Is it possible to lose your salvation?

I have been holding quarterly seminars to educate Christians in Nigeria on understanding the God of the Bible. One of the topics that sparked argument in all the seminars so far is the doctrine of eternal security. On each occasion, the participants argued that it is possible for believers to lose their salvation if they decided to fall away. They cited a trend going on now in the southeastern part of Nigeria where Christians and pastors are now turning away to serve idols all in the name of restoring “African identity” and culture.

The majority of the participants argued that someone who once professed to be a Christian may become an apostate. They said that the popular doctrine of “Once saved, always saved” gives license to people to continue to live in sin without remorse or recourse.  According to them, so many atrocities are being committed in the churches today simply because people believe that they are saved, and nothing will stop them from making it to Heaven.

According to Paul Bryan, the author of Who is this God?, “A genuine Christian cannot become apostate. Those who apostatize demonstrate that they were never genuine Christians.” As Scripture says, “they went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us” (1 John 2:19). It is obvious that not everyone who thinks they are Christians is truly born-again follower of Christ. I don’t believe in “once saved, always saved” as a guarantee for those who only confess Christ for “fire insurance.” I don’t believe they had a changed heart and are born-again and, therefore, will not be in Heaven. I do believe everyone born of the Spirit of God will be saved.

George Barna in his 2020 survey on America's Dominant Worldview observed that only 6% of adult Americans hold a biblical worldview. Is it possible for a saved person not to hold a biblical worldview? I strongly believe that while the proponents of “once saved always saved” are right to some extent, we need to distinguish between those who are genuinely saved and those who claim Christianity simply because they have confessed Christ.

We know that we have a variety in the body of Christ and preachers should recognize this and emphasize the need for people to genuinely come to Christ. Generalizing “once saved always saved” has done more harm than good. This teaching perverts the Gospel with applauds from vulnerable and gullible followers who see nothing wrong in it.

Consider this Scripture verse: “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels” (Revelation 3:4-5).

In the above biblical verses, it is clear that Jesus was addressing the church in Sardis and had identified a few people who had kept themselves pure. Does it mean that He was not pleased with the majority of Christians in the church of Sardis whose garments have been soiled? He enjoined every person to endeavor to be victorious like the few that He identified. What will happen to those whose lifestyles refuse to conform to these identified few? Think about it.

There is no doubt that Christians are not saved by works but by grace (Ephesians 2:8). But are we not supposed to work to become victorious as Christ taught us? Obedience to God’s words and instructions require the fear of God and deliberate effort. Let us therefore continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). It’s what our Lord would have us do.