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[Announcer] (0:00 - 0:17) Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Access more audio, videos, and Bible study resources at ChristianQuestions.com.

Our topic is: "Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?" Part I Here's Rick, Jonathan, and Julie.

[Rick] (0:20 - 0:30) Welcome everyone, I'm Rick, I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over twenty-five years. Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme Scripture for this episode?

[Jonathan] (0:30 - 0:40) Hebrews 10:26: "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins."

[Rick] (0:41 - 1:33) Every professed Christian acknowledges that they have been saved as a result of Jesus' sacrifice. The big questions come after that acknowledgement. How is someone saved?

Is there a cost for this salvation, or is it a free gift? What are we saved from? Is there a way to lose this salvation, or is it an unbreakable and permanent protection no matter what we do?

If we go to various denominations with these questions, we will receive a variety of answers. The challenge is, all these answers do have somewhat of a basis in Scripture. So what do we do now?

We look at Scripture as a whole and find the recurring themes that explain how all of these moving parts come together.

[Julie] (1:33 - 1:47) Salvation is one of the most important subjects in all of Christianity, and yet it's one of the most misunderstood. Scripture gives us strong assurances, strong warnings, and sometimes seemingly contradictory statements.

[Jonathan] (1:47 - 2:06) Here in Part I, we will establish the "what, how, and who" of salvation; what salvation is, how it works, and who benefits from it. This foundation will set up Part II's "why and how" of maintaining or losing salvation.

[Rick] (2:06 - 2:46) To begin with, let's just put our perspective on the matter on the table. We do believe that we as Christians can lose our salvation. Now what does that mean?

We'll explain that as we go, but we believe it's not something that comes to us and there is nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing that can take it away. We need to establish a scriptural basis for that. As we go through, folks, listen in, hear the Scriptures, and then put your thoughts together.

We'd love to hear from you on that. What is salvation? Let's start with that.

What is salvation from? It's from eternal death. 1 Corinthians 15:22:

[Jonathan] (2:47 - 3:26) "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive." It's important to recognize two points right away. 1. ALL is a huge word.

ALL die in Adam and ALL are made alive in Christ--every single human being. 2. This text contrasts death and life, not eternal hellfire with life. Adam's sin brought death to all and Jesus' sacrifice guarantees life to all.

This is the foundation for understanding how salvation works according to Scripture.

[Julie] (3:27 - 3:52) What are we ALL--both Christians and everybody else--saved from? Well, death. Salvation in Scripture always means deliverance.

It's deliverance from sin, deliverance from Satan's influence, ultimately deliverance from death itself. The Greek words used for "save" and "salvation" literally mean "rescue" or "deliverance," which fits perfectly with this idea of being rescued from death that we all inherited from Adam.

[Rick] (3:53 - 4:14) That's an important basis for what we're talking about. Now we need to put it in place. First of all, the message of salvation was made plain right at Jesus' birth.

Not only was it made plain, it was made plain by an angel from heaven. This is the kind of message that you look up and you take notice of. Jonathan, let's go to Luke 2:10-11:

[Jonathan] (4:14 - 4:38) "But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Again, Jesus died for ALL the people, every single human being, not just Christians.

[Rick] (4:38 - 4:58) That's an important baseline for us to work with. We need to expand that thought with Scriptures coming up. Let's get to some basic principles to put on the table.

We are saved. Salvation is from eternal death. Then how is someone saved? Is there a cost or is it a free gift?

[Jonathan] (4:59 - 4:59) Yes.

[Rick] (5:00 - 5:21) Okay. All right. All right. Actually I agree with that "yes." But let's take a look now at some common answers to that question. How is someone saved?

These Scriptures that we're about to quote are often seen as individual conclusions. Let's go through several Scriptures and just see what they're saying is entailed with salvation.

[Julie] (5:21 - 5:36) Well this is easy because all we need to do is accept salvation as a free gift of God. As proof, I have Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

[Jonathan] (5:36 - 5:53) All we need is the redemption of Jesus' blood. Romans 3:23-24: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus."

[Julie] (5:54 - 6:12) But wait, all we need to do is call upon the name of Jesus according to Romans 10:12-13: "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on him; for WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

[Jonathan] (6:13 - 6:27) One more; all we need to do is confess and believe in our hearts. Romans 10:9: "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

[Julie] (6:27 - 6:38) Okay, and these are just the ones in the book of Romans. Scripture gives many more statements that make it sound effortless, or with effort, or conditional, or universal. Which is it?

[Rick] (6:38 - 6:58) That's the big question--which is it? We've got these several Scriptures from Romans and here's the challenge that we have: When we as Christians attempt to simplify, or maybe I should say to oversimplify salvation, we can run into the challenge of conflicting messages just like we saw in those four previous verses.

[Jonathan] (6:59 - 7:09) That's the problem. To "sell Christianity to the masses," you need to make it easy to swallow. But Christianity was never meant to be sold to the masses!

[Rick] (7:09 - 8:00) That's a big point. Remember that. We've got to come back to that.

The question here now is, how can all of these various single instruction statements that we just read, how can they all be true and all be in the same letter to the Romans? I mean, if we're looking and we're parsing through and saying, this is it, this is it, oh no, no, this is it, no, this is it...we've got to look at that and say, okay, how do we get to a bigger picture of this? Throughout this letter to the Romans, Paul is restating to his readers--to those at the Roman church--the building blocks of what the gospel is and how it works.

That's part of what Romans is all about. All of these statements come together in the twelfth chapter of Romans. You go through those first eleven chapters and you're hearing these statements and all kinds of different things, and then the twelfth chapter, it brings it all together. Jonathan, let's go to Romans 12:1:

[Jonathan] (8:00 - 8:27) "Therefore..." Wait, let me pause. Whenever a verse starts with "therefore," we must always ask ourselves, "what's it there for?" We need to look back to what was previously written. Continuing: "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

[Rick] (8:27 - 8:53) That "therefore," like you said, is going back to what Paul previously wrote. So this "therefore" is a big "therefore." It's covering eleven chapters.

Paul's "therefore" in this verse is the conclusion of what he had written in those previous eleven chapters. What we need to do is, in little snippets, let's try and sum up those previous chapters.

[Julie] (8:53 - 9:13) He basically was saying: Because the world is in the darkness of sin and Israel is under the shackles of the Law...and because God is merciful and impartial and true justification comes by faith...and because we are called to live in Christ and to be united with him...

[Jonathan] (9:13 - 9:22) And because we must fight our old nature to seek for daily victory in Christ...because in spite of the tragedy of Israel's rejection of Jesus, they are promised redemption...

[Rick] (9:23 - 9:40) You've got all of these "becauses" in these Scriptures. Because of this, because of that, because of this piece, because of that, because of all of these things, we come to Romans 12:1. So, Jonathan, let's read that again and put the emphasis on "therefore."

[Jonathan] (9:41 - 10:04) "THERFORE I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." The King James Version (KJV) calls this your "reasonable service." Rick, it is a gift, but based on what we've learned so far, we have much to do with this gift.

[Rick] (10:04 - 11:05) Yeah, and no matter which translation you look at, there's a continuous theme. The New American Standard (NAS) says, your "spiritual service of worship." The King James (KJV) says, your "reasonable service."

Both have "service." This is something you must do. When you perform a service for someone, you are on, you are obligated, and you are responsible with that service.

We want to understand that very, very clearly. Then he says, "present your bodies a living sacrifice." That's your service.

Wait, that's a lot. It's not, show up every Sunday to church. It's not, read your Bible every day.

It's present your bodies a living sacrifice. This is your service. We need to understand that as the beginning of Paul explaining the broader picture here.

Now let's go back to Jesus' words. Jesus tells us what this spiritual service of worship looks like in Luke 9:23-24:

[Jonathan] (11:05 - 11:24) "And he was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it."

[Rick] (11:24 - 12:04) Paul said, give yourselves a living sacrifice. Jesus says, if you're going to follow me, you have to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me every day. To take up your cross means I am walking towards torture and death. I mean, that's pretty graphic, what Jesus is saying.

This is not a walk in the park, it's a walk of sacrificing your life. That's the key here in this Scripture. You can see that what Jesus said is what the Apostle Paul is repeating;

your "living sacrifice." There's no better way to describe a "living sacrifice" in those days than someone carrying his cross to his own crucifixion.

[Julie] (12:05 - 12:07) It's more than just accepting a gift.

[Rick] (12:07 - 12:07) Right. Oh yeah.

[Julie] (12:08 - 12:20) Before we go any further, we need to define who we're actually talking about, though, when we ask, “Can a Christian lose their salvation?” Who is a Christian? Is it everybody who goes to church?

Everybody who grew up with Christian parents?

[Jonathan] (12:21 - 12:55) A true Christian is someone who has been called by God, and has presented themselves as a "living sacrifice" to do what? To do God's will, not their own. That's what the sacrifice is about.

If God accepts them, He gives them His holy spirit. That's when they become a new creature or a new creation, depending on the translation. As described in 2 Corinthians 5:17, they have new desires, new priorities, and new direction, trusting in Jesus as their Savior and walking in his footsteps.

[Julie] (12:55 - 13:16) I'm glad you brought up this 2 Corinthians Scripture with this "new creation," because those who hold the belief, "once saved, always saved," would take this a step further. They reason that if a Christian is a new creation, then losing salvation would require destroying this new creation. That doesn't sound right, does it?

[Rick] (13:17 - 13:57) Well, it doesn't sound right, and you got to think about it and say, wait, is God going back on what He gave? The concept we need to understand is, both of those Scriptures, Jesus' words and Paul's word, talk about us doing our part. "Present your bodies a living...sacrifice."

Take up your cross daily and follow me. I have to step up and step out and move forward and follow. It's not that God would take something away, it's that I would not do my part.

That becomes a big, big point as this whole situation begins to unfold. We're going to expand on this a whole lot more later.

[Julie] (13:57 - 14:03) Okay, so He won't destroy that creation, but He also doesn't force us to keep that creation, is that what you're saying?

[Rick] (14:03 - 14:04) Right, right, right.

[Julie] (14:04 - 14:18) Another major point from the "once saved, always saved" perspective has to do with redemption. They reason that if Jesus purchased us with his own blood, how could God revoke that purchase? The blood's already been spilled.

[Rick] (14:19 - 15:54) That's a great point. God won't revoke that purchase. Absolutely, positively won't.

However, we have to understand that the ransom is freely given and needs to be freely received. If our reception of that free gift is not clear, is not focused, doesn't have "follow-through," then what we're doing is we're saying, this incredible, awesome, overwhelming gift is so good, but I'm not going to take it. God is not going to override my own free will and say, yes you are!

He's going to give me every opportunity, but I have to take the gift and say, now what am I supposed to do now that I've been given this gift? What happens is, for those people in the future, in the age of Christianity, right here, right now, Christians are given that gift and they do become this new creation. They're not born in the spirit yet, but they've been begotten of the spirit, and they have to...what happens when you're begotten?

You have to grow and develop to the point where there's maturity, and then you can be born. We have to go through that growth and maturing process. In the Day of Judgment, with the world, they'll have the same thing.

They'll get their resurrection, but they have to grow into what that resurrection brought them to, full and undeniable salvation. But God never revokes it. He never takes it back.

We can take ourselves away from it.

[Julie] (15:54 - 15:58) We can reject the relationship that redemption opened for us.

[Rick] (15:58 - 16:15) Right, right, okay. Again, folks, we're going to put some Scriptures to this as we go. Let's go back to this concept of "spiritual service of worship," what it looks like in daily life.

The Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul tell us as well what this looks like. Jonathan, let's go to 1 Peter 2:11-12:

[Jonathan] (16:16 - 16:23) "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul."

[Rick] (16:24 - 16:48) I'm urging you to stay away from these things that are at war with your life. In other words, don't allow yourself to be tempted. Don't get into a circumstance where you can turn left when you're supposed to be turning right.

Personal decision, personal responsibility plays a huge role in this. Let's look at Philippians 1:21:

[Jonathan] (16:48 - 16:53) "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

[Rick] (16:53 - 17:34) Again, do I assume the personal responsibility to follow Paul as he followed Christ? "To live is Christ and to die is gain." It doesn't matter which. What matters is, am I following in the footsteps of Jesus?

All of this is about our personal responsibility. We can't get away from it, especially here in this age as Christians. If we call ourselves Christians, then the next question we have to ask ourselves is, how am I fulfilling that personal responsibility?

What am I doing to be Christlike in everything I say, everything I do, and everything I think? Let's go to Romans 8:35-36:

[Jonathan] (17:34 - 17:52) "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;

WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."

[Julie] (17:52 - 18:15) Now these are the same texts that are often cited by those who say that Christians CAN'T lose their salvation. Paul's asking, who's going to separate us? Tribulation, distress, famine?

Obviously he's asking rhetorical questions. The answer is nothing can separate a true Christian from God, but therefore isn't his or her salvation secure? Nothing can separate us.

[Jonathan] (18:15 - 18:45) They're right. Nothing EXTERNAL can separate us. No enemies, no circumstance, no persecution.

Notice what Paul is actually saying. Nothing outside of us can tear us away from Christ. But remember, God does not override our free will.

God will not permit others to separate us from His favor, but He does allow us to walk away if we choose. This distinction becomes essential as we move forward.

[Rick] (18:45 - 19:30) Just a quick point on this. You look at Satan. You look at Satan, the Morning Star. He was called Lucifer.

He had a glorious position, was given glorious responsibilities, and yet in his heart, he chose to follow his own will instead of God's will. It will not end well for him. His choice was allowed.

God allowed him to make the choice. God allowed the consequences of that choice. Same thing with Adam.

Adam made a choice to do the wrong thing, and he suffered the consequences. God allowed it. So when we look at this and you see all these things, nothing will separate us.

You're right! Nothing can, unless I make that choice. There is deep scriptural precedent for making those choices.

[Julie] (19:30 - 19:52) That makes sense, but closely related to redemption is the question of justification. Now justification simply means being declared righteous in God's sight. You have a clean standing before Him because of Christ.

This "once saved, always saved" view reasons that if God has declared something righteous, He would never reverse His own verdict.

[Rick] (19:53 - 21:38) He wouldn't. He won't reverse His verdict. If you have been declared righteous, you are righteous.

However, we need to understand, justification is absolutely...first of all, it is a gift of grace, because the Scriptures tell us that very, very, very plainly in Romans 5. It's given only to those who have given their lives in sacrifice, like we were talking about, take up your cross daily and follow me. That's the kind of commitment that justification is attached to, and it's attached to the call of God through Christ.

Once that commitment's been accepted, then it goes to work. That commitment is not yet applied to the world, okay? The world hasn't been justified by the sacrifice of Jesus.

They don't know it, they don't understand it, and therefore cannot accept it, and God will not put that gift to them until they're in a position to be able to understand and make their choices, because God is merciful, just, loving, and powerful. Here's the thing; justification can be forfeited.

God doesn't take it away. It can be forfeited by someone knowingly and willingly abandoning the righteousness that they chose--knowingly and willingly. God doesn't undeclare somebody righteous.

He doesn't take it from us, but He'll accept our resigning. He'll accept our resignation, saying, I don't want this. That is also shown in Scripture before the call of the church. We've got all of these pieces, and we're just putting some of these thoughts in place, folks, so that we can get a sense of how all of this works.

Let's go to Salvation and Sacrificial Commitment: Let's begin to put these pieces in order.

[Jonathan] (21:39 - 21:58) True eternal salvation in these present world conditions only comes through the redemption price that Jesus paid. While it is a freely given gift, receiving and applying it is costly, as the price requires the laying down of our own lives to do God's will instead of our own.

[Julie] (21:59 - 22:15) We're introducing several big doctrinal concepts here as a foundation. In this week's CQ Rewind Show Notes, we're going to list previous episodes that will explain each subject in more detail. If you want to go deeper, the Rewind will walk you through everything Scripture by Scripture.

[Rick] (22:15 - 22:28) That's really important. The bottom line here is this message thus far is not about gain, but about receiving a gift that opens a door to eternity through self-sacrifice.

[Jonathan] (22:29 - 22:38) If salvation costs so much for Christians now, what happens to everyone else? Is humanity just doomed if they don't answer this call?

[Rick] (22:38 - 23:31) That's a good, good question. One of the enormous advantages of studying the Bible as a whole, instead of just picking Scriptures to read and follow, is that combining all of Scripture will give us full answers. As we further develop the concept of salvation, we need to pay particular attention to the breadth and the depth of God's wisdom and love. He created humanity for a very good reason, and make no mistake, His objectives will come to fruition.

Now let's look at the call of those who are following in Jesus' footsteps. What does it look like? Well, our mission is to follow the path that biblical Scriptures lead us on.

It's really simple. There's a path we follow, what we're told--not what traditions lead us on, but what the Scriptures lead us on. Jonathan, let's start with 2 Timothy 2:15:

[Jonathan] (23:32 - 23:50) "Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." The King James Version says, "rightly dividing the word of truth." We need to divide the Scriptures on salvation between followers and everyone else.

[Rick] (23:50 - 24:23) It's important to do that. There are lots of Scriptures that talk about salvation, rightfully so. Where do they fit?

We need to pause, consider, and see the big context unfold. God's proclamation to Satan after the original sin of Adam and Eve was the first spoken hint of how God's plan would unfold. This has everything to do with salvation, how it works.

Let's look at what was said from God to Satan at that point, Genesis 3:15:

[Jonathan] (24:23 - 24:32) "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

[Rick] (24:33 - 25:35) You're looking at a battle. You're looking at a battle between the serpent, representing Satan, and the seed of the woman who represents Jesus. You're looking at this battle of wills between the two, and there's injury in this battle. The seed of the woman, his heel is bruised.

It's a wound, but it's not a mortal wound. The serpent representing Satan, his head is crushed. That's a death blow.

You've got this battle of light versus darkness. God allowed and arranged for this battle to be fought. You can see that there is the allowing the free moral choice of even spirit beings to be played out.

That's at the very beginning. Let's walk through history and look at Scriptures, how they verify this thought. Generations later now--we've got that in the Garden of Eden--

generations later, God clarified that proclamation with His promise to Abraham. Let's look at. Julie, let's read Genesis 22:17-18.

[Julie] (25:35 - 25:57) Here God is speaking to Abraham through one of His angels: "...indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

[Jonathan] (25:57 - 26:14) Rick, to clarify, are we saying that we first need to look at the broad picture of salvation from Genesis, since we're reading Genesis here, through Revelation before we can pinpoint the specific details of our salvation in Christ?

[Rick] (26:14 - 27:00) Folks, if we would just get that principle in our hearts and our minds, that the Bible is written as a continuous message from beginning to end. If we don't take all of the pieces and put them in place, we're not going to get the full message. So yes, to understand salvation, go back to Genesis.

Go back to creation. Go back to the promise. God gives the promise to Abraham about his son, Isaac.

Isaac represented Jesus. The seed of the woman represented Jesus. There's this theme that's going through.

Let's go much further. Let's go generations later. The prophets--and we're just going to quote one little prophecy--the prophets wrote about this plan as well.

One example--prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 42. Jonathan, let's go to Isaiah 42:1, 4:

[Jonathan] (27:01 - 27:21) "Behold, My servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not be disheartened or crushed until he has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for his law."

[Rick] (27:22 - 28:03) "Behold, My servant upon whom I uphold..." Who's that representative of? Jesus. You see there's this pattern.

What is he going to bring? Justice to the nations. How often does Isaiah say it in this Scripture?

Three or four times. Justice to the nation, justice in earth.

"The coastlands will wait expectantly for his law." In other words, it's universal. That's the message of that prophet and many other prophecies.

Are we listening to that and saying this is part of salvation? Because all of these things are describing Jesus. Let's fast forward even further.

Let's go now after Jesus into the New Testament. Generations later, we see how Jesus fulfilled this plan that was talked about in the Old Testament. Let's look at Romans.

Julie, let's go to Romans 5:18-19:

[Julie] (28:04 - 28:36) "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous." Adam's free choice brought death to all humanity, and Jesus' free choice brings life to all humanity.

Salvation exists because of these two pivotal decisions.

[Rick] (28:36 - 29:28) You saw it laid out in Genesis at the beginning, laid out with Abraham, laid out in the prophets. Jesus actually did the act and then afterwards the Apostle Paul is saying, you see what happened? All men die in Adam.

All men are given life in Christ. When it says the many, it's the many were made sinners. Well, who wasn't made a sinner?

Everybody was. The same "many" are made righteous. The interesting thing in that verse is, it says "the many will be made righteous."

Paul is writing to the Roman Christians at that time. He's not saying the many ARE being made righteous. He's saying "the many WILL be made righteous."

That's a hint that helps us understand. Something's happening here, but there's something else happening in the future as well. Put the Scriptures together to get the picture. Let's go to 1 Peter 3:18:

[Jonathan] (29:28 - 29:39) "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."

[Rick] (29:40 - 30:33) "The just for the unjust," a very sweeping statement. Who else kept God's law in the history of humanity? Nobody except Jesus,

"the just." Who has fallen in sin and been "shapen in iniquity" throughout all the generations? Everybody.

"The just for the unjust..." Again, you see the hint of the breadth of this picture. Let's understand it does apply to all, just at a different time.

Let's look at this. How does this salvation work? What we've been saying is, the Scriptures are hinting to us it works in two stages.

First is the salvation by invitation. That's the kind of salvation we're all familiar with, and that is only for a few. Now folks, let's listen carefully to these Scriptures because they really help us understand this. John 6:44:

[Jonathan] (30:33 - 30:46) "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." Wait, wait a minute.

Does this mean everyone is not invited?

[Rick] (30:46 - 31:19) That's exactly what it means. No one comes unless the Father draws him. This is by invitation only. That's where we got that thought, salvation by invitation, and it will be unfolded later as to why that is.

Let's get into the salvation by invitation. Salvation by invitation shows us that most are not drawn now, and it also shows us that this is the clear intention of God Almighty in His plan.

[Jonathan] (31:19 - 31:35) Scripture shows two distinct salvations; one for the church now by invitation, as you said, Rick, and one for the world later by inclusion. Mixing up these two groups leads to confusion about who can lose salvation.

[Julie] (31:36 - 32:02) We need to pause and clarify something that also causes confusion. Jonathan, before you defined for me what a Christian is. The question is, can a non-Christian lose salvation in this life? From what we're saying so far is, no, because they haven't been given salvation yet.

They're not on trial for eternal life. They remain under the condemnation of Adam until their resurrection. You can't lose what you've never received.

[Jonathan] (32:03 - 32:20) True. Present salvation is a privilege only for those whom God is calling now. Now is the time when God is calling out the true church.

This is the church's Judgment Day, not the world's. Only spirit-begotten Christians are on trial now.

[Rick] (32:20 - 32:41) You guys both have just said a mouthful. You've made a lot of very, very strong statements about how the plan of God works. Now let's look at the Scriptures to prove, according to the word of God, the things that you just explained.

Because if you don't have a Scripture for it, it doesn't mean much, okay? But we have Scriptures for everything. Let's start with John 12:36-40:

[Jonathan] (32:42 - 32:45) "While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke, and he went away and hid himself from them. But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED? For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."

[Rick] (33:25 - 33:46) In this, Jesus is talking to his disciples at the beginning of this quote. While you have the light, you believe in the light so you may become sons of light. Then it talks about those who didn't believe.

It says they didn't believe partially because God covered their eyes. He didn't allow them to see. He didn't allow them to understand.

You say, wait, wait, wait. God is better than that.

[Julie] (33:46 - 33:47) That doesn't seem fair.

[Rick] (33:48 - 34:19) Right. Yes, He is better than that. He's incredibly better than that.

That's only a small part of the picture. God's plan always unfolds in stages. We are in the stage where it's...He's choosing the few.

That's why Jesus said what he said. That's why that prophecy applied when it applied. Let's go a little bit further with this salvation by invitation.

It shows us the drawing is purposefully very selective. Julie, let's go to Matthew 11:25-26:

[Julie] (34:19 - 34:34) "At that time Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight."

[Rick] (34:34 - 34:54) Again, you look at that and say, wait a minute, God hid it? The answer is yes. Why would He do that?

Because His plan is bigger than we can imagine. We need to give it time to unfold and see the reasons why the call is happening now and how that call will affect those people later.

[Julie] (34:54 - 35:04) Okay, so if non-Christians aren't saved now--we've hinted at this already--what happens to them? If we could just be concise and clear.

[Jonathan] (35:04 - 35:29) Their salvation comes later in the kingdom on earth. Jesus' ransom guarantees that every human being will be awakened from the grave, but that awakening isn't eternal life. It is the beginning of their first real opportunity for salvation when they receive accurate knowledge of the truth and are judged under the New Covenant.

This new law will be written upon their hearts.

[Rick] (35:30 - 36:02) Okay, all right, you guys did it again. You said a lot of really important things. Now let's put the Scriptures to the statements.

Now we're looking not at salvation by invitation. Okay, we've talked about that, the call of the followers of Jesus. Now we're going to look at salvation by just and merciful inclusion.

That's the other part, and this shows us the vast plan of God for all of His human creation. Folks, when you listen to these Scriptures, listen to how the details put things in place. 1 Timothy 2:3-6:

[Jonathan] (36:02 - 36:23) "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time."

[Rick] (36:23 - 37:05) In those other Scriptures, God's hiding it. Here it's, He will have all men to be saved AND come to a knowledge of the truth. See, this is how God's will unfolds in stages.

This part of salvation is God's will for the future, for the masses of humanity. But there is not a calling attached to it. This is "Who will have all men to be saved."

Now notice, it's interesting the order in that verse. It says "Who will have all men to be saved" and to come to a knowledge of the truth. They're saved, they are redeemed first, and then they are taught later.

We now are taught, and then we step into redemption. You see, it's a different order because it's a different part of God's plan.

[Julie] (37:05 - 37:27) Their trial for eternal life happens then, in the future, after they're raised, not now. The world's future judgment is fair because when they're raised, think about it, Satan's going to be bound and they're going to get all this knowledge that this Scripture talks about, that's accurate knowledge, that's full knowledge, so they're raised from the dead under uncontaminated conditions before they're judged.

[Rick] (37:28 - 37:49) That's a huge thing. It's a different environment than those who follow Christ now. This is a much more difficult environment.

Let's go to another Scripture about this salvation by just and merciful inclusion, because this next Scripture shows us that those invited are now specially privileged. Those invited now, there is a special privilege, but everybody else is blessed. Listen to this, 1 Timothy 4:10:

[Jonathan] (37:49 - 38:01) "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."

[Julie] (38:02 - 38:54) I love this text because it's so clear; "all men, especially of believers." You have two distinct groups. Again, we've been saying believers receive their salvation now and the rest of humanity receives it later.

Present salvation comes through God's calling and the work that He begins in a Christian's life. Future salvation comes through resurrection and that restorative work of Christ's future kingdom. The awakening of this non-Christian world, everybody who has never heard the name of Jesus, everyone who heard the name of Jesus and could care less.

It's the beginning of salvation when they come up from the grave, but it's not their final result of the possibility of eternal life. It just begins their opportunity to walk that highway of holiness that the prophet Isaiah talked about in 35:8, and they choose life under Christ's righteous rule, again in the future.

[Rick] (38:54 - 39:08) You can see God's plan unfolds in pieces, in stages, in steps, and they don't make sense if you look at them just by themselves. That's why we have to go from Genesis to Revelation. Jonathan, Salvation and Sacrificial Commitment:

[Jonathan] (39:08 - 39:32) The salvation of the called-out individuals to become disciples of Jesus has a present cost and leads to a higher and more privileged way. Our time of judgment and proving is here and now, so with this great privilege comes great responsibility.

The salvation of the world will lead to a legitimate opportunity for life that comes later in the Day of Judgment.

[Rick] (39:32 - 39:46) There's a lot to this plan. The further we open the Scriptures, the more we see that being called to follow Christ is a massive opportunity that needs to be handled with focus and reverence!

[Jonathan] (39:47 - 39:56) What is this higher and privileged way? Are there dangers along this path that can result in the loss of our capacity to stand before God through Jesus?

[Rick] (39:57 - 40:18) As we have thus far seen, the called Christian discipleship is, in Jesus' own words, a limited call to a comparatively small number of people throughout the entire world. As we shall now see, Jesus clearly revealed both the rewards and the challenges of those who would follow this path.

[Julie] (40:19 - 41:06) Okay, so before we continue, let me just do a quick recap. During this current age when the gospel message has gone out, only the called-out spirit-begotten church, the true Christians, are being judged for eternal life. The world's judgment will come later in the kingdom.

Non-Christians can't lose salvation now because they don't possess it. Their salvation is going to be in the future kingdom after they're resurrected. This might sound surprising, but only spirit-begotten Christians, those that have God's holy spirit, can lose salvation now because they're the only ones who are on trial at this point for eternal life.

If salvation is such a profound privilege for these called-out ones, what dangers exist that would cause a true Christian to lose their salvation? That's the crux of this whole podcast episode.

[Jonathan] (41:07 - 41:16) If you never understood this concept before, check out what Peter says in 1 Peter 4:17, judgment begins with the house of the Lord.

[Rick] (41:17 - 41:38) Doesn't end there. That's where it begins. Those who are on trial first, that's where judgment begins.

Those who are on trial after, that's where judgment continues. All right, so let's back up, let's look at those called-out ones, footstep followers, disciples of Jesus. Let's take a glimpse of the challenges in Jesus' own words.

Matthew 7:13-14:

[Jonathan] (41:39 - 41:53) "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

[Rick] (41:53 - 42:21) Now many will read that verse and say, see, the way to destruction is broad and lots of people find it. Yep, exactly, in this life. This is a Scripture about the call here and now.

It's not talking about their salvation later, it's about you as an individual being summoned to follow Christ to that narrow way, to that difficult path. It is not easy. It is blessed, but it is not easy.

Let's go to Matthew 10:37-39:

[Julie] (42:21 - 42:41) "He who loves father or mother more than me (and this is Jesus speaking) is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it."

[Jonathan] (42:41 - 42:47) This is a matter of loyalty, our willingness to put Christ above everything else.

[Rick] (42:47 - 43:17) That's the loyalty that comes with God's spirit, with this call. That's what we're summoned to. That's the job description.

That's presenting yourself a living sacrifice, the way the Apostle Paul talked about it. That's taking up your cross daily and denying yourself the way Jesus talked about it. It's difficult.

Let's not get depressed by just looking at the difficulty. Let's look at the rewards as well. Let's put a balance to this.

John 15:7-9:

[Jonathan] (43:18 - 43:36) "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you;

abide in my love."

[Rick] (43:36 - 44:20) If you abide in me and in my words, I will bless you beyond your comprehension. What did Jesus' words bring him to? Death, sacrifice.

That's what his words bring us to. We can be incredibly blessed along the way because he says abide in me, and then ask what you wish, because you're abiding me, and I will grant you those things that will help you along the way. This fruitage that Jesus is talking about in John 15 comes from God's spirit, and we've talked about this a lot,

God's spirit working in those called-out ones whom God begets by His own spirit, by God's own choice. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:17-19:

[Jonathan] (44:21 - 44:47) "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

[Julie] (44:48 - 45:16) This is what you were alluding to earlier, Jonathan. These verses show what that new creature or new creation really is. When God gives us His spirit, He begins a new life in us.

It's a transformation, but it comes with responsibility. God reconciles us to Himself through Christ, and then He gives that ministry of reconciliation, the work of helping the world of mankind find their way back to Him in the kingdom.

[Jonathan] (45:16 - 45:30) For now, we live out the character of Christ as a witness to that coming work. This is why the Christian walk is so serious. It's a life that must be protected and lived with intention.

[Rick] (45:30 - 46:16) There are several Scriptures that show us the work of today is for the purpose of the reconciliation of tomorrow. We need to understand how this fits together, and that's why God's spirit works within us, and will guide us as long as we allow it to. We can't get in its way.

It's like having a GPS, and it tells you to turn left, and you say, no, I want to go right. We have to follow what we're given. These are the rewards, the beautiful rewards.

Having God's spirit in your life is completely life-altering, because it raises you, it helps you see things from a different perspective. Jesus showed us what the eternal future would hold for the faithful, and this is, again, a different reward than for the rest of the world. John 14:1-3:

[Jonathan] (46:16 - 46:38) "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

[Rick] (46:38 - 47:16) Heaven is hard to even comprehend. But think about the part that makes more sense to my little brain. For I will receive you to myself, that where I am--this is Jesus speaking--there you will be also.

You get to be with Jesus in this reward. How unbelievably awesome and beyond our comprehension is that. What great reward for this life of sacrifice.

So if this calling is so filled with blessing and support, what can happen to make someone lose it? Because we need to get back to that. What can happen to make somebody say, mmm, no?

[Jonathan] (47:16 - 47:24) Jesus shows us the hope set before the faithful, but he also shows us the seriousness of the path that leads there.

[Rick] (47:24 - 47:34) Yeah. Here's the thing; no enemy can ever take this gift from us.

Let's be clear about that. Julie, let's get Romans 8:38-39:

[Julie] (47:34 - 47:52) "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

[Rick] (47:53 - 48:15) You have these definitive statements. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. The only thing not on this list is my own personal choice.

It's us against all of these things. None of these things can prevail over us, but I can mess up my own choices.

[Jonathan] (48:16 - 48:19) You mean you can give your "birthright" away like Esau?

[Rick] (48:19 - 48:22) Oh, oh oh oh ...

[Julie] (48:22 - 48:23) That's a good example!

[Rick] (48:23 - 49:06) Think about this... Esau and Jacob.

Esau was the older brother, Jacob was the younger brother. The birthright went to the oldest, and Jacob was prophesied to be able to have it. Esau gives the birthright away, the greatest blessing in his life he gave away because he was hungry.

There was a free choice there, and that shows us the concept of losing something of incredible value that you have been given, a free gift, because your choice brings you in the wrong direction. We have to understand that our choices are critical in this whole matter. A lot more to talk about, that's why we have a Part II coming up, but Jonathan, let's go to Salvation and Sacrificial Commitment one more time:

[Jonathan] (49:07 - 49:33) Based on our present examination of the Scriptures, we are beginning to see the depths of responsibility that true Christians really have. While it is wonderful and edifying to love and praise God and Jesus, the path of discipleship is so much more. This path tests, challenges, stretches, and presses us towards deep personal conviction and sacrifice far beyond our feelings.

[Rick] (49:34 - 49:46) In this first part, we really focused on trying to define what salvation is. Part II, we'll dive into the depths of how and why our salvation can be lost, even though it's a free gift.

[Julie] (49:47 - 50:00) Next week, we're going to look at some of the strongest arguments from those who say a Christian cannot lose their salvation. We're going to put those arguments side-by-side with the warning passages and let Scripture show us how it all fits together.

[Rick] (50:01 - 50:43) Really, that's the way we ought to do everything in our lives, is put it all to Scripture and say, what does the word of God say versus what I would like it to say, or what I'm used to thinking it says. Let's let the word of God do the speaking. In relation to salvation, one thing is very true at this point:

Jesus Christ died for the sins of Adam, and that covers every man, woman, and child who ever lived, because they all are victims of Adam's sin. Jesus provides that release at the appropriate time. Think about it.

Next week: "Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?" Part II

Final Notes: copyright @2026 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist. Part II