I mess up all the time, and God is holy all the time. How can you say I can’t lose my salvation?
I’m so glad you asked!
First— and please hear me say this firmly but gently— it’s not your salvation to lose. It is a free gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” You did nothing to earn God’s gift of salvation, and you can do nothing to “ungift” it. As some have said, salvation is 100% God and 0% human effort. All we do is receive it, by faith. And God even gives us the grace to receive it in the first place! As I said, it’s 100% God.
Let me suggest three points that support the position that you can’t lose God’s gift of salvation.
1. God makes some breathtaking, unconditional promises in the Bible that express His heart toward us.
I love most what Jesus said in John 10:27-30—
“My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from My Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
We are doubly safe; we are held securely in the Father’s hand and the Son’s hand. No one, not even ourselves, can snatch us from that place of eternal security.
Then, in both the Old Testament (Joshua 1:5) and the New Testament (Hebrews 13:5), God promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
In 2 Timothy 2:13, we read that “If we are unfaithful (or “unbelieving”), God is faithful.”
We are safe in the Lord’s love, protection, care . . . and salvation.
2. We have been promised everlasting (or eternal) life, not temporary life.
Jesus promised in John 5:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
And in 1 John 5:13, Jesus’ best friend writes, “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
It’s not everlasting or eternal if you could stop it by doing something to lose your salvation!
3. You have been forgiven completely and totally.
When Jesus breathed His last on the cross with the statement, “It is finished/paid in full,” that was about paying the penalty for your sins, my sins, all the sins of all the humans on the planet. And He paid for ALL of them 2000+ years ago—when all your sins were still future. Praise God, you are not powerful enough to undo what Jesus did for you on the cross.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit worked together to give you the magnificent gift of salvation. It’s a forever gift and you can relax in the Lord’s security.
I hope you find this helpful.
Warmly,
Sue Bohlin
(I am indebted to the online discussion between Dr. Sean McDowell and Dr. Andrew Farley for perspective on this issue.)
Posted Sept. 2025
© 2025 Probe Ministries
Sue Bohlin
Sue Bohlin is an associate speaker/writer and webmistress for Probe Ministries. She attended the University of Illinois, and has been a Bible teacher and conference speaker for over 40 years. She is a speaker for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) and Stonecroft Ministries (Christian Women's Connections), and serves on the board of Living Hope Ministries, a Christ-centered outreach to those dealing with unwanted homosexuality. Sue is on the Bible.org Women's Leadership Team and is a regular contributor to Bible.org's Engage Blog. In addition to being a professional calligrapher, she is the wife of Probe's Dr. Ray Bohlin and the mother of a son in San Francisco and another son who joined his baby sister in heaven in 2024.. Her personal website is suebohlin.com.
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