternal security is a murderer. I know many wonderful, godly people who believe they cannot lose their salvation. Furthermore, in many cases, such people do persevere in their salvation, and I fully expect to see them in the Kingdom of God. What I am saying is that there’s a danger here. The doctrine can lead to self-destruction as well as the harm of others.

Conclusion

After preaching this message on a recent Sunday⁸, I received a couple of criticisms. One person accused me of contradicting
myself. He thought I was saying that you are not saved by works and that you are saved by works at the same time. I can see why he thought that. For many, this is a new way of thinking about salvation, and it takes time to fully grasp it. As I mentioned in the introduction, there is such a thing as past-tense salvation, present-tense salvation, and future-tense salvation. They are not the same, but they are interconnected. Salvation in the past is when you are initially forgiven of your sins and made a child of God. Present-tense salvation refers to the ongoing forgiveness and sanctification process that happens as you continue in your salvation. Lastly, salvation in the future tense is resurrection into eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Naturally, salvation in the past tense is necessary to be saved in the future tense as well, but it does not guarantee it. You must continue in your salvation (present tense) day by day until the end of your life. Now, God has stacked the deck in your favor. His grace saved you initially and remains available to keep you in the present if you are willing. However, that grace is not irresistible, nor does it remove your free will.

Another criticism was that I was preaching a version of lordship salvation. I’m willing to own that one. I must admit that I’ve never heard of “lordship salvation” before, but that’s probably a good phrase to describe what I believe. One must confess Jesus as Lord to be saved (Rom 10:9). If I confess Jesus as Lord, then I’m bound to do what he says. In fact, Jesus himself said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). To call Jesus “Lord” means you are committing to obeying him. Now, I don’t believe obeying Jesus earns you salvation, but I do think that disobeying Jesus can over time cause you to lose your salvation. In fact, Jesus predicted that many would come to him on the last day calling him “Lord” and pointing to their miraculous deeds that they accomplished in his name. He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). Doing God’s will is not optional.

Still, I’m absolutely convinced that following Jesus does not earn salvation. Salvation is simply not earnable. Doing good deeds doesn’t make our sins go away. How does justice work in a courtroom? Imagine the scene where a defendant says to the judge, “Yeah, I robbed that bank, but I also gave blood and worked at the soup kitchen.” Would that work? Good deeds are wonderful, but they don’t erase our crimes against God. We need forgiveness for that. We need God’s unmerited grace. Only by Him deciding to forgive, can we be forgiven. Then, once we are forgiven, how insane would it be to return to a life of crime? Once again, I’m not arguing you have to be perfect. You will probably fall many times between when you were first saved and when you take your last breath. But, God is there the whole time with an unlimited supply of His grace and forgiveness if you seek it. Still, if you turn away and don’t come back, you should not be surprised that you forfeited your salvation.

In fact, most relationships in life work the same way. Say for example you have a mortgage. You’re supposed to make payments every month. In exchange, the bank agrees to let you live in its house. What would happen if one month you decided to make your payment to a different bank or just not pay at all? The bank wouldn’t immediately foreclose on the house. They’d probably send you warning letters, tack on fees, and wait to see if you’ll continue paying. It would take time for them to lose faith in you. But eventually, if you continue with non-payment long enough, they’ll take the house away from you. The faithfulness of the bank to their end of the deal does not ensure you will keep the house. Only when both parties are faithful to the agreement will both enjoy the benefits.

In conclusion, you can’t save yourself. Salvation is a gift God graciously gives you when you first believe in the gospel. Once
you’ve received the gift, you must steward it by God’s continuing grace. You persevere in your salvation by obeying the teachings of Christ and requesting forgiveness when you fail. Then, when you come to die, you die in faith, looking forward to the day of resurrection. On that last day, God’s grace will pour into your remains, healing you and bringing you back to life in resurrection. From beginning to end, it’s all by grace. You were saved by God’s grace; you are being saved by God’s grace; and you will be saved by God’s grace.

What are some benefits to believing that you must persevere rather than just believing once?

1. See also Tit 3:3-7 and Rom 3:20-28, which similarly recognize that salvation is an unearned gift.[↩]
2. 2 In addition to having been saved, the New Testament employs a variety of other
   verbs to describe salvation in the past tense, including “justified” (Rom 2:13; 3:4, 20, 24, 28; 4:2; 5:1, 9; 8:30; 10:10; 1 Cor 6:11; Gal 2:16-17, 3:11; 3:24; 5:4; Tit 3:7), “reconciled” (Rom 5:10-11; 1 Cor 7:11; 2 Cor 5:18-20; Eph 2:16; Col 1:20-22),
   “adopted” (Rom 8:15, 23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5), “sanctified” (1 Cor 1:2; 6:11; Eph 5:26), “redeemed” (Gal 3:13; 4:5; Tit 2:14), and “regenerated” (Tit 3:5).[↩]
3. “The Reason for God,” Authors @ Google Talk, March 5, 2008.[↩]
4. See also Gal 6:8-9; 2 Tim 2:11-13; Heb 3:14.[↩]
5. For Scriptures that warn of the possibility of falling away, see 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 6:4-8; 10:26-29; 2 Peter 2:20-22; Revelation 3:1-5.[↩]
6. “Full Text of Gym Killer’s Blog,” New York Post, Aug 5, 2009, https://nypost.com/2009/08/05/full-text-of-gym-killers-blog/, accessed Dec 5, 2023.[↩]
7. John Earnest, “An Open Letter” April 27, 2019, https://bcsh.bard.edu/files/2019/06/Earnest-Manifesto-042719.pdf, accessed Dec 5, 2023.[↩]
8. This teaching is available as audio or video at https://lhim.org/weekly-teachings/salvation-requires-perseverance/[↩]