Nicholas [my middle name, BTW] sent in a great question:
Hi. I hope everything is well with you. I’m worried about my salvation. I have faith in the Lord Jesus and His finished work and His resurrection from the dead by the Lord God on the 3rd day. But people say it’s not by faith alone and that you can lose it. If you could please do me a favor. Look at this guy’s channel. He says that he lost his salvation and went to hell. I’m very worried. Please help me.
What you say you believe, Nicholas, is that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that He rose again on the third day. You do not say that you believe in His promise of everlasting life that cannot be lost. In fact, you indicate that you do not believe that, but that you would like to.
I watched some of the video you asked me to watch. It was about 1 Cor 9:27. The speaker said that verse absolutely disproves once saved, always saved (OSAS). It does not. It supports OSAS. Paul knew he was saved once and for all (cf. Rom 3:21-31). What he did not know is whether he would be approved by Christ at the Bema. See here for an explanation of 1 Cor 9:27.
John 3:16-17 shows that salvation from eternal condemnation is a synonym for everlasting life that cannot be lost. The Lord promised that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but has everlasting life.
Nicholas has assurance about two vital truths concerning the Lord Jesus: 1) He died on the cross in our place once and for all (His finished work) and 2) He rose bodily from the dead on the third day. Believing those two truths should lead him to believe His promise that the one who believes in Him will not perish (John 3:16). Jesus repeated that promise in many different ways. He said that whoever believes in Him will not come into judgment regarding his eternal destiny (John 5:24), will never hunger or thirst for everlasting life (John 6:35), will never be cast out (John 6:37), and will never die spiritually (John 11:26). He also promised that the one who believes in Him has everlasting life right now and has already passed from death into life (John 5:24).
The question, Nicholas, is whether you believe that the Lord Jesus was telling the truth. You comment, “people say it [salvation] is not by faith alone and that you can lose it.” True. Many do say that. So, do you believe them, or the Lord Jesus Christ? They can’t both be right since what they say is contradictory.
I like to watch CNN and Newsmax. I like to read USA Today and Breitbart News. What I find is that they disagree radically on many events of our day. One is right, and one is wrong. I do not determine what I believe based on what some news organization reports, whether mainstream or not. I base it on the evidence that is available to me.
Catholics, Orthodox, and Arminian Protestants all believe and teach that salvation is not by faith alone and that it can be lost. The Lord Jesus and the writers of the NT all believe and teach that salvation is by faith alone and that it cannot be lost. The evidence supports the Lord and His apostles.
I urge anyone with doubts to do the following: 1) pray daily, asking God to give you certainty that you are eternally secure, and 2) read a chapter of John’s Gospel daily, looking for evidence that the condition is faith alone and that the consequence is everlasting life that can never be lost.
