Q & A

Salvation

Q: Can I lose my salvation?

No. Dr. Stanley believes that once someone is saved by faith in Christ’s death on the cross, that person has eternal life. His or her salvation is secure.

What if someone stops believing in God or verbally denies Christ? If we’re saved by faith, can we lose our salvation if we lose our faith? We’re saved because at a moment in time we expressed faith in our Lord. Faith is the agent by which God was able to apply His grace to the life of the individual. But our standing with God is not maintained by our faith. So even if we were to lose our faith or deny Him, God won’t take back His gift of salvation.

What if someone “falls from grace” or returns to a lifestyle of sin? Since all our sins—past, present, and future—were forgiven at the cross, no sin we commit after salvation will cost us our official standing as children of God. In context, the term “falling from grace” means adopting a form of Christianity that would demand more in the way of good works (Gal. 5:4). It has nothing to do with a lifestyle of sin. We’re saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Since salvation is given as a free gift, nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:37-39). But disobedience does have a price. It will cause us to lose our fellowship with God. We’ll also reap the natural consequences of wicked behavior, experience divine discipline, miss out on blessings God planned for us, and not earn the heavenly rewards we would have received if we had been faithful.