“Once Saved, Always Saved”?
There is no biblical support for this view. The following quotations from the New Testament present the right idea about this peculiarity related to salvation:
Matthew 24:13 – “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
John 3:36 – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have see life, but must endure God’s wrath.”
John 8:31 – “Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
John 15:1, 2, 4, 6, 10 – “[Jesus speaking to his disciples,] I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit…/ Abide in me as I abide in you. / Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. / If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…..”
Romans 11:20-22 – “That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”
1 Corinthians 9:27 – “[Paul wrote,] but I punish my body and enslave it so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 – So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.
1 Corinthians 15: 1, 2 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you unless you have come to believe in vain.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!”
Galatians 6:9 – “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up.”
Colossians 1:21-23 – “And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him — provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard…”
2 Timothy 2:11-13 – “The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.”
Hebrews 3:6, 12,14 – “Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a Son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope…. Take care, brothers, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God…. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.”
Hebrews 10:26, 27, 36, 38 – “For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment…. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised…. but my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.”
2 Peter 2:20-22 – “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them…”
Revelation 2:4, 5 – “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
Revelation 2:10 – “…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:23, 25, 26 – “…and I will give to each of you as your works deserve…. Only hold fast to what you have until I come. To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end,…”
Revelation 3:11 – “I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”