Keeping Salvation
I’ve had some conversations recently with a couple of people who believe that salvation cannot be lost, no matter what a person does. That position is unsupported by scripture. However, sometimes we focus so intently on that knowledge that we forget the assurances that the Lord has given. Let’s consider what Paul wrote to the Romans.
To begin, it is critical to understand to whom the letter was written. In chapter 1:7, Paul writes: “To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul was writing to the Christians who made up the church in Rome and asking for God’s grace and peace to be upon them. In other words, Paul was addressing faithful Christians who were seeking God. With this audience in mind, Paul emphasizes the profound relationship between God and His children, a theme he continues to develop throughout the letter.
In 8:31, he writes, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Indeed, if the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17) is for us, truly, who can be against us? Who can stand against such a God?
Although Paul could conclude his argument with that truth, he continues. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” His point here is that if God was willing to require His Son to die for us, why would he then keep anything from us? Paul’s answer is that He wouldn’t; what is more precious than the sinless Son of God?
In verse 33, Paul asks and then answers, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” “God’s elect” are those who have been chosen by God, and because that choice is based on His grace and mercy, it doesn’t make any difference if one were to bring a charge against us. God hasn’t chosen us on our merits, so we can’t be disqualified by the accuser (Revelation 12:10).
He then asks in verse 34 who can condemn us and makes the point that “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Jesus is the resurrected Messiah; He stands at God’s right hand, and He is pleading our case before God. Paul’s point is that both God the Father and Jesus the Christ are on our side with Jesus acting as our advocate and God declaring us just.
Finally Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” He answers in verse 37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Paul wanted the Roman Christians, the saints loved by God, to understand that in Jesus, they would be able to overcome all of those things.
To ensure that his readers understood his point, he sums up his arguments in some of the most beautiful text in scripture: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (38-39).
We need to understand what Paul is saying here: God is going to graciously give all things to His children, and there is nothing in all of creation that will be able to separate God’s children from His love. Paul intended for his readers to know that they were safe in Jesus, and we need to take that to heart because the comfort he gave the Romans is for us as well.
Can a person walk away from God? Of that, there is no doubt. The same man who wrote Romans 8 also wrote 1 Corinthians 9:27: “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified.” In context, he is comparing our lives here to a race for an “imperishable” wreath, and he is saying that he could be disqualified from that race if he doesn’t maintain self-control.
For some reason, passages like that come to mind quicker than the promises and assurance of Romans 8 or John 10: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (27-29).
Is it impossible to lose our salvation? No, not if we profane “the blood of the covenant by which [we] were sanctified” (Hebrews 10:29). But a better question for those loved by God is, is it possible for one of His faithful children to be separated from Him? The answer to that, according to Paul, is a resounding no. And there is great comfort in that knowledge.
