Can a Christian Lose the Salvation of His Soul?

That is one question that has stirred up its share of heated debate within the Church for more than a few centuries. As a child, I was taught that a Christian can indeed lose the salvation of his soul if he willingly turns his back on God. Since then I have come to believe that the Bible does not teach that. There are at least five biblical teachings that have led me to that conclusion. Each of them corresponds to a letter in the acronym SAVED.

S=Sealed. God has sealed us. If a seal can be broken, then it is not really a seal, is it (2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30)?

A=Adopted. In the Roman Empire adoption was forever. It could never be legally reversed. The apostle Paul (a Roman citizen) used the illustration of adoption when he wrote of God's relationship with His Church (Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5). Some translations use the term "sonship" instead of adoption.

V=Victorious. God has promised His children victory in the end (Rom. 8:18-21; 1 Cor. 1:7-9; Phil. 1:6; 1 John 5:3-4; Jude v.24).

E=Eternal. Not only will we as Christians have eternal life in heaven, we do have eternal life in the hear and now. Since it is eternal life, then what does that imply (John 5:24; 6:47; 10:28-29; Heb. 5:8-9; 1 John 5:13)?

D=Divine Election (or Destination Heaven). Long before any of us were even born, God wrote our names in the Book of Life, because He foreknew of our conversion (John 15:16 & 19; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4 & 11; 1 Thes. 5:9; 2 Thes. 2:13; Jam. 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:9).

Take the time to read and meditate on these Scriptures also: John 4:14; 14:16; Romans 8:31-39; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10-14; and 1 Peter 1:3-5 & 23-25.

Let me emphasize that eternal security does not imply that Christians have no responsibility to live godly lives. God's Word warns us many times that sin has severe consequences: loss of rewards (1 Cor. 3:14-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; 9:6; Rev. 22:12), a guilty conscience (1 John 2:28; 3:20-22), even bodily illness (1 Cor. 11:29-30) or immediate bodily death (Gen. 38:7-10; Lev. 10:1-2; Josh. 7:24-25; 2 Sam. 12:14; Prov. 7:21-23; Acts 5:1-10; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 1 John 5:16). Furthermore, a careless, irreverent attitude toward sin is a mark of somebody who has most likely never been saved (Rom. 6:14-18; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:19-21; Jam. 2:14-17).

It can be discouraging to see self-professing "Christians" walk away from God and reject the gospel later in life, but remember that external appearances are all that we see. Only God sees the heart. Judas Iscariot was entrusted to be the treasurer of the disciples (John 13:29), and he seemed to care for the poor (John 12:4-6), but Jesus called him "a devil" (John 6:70-71). The scribes and Pharisees also had an external appearance of righteousness (Matt. 5:20; 23:25-28), but numerous times Jesus called them hypocrites (Matt. 15:7; 22:18; 23:13, 15, 23 & 29; Mark 7:6; Luke 11:44; 12:56), and children of the devil (John 8:44).

Born-again believers among the Methodist, Catholic, Episcopal, Church of the Nazarene, Pentecostal and other persuasions may firmly disagree with my conclusions here. I cannot look down on them, but I can disagree with them without being disagreeable. I may firmly debate in defense of the eternal security of the believer, but I do not divide over this issue because I consider this a peripheral Christian debate.