"Eternal Security" is also known as "once saved always saved," or "perseverance of the saints." In other words, once someone accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, there is nothing that he or she can do to separate himself/herself from God, and they will always be saved. This is a false doctrine. The following passages show, without any doubt, that those who believe in Christ can fall away if they do not practice righteousness.
Bible texts that refute "eternal security" Bible TextDescription Of Blood Bought BelieverDescription Of SinDescription Of Believer After SinEzekiel 3:20; 18:24-26 | righteous | turns away, commits iniquity | die in sin | EZE 3:20 Again, When a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. | EZE 18:24 ¶ But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 18:25 ¶ Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?18:26 When a righteous [man] turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Matthew 25:1-13 |
took lamps and went to meet Christ | 5 were foolish | "I do not know you" | Matthew 25:14-30 |
Christ's own slaves | hid talent | wicked lazy, cast into outer darkness, weep & gnash | Luke 8:13 |
receive word with joy, believe | temptation, persecution | fall away | LUK 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. | Luke 9:62 |
put hands to plow of kingdom | looked back to former life | not fit for kingdom | LUK 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. | Luke 12:42-48 |
steward in charge of Christ's servants | beat slaves, drunkenness | cut in pieces, assign with unbelievers | John 15:1-6 |
branches | does not abide | thrown away, dried up, burnt | JOH 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. | Acts 4:32;5:1-11 |
of those who believed | lied to Holy Spirit | God struck dead | Acts 8:9-24 |
Simon the sorcerer believed, baptized, received HS | offered money | heart not right, wickedness, gall of bitterness, bond of iniquity | Acts 20:17,28-30 |
elders, shepherds of church | false doctrine | drawn away | Romans 11:13-23 |
wild olive, grafted in v17, stand by faith V20 | unbelief, not continue V20,22 | not spared, cut off V21-22 | ROM 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: ROM 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest he also spare not thee. ROM 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. ROM 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. | 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 |
Apostle Paul, preached to others | body not slave | Paul disqualified | 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 |
standing (feel they are saved) V12 | immorality, crave evil, grumble, | fall V12 | Galatians 2:11-14 |
Apostle Peter | false doctrine, hypocrisy | Literal Greek "stood condemned" V11 | Galatians 5:4 |
severed & fallen indicates previously joined and standing | seeking to keep OT | severed from Christ, fallen from grace | GAL 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. | Galatians 6:1 |
restore indicates once saved | caught in trespass | needed to be restored | GAL 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. | 1 Timothy 1:18-20 |
Hymenaeus, Alexander: shipwreck indicates they once sailed good. | rejected faith and good conscience, blasphemed | their personal faith shipwrecked, delivered to Satan | 1 Timothy 4:1 |
fall away indicates once saved | false doctrine | fall away from faith | 1TI 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; | 1 Timothy 5:8 |
passage addressed to Christians | doesn't provide for family | denied faith, worse than unbeliever | 1TI 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. | 1 Timothy 6:10 |
passage addressed to Christians | love of money | wandered from faith, pierced selves with pangs | 1TI 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. | 2 Timothy 2:16-18 |
Hymenaeus and Philetus: gone astray indicates once correct | False doctrine: resurrection past | gone astray, upset other's faith as well | Hebrews 3:12 |
brethren | evil, unbelieving | fall away from God | HEB 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. | Hebrews 4:1-2,11 |
brethren, addressed to Christians | unbelief, disobey | short of God's rest, fall | Hebrews 6:4-8 |
once enlightened, tasted heavenly gift, partakers of HS, Bible & powers to come, renew indicates restore to former cleanness | sin | fallen away, can't renew, crucified Christ again and put in open shame | Hebrews 10:26-31 |
received knowledge of truth. no longer remains indicates they once had forgiveness | sinning willfully | no forgiveness of sin, fearful judgment | Hebrews 10:38-39 |
God's righteous, Christians | shrinks back | God has no pleasure in him, destruction | James 5:19-20 |
brethren, Christians | strays from truth, sin | soul will die in sins, sinner | JAM 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; JAM 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. | 1 Peter 5:8 |
Christians | sin | devoured by devil | 1PE 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: | 2 Peter 2:1 |
Christians, "among you" had been bought by Christ | false prophets | swift destruction | 2PE 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. | 2 Peter 2:20-22 |
escaped defilements of world by Christ, entangled again, returns to mire indicates they were once untangled and clean, known way of righteousness, had washed | entangled, overcome, turned away, returns to vomit/mire | last state worse than first, better they never had became Christians | 2PE 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2PE 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2PE 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. | 2 Peter 3:17 |
beloved, Christians | carried away, | fall from own steadfastness | 2PE 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know [these things] before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. | 2 John 8-9 |
Christians, have accomplished | not abide in doctrine, false doctrine | lose, no reward doesn't have God | 2JO 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 2JO 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. | Revelation 2:4-5 |
Christians in Ephesus | left first love | fallen, lampstand removed | REV 2:4 Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. REV 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. | Revelation 3:5 |
Christians in Sardis | deeds incomplete | are dead | REV 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. | Revelation 3:16-17 |
Christians in Laodicea | lukewarmness | spit out of Christ's mouth | REV 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. REV 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Topical organization of scriptures that refute "Eternal Security"
Parable of sower:
Mark 4:16 (Luke 8:13), "And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; (they believe for a while) and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away." Fallen from grace passage: Galatians 5:4, "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." Pruning passages: John 15:5-6, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
Romans, 11:19-23, "You will say then, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again." Hebrews Passages: Hebrews 6:4-6, "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame."
Hebrews 10:26-27, "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries."
Hebrews 10:38-39, "Now the just shall live by faith: ; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul." Doctrinal Apostasy passages: Acts 20:17,28-30, "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church...I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."
1 Timothy 1:18-21, "fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander"
2 Timothy 2:16-18, "But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some."
1 Timothy 4:1, "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons"
1 Timothy 6:20-21, "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge-which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith."
2 Peter 2:1, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves."
2 Peter 3:17, "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness."
2 John 8-9 "Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son."
Moral Apostasy passages:
1 Timothy 6:9-10, "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang."
2 Peter 2:20-22, "For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, A dog returns to its own vomit, and a sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."
James 5:19-20, "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins."
Revelation passages:
Revelation 2:4-5, "'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 'Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent."
Revelation 3:5, 'He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels."
Revelation 3:16-17, "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." Old Testament passages: Ezekiel 18:24-26, "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die."
Other scriptural arguments that refute "Eternal Security"
The fact the Bible exhorts to faithfulness proves one can be lost:
be "stedfast, unmoveable" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
"For if these things be in you" (2 Peter 1:5-11).
"we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9).
"be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).
practice these things and God will be with you (Philippians 4:9).
Man has a free will:Joshua 24:15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The Bible clearly prophesied some would fall away: Acts 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" Christians are to restore the fallen: Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
James 5:19-20, "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
Your name can be blotted out of the book of life:
Exodus 32:32-33, "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book."
Deuteronomy 9:14, "Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they."
Deuteronomy 29:20, "The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven."
Psalms 69:28, "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous."
Revelation 3:5, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." After God forgives your sin, you can lose your salvation by not forgiving others:
Matthew 18:23-35, "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."