Once Saved Always Saved Part Two

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Assurance Free Will and the What About Questions

The Tension Between Free Will and Assurance

One of the biggest challenges to once saved always saved is not scripture “proof text” verses but rather the biblical concept of free will itself. Many people assume that if we freely choose Christ, we must also be able to freely reject Him later. At first glance this seems reasonable. It feels like true freedom must include the ability to walk away. But Scripture makes a crucial distinction that resolves this tension. The Bible teaches that salvation cannot be undone by human weakness, sin, or failure (John 10:28, Romans 8:38 to 39, Philippians 1:6). At the same time, Scripture acknowledges that a person can reject Christ (Hebrews 6:4 to 6, 1 John 2:19, Matthew 7:23). The key is understanding what that rejection reveals.

A person can reject Christ, but no one can undo the work of Christ within them.

What Regeneration Really Means

This view requires a clear understanding of regeneration. Being born again is not intellectual agreement or emotional experience. It is a genuine transformation by the Holy Spirit. It is new birth, new nature, new identity, and new life. A regenerate person is not simply convinced by the gospel. They are changed by it. This distinction matters because some people experience conviction, fellowship, and even spiritual power without ever being made new. They may taste spiritual realities, feel the weight of truth, and even participate in the life of the Church, yet remain unchanged at the core. When such a person later rejects Christ, they are not losing salvation. They are revealing that they were never regenerate. A temporary spiritual experience can be abandoned. A new nature cannot.

Why Hebrews Gives Warnings

This is exactly what the book of Hebrews describes. The writer assumes his audience has been exposed to the grace of God, stirred by the gospel, and awakened to the truth. Yet he repeatedly questions whether they will continue in that grace. The warnings in Hebrews do not function as threats to a saved person. They function as diagnostics. They expose the heart. They reveal whether someone has truly embraced Christ or merely stood near Him.

With this distinction in place, the “what about” passages become clear. They do not describe a saved person becoming unsaved. They describe an unsaved person walking away from the truth they were exposed to. Apostasy is not losing salvation. Apostasy is the exposure of an untransformed heart.

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Hebrews 6

The phrase “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance” only makes sense when read inside the flow of Hebrews. The entire book was written to Jewish Christians who were struggling to leave the old covenant and fully embrace the free gift of salvation in Christ. A few verses earlier the writer gives us the interpretive key by saying that we must not “lay again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.”

The issue is not a saved person losing salvation. The issue is a person who is introduced to grace, awakened by the gospel, and then rejects Christ entirely by returning to the old covenant system. This is apostasy. It reveals that the person was never saved to begin with. They were stirred, enlightened, and exposed to the truth, but they never embraced Christ in saving faith. Once they reject the only sacrifice that can save, there is no other foundation to return to, which is why renewal is impossible. Hebrews is not describing the loss of salvation. It is describing the tragedy of someone who stands at the threshold of grace and walks away.

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Hebrews 10

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

The chapter begins with a strong declaration of Christ’s sacrifice once for all time after spending the previous nine chapters proving that the old covenant cannot save. It is noteworthy that this book was likely written before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. This means the Jewish hearers would still have been compelled by the law of the old covenant to offer sacrifice yearly for their sins.

The warning in verse 26 and 27 only comes after laying all of this groundwork. In this context the deliberate sin is rejecting Christ’s sacrifice and choosing again the temple sacrifices. It is apostasy. Rejecting Christ leaves you with no sacrifice left.

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Galatians 5

“Fallen from grace” does not mean “lost salvation.” It refers to falling from the gospel of grace and into a works based salvation. This is the context of the whole book of Galatians. Paul never says they lost salvation. In fact, he says the opposite

“You are all sons of God through faith” (Gal 3:26).

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Matthew 7

Jesus says, “I never knew you,” not “I knew you once but no longer.” These people were religious, active, impressive, externally Christian, but had never actually accepted Christ to be regenerated by Him. Matthew 7 describes unsaved religious people, not believers who fell away.

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1 Timothy 4

“Depart from the faith” means depart from the Christian message, not lose salvation. Paul uses the words “the faith” to mean the body of Christian truth, not personal salvation. These people are influenced by deceiving spirits, a sign they were never regenerate. 1 Timothy 4:1 describes abandoning Christian teaching, not losing salvation.

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The Positive Case for Assurance

Conversely we see numerous references where grace and assurance of salvation are amplified.

John 10:28

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

Romans 8:38 to 39

“Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

Philippians 1:6

“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.”

Ephesians 1:13 to 14

“Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

Hebrews 7:25

“He is able to save to the uttermost.”

1 Peter 1:5

“Kept by the power of God.”

There are about eight to ten passages commonly cited as falling away texts. Examples include Hebrews 6, Hebrews 10, 2 Peter 2, John 15, and Galatians 5:4. And every one of these, in context, describes apostasy before salvation, not the loss of salvation after regeneration.

In contrast there are more than forty passages that explicitly teach assurance, security, sealing, or preservation. Here are just a few:

• John 10:28

• Romans 8:38 to 39

• Philippians 1:6

• Ephesians 1:13

• Hebrews 7:25

• 1 Peter 1:5

• Jude 24

• John 6:39

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Living in the Freedom of Assurance

If you still believe you can lose salvation, I am certain your life is marked by checked boxes of works. Some sort of pay to play where you feel you must do daily devotions, prayer, tithing, and a host of other good works to “feel” saved.

If however you know that Christ is the author and finisher of your faith and that His promises are true, you live to serve Him not for what He will do for you but for what He has already done for you. As Paul states in Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

You can certainly grieve the Holy Spirit by living in the flesh, but you are still sealed. If that is you, I am sure it is exhausting because you are living contrary to your new nature and it is not helping you. Choosing to accept that new identity and allowing Christ to continue His renewing of your mind will create immense freedom.

Let the chains fall off.

Your salvation is secure if you chose Christ.

Every sin is forgiven.

You are free.

Free from sin

Free from shame

Free to worship

Free to live for Him