I have a question I have needed to be answered for a very long time. I can’t even get a straight answer from my own pastor. I believe in Christ’s finished work at the cross. I know that behavior cannot change our salvation.
However, if someone accepts Christ and is baptized as a young person, then loses faith and denies the existence of God, what then? I get different arguments from people on this. I have heard, “Once saved always saved” and I’ve heard that denying the Lord is unforgivable. Please help me settle this. I lose sleep over this for my dear family members.
The clear answer is found in 2 Cor. 1:21-22. When we are saved the Lord puts His seal of ownership on us and puts His Spirit in our heart as a deposit to guarantee our destiny. At the same time, He assumes responsibility for making us stand firm. According to John 6:39-40 He will never lose even one of us. The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) explains this in story form.
As for denying the Lord, that’s something a saved person can never do, no matter what he or she says. Peter “lost faith” and denied Him 3 times in a single night and yet the Lord restored Him.
These things teach us that if your family members sincerely accepted the Lord as their Savior, then it doesn’t matter what they say or do afterward as far as their eternal destiny is concerned. The Lord has accepted responsibility for them and will see to it that they are never lost even if they’ve wandered away. That’s why we call Him the Good Shepherd.