Once Saved Always Saved...Bogus

Some post-modern Protestants like to say, "Once saved, always saved.” This is most common among the, "bible-only" Evangelical and fundamentalist groups. Their idea is that as long as you say, once, you believe...you're covered thereafter.

    And that sounds comforting, right? Unfortunately, it appears nowhere the Bible, and it was never taught before the Bible existed. It came about from the mind of one man, John Calvin, 1500 years after Christ taught His Apostles. The odd part is, you actually have to concoct it from cherry-picked bits of scripture to suit the argument. Yet, it is a cornerstone of these, "bible-only" sects.

    So let’s ask a couple of serious questions....

👉 If salvation can never be lost, why does the Bible repeatedly warn believers about falling away? 🤔

👉 What sort of mental gymnastics fo you have to go through to get to it? 🤔

    Because the warnings about losing ones salvation by falling into sin  - no matter what has heppened before - are given directly to Christians. They appear in the Bible purposefully, only AFTER Christianity had already been established.

📖 1 Corinthians 10:12: “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

📖 Hebrews 10:26–27: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left…”

Notice:

✔️ “We” meaning believers
✔️ After receiving the truth
✔️ Still capable of falling into serious sin

👉 And it gets even clearer.

📖 Galatians 5:4: “You have fallen away from grace.”

How can someone fall from grace…if it’s impossible to lose?

👉 Even JESUS, Himself warns about this.

📖 John 15:5–6: “I am the vine, you are the branches…If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away… and burned.”

Think about it.

👉 Can a branch be cut off if it was never attached? 🤔

That means:

✔️ You can be in Christ
✔️ And still choose to walk away

Salvation is not a one-and-done moment. It is a bond that requires active cultivation, protection, and consistent, deliberate commitment.

    So how did the idea become so eagerly embraced by, so many?
    It began during the early reformation (1500s) with John Calvin. He taught his own personal doctrine of “Perseverance of the Saints,” which is part of the five points of Calvinism (TULIP). Here's what he put down:
    If God has chosen you (predestination), you cannot lose salvation. Basically, you're a, "saint" from the beginning, if chosen, no matter what. Among Baptists and Evangelical groups, this is often called, "Eternal Security." Basically, if God called you, and you acccepted it, then God has ALREADY set up your salvation... and nothing you can do will undo that.
    And lets face it: that sounds great! God called you, and you accepted - so now you're covered. Who wouldn't want to go along with that?!
    But thats not expressly biblical, as we know....at least not without a lot of picking and choosing among versus. Rather, the Bible  puts a damper on that by explicitly telling us about perseverance and working out our salvation continuously. So, later groups have fabricated their own work around for that:

"Wellll..., if you didn't really mean it in your heart when you accepted Jesus Christ into your life,...or you did mean it, but don't 'live right,' thereafter, well, it's all null and void."

    So, "predestined salvation" exists in their mind, BUT, you have to voluntarily accept it...and you can lose it if you were insincere. or fail to, "live right." That's how I've had it explained, anyway.
    Now, that is a head-scratcher if ever there was one. I mean, if it's already destined by God, why do you have to take it, at all, like some carnival prize? And if you can lose it by not being sincere, or not living as they deem proper, we are back to persevering as Jesus, and the Bible clearly explain.
    So you're left to wonder... "How can you say it exists at all?"
    In fact, it's just another a spun around assembly of conflicting ideas among some Protestants that don't really make a lot of sense. Especially, if they claim to be strictly by the Bible. Maybe you just have to not question it, and then it works?
    Seems that way.

    At this point, you have to understand Catholic and Orthodox teaching: What The Church has ALWAYS taught on this matter. And for that we have to be clear on something....
    The Catholic Church is not a, "bible-only," church. It never has been, and it doesn't profess to be.

    Yes, The Catholic Church compiled, assembled, codified and made available the Bible that everyone uses today. And it is the key part of the teaching of the Catholic Church, since they put it together.
    But,  the Catholic Church is an APOSTOLIC CHURCH, first and foremost...a Church that traces its origins back to the Apostles of Christ, and their successor - and the One Church that Jesus Christ, Himself, set into motion. That which was established long before ANY Bible existed for one to manipulate.
    So, from the earliest centuries, starting with the Apostles, The Church affirmed that a person can fall from grace through mortal sin, or rejecting faith and the grace of Jesus Christ....and so lose their salvation. They didn't cook this up, as Calvin did with his notions. Rather, they knew it before the Bible was developed.*
    But you may insist on a biblical reference for this, anyway - even though it pre-dates the Bible by 350 years or so. If that is the case, it is based on what led to the documenting of verses like Hebrews 6:4-6, and Hebrews 10:26-27.

👉 So the real question is:

If our salvation can be lost, what does Scripture constantly tell us to do about it? 🤔

Thats the simple part that DOENT need a lot of cooked up ideas....

✔️ We are truly saved by grace
✔️ We must remain faithful
✔️ God is always faithful, but we must freely remain with Him
✔️ We must persevere to the end

Because love is not forced. And a connection only stays viable…if you actively stay connected. ✝️

* If you don't know the real reasons why the Bible exists, then its certain you have the wrong idea about it. To understand that, go here: https://catholicity-today.blogspot.com/2025/07/why-bible-exists.html