The believer’s security is a very important subject, and without a doubt has been a controversial subject as well. This has come about because of various doctrines concerning a believer’s security.

There is the delusion of ‘Once saved always saved’ that teaches if a person once had a moment of saving faith, they would be secure forever and never falling from that position (regardless of the spiritual condition they may be in years down the road).

The Bible teaches something quite different from that, because the true Christian life is a ‘struggle against sin’ [Hebrews 12:4], and it is a relentless ‘spiritual battle against Satan’ [Ephesians 6:12], so the believer must ‘make every effort’ to enter through the narrow door to the kingdom [Luke 13:24].

The Apostle Paul, (who taught grace as much or more than any), told the Corinthian believers there were conditions to be met and choices to make. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NIV), "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. (2) By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."

The Apostle Paul’s gospel of grace by which one is saved, is a gospel that includes meeting certain conditions (according to verse 2). "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word." It always goes right back to God’s Word.

God expresses His will all through the Old and New Testaments, but since we are under the new Covenant let us zero in on what the New Testament teaches about being saved by grace.

Some may say that it is impossible to ‘believe in vain,’ but the Apostle Paul says we can ‘believe in vain’ if we do not ‘hold firmly to the Word.’ It is a choice on our part to know God’s Word, to obey it, and to stay connected to Christ by that decision.

Jesus gave the secrets of the Kingdom in Luke 8. There are four types of people in this Parable of the Sower who hear the gospel, and four responses to what they heard. In verse 13 He speaks about those who believe and later leave (the faith). He said, "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away."

Jesus is saying that there is a whole group of people who hear God’s Word, accept it and believe for a while, but later fall away. Once saved always saved proponents say if they fall away, they were never saved to begin with, but Jesus said they ‘believe for a time’ and later ‘fall away.’

The ones in verse 12 never believed, saying, "Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved," but the second group did believe and later fell away.

If we would question what it means to ‘fall away’ then we look at verse 6 which says, "Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture." To ‘fall away’ after you believe, is like withering away or drying up spiritually. Jesus means by this parable that one can believe and have faith in Him for salvation, but later to ‘fall away’ because of trials or persecution.

Jesus said in John 15:2 that His Father, "Cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." The believer’s security then is to maintain their faith in Christ, which is evident by bearing spiritual fruit. In John 8:31 Jesus said, "To the Jews who had believed him...If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples."

It is the same teaching, the same truth, and the same assurance of salvation all of the writers of Scripture gave. "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word," (the Apostle Paul). "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples," (the Lord Jesus). And Revelation 3:11, "Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown."

So the believer’s security is their faith in Christ, and continuing to believe in Him until the very end. "If we endure, we will also reign with him," (2 Timothy 2:12). There are conditions to meet and it is to maintain faith, not fall away and wither. The first group in the parable did not believe so it could be said that they were never saved, but the second group did believe and had faith, but later withered and died spiritually.

To maintain faith, is to remain in Christ by holding on to the Word. Jesus said (John 15:6), "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

Again it is the same truth, the same security in Christ, and the same conditions given in 1 Corinthians 15:2, "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."

Jesus said in Luke 8:13 that, "in the time of testing they fall away." A ‘time of testing’ could be any type of persecution because of the Word, like a financial test, a physical battle, a serious injustice, or any difficult situation where we have a choice to trust in God or to turn away from Him.

Everyone has the choice to maintain their faith in Christ, (by the power of the Holy Spirit). The Apostle Paul endured the worst type and severity of persecution imaginable (2 Corinthians 11). He was put in prison, flogged, stoned, and faced dangers from every possible description, but by the grace of God did not ‘fall away’ from the faith.

That is what the Apostle is saying in 1 Corinthians 15:2, "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."

Foundational to the gospel of grace is our security in Christ if our faith in Christ is maintained. In order to settle the question of the believer’s security only if conditions are met, one would need to have just one example in the Bible of a person who believed for a while, but later fell away.

If there were such an example in the Bible, then the doctrine of ‘Once saved always saved’ would be a delusion. If one person in the Bible believed for a time, but later became spiritually lost again, then that proves that there is no such thing as ‘Once saved always saved’ (because if there was, that person could not become lost again).

Also, if there is one verse in Scripture that teaches the possibility of believing for a while, but later to become lost spiritually, then that would prove that there are conditions to be met in order to maintain their security.

It is a very intense spiritual warfare that we are engaged in today. That may be easy to relate to (considering current world events), but this spiritual battle is for eternal souls (and it has been raging for centuries). Satan does not want us to think it is intense, but it is very intense, and it is for ever.

The Christian life is a ‘struggle against sin’ [Hebrews 12:4], it is a relentless ‘spiritual battle’ [Ephesians 6:12], so the believer must ‘make every effort’ to enter the kingdom [Luke 13:24].

There are many Bible examples that prove ‘Once saved always saved’ to be a delusion. To begin let us look at 1 Kings 11:1, "King Solomon...loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter -- Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, etc." Then in verse 4, "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been."

The example of King Solomon alone, is an example of ‘once saved, later lost’ (in the sin of idolatry). His heart turned to other gods. King Solomon was uniquely used by God to build the Temple. This Temple was the only place where true sacrifice and worship to God could be offered.

King Solomon had the Spirit of God and definitely ‘believed for a while, but later fell away.’ Foreign wives were the idols in his life, which ‘turned his heart after other gods.’ He thus violated the first Commandment and became an idolater. It is a clear example that our heart can turn away from the living God to ‘worthless things.’

If this happened to King Solomon, it could happen to anyone (who does not realize that it is an intense spiritual battle we wage against a dangerous enemy). If King Solomon turned away from God in his later years, anyone could fall away (if they are not aware of the deception that is surrounding us today).

What happened? What caused the king to turn away from God? And how were idols able to get between him and God? We should have the answer to those questions so we could be alert to the dangers and be on guard against the many traps Satan sets in our path to have us turn away from serving the living God.

We are told in many places throughout the New Testament to be on guard, because it is possible to ‘fall from a secure position.’ (2 Peter 3:17), "Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." The believer is secure in Christ Jesus, but they can fall. Jesus said it is possible to ‘believe for a while, but in a time of testing to fall away.’

Unfortunately, after walking with God for many, many years, the king’s heart turned after pagan gods in his latter years, and he became an idolater. Also, the king remained unrepentant, so the question is, ‘what happens to unrepentant idolaters?’

The answer, ‘they do not receive salvation.’ The Bible says in Revelation 21:8 that, "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the --- immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur."

It may not be a pleasant thought, but it is the truth, it is from the Lord Jesus Himself (after He rose from the dead, after He paid our sin-debt, after He ascended on high, and when He was speaking from His throne in heaven).

All of those individuals named would have to repent, turn from the sinful ways, and turn back to the living God in order to be saved from a fiery fate of the second death. Jesus said that ‘few would enter into life.’ (Matthew 7:14), "Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

We must take careful note of those words. This is not someone’s opinion, but it is the solid truth from the ultimate authority on the subject, the Savior Himself. He said that "only a few find it." If only a few find it, then it must be difficult to locate, or we can be easily deceived. Either way, we must be on guard.

The believer’s security is based on the atonement work of Christ on Calvary’s cross. Salvation is a gift, and it is received by faith. As long as the believer is connected to the vine and following Jesus, they are secure.

(John 10:27-28), "My sheep [Jesus said] listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." That is a very secure and safe position, and it is maintained by faith. That security by a continuing faith is vitally important. Jesus wanted to make sure we did not miss it, so He repeats (vs 29), "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

Jesus said that the road to heaven is hard and the gate is small, so, the king didn’t make it. He was a believer for a while, but later he turned away from God, fell into sin, and became an idolater. He remained unrepentant, instead of remaining in the faith.

There is no mention in the Bible that King Solomon ever repented of his idolatry. Because of the king’s unrepentant attitude, God was going to give the kingdom to Jeroboam. King Solomon tried to prevent God’s will from being carried through by killing Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled for his life and stayed away from Jerusalem until King Solomon passed away. Jeroboam had to stay in exile because the king never repented and never turned back to God. It would have been dangerous for Jeroboam to be anywhere near Jerusalem.

The king had a choice, like everyone else has a choice. He could have repented and turned back to God, but he didn’t. The king was once secure in his belief in God, but pagan gods turned his heart to idolatry. If there are idols in our life, they must be revealed, and removed.

In the New Testament Simon Peter denied Jesus three times, but made the choice to return. It is encouraging to know that if we are ever deceived and we fall away, we can always return by repenting. Simon Peter came back to God, (even after three heated denials). The incident is recorded in Matthew chapter 26. (Vs 74) he even began, "to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don't know the man!’"

It was a serious falling away and a serious sin, because Jesus said in Luke 12:8 (and Matthew 10:33), "Whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." However, the Apostle repented. If Peter returned to the Lord, anyone can turn back to the faith. Simon was an Apostle, he witnessed the Transfiguration on the mountain when God said, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him," (Luke 9:35).

Peter was with the Lord when He healed people, cast out demons, and was with Him when He performed miracle after miracle. He even walked on water toward the Master, yet years later, denied that he even knew Him, but still, he repented and came back to the faith.

Thus we have two examples (both the Old and New Testaments) pertaining to the believer’s security. King Solomon after years of faithful service to God, turned away from God and fell into idolatry and sin, and never repented.

Simon Peter after years of being a disciple of Jesus, denied the Master three times, but repented in tears, returned to the faith, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and became a powerful witness of the Lord Jesus until the end of his life.

The Apostle Paul told his faithful co-worker, Timothy, that he must hold on to his faith, or it could be shipwrecked. It wasn’t a case of never being saved in the first place, because Timothy was a faithful follower of Christ.

The Apostle told Timothy to, "fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander..." (1 Timothy 18-20).

The Apostle Paul is warning him that deception is possible, and the ruining of one’s faith can happen, so he [Timothy] must hold on to the faith by the grace of God, and to maintain a clear conscience.

To prevent our faith from being shipwrecked, we have to do two things. We have to hold on to the faith, and to maintain a good conscience. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. When God convicts us of something, we are to correct it immediately. If our conscience is defiled, we must take steps to clear it. When the Holy Spirit deals with us about something, it is time to get it right.

This is an extremely important matter. It is forever and ever and ever. It is something to take very seriously, because Jesus said, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).

A clear conscience was characteristic of the Apostle Paul’s life. He said in 1 Timothy 3:9, "They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience." If we do not maintain a clear conscience, Satan could ruin our faith.

That takes us right back to 1 Corinthians 15:2, "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." It is the same warning, the same truth, and the same gospel all through the Bible. The believer’s security is their faith in Christ, and is to be based upon His atonement work on the cross for the payment of their sin-debt.

The believer’s salvation is a free gift, and cannot be obtained by good works, but it must be maintained by a continuing faith in the Lord Jesus until the end. All who want to enter the Kingdom of God, must hold on to the Word of God.

The believer’s security is secure...by maintaining their trust in God, continuing to believe in Christ, and holding on to the Word that was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Three-in-One, working as One, to give anyone Eternal Life!