Can we lose our salvation? This is the question many Christians ask. It’s always important to ask tough questions in order that we may be well-rounded believers, but the question has a firm, biblical answer: No.

This question divides the church. It is not a primary doctrine of the faith—that is, you don’t have to believe in eternal security to be saved—but it certainly has important implications for the Christian life. It’s increasingly difficult to be a member of the same church with one who has a differing opinion on this because, as is well known, doctrine impacts life.

With that said, I want to provide three reasons why we can’t lose our salvation.

God Keeps His Promises

Our salvation is secure because God keeps His promises. He doesn’t pull the rug out from under us or take our redemption away if we have a bad day, for He knows more than anybody how easy it is for us to have bad days. Those who believe we can lose our salvation place an overemphasis on the will of man, insinuating we can somehow thwart the promises of God.

There are several well-meaning and faithful believers in my life who believe salvation can be lost. I disagree with them strongly but it’s not a primary issue. However, believing salvation can be lost has implications that impact our everyday lives. I imagine it creates unnecessary insecurity in the hearts of many Christians who think they will lose God’s grace if they slip up too many times.

With that said, what are the promises God has made? Let’s list a few.

• “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬)
• “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans‬ ‭8:30‬)
• “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” (John‬ ‭6:37, 39‬)

There are a plethora of other verses that indicate God’s promise of keeping us for eternity, but I will leave you with these three. In the end, we know we are secure in Christ because God doesn’t break His promises.

God Initiated

We can’t lose or give back our salvation because we did nothing to deserve it in the first place. God initiated it; He began it; salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Salvation was God’s idea and, because He is sovereign over everything, it cannot be revoked because He said so.

It is quite preposterous the idea of “giving back” our salvation. This implies we can one day decide we don’t want redemption anymore. The problem, however, is that notion is nowhere found in the Bible. When God saves, our minds and hearts change. There is no looking back—we won’t want to ultimately.

Salvation cannot be lost because it is not up to us. God does the saving, God does the sanctifying, and God does the glorifying.

Eternal Life

“For God so loved the world,” Jesus said in John 3:16, “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Not temporal life. Not partial life. But eternal life.

This point may seem trivial to some who disagree on this subject, but it’s very simple. If God promises to grant eternal life to all who believe in the gospel, then eternal life they will get. Eternal, never ending, lasting forever. Salvation is eternal, not just for an extended period of time. If I may say it this way, salvation has an eternal warranty.

Friends, we are secure in Christ. And if we think our security is reason to live how we so please, we are missing the point of the new birth (John 3; Romans 6). Those whom God saves are transformed. We are eternally secure because He keeps His promises.

And thank God for that.