Don’t you think it is an amazing feeling to know that you are saved, to realise that God has forgiven you everything you ever did wrong, whether you remember it or not? No more burden! Guilt forever rolled away! Your future in heaven is guaranteed! You have become a child of God! And we could go on and on…
Just imagine then the feeling the following day, when despite all this, you do something you know to be wrong. Perhaps you might think: “The slate was wiped clean, but now I have stained it again. How can God accept me now? Am I now lost all over again? Do I need to be saved a second time?”
If this is you, be sure that you are not the only one to have experienced this. This article can help you.
Now, let’s just take a moment and think about what happened when you were saved. You will see for yourself that even a quick look at these changes is enough to show that they are completely irreversible.
Let’s have a look at just three of them:
Eternal Life
‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.’ John 5 v 24
Notice how the verse refers to having eternal (or everlasting) life. We might think that it means that one day we will go to heaven. However, this verse shows it as something that a Christian already has today, not something that is only for the future! You have already passed from death into life. This can’t be changed.
So, when we sin again (which sadly we all do from time to time), we know that we still have eternal life. It can never be taken away. It is such a comfort!
Born into God’s Family
‘But to all who did receive Him (Jesus Christ), who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.’ John 1 v 12-13
This passage shows that when you become a Christian, not only are you given a whole new life (eternal life), but you are also born into His family. You become a child of God. This is such an amazing thing in itself! But think about it… if you are born into God’s family, this is again something that is irreversible. Something has changed. You have been ‘born again’. You cannot be unborn.
Receiving the Holy Spirit
‘And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.’ John 14:16-17
Let’s just consider this one last passage.
In this verse, the Lord Jesus promises to give the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him. But did you see what He says? He promises that the Holy Spirit would be with them forever - no conditions attached! Once someone has the Holy Spirit, they always have the Holy Spirit. The Bible also says that the Holy Spirit is ‘the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession’ (Ephesians 1:14). This means that even though we are not yet in heaven, we already have the guarantee that we will be there, because we have the Holy Spirit, who will never leave us.
Final Thoughts
All of this clearly shows that to be saved is irreversible. You can’t be saved and then lost just because you have done something that is wrong.
While the Bible makes no excuse for a Christian to act wrongly, sadly it will happen. 1 John 1:8 states that 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us’. We should be seeking God’s help not to sin (that’s for sure) but if we do unfortunately sin, it certainly doesn’t make us lose our salvation. We should just get down on our knees (as soon as we can) and confess it to God. We’re not talking about being saved all over again, but rather being able to enjoy our relationship with God, which we can too easily spoil by our actions.
Now, we have only just touched the surface of this important question. It’s worth looking deeper into it. Why don’t you start by looking at our Basic Bible Course? It deals with this topic and others, showing directly from the Bible what God says about these subjects.
May God bless you and give you that settled peace of knowing that you are saved and saved forever!
