“For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” Malachi 3:6
Yesterday, we explored how when God saves, He does so completely. His salvation is not provisional, probationary, or partial—it is eternal, because it reflects His unchanging nature. God’s plan of redemption has always rested on His nature—not our will. That’s why when we interpret Scripture, we must read every passage in context, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and most importantly—remember who God says He is. After all, it is His Word!
We are going to explore some of the most-cited “loss of salvation” passages. But, my friend, when read in their historical and theological setting—these verses reveal something very different than the idea that one can lose salvation.
1. Hebrews 6:4–6: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
In Hebrews 5, the text is written to born again believers. The writer firmly rebukes them for remaining spiritual infants when they should be mature teachers of the faith. Though they had been saved long enough to know better, they were still living on “milk” instead of “solid food.” They weren’t ignorant of truth—they were apathetic toward growth. Their lack of growth wasn’t because of a lack of knowledge; it was a lack of obedience.
That’s the foundation for the warning in Hebrews 6:1–8. The writer pleads with these believers to “go on to perfection” that is, to grow up in their faith. In verses 4–6, he paints a sobering picture: Those who have been enlightened and tasted the good things of God but refuse to mature risk becoming spiritually useless, just like soil that receives rain but produces only briars and thorns. (vv. 7–8) The author is not describing a loss of salvation but a loss of fruitfulness and intimate fellowship with God.
Christians who continually resist conviction, take grace for granted, or neglect their spiritual disciplines can quench the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19) When that happens, their hearts grow calloused and their lives stop bearing the fruit that is proof of Christ within them. The danger isn’t being cast out of God’s family—it’s becoming barren ground. Hebrews 6 is not about losing salvation but about losing vital intimacy and usefulness. The rain of God’s Word falls on every believer, but only those who stay tender to His Spirit bear fruit.
2. Hebrews 10:26–27: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”
This passage is not teaching that a believer can lose salvation—it’s warning believers about the serious consequences of willful sin after salvation. The audience here is clearly Christian; they had already “received the knowledge of the truth” but were drifting back toward the old sacrificial system, as if Christ’s atonement were not enough. When the writer says, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” he’s not implying salvation can be undone. He’s declaring that there is no other sacrifice beyond Christ’s once-for-all offering. To reject obedience and return to ritual is to step outside the blessing of fellowship, not outside the covenant of grace.
The “fearful expectation of judgment” (v. 27) does not refer to the Great White Throne Judgment of unbelievers in Revelation 20. Instead, it points to the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10–12), where every believer will give an account for their works—not for salvation, but for reward or loss of reward. At that judgment, believers whose lives have been marked by faithful obedience will receive crowns and commendation, while those who lived carnally will experience shame and loss of reward.
Hebrews 10 therefore warns Christians not to take grace lightly; willful sin leads to discipline now and loss of reward later. The passage calls believers to live with reverent gratitude, remembering that Christ’s sacrifice purchased not only forgiveness but the privilege of serving Him faithfully.
3. 2 Peter 2:20–22: “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”
Peter’s warning here concerns false teachers who outwardly seemed to have escaped worldly corruption by an intellectual acquaintance with Christ, but had never been inwardly renewed by Him. They had head knowledge without heart transformation. Their reformation was external, not spiritual; they were washed on the outside but never made new within. These individuals knew the truth but never submitted to it, proving that they were never born again. Their relapse was not a loss of salvation—it was evidence they never possessed it.
The imagery of the dog and the sow drives this point home: Both revert to their old filth because their nature was never changed. A “dog returns to his vomit” and “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing” demonstrates that their nature remains unregenerate. A pig may be cleaned outwardly, but it remains a pig, not a sheep. These folks were never transformed sheep belonging to Christ’s flock. True believers, on the other hand, are “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and sealed by the Spirit for redemption. (Ephesians 1:13–14) This person’s condition is worse than before precisely because they reject the truth they once professed—but not because grace has failed. Peter’s words expose the tragedy of false conversion, not the fragility of true salvation.
4. Galatians 5:4: “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
Paul addresses believers in Galatia who were being swayed by Judaizers—teachers insisting that faith in Christ alone was insufficient for salvation unless it was accompanied by works of the Law. To “fall from grace” here does not mean losing salvation; rather, it means abandoning the principle of grace and turning back to a system of human merit. “Grace” in this context is the free salvation of God through Christ. Those who sought to be justified by the law had, in effect, turned away from that foundation and attempted to stand on their own righteousness. But that does not mean they were cast away from God’s saving grace, rather, they had stepped out from under its influence and enjoyment. In other words, they were no longer walking in the freedom and joy of their New Birth. It is a move from trusting what God has done to trusting what we can do.
God’s grace is not conditional because it flows from His immutable nature. Once a person is truly justified by faith, that verdict stands secure. However, when believers drift into legalism, they lose their peace and fellowship, much like the Galatians who were “estranged from Christ” in their practical experience—not their eternal standing.
5. Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Jesus was addressing religious Jews in His Sermon on the Mount—people who trusted in external righteousness and religious works. Christ’s words expose false conversion, not a loss of salvation. Notice He says, “I NEVER knew you,” not “I once knew you.” Their works were impressive, but their hearts were unregenerate. The tragedy here is self-deception, not rejection of a genuine born again convert.
6. Revelation 3:5: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Jesus is addressing the church in Sardis, a congregation with a reputation for outward spiritual vitality but largely “dead” due to spiritual complacency. (Revelation 3:1) The “overcomers” are true believers who persevere in genuine faith, empowered by Christ. The promise of white garments signifies purity and victory, and the assurance that their names will not be blotted out from the Book of Life underscores God’s unchanging commitment. The phrase “I will not blot out” is affirming security, not implying that true believers’ names could ever be removed. In fact, the phrase “I will not blot out” underscores the certainty by negating the opposite. For the unregenerate in Sardis, who professed salvation without spiritual life, the warning exposes their false security. Thus, Revelation 3:5 affirms the eternal security of true believers, not the possibility of losing salvation.
Summary: When interpreted in proper context, each of these passages reveals one of two realities—either a false conversion among those who appeared to believe OR a loss of fellowship, reward, and fruitfulness for the genuine believer. It never means loss of justification because, as we discussed yesterday, this would deny the very essence of God. The Bible leaves no room for doubt about whether God has secured the eternity of our soul after we are born again:
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38–39
Prayer
Father, thank You that Your Word—when read in full—always points to Your faithfulness. You are not a man that You should lie, nor a judge who changes verdicts. Thank You that Your Son’s sacrifice was once for all and that Your Spirit seals me forever. Teach me to sacrifice and surrender every part of my life to You so I will bear eternal fruit. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be part of Your almighty plan. Help me to work and rest in the finished work of Christ, my eternal Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
