The best NT Scriptures that warn about losing eternal life

[John Zain]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Many new covenant Scriptures exhort and encourage believers to live godly lives, [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]but they do not threaten losing eternal life … However, many do![/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Following is a list of clear Scriptural warnings that a BAC can lose his/her eternal life![/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]These verses speak of: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]losing eternal life, receiving eternal death, experiencing the second death,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]going to hell (or perdition), not being allowed to enter the kingdom of God (heaven).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Be faithful until death, endure in the faith to the end [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]1 Cor 15:1-2, 1 Tim 4:16, 1 Tim 6:9, 2 Tim 2:12, Heb 2:1-4, Heb 10:36-39, 1 Pet 1:6-9[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Connected with this is …[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]• enduring (overcoming) Christian persecution -- [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Matt 10:22, Rev 2:10-11[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]• refusing to take the mark of the beast -- [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Rev 13:16-17, Rev 14:9-11[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]John 3:15-16 • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]There must be continuing belief/faith for continuing salvation/eternal life: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]“… that whoever believes (present tense: continues to believe) in Him may have [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt](present tense: continue to have) eternal life. For God so loved the world, [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes (present tense: continues to believe)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]in Him should not perish but have (present tense: continue to have) eternal life.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Do not be a slave to sin, do not sin [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Mark 9:43-48, Rom 6:16-23, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3-6, James 1:12-16, 2 Pet 2:20-22, Rev 21:7-8[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Be a slave of obedience, obey the commandments, do the will of Father God [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Matt 7:21, Matt 19:16-17, Rom 6:16-23[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Be a slave of righteousness, practice righteousness, be righteous [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Matt 13:41-43, Matt 25:41-46, Rom 2:7-11, Rom 6:16-23, 1 Cor 6:9-10[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Do not be carnally minded, do not live (walk) according to the flesh, crucify the flesh [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Rom 8:1-8, Gal 5:16-21, Gal 6:7-8[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Know God, follow Jesus, be led by the Holy Spirit • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Luke 9:23-25, John 10:27-28, John 17:3, Rom 8:14[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Lose your worldly life, hate your life in this world, deny yourself • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Luke 9:23-25,[/SIZE] [SIZE=10.5pt]John 12:25[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Get rid of any unforgiveness • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Mark 11:25-26, Matt 6:14-15, Matt 18:21-35[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]Jesus warns that Father God will NOT forgive anyone who does not repent of (erase) all unforgiveness.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Make your call and election sure, work out your salvation • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]2 Pet 1:10-11, Phil 2:12-16[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Be an overcomer • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Rev 2:10-11, Rev 3:5, Rev 3:21, Rev 21:7-8[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Abide in Jesus and bear fruit • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]John 15:1-6[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Continue to repent of your sins, confess your sins • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]2 Cor 7:9-10; 1 John 1:7-9[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Do not desire to be rich, do not love money • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]1 Tim 6:9-10, 1 Tim 6:17-19[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Make sure you are not blotted out of the Book of Life • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Rev 3:5 connected with Rev 20:15, Exodus 32:33[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Make sure you are allowed to enter the New Jerusalem • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Rev 21:27, Rev 22:14-15[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Make sure you have the right to the tree of life • [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Rev 2:7, Rev 22:14-15[/SIZE]

The case for: entering the kingdom of God (heaven) is the same as gaining eternal life
“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire” (Mark 9:47)
“Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world … inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these,
you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:34-46)
Entering the kingdom of God appears to be the opposite of being cast into hell.
Inheriting the kingdom of God appears to be for the righteous who gain eternal life.
So, we consider entering the kingdom of God (heaven) to be the same as gaining eternal life.

 

[justaname]

Please prove to me...

1. These verses are explaining the "loss of eternal life."
2. These who do suffer according to the negative outcome of these scriptures had "eternal life" to begin with.
3. These verses are directed to those who have been born again.

Lets just start here...if you satisfy these questions we can extrapolate further...

 

[John Zain]

justaname,

I am sorry that I cannot prove very much spiritually-speaking to anyone.
That is the Holy Spirit's responsibility.

The verses provided should be self-explanatory.

However, I can promise you one thing:
No one with any unrepented-of sin will be allowed into heaven,
i.e. all habitual sins must have been gotten rid of when you face Jesus at the judgment.

Note: all sins are against what you have written in your signature.

 

[justaname]

Evangelist-7,

Please consider this verse...

1 Corinthians 15:1-2
1Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

​Those who do not hold firmly to the gospel believed in vain. Thereby they were never born again. Those born again will hold firmly.

Also everyone born again is repentant.

I agree sin is against the Shemah.

 

[John Zain]

Those who do not hold firmly to the gospel believed in vain.
Thereby they were never born again.
Those born again will hold firmly.
Also everyone born again is repentant.

There is no guarantee that all BACs will hold firmly to the end.
For many reasons.
God gave every man total free will ... gee, even BACs.
What would have been the purpose of writing many warnings
to those in the churches who were not BACs?
No, IMO, all of the warnings were only written to BACs.
They would be a waste of time to the non-elect.
And many of them were obviously written to those who were saved.
I suppose you've heard of backsliders?
They are BACs who are in rebellion re: repenting of their sins, etc.
Some choose to never come back.

 

[justaname]

What you see as warnings I see as instructions for holy living...

God did not give every man total free will, yet this is a different discussion.

Again those backsliders believed in vain...

 

[Johnlove]

Please prove to me...

1. These verses are explaining the "loss of eternal life."
2. These who do suffer according to the negative outcome of these scriptures had "eternal life" to begin with.
3. These verses are directed to those who have been born again.

Lets just start here...if you satisfy these questions we can extrapolate further...

[SIZE=16pt]Jesus told us who it is that will come with him to the kingdom of Heaven. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]It sure is not those who believe all he or she needs to do is be baptized in Jesus name. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]They may be saved, but that does not mean they will ever enter the kingdom of Heaven.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](Matthew 7:21-23) “It is not those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, who will enter the kingdom of Heaven but the person who does the will of My Father in Heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?’ Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=16pt]Jesus says only those who do the will of his Father in Heaven will enter the kingdom of Heaven.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=16pt]The Father’s Will is to listen to Jesus. Jesus told us that one is to be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=16pt](Matthew 5:48) “Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=16pt]Paul told us who it is that would not inherit the Kingdom of God.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](1 Corinthians 6:9-19) “You know perfectly well that people who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God: people of immoral lives, idolaters, adulterers, catamites, sodomites, thieves, usurers, drunkards, slanders and swindlers will never inherit the kingdom of God.”[/SIZE]

 

[Classic Rider]

So some people seem to think that a born again believer can sin and lose his or her salvation. However 1st John 3:9 says "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God."

Now the greek word for sin here in this verse means not mean a single sin but a practice of sin. Because of this many translations say that whoever has been born of God does not practice sin....for that is what the tense of the greek implies.

So the obvious meaning of the verse is that those who have been born again cannot live in sin as a habitual practice like the unsaved world does... instead the new nature which God has implanted into him when he was born again makes him unable to continue in a practice of sin. So the real difference in unbelievers and Christians is that unbelievers can live a lifestyle of sin constantly without repentance whereas a believer cannot sin without repentance. So the belief that a Christian can lose his eternal life by returning to a life of sin and remaining in it without repentance is unfounded. John says that the seed (the new nature we have from God) REMAINS in us. (it cannot be lost). And since God's seed or nature REMAINS in the believe the believer cannot return to a lifestyle of sin. Since the nature of God remains in the believer He cannot return to sin and be lost and lose the new nature that has been implanted into him.

Now to those who say that a Christian can be completely sinless John says in 1st John 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. "

Also John says that if a person leaves the Christian Faith He was never saved in the first place. In 1st John 2:19 John says regarding those who left the faith... "They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might be made manifest that none of them were of us."

So although a true Christian can commit a sin, he cannot return to a sinful lifestyle and remain unrepentant and lose the New Nature. God's seed remains in Him so that he cannot be happy in sin. Instead he will repent. If anyone really does leave Christianity and go into a life of sin permanently it just shows that they never belonged with the believers in the first place. They went out from us because they were not really of us.

So we see that "whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world" and also that God's nature REMAINS in the believer so that the believer cannot leave the faith and return to a sinful lifestyle and if anyone does do that then it just makes it clear that they were never really among the true believers in the first place.

These verses completely destroy the unbiblical belief that a Christian can lose His or Her salvation. Once you are saved you are always saved!

 

[Johnlove]

So some people seem to think that a born again believer can sin and lose his or her salvation. However 1st John 3:9 says "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God."

Now the greek word for sin here in this verse means not mean a single sin but a practice of sin. Because of this many translations say that whoever has been born of God does not practice sin....for that is what the tense of the greek implies.
[SIZE=16pt]You don’t find it strange that so many educated translators of the bible to English, did not agree with your understanding of what John said?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]May be those translators read the rest of scripture. I believe it would help you to do the same. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](Hebrews 10:26-31) “If, after we have been given knowledge of the truth, we should deliberately commit any sins, then there is no longer any sacrifice for them. There is left only the dreadful prospect of judgment and of the fiery wrath that is to devour your enemies--------“[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]Notice it says “any sins”.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=16pt](1 John 2:6) “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]Did Jesus sin at all?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](Matthew 5:48) “Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]Is even committing one sin being perfect?[/SIZE]

So the obvious meaning of the verse is that those who have been born again cannot live in sin as a habitual practice like the unsaved world does... instead the new nature which God has implanted into him when he was born again makes him unable to continue in a practice of sin. So the real difference in unbelievers and Christians is that unbelievers can live a lifestyle of sin constantly without repentance whereas a believer cannot sin without repentance. So the belief that a Christian can lose his eternal life by returning to a life of sin and remaining in it without repentance is unfounded. John says that the seed (the new nature we have from God) REMAINS in us. (it cannot be lost). And since God's seed or nature REMAINS in the believe the believer cannot return to a lifestyle of sin. Since the nature of God remains in the believer He cannot return to sin and be lost and lose the new nature that has been implanted into him.

[SIZE=16pt](1 Corinthians 6:9-19) “You know perfectly well that people who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God: people of immoral lives, idolaters, adulterers, catamites, sodomites, thieves, usurers, drunkards, slanders and swindlers will never inherit the kingdom of God.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]Paul tells us that one who does wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]One who sins has never been born of God.[/SIZE]

Now to those who say that a Christian can be completely sinless John says in 1st John 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. "

[SIZE=14pt]Read the following very carefully, because it seems that you failed to understand what John said.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt](1 John 1: 8-10) “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14pt]If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar[/SIZE] [SIZE=14pt]and his word has no place in our lives.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]You need to see John was saying if one says he or she says they have never sinned they are liars. [/SIZE]

If one is forgiven of all unrighteousness are they not then sinless? Could they then be liars if they say they are sinless?

John later says:

[SIZE=14pt](1 John 3:3-9) “Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ. Any one who sins at all breaks the law, because to sin is to [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]seen Him or known Him[/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]. [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]My children do not let anyone lead you astray’ to live a holy life is to be holy just as He is holy’ to lead a sinful life is to belong the Devil, since the Devil was a sinner from the beginning. It was to undo all that the Devil has done that the Son of God appeared. No one who has been begotten by God sins: because God’s seed remains inside him, he cannot sin when he has been begotten by God.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt](1 John 3:8) “[/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]John told us those who did not know God sinned and asked forgiveness and were forgiven, but once a person comes to know God he or she will not sin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Scripture goes on to say that if a person who does know God uses their free will to sin there is no [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]repentance[/SIZE][SIZE=14pt] for that person. [/SIZE]

Also John says that if a person leaves the Christian Faith He was never saved in the first place. In 1st John 2:19 John says regarding those who left the faith... "They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might be made manifest that none of them were of us."

So although a true Christian can commit a sin, he cannot return to a sinful lifestyle and remain unrepentant and lose the New Nature. God's seed remains in Him so that he cannot be happy in sin. Instead he will repent. If anyone really does leave Christianity and go into a life of sin permanently it just shows that they never belonged with the believers in the first place. They went out from us because they were not really of us.

[SIZE=16pt]That is right a true Christian walks as Jesus walked, and Jesus did not sin.[/SIZE]

So we see that "whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world" and also that God's nature REMAINS in the believer so that the believer cannot leave the faith and return to a sinful lifestyle and if anyone does do that then it just makes it clear that they were never really among the true believers in the first place.

T

hese verses completely destroy the unbiblical belief that a Christian can lose His or Her salvation. Once you are saved you are always saved!

[SIZE=16pt]You should see then that one is not saved, saved meaning entering into the kingdom of heaven, unless he or she live the Commandments of God.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](Matthew 7:21-23) “It is not those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, who will enter the kingdom of Heaven but the person who does the will of My Father in Heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?’ Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]By the way show us using the written Word of God where being saved, necessarily means one will enter the kingdom of Heaven?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt]I believe many people have made a wrong assumption. [/SIZE]

 

[truthquest]

Mark 3:28"Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin "-- 30because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

 

[Bible_Gazer]

1 Corinthians 9:27
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway.

 

[John Zain]

These verses completely destroy the unbiblical belief that a Christian can lose His or Her salvation.
Once you are saved you are always saved!

You have given an excellent case for OSAS.
However, IMO, there are verses which state that one CAN indeed lose eternal life
... and I have presented them here in the present OP, and also in previous threads.
And please note that one cannot lose what they never had.

 

[Classic Rider]

JohnLove you have said that Jesus told us to be perfect and that not to be perfect is a sin. You also said if we sin after we have become a christian we cannot repent. So I just want everyone to know that you are either admitting that you are lost with no possibility of repentance or you are claiming that you are perfect.

It is easy to get on a board where you can be annonymous and claim to be perfect because no one knows who you really are. However, if you are married I bet your wife doesn't think you are perfect and sinless. I bet your co-workers don't think you are perfect either. I am 56 years old and I still haven't met a single person who is perfect and sinless yet and I bet you aren't either.

I went to college and got a degree in theology and went to seminary too and have studied all those verses you quoted in the greek and you don't understand what you are talking about. You take verses out of context and misunderstand everything. For one thing, the sermon on the mount is not the gospel. In the greek the title of the book of Matthew... the "gospel" of Matthew ...is just called "according to Matthew" Men added the words "The Gospel" in the title. That is because not everything in Matthew is "the gospel". To start with, the sermon on the mount is not the gospel. Jesus preached the sermon on the mount to explain the demands of the LAW. That is why He would say things like You have heard that it is said that you shall not commit adultery (that's the LAW) but I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust has committed adultery... (That is the full understanding of that law) The point Jesus was making is that the LAW is way more difficult to keep than people imagine. You see, the Pharisees were self-righteous and for some reason you seem to want to be like them. They thought that they were keeping the law. So in the sermon on the mount Jesus explaind how far reaching the law really was so that they would realize that they are not keeping it and admit that they are sinners and come to Jesus for mercy. Finally Jesus told them to be perfect. That is what the LAW requires. When people heard how much the law really demanded some of them later addmitted they weren't living up to it and believed in Christ for mercy. However, some of them continued to insist that they were perfect and were lost.

The point is.... you are not quoting the gospel when you say that if you aren't perfect you are sinning and if you sin you cannot be forgiven... that is the LAW. You are saying that you are going to be saved because you are perfect. You are a legalist. You are doing the same thing the Pharisees did. I realize that you are trying to add Jesus to your legalist system and be saved by Jesus plus keeping the law but the gospel is not Jesus plus keeping the law perfectly equals salvation. That is almost as bad as the Pharisees. According to you no one is going to be saved. (except for you) Peter became a follower of Jesus but later denied Him and was forgiven. Then later in the book of Acts Peter sinned again and was rebuked by Paul for seperating himself from the gentiles. Paul sinned by refusing to forgive John Mark for a while. After Paul was saved he later referred to himself as the cheif of sinners. In the book of 1st Corinthians one person was so bad that he was sleeping with His father's wife and Paul said that because of that Satan would destroy his flesh but his spirit would be saved. The Bible is replete from beginning to end about how saints sinned and were later forgiven. Everyone from King David and Bathsheba to Thomas doubting Jesus. But you say that the interpretation of Hebrews is that if any Christian sins in any way they cannot later repent. If you would look at the context you would realize that he is talking about abandoning the Christian faith... not just any sin. I probably am not going to waste any more of my time talking to a person who is perfect and sinless. You don't know anything about how to look at the context of a statement and you don't know anything about the tenses of the greek language. I have read just about every commentary known to conservative scholars and I haven't found one yet who agrees with your interpretation. It isn't everyday that I meet a sinless person. On the internet they are probably a dime a dozen but in real life they are extremely rare. Congratulations on attaining sinnless perfection. On judgement day lots of people will be saying Jesus, Saviour, I am a sinner but you died for my sins and I have depended on that for Salvation. They will be welcomed into heaven. But others will plead their works and goodness. They will say "Lord, Lord (admiring themselves for being so perfectly submissive to Christ's Lordship) Did we not do many wonderful works and great miracles? (Depending on their perfect works and outstanding comittment) And Jesus will say to them..."Depart from me you workers of iniquity (and this will be a surprise to them because like the Pharisees they thought they were sinless.) Do yourself a favor and don't be in that group.

 

[John Zain]

JohnLove you have said that Jesus told us to be perfect ...

Jesus told us to be perfect ... and Paul told us to be holy.
Paul and John told us that those who are righteous in God's eyes actually practice righteousness.
So did Enoch.

It's all about practicing righteousness!
And this is done by the practice of habitual and sincere repentance of sins committed.
These acts of obedience invoke the precious blood of Jesus to continually wash them away.