Can those who are saved ever be lost?
Some Scripture
The Lord is with you
while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you
forsake Him, He will forsake you. 2 Chron. 15:2.
The righteousness of the
righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression. Ezek.
33:12.
You will be hated by all
for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matt. 10:22;
Matt. 24:13
Jesus said to him, “No
one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom
of God.” Luke 9:62.
If we endure, we shall
also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 2 Tim. 2:12.
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. Heb. 10:26.
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. 2 Pet. 2:20, 21.
I am the true vine, and
my Father is the vine grower. Whoever
does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches
are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. John 15:1, 6
Then Jesus said to the
Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my
disciples” John 8:31
So let us not grow weary
in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
Blessed is anyone who
endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of
life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12
For it is impossible to
restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have
tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the
word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, since
on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to
contempt. Hebrews 6:4-6
Patristic Writings
We ought therefore, brethren, carefully to
inquire concerning our salvation. Otherwise, the wicked one, having made his
entrance by deceit, may hurl us forth from our
life. Barnabas (c. 70–130, E), 1.138.
The whole past time of
your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources
of danger. . . . Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who
are the called, we fall asleep in our sins. For then, the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, will
thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. . . .
And you should pay attention to this all the more, my brothers, when you
reflect on and see that even after such great signs and wonders had been
performed in Israel, they were still abandoned. Let us beware lest we be found
to be, as it is written, the “many who are called,” but not the “few who are
chosen.” Barnabas (c. 70–130, E), 1.139.
[WRITTEN TO CHRISTIANS:]
Since all things are seen and heard [by God], let us fear Him and forsake those
wicked works that proceed from evil desires. By doing that, through His mercy,
we may be protected from the judgments to come. For where can any of us flee
from His mighty hand? Clement of Rome (c. 96, W), 1.12.
Let us therefore repent
with the whole heart, so that none of us perish
by the way. Second Clement
(c. 150), 7.522.
Let us then practice
righteousness so that we may be saved
unto the end. Second Clement
(c. 150), 7.523.
For the Lord has sworn
by His glory, in regard to His elect,
that if any one of them sin after a certain day which has been fixed, he will
not be saved. For the repentance
of the righteous has limits. Filled up are the days of repentance to all
the saints. But to the unbeliever, repentance will be possible even to the last
day. . . . For the Lord has sworn by His
Son, that those who denied their Lord have abandoned their life in
despair. Hermas (c. 150, W), 2.11.
There is but one
repentance to the servants of God. Hermas
(c. 150, W), 2.21.
If you do not guard
yourself against [anger], you and your house will lose all hope of salvation. Hermas
(c. 150, W), 2.23.
Put away doubting from
you, and do not hesitate to ask of the Lord, saying to yourself, “How can I ask
of the Lord and receive from Him, seeing I have sinned so much against Him?” Do
not reason with yourself in this manner. Instead, with all your heart turn to
the Lord, and ask of Him without doubting. For then you will know the multitude
of His tender mercies and that He will never leave you, but will fulfil the
request of your soul. For He is not like men, who remember evils done against
them. Hermas (c. 150, W), 2.26.
The apostates and traitors of the church have blasphemed the Lord in their sins.
Moreover, they have been ashamed of the name of the Lord by which they were
called. These persons, therefore,
at the end were lost unto God. Hermas (c. 150, W),
2.41.
I hold further, that
those of you who have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back for some reason to the
legal dispensation [i.e., the Mosaic Law],
and have denied that this man is Christ, and have not repented before death—you
will by no means be saved. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.218.
These men of old time,
. . . for whom the Son of God had not yet suffered, when they
committed any sin and served fleshly lusts, were rendered objects of great
disgrace. Accordingly, what will the men of the present day suffer, who have
despised the Lord’s coming, and have become the slaves of their own lusts?
Truly, the death of the Lord brought healing and remission of sins to the
former. However, Christ will not die again
on behalf of those who now commit sin. For death will no more have dominion over Him.
. . . We should not, therefore, as that presbyter remarks, be
puffed up, nor be severe upon those of olden times. Rather, we should fear ourselves, least perchance, after [we have come to] the knowledge of Christ,
if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins,
but are shut out from His kingdom. And for that reason, Paul said, “For if [God] spared not the
natural branches, [take heed] lest He also not spare you.” Irenaeus (c.
180, E/W), 1.499.
It was not to those who are on the
outside that he said these
things, but to us—lest we should be cast forth from the kingdom of God, by doing any
such thing. Irenaeus (c.
180, E/W), 1.500.
Knowing that what
preserves his life, namely, obedience to God, is good, he may diligently keep
it with all earnestness. Irenaeus (c. 180, E), 1.522.
Those who do not obey Him,
being disinherited by Him, have ceased to be His sons. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.525.
God’s greatest gift is
self-restraint. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake
you,” as having judged you worthy according to the true election. Thus, then,
while we attempt piously to advance, we will have put on us the mild yoke of
the Lord from faith to faith, one charioteer driving each of us onward to
salvation. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.374.
He who hopes for
everlasting rest knows also that the entrance to it is toilsome and narrow. So let him who has once received the Gospel
not turn back, like Lot’s wife, as is said—even in the very hour in which he
has come to the knowledge of salvation. And let him not go back either to his
former life (which adheres to the things of sense) or to heresies. Clement
of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.550.
It is neither the faith,
nor the love, nor the hope, nor the endurance of one day; rather, “he that
endures to the end will be saved.” Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E),
2.600.
God gives forgiveness of past
sins. However, as to
future sins, each one procures this for himself. He does this by repenting, by condemning the past
deeds, and by begging the Father to blot them out. For only the Father is the one who is able to undo what is done. . . . So even in the case of one who has done
the greatest good deeds in his life, but at the end has run headlong into
wickedness, all his former pains are profitless to him. For at the climax of
the drama, he has given up his part. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195,
E), 2.602.
No one is a Christian but
he who perseveres even to the end. Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.244.
The world returned to
sin . . . and so it is destined to fire. So is the man who after
baptism renews his sins. Tertullian (c. 198, W), 3.673.
We ought indeed to walk
so holily, and with so entire substantiality of faith, as to be confident and secure in regard of our own
conscience, desiring that it may abide in us to the end. Yet, we should not presume [that it
will]. For he who presumes, feels less apprehension. He who feels less
apprehension, takes less precaution. He who takes less precaution, runs more
risk. Fear is the foundation of
salvation. Presumption is an
impediment to fear. . . . More useful, then,
is it to apprehend that we may possibly fail, than to presume that we cannot.
For apprehending will lead us to fear, fear to caution, and caution to
salvation. On the other hand, if we presume, there will be neither fear nor
caution to save us. Tertullian (c. 198, W), 4.19.
[The Valentinians claim]
that since they are already naturalized in the brotherly bond of the spiritual
state, they will obtain a certain salvation—one which is on all accounts their
due. Tertullian (c. 200, W), 3.517.
Some think that God is
under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what He has promised [to
give]. So they turn His liberality into His slavery.
. . . For do not many afterwards
fall out of [grace]? Is not this gift taken away from many? These,
no doubt, are they who, . . . after approaching to the faith of
repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin. Tertullian (c.
203, W), 3.661.
God had foreseen
. . . that faith—even after baptism—would be endangered. He saw that most persons—after obtaining
salvation—would be lost again, by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for
their torches. Tertullian (c.
213, W), 3.639.
Hoodwinking multitudes,
[Marcus, the heretic] deceived many persons of this description who
had become his disciples. He taught them that they were prone, no doubt, to
sin. However, he said that they were beyond the
reach of danger because they belonged to the perfect Power. . . . Subsequent to baptism, these [heretics] promise
another, which they call Redemption. And by this, they wickedly subvert those
who remain with them in expectation of redemption. As if persons, after they
had once been baptized, could again obtain remission. Hippolytus (c.
225, W), 5.92.
A man may possess an
acquired righteousness, from which it is possible for him to fall away. Origen
(c. 225, E), 4.266.
Certain ones of those
[heretics] who hold different opinions misuse these passages. They
essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of
salvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they
cannot be lost. Origen (c. 225, E), 4.308.
The same reply must be
given to them with respect to the statement of the apostle.
. . . On whom does He have mercy? . . . He has it on
those who are capable of incurring destruction if they did not receive mercy.
They will obtain mercy in order that they may not incur that destruction of
which they are capable. That way, they will remain in the condition of those
who are saved. Origen (c. 225, E), 4.309.
He who has not denied
himself, but denied Christ, will experience the saying, “I also will deny
him.” Origen (c. 245, E), 9.464.
Being a believing man, if
you seek to live as the Gentiles do, the joys of the world remove you from the
grace of Christ. Commodianus (c. 240, W), 4.214.
Let fear be the keeper
of innocence, so that the Lord, who of His mercy has flowed into our hearts in
the access of celestial grace, may be kept by righteous submissiveness in the
home of a grateful mind. Otherwise, the assurance we have gained may beget
carelessness, and so the old enemy will creep upon us again. Cyprian
(c. 250, W), 5.276.
There remains more than
what is yet seen to be accomplished. For it is written, “Praise not any man
before his death.” And again, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a
crown of life.” And the Lord also says, “He that endures to the end, the same
will be saved.” Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.283.
You are still in the
world. You are still in the battlefield. You daily fight for your lives. So you must be careful, that . . . what you have
begun to be with such a blessed commencement will be consummated in you. It
is a small thing to have first received something. It is a greater thing to be able to keep what you
have attained. Faith itself and
the saving birth do not make alive by merely being received. Rather, they
must be preserved. It is not the actual attainment, but the perfecting, that
keeps a man for God. The Lord taught this in His instruction when He said,
“Look! You have been made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon
you.” . . . Solomon, Saul, and many others were able to keep the
grace given to them so long as they walked in the Lord’s ways. However, when
the discipline of the Lord was forsaken by them, grace also forsook them. Cyprian
(c. 250, W), 5.284.
I ask . . . that
you will grieve with me at the [spiritual] death of my sister. For in this time
of devastation, she has fallen from Christ. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.298.
He who wills that no one
should perish, desires that sinners should repent, and by repentance, should
return again to life. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.333.
They should not think that
the way of life or of salvation is still open to them if they have refused to
obey the bishops and priests.
For in Deuteronomy, the Lord God says, “And the man that will do presumptuously
and will not listen to the priest or judge, . . . that man will
die.” Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.358.
[ADDRESSED TO CHRISTIAN
LEADERS:] Endeavor that the undisciplined ones should not be consumed and
perish. As much as you can, by your salutary counsels, you should rule the
brotherhood and take counsel of each one with a view to this salvation. Strait and narrow is the way
through which we enter into life. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.358.
It is clear that the devil
is driven out in baptism by the faith of the believer. But he returns if the
faith should afterwards fail. Cyprian (c. 250, W),
5.402.
Although they forsake
the fountain of life, the [heretics] promise the grace of living and saving
water. . . . Begotten of treachery, they
lose the grace of faith. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.425.
Whoever that confessor
is, he is not greater, better, or dearer to God than Solomon. Solomon retained
the grace that he had received from the Lord, as long as he walked in God’s
ways. However, after he forsook the Lord’s way, he also lost the Lord’s grace.
For that reason it is written, “Hold fast that which
you have, lest another take your crown.” Assuredly, the Lord would not threaten
that the crown of righteousness might be taken away if it were not that the
crown must depart when righteousness departs. . . .
“He that endures to the end, the same will be saved.” So
whatever comes before the end is a step by which we ascend to the summit of
salvation. It is not the finish, where the full result of the ascent is
already gained. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.428.
To anyone who is born
and dies, is there not a necessity at some time . . . to suffer the
loss of his estate? Only let not Christ be forsaken, so that the loss of salvation and of an eternal home would
be feared. Cyprian (c.
250, W), 5.439.
We pray that this
sanctification may abide in us. For our Lord and Judge warns the man who was
healed and quickened by Him to sin no more—lest a worse thing happen to him. So we make this supplication in our constant prayers,
. . . that the sanctification and quickening that is received from
the grace of God may be preserved by His protection. Cyprian (c. 250,
W), 5.450.
There is need of
continual prayer and supplication so that we do not fall away from the heavenly
kingdom, as the Jews fell away, to whom this promise had first been given. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.451.
The quarrelsome and
disunited . . . will not be able to escape the crime of brotherly
dissension. For it is written, “He who hates his brother is a murderer.” And
no murderer attains to the kingdom of heaven. Nor does he live with God. A
person cannot be with Christ if he had rather be an imitator of Judas than of
Christ. How great is the sin that
cannot even be washed away by a baptism of blood! Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.454.
What a wonderful
providence, how great the mercy, that by a plan of salvation it is provided for
that more abundant care should
be taken for preserving a man after he is already redeemed. . . . Nor would the infirmity and weakness of human
frailty have any resource, unless the divine mercy, coming once more in aid,
should open some way of securing salvation, by pointing out works of justice
and mercy. So, by almsgiving, we may
wash away whatever foulness we subsequently contract. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.476.
You are afraid that
perhaps your estate might fail if you begin to act generously from it. Do you
not know, miserable man, that while you are
worrying that your family property may fail, life itself and salvation are
failing! Cyprian (c.
250, W), 5.478.479.
He says, “He that
endures to the end, the same will be saved.” And again He says, “If you
continue in my word, you will truly be my disciples” [John 8:31, 32]. . . . So there needs to be patience in order
that hope and faith may attain their result. Cyprian (c. 250, W),
5.487.
Let us press onward and
labor, watching with our whole heart. Let us be steadfast with all endurance;
let us keep the Lord’s commandments. Thereby, when that day of anger and
vengeance comes, we may not be punished with the ungodly and the sinners.
Rather, we may be honored with the righteous and with those who fear God. Cyprian
(c. 250, W), 5.491.
Those who are snatched
from the jaws of the devil and delivered from the snares of this world, should not return to the world again, lest they
should lose the advantage of their leaving it in the first place. . . . The Lord admonishes us of this in His Gospel.
He taught that we should not return again to the devil and to the world. For we
have renounced them and have escaped from them. He says, “No man looking back
after putting his hand to the plough is fit for the kingdom of God.” And again,
“Let him that is in the field not return back. Remember Lot’s wife.”
. . . So we must press on and persevere in
faith and virtue. We must complete the heavenly and spiritual grace so that we
may attain to the palm and the crown. In the book of Chronicles it says, “The
Lord is with you so long as you also are with him; but if you forsake him, he
will forsake you.” Also in Ezekiel: “The righteousness of the righteous man
will not deliver him in whatever day that he may transgress.” Furthermore, in
the Gospel, the Lord speaks and says: “He that endures to the end, the same
will be saved.” And again: “If you will abide in my word, you will be my
disciples indeed.” Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.500.
In the Gospel according
to Matthew: “Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down
and cast into the fire” [Matt. 3:10]. . . .
Even a baptized person loses the grace that he has attained, unless he remains
innocent. In the Gospel according to John: “Look, you are made whole. Sin no
more, lest a worse thing happens to you” [John 5:14]. Also, in the first
Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that you are the temple of
God, and the Spirit of God abides in you? If anyone violates the temple of God,
God will destroy him” [1 Cor. 3:16, 17]. Of this same thing in the Chronicles:
“God is with you, while you are with Him. If you forsake Him, he will forsake
you” [2 Chron. 15:2]. Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.542.
As to one who again denies
Christ, no special previous standing can be effective to him for salvation. For anyone of us will hold it necessary that whatever
is the last thing to be found in a man in this respect, that is where he
will be judged. All of those things that
he has previously done are wiped away and obliterated. Treatise on Re-Baptism (c. 257, W),
5.674.
He put a seal upon him,
for it is concealed as to who belong to the side of the devil and who to the
side of Christ. For we do not know out of those who seem to stand whether they
will fall or not. And of those who are down, it is uncertain whether they might
rise. Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.358.
A son . . .
who deserts his father in order not to pay him obedience is considered
deserving of being disinherited and of having his name removed forever from his
family. How much more so does a person [deserve to be
disinherited] who forsakes God—in whom the two names meet that are entitled to
equal reverence: Lord and Father? . . . Of what punishments,
therefore, is he deserving who forsakes Him who is both the true Master and
Father? Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.155.
The righteous man, since
he has entered upon a hard and rugged way, must be an object of contempt,
derision, and hatred. . . . Therefore, he
will be poor, humble, low, subject to injury, and yet enduring all things that
are grievous. And if he will continue his
patience unceasingly to that last step and end, the crown of virtue will be given to him and he will be rewarded
by God with immortality for the labors that he has endured in life for the sake
of righteousness. Lactantius (c.
304–313, W), 7.165.
We believe that our
children have been corrected when we see that they repent of their errors. And
though we may have disinherited them and cast them off, we again receive,
cherish, and embrace them. Why, then, should we despair as if the mercy of God
our Father might not be appeased by repentance? He who is both the Lord and a
most indulgent Parent promises that He will remit the sins of the penitent. He promises that He will blot out all the
iniquities of the one who begins afresh to practice righteousness. The uprightness of one’s past life is to no
avail to him who lives badly, for the subsequent wickedness has destroyed his
works of righteousness. Likewise, former sins do not stand in the way of him
who has amended his life. For the subsequent righteousness has wiped away the
stain of his former life. Lactantius
(c. 304–313, W), 7.191.
[True] repentance makes
a man cautious and diligent to avoid the faults into which he has once fallen
through treachery. No one can be so prudent and so cautious as not at some time
to slip. Therefore, God, knowing our weakness, out of His compassion has opened
a harbor of refuge for man—that the medicine of repentance might aid this necessity to which our frailty
is liable. Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.191.
If they tear themselves
away from this pernicious slavery, all their error will be forgiven them—if
they have corrected their error by a better life. Lactantius
(c. 304–313, W), 7.191.
He who sins after his
baptism, unless he repents and forsakes his sins, will be condemned to Gehenna. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c.
390, E), 7.398.
How do you know, O man,
when you sin, whether you will live a sufficient number of days in this present
state in order that you will have time to repent? For the time of your
departure out of this world is uncertain. And if you die in sin, there will remain no repentance for you. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c.
390, E), 7.400.
The Holy Spirit always
abides with those who are possessed of Him, so long as they are worthy. . . . The Holy Spirit remains with a person so
long as he is doing good, and He fills him with wisdom and
understanding. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.462; see
also 2.42, 2.422.
Bercot, David W., editor. Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs (pp.
590-591). Hendrickson Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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