Many Christians believe that their salvation is assured, or in the vernacular, “once saved always saved”.  The origin of this belief or doctrine can be traced back to Augustine (354-430 AD) and was popularised by Martin Luther (1483-1546 AD) and John Calvin (1509-1564 AD). 

Is this belief accurate? 

The key to answering the question is understanding that the Bible reveals that salvation is a process.  Various Scriptures tell us that we have been saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved.

Titus 3:5  not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

2 Cor 2:15  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

Rom 5:10  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Salvation is a process that starts with repentance and baptism and then receiving the Holy Spirit.  After Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, the people were cut to the heart and wanted to know what to do.

Act 2:37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
Act 2:38  Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Receipt of the Holy Spirit is essential.  If we have the Holy Spirit living in us then we will receive eternal life.

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Although receipt of the Holy Spirit is essential, it is not enough.  We have to change.  The old man, the old way of living our life, has to die; and the new man, the new way of living our life must begin and survive.

Eph 4:22  that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
Eph 4:23  and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Eph 4:24  and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

The old man is full of anger, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lies.  The new man is full of tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forgiveness, and love.

Col 3:8  But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
Col 3:9  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
Col 3:10  and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Col 3:11  where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Col 3:12  Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Col 3:14  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

All the wonderful characteristics the new man puts on is called fruit – the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

The apostle Paul explained that Jesus Christ lives in us.  Jesus lives in us through His Holy Spirit.

Gal 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We bear the fruit of the Spirit by Jesus Christ living in us.  Jesus explained this by saying He is the true vine, and we are the branches.  If we live in Him and He is us (through the Holy Spirit) we will bear much fruit of the Spirit.

Joh 15:1  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
Joh 15:2  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Joh 15:3  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
Joh 15:4  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
Joh 15:5  “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Joh 15:6  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Yet, there is a warning that we will be cast out if we refuse to live in Christ.  If we refuse to live God’s way of life and do not produce the fruit of the Spirit, then we will be cast out as a withered branch and thrown into the fire.  Living a life that produces the fruit of the Spirit is not easy.  It is a struggle.  The apostle Paul described this struggle.  He found himself doing what he did not want to do.

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
Rom 7:16  If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

With this understanding that salvation is a process, we can address the original question.  Is your salvation assured?  Let’s take a look at some of the pertinent Scriptures.

We have been promised everlasting life.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:36  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

1Jn 5:11  And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
1Jn 5:12  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1Jn 5:13  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

But we can fall away.

1 Cor 10:12  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Heb 6:5  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
Heb 6:6  if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

Heb 10:26  For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

Rev 3:11  “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Our names are in the book of life.

Phil 4:3  And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

But they can also be blotted out.

Rev 3:5  “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

No one can snatch us from God’s hand.

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Joh 10:28  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Joh 10:29  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

But we can choose to not abide in God.

Joh 15:6  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

There is a long list of things which cannot separate us from God.

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But that list does not include ourselves. We can reject God.

Luke 9:62  But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

1Ti 1:18  This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
1Ti 1:19  having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,
1Ti 1:20  of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

God will never leave us.

Heb 13:5  Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.”

But we can leave God.

Heb 3:12  Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

Conclusion

Is our salvation assured? 

If we remain faithful to God to the end, then our salvation is assured, because God is faithful and His promises are sure.

Heb 3:14  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

But if we turn away from God, then our salvation is not assured, because there remains a certain fearful expectation of judgment.

Heb 10:26  For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27  but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.