Answer:
“Christian” is not a
person who has said
a prayer, or walked
down an aisle, or
been raised in a
Christian family.
While each of these
things can be a part
of the Christian
experience, they are
not what “makes” a
Christian. A
Christian is a
person who has, by
faith, received and
fully trusted in
Jesus Christ as the
only Savior (John
3:16;
Acts 16:31;
Ephesians 2:8-9).
A Christian is
redeemed.
“For you know that
it was not with
perishable things
such as silver or
gold that you were
redeemed from the
empty way of life
handed down to you
from your
forefathers, but
with the precious
blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish
or defect” (
1
Peter 1:18-19).
The word “redeemed”
refers to a purchase
being made, a price
being paid. For a
Christian to lose
salvation, God
Himself would have
to revoke His
purchase that He
paid for with the
precious blood of
Christ.
A Christian is
justified.
“Therefore, since we
have been justified
through faith, we
have peace with God
through our Lord
Jesus Christ” (
Romans
5:1). To
“justify” means to
“declare righteous.”
All those who
receive Jesus as
Savior are “declared
righteous” by God.
For a Christian to
lose salvation, God
would have to go
back on His Word and
“un-declare” what He
had previously
declared.
A Christian is
promised eternal
life. “For
God so loved the
world that he gave
his one and only
Son, that whoever
believes in him
shall not perish but
have eternal life” (
John
3:16).
Eternal life is a
promise of eternity
(forever) in heaven
with God. God
promises, “Believe
and you will have
eternal life.” For a
Christian to lose
salvation, eternal
life would have to
be taken away. If a
Christian is
promised to live
forever, how then
can God break this
promise by taking
away eternal life?
A Christian is
guaranteed
glorification.
“And those he
predestined, he also
called; those he
called, he also
justified; those he
justified, he also
glorified” (
Romans
8:30).
As we learned in
Romans 5:1,
justification is
declared at the
moment of faith.
According to
Romans 8:30,
glorification is
guaranteed for all
those whom God
justifies.
Glorification refers
to a Christian
receiving a perfect
resurrection body in
heaven. If a
Christian can lose
salvation, then
Romans 8:30
is in error, because
God could not
guarantee
glorification for
all those whom He
predestines, calls,
and justifies.
No, a Christian
cannot lose
salvation.
Nothing can separate
a Christian from
God’s love (
Romans
8:38-39).
Nothing can remove a
Christian from God’s
hand (John
10:28-29).
God is both willing
and able to
guarantee and
maintain the
salvation He has
given us.
Jude 24-25,
“To Him who
is able to keep you
from falling and to
present you before
his glorious
presence without
fault and with great
joy—to the only God
our Savior be glory,
majesty, power and
authority, through
Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all
ages, now and
forevermore! Amen.”