Once Saved Always Saved is the belief that once you are a Christian, that you cannot fall away. And if you do fall away, it is said that the person was not a believer in the first place. But as you will see from some of the verses that the author was addressing believers, not false believers. I do believe there are false converts and their lack of endurance till the end will reveal this. But I also believe that a person can truly be in Christ, and then fall away by their own doing meaning Jesus did not lose them or let them go. You have to first be IN Christ in order to fall away.
I’m going to list Scriptures as to why I believe OSAS is a false doctrine. My intent is not to get in debate with anyone or argue because it doesn’t seem to benefit anyone. So I put this out there for those who are not sure of where they stand.
Christians must take heed lest they fall.
1 Cor. 10:12 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
Christians must take care that they do not fall away from the living God. (Heb 3:12; 6:4-8; 10:26-39; 11:15-16; 12:15)
They must obey and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.
Phil. 2:12 2Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
Christians can stray from the truth.
James 5:19 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,..
Some Christians in the first century had already strayed from the faith.
1 Tim. 6:21 21which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.
Christians can stray from the truth.
James 5:19 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back..
And if they turn back to God, they are saved from death.
James 5:19-20 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Not only can a Christian fall away, but he can cause a brother to stumble.
Rom. 14:13,21 13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
Christians can come short of the grace of God.
Heb. 12:15-17 15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
Esau is an example of one who came short of God’s grace, when he sold his birthright for a single meal. (Heb 12:16)
If we come short of God’s grace and we’re lost in hell for eternity, we will not be able to repent as be restored to God, (Heb 12:17)
The resurrection will not come until the falling away. (2 Thess. 2:1-3)
The falling away (apostasy) was at work in the First Century.
2 Th 2:7 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 2 Tim. 2:18 18who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.
Some people turned aside after Satan (fell away) during the first century.
1 Tim. 5:15 15Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. 1 Tim. 6:21 21which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.
The apostle Paul knew that he could be lost after having been saved.
1 Cor. 9:27 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Phil. 3:12-14 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Christians can fall from grace.
Gal. 5:4 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Heb. 12:15 15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
A believer (Christian) falls away by not holding fast his confidence and the boast of his hope until the end.
Heb. 3:6 6But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.
He has an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Heb. 3:12 12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
He is hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Heb. 3:8 8do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,
Heb 3:13 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Heb 3:15 15As has just been said:”Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Christians who do not endure but throw away their confidence will not receive the promise.
Heb. 10:35-39 35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37for in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38but my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
The branches in Jesus that do not bear fruit are taken away, cast into the fire, and burned.
John 15:1-6 1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
They do not keep Jesus’ commandments.
John 15:10 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
Some people will depart from the faith in the later times; giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods.
1 Tim. 4:1-3 1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
See also Col. 2:16-23, 1 Tim. 6:21, James 5:19-20)
Some Christians wander away from the faith because they love money.
1 Tim. 6:9-10 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Christians must be diligent to enter heaven, lest they fall away.
Heb. 4:11 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
Christians must be careful not to fall from their own steadfastness being led away with the error of the wicked.
2 Peter 3:17-18 17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
In closing, if there were just one verse of warning about falling away, that would be enough for me but there are many and many more that I haven’t listed. If you do believe that it is impossible to fall away , then you must be able to accurately explain away all of the above verses and others not mentioned in order to hold such a view. I don’t know about any of you but if I held a belief with opposing verses, I would re-evaluate my belief. It is a very dangerous thing to hold a belief while ignoring other verses because you could be in error. And if we really love the truth as children of God should, then we should take the time to fix those loose ends. God bless.
Boldly Proclaiming Christ 
My wife got tickled at your comments on my post Young Love. She giggles instead of laughs. I like that about her. Get some sleep. My wife said go snuggle up to your hubby and get some rest.We both wish you guys a Happy New Year!
I agree that Christians can fall away from Christ. I also dislike the golden ticket approach to salvation–one altar call and the rest is gravy. However, and I know this is interpretation, falling away does not always mean hellfire. A sin against the Holy Spirit is such a thing, and Jesus was never clear on what that was, but Satanic worship is a good bet.Since you are using the early church as a primary example, I believe many fell away out of a lack of guidance, a refusal to depend on the Holy Spirit, and in many cases, not going through openly with the process of being born again. But I also don’t think that means they are doomed to hell. God has a habit of reaching out to those who have fallen and many return. Others who may not, it is for God to decide where their face lies: he judges the heart.Death is not only hell, but it is separation from God. Those who fall away choose to be away from God. Can they come back? Sure. When they die, are they in hell? I don’t think so, but I don’t know what God will greet them with.You mention Esau–an ungodly man. Yet I believe he got right with God when he showed Jacob forgiveness and forgot Jacob’s deviousness toward him. It’s true that a pagan people came from his loins, but I think Esau showed grace where Jacob did not.I know about the false converts. They will get theirs. Yes, we can lead others astray and visa versa. But what are we leading them to? We are imperfect beings who undergo ongoing repentence for our sins. I have yet to meet a Christian who is perfect and who hasn’t sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And sometimes the body of Christ can be more of an obstacle to some, than a comfort. I’ve seen this.As a Christian, I think about my walk with God constantly. I did not always do that. I also don’t agree with many of the platforms other Christians stand by. But if I am wrong, God has a way of showing me. Even with the Scripture as our guide, God is infinite, beyond time and space–there is so much we cannot begin to know in these earthly bodies. We trust and that has to be the real ticket.Sorry so long.
Amen!
Amen,its absolutely possible for those who are in the faith to fall away. Our acceptance in position with God, however, does not change with us “doing” things. Scripture says, “It is His doing that we are in Christ”. We are sons because of HIS doing. I was under the impression that if I spent more time in prayer and reading the Word then I’d be more of a son. And in nature, sons are led by the Spirit, they are obedient, they respond in joy, thanksgiving and prayer. However, a person who is born-again and sins does not cease to be a son. John said, “If you sin you have an advocate with the Father”. He didn’t say an advocate with God, but Father. Our position with God as long as we are in Christ is fixed. This is liberating thought that moves us from a performance lifestyle into a sons lifestyle. Why does God ask us to obey Him and walk with Him? So that we can receive the benefits of our salvation. We can never work <>for<> our salvation. Yes of course, We need to work out our salvation, but never work for it. Working out in other words is experiencing the benefits of salvation- this requires obedience.I hope to write more on this later.
Amen Sidharth! Waiting to hear your other comments. 🙂
Carol,I’d be genuinely interested in knowing whether you think falling away in all instances means loss of salvation, and at what point or by what means falling away occurs.For instance, if I sinned today have I fallen away? If not, why not? Do I lose my salvation if I die in my sleep with unconfessed sin?
Robert,Your question about the means of falling away is in my post but I’ll recap:You can fall away by:Not standing firm Straying from the truthStraying from the faithTurning their backs on GodUnbeliefNot bearing fruitNot keeping His commands Falling for the world’s lies and deceptionLove of money (amongst other things)This does not mean if you sin and die that evening that you’ll go to hell. None of us are sinless. This is speaking of a heart change, a decision to no longer be a part of His Kingdom. If you follow the ways of the world (hence love the world, reject what Jesus has said, and/or added to what He said) you could be in danger of falling away. That’s why I’m concerned about your endorsement of clowns and mimes and all other manner of entertainment under the guise of preaching the Word. These are of the world. Not what Jesus commanded or even eluded to. In fact they go against other principles set forth in Scripture of which I mentioned in the clown post. The end doesn’t justify the means.You can be lost by sinning because the bible names a whole slew of them. (fornicators, deceivers, liars etc.) This speaks of unrepentant people, or people who have fallen away (for whatever reason) thus they have rejected Jesus. You cannot be a follower of Christ and then not change your ways because you (general you, not “you” you) are just like the world instead of being a separate holy people like God has called us to be.
Thanks for the clarification.As for your concern, I don’t understand it. If I want to preach the word standing on my head because it helps get the message through then so be it. The Bible as far I know speaks about delivery content but is fairly quiet on delivery style. Its not about entertainment, its about an appropriate style of delivery. Sure I could stand there and preach only words at the kids, but as I’m sure most people in children work would hopefully agree, that would mean an empty sunday school – which would be a shame since half the kids don’t have believing parents.
I used to believe OSAS but the Lord has been bringing verses to mind. Thank you for streamlining these I look forward to sharing this with others in the faith! Always examining myself…