Can The Saved Be Lost?

The Lord is with you while you are with Him.  If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you (II Chron. 15:2).   If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.  If we deny Him, He will also deny us (II Timothy 2:12).  If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment (Heb. 10:26).

For if "After" they have "Escaped" the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they agree "Again" entangled in them and "Overcome", and  the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.   For it would have been better for them "NOT" to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to "Turn from" the holy commandment delivered unto them.  (II Peter 2:20-21; see also Matthew 24:13; Luke 17:3-32; John 8:31; 15:1-6; Gal. 6:9; James 1:12; Heb. 6:4-6; 10:36).

Jesus said, "And ye shall be "Hated" of ALL nations for my name's sake. and then shall "Many" be "Turned Away" from the faith. and shall "Betray" one another, and shall "HATE" one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive "Many" and because iniquity shall abound, the LOVE of "Many" shall wax cold. But he that "Endure" shall be saved."  (Matthew 24:9-13)\

Apostolic Father's Writings

Barnabas (A.D. 70-130) We ought, therefore brethren, carefully to inquire concerning our Salvation.  Otherwise, the wicked one, having made his entrance by "Deceit" may hurl us forth from our life.  The whole past-time of your faith will "Profit you Nothing" unless now, in this wicked time, we also withstand coming sources of danger.  For then, the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, will thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord.  You should pay attention to this all the more, my brothers, when you reflect on and see that even after such great signs and wonders had been performed in Israel, they were still abandoned.  Let us beware, lest we be found to be, as it is written, the many who are called, but NOT the few who are chosen.

Clement of Rome (A.D. 96)  Since all things are seen and heard by God, let us fear Him and forsake those wicked works that proceed from evil desires.  By doing that, through His mercy, we may be protected from the judgments to come.  For where can any of us flee from His mighty hand?

Second Clement (A.D. 150) Let us therefore repent with the whole heart, so that none of us perish by the way.  Let us practice righteousness so that we may be SAVED unto the end.

Hermas (A.D.A.D. 150)  For the Lord has shown, by His glory, in regard to His elect, that if any one of them sin after a certain day which has been "Fixed" he will NOT be saved.  For the repentance of the righteous have limits.  Filled up are the days of repentance to all the saints. But, to the "Unbeliever",  repentance will be responsible even to the last day.  How can I ask the Lord and receive from Him, seeing I have sinned so much against Him?  Do not reason with yourself in this manner.   Instead, with all your heart, turn to the Lord, and ask of Him without doubting.   For then you will know the multitudes of His tender mercies and that He will "NEVER" leave you, but will fulfill the request of your soul.  He is not like men, who remember evils done against them.

The "apostates and traitors" of the church have blasphemed the Lord in their sins.  Moreover, they have been ashamed of the name of the Lord by which they were called.  These persons, therefore, at the end were lost unto the Lord.

Justin Martyr (A.D. 160) I hold further, that those of you have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet, who have "Gone Back" for some reason to the legal dispensation the Mosaic Law, and have denied that this man is Christ, and have not "Repented" before death you will by "NO" means be Saved.

Irenaeus (A.D. 180)  We should fear ourselves, lest perchance, after we have come to the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but are shut out from His kingdom. And, for that reason, Paul said "For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also NOT spare you."  It was not to those who are on the "Outside" that he said these things, but to us lest we should be cast forth from the kingdom of God, by doing any such thing.  Knowing that what preserves his life, namely, obedience to God, is good, he may diligently keep it with all earnestness.  Those who do NOT obey Him, being "Disinherited" by Him, have ceased to be His sons.

Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 195) It is neither the faith, nor the lover, nor the hope, nor the endurances of one day; rather, "he that endures to the END will be Saved."  He who hopes for everlasting, rest knows also that the entrance to it, is toilsome and narrow.  So, let him who has once received the Gospel "NOT" turn back, like Lot's wife, as is said even in the every hour in which he has come to the knowledge of Salvation.  And let him "NOT" go back either to his former life or to heresies.

God gives forgiveness of past sins.  However, as to future sins, each one procures this for himself.   He does this by "Repenting" by condemning the past deeds, and by begging the Father to "Blot" them out. For the Father is the one who is able to "UNDO" what is done.  So, even in the case of one who has done the "Greatest good deeds" in his life, but at the end has run headlong into wickedness, all his former pains are Profitless to him.  For at the climax of the drama, he has given up his part.

Tertullian (A.D. 200) Some think that God is under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what He has promised to give. So, they turn His liberality into His slavery.  For many afterward fall out of grace. Is not this gift taken away from many?  These, no doubt, are they who after approaching to the faith of repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin. God has foreseen that faith even after baptism would be endangered. He saw that most persons "After" obtaining Salvation would be "LOST" again, by soiling the wedding dress, by failing to provide oil for their torches.

Origin (A.D. 225) Certain ones of those heretics who hold different opinions misuse the passages.  They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruins nature incapable of Salvation, and by introducing others as being Saved in such a way, they will remain in the condition of those who are saved.  A man may possess an acquired righteousness from which it is possible for him to fall away.

Cyprian (A.D. 250) For it is written, "Praise NOT" any man before his death.  And, again, "Be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life."  And, the Lord also says, "He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved."  You are still in the world.  You are still in the battlefield.  You daily fight for your lives so you must be careful. It is a small thing to have first received something.  It is a greater thing to be able to keep what you have "Attained."  Faith, itself, and the saving birth do not make alive by merely being received.  Rather, they must be preserved.   Solomon and king Saul, and many others were able to keep the "GRACE" given to them so long as they walk in the Lord's ways. However, when the disciplined of the Lord was "Forsaken" by them, "Grace" also forsook them.  He who wills that no one should perish, desires that sinners should repent, and by repentance, should return again to life.

It is clear that the devil is driven out in baptism by the faith of the believer. But, he returns if the Faith should afterward fail. Although they forsake the fountain of life, the heretics promised the grace of living and saving water begotten of treachery, they "LOSE" the grace of faith. For it is written, "He who hates his brother is a murderer. And no murderer attains to the kingdom of heaven. Nor does he live with God. A person cannot be with Christ if he had rather be an imitator of Judas than of Christ."

Jesus says, "He that endures to the end, the same shall be Saved." And again He says, " If you continue in my words, you will truly be my disciples (John 8:31,32), so there needs to be patience, in order that hope and faith may attain their result.  Let us press toward and labor, watching with our whole heart. Let us be steadfast with all endurance; let us keep the Lord's commandments. Thereby, when that day of anger and vengeance comes, we may "NOT" be punished with the "Ungodly and Sinners".  Rather, we may be honored with the righteous and with those who feared the Lord.

Those who are snatched from the jaws of the devil and delivered from the snares of this world should "NOT" return to the world again, lest they should lose the advantage of their leaving it in the first place.  The Lord admonishes us of this in His Gospel.  He taught that we should "NOT" return again to the devil and to the world.  For we have renounced them and have escaped from them. He says, "No man looking back after putting his hand on the plough is fit for the kingdom of God." And again, "Let him that is in the field NOT return back. Remember Lot's wife. So we must press on and preserve in faith and virtue".

In the Gospel according to Matthew: "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire" (Matthew 3:10).  Even a baptized person loses the grace that he has attained, unless he remains innocent.  In the Gospel according to John: "Look, you are made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing happens to you (John 5:14). Also in the (I Cor. 3:16,17) Paul wrote, " Do you not know that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God abides in you? if anyone violates the temple of God, God will destroy him."

Latantius (A.D. 304-313) A son who deserts his father in order not to pay him Obedience, is considered deserving of being "Disinherited" and of having his name removed forever from his family.  How much more so does a person who forsakes God.  We believe that our children have been corrected when we see that they "Repent" of their errors.  And though we may have "Disinherited" them and cast them off, we again receive, cherish, and embrace them.

Why, then, should we despair as if the mercy of God our Father might not be appeased by Repentance?   The Lord is a most indulgent parent promises that He will "REMIT" the sins of the "Penitent".   He promises that He will "BLOT" out all the iniquities of the one who begins afresh to practice righteousness.  The uprightness of one's past life is to no avail to him who lives "BADLY," for the subsequently wickedness has destroyed his works of righteousness.  Likewise, former sins do not stand in the way of him who has amended his life.  For the subsequent righteousness has wiped away the stain of his former life.

True repentance make a man cautious and diligent to avoid the faults into which he has once fallen through treachery.  No one can be so prudent and so cautious as not at some time to slip.   Therefore, God knowing our weakness, out of His compassion has opened a harbor of refuge for man, that the medicine of repentance might aid this necessity to which our frailty is liable.  If they tear themselves away from this pernicious slavery, all their errors will be "Forgiven" them if they have corrected their error by a better life.

Apostolic Constitutions (A.D. 390)  "He who sins after his baptism, unless he "Repents" and "Forsakes" his sins, will be condemned to Gehenna.  How do you know O man, when you sin, whether you will live a sufficient number of days in this present state in order that you will have time to repent? For the time of your departure out of this world is "Uncertain." And if you DIE in SIN, there will remain "No Repentance!"  The Holy Spirit always abides with those who are possessed of Him, so long as they are worthy. The Holy Spirit remains with a person so long as he is doing good, and He fills him with Wisdom and Understanding.

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Salvation is a process: it begins with us humbling ourselves to accept the outstretch hand of God's grace, and then continue throughout the entire pathway of life, finding strength and guidance in the pressure of his hand in every experience.

Salvation includes accepting strength from his hand to lift us when we fall and continuing to do so until we reach the goal.  We have the God given right to reject the leading hand at any point along the way.

Salvation is Past, Present, and Future.  It means a continuous relationship and a process rather than a FIXED state.   A person who has given himself/herself to Christ and has truly repent from sin can find "REPEATED" assurance of eternal covenant with God.

The Bible says, "Anyone one born of God does not continue to sin."  It does not say that a Christian never commit an act of sin, but that he does not continue in a course of sin, "Refusing" to confess and repent of his sins.  So, if someone has born of the Spirit of God, there will be something inside of him drawing back to repentance every time he/she sins.