CAN A CHRISTIAN STOP BELIEVING AND
FORFEIT THEIR SALVATION?
Quick Answer: Can a Christian stop believing and forfeit their salvation? No,
a Christian cannot forfeit or give up their salvation. This is because God has
changed them from the inside out and given them a desire to always believe
in Him (1 John 3:9, 23; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 6:17). Believers love Jesus
Christ with an undying love (Ephesians 6:24).
Diving Deeper: The question of whether or not a Christian can forfeit their
salvation is simply another way of asking, “Can a Christian lose their
salvation?” However, with this question the faith of the believer is in focus:
“Sure, I may not be able to lose my salvation through bad behavior,” one
might think, “but what if I want to give it up? What if I don’t want Jesus
anymore?”
Here’s the truth: If you are a born-again believer, you will always want Jesus.
In fact, Scripture states that you love Jesus with “incorruptible love”
(Ephesians 6:24). This is because God has taken out your heart of stone and
given you a new, obedient heart that will never stop loving Him (2 Peter 1:3-
4; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 6:17). If you’re a believer, then in your heart,
you will always believe.
What about those who walk away? What about our children or friends or
spouses who decide “not to be a Christian anymore”? Sometimes, it can be
hard to discern what is going on within a person. If they truly received Christ
as their Savior, then in their heart, they do still have an undying love for Him.
Maybe they say they’re done with Christianity, but they are really only done
with a particular church or religious atmosphere, because they were hurt by
a group of people. Alternatively, someone who says “I’m not a Christian
anymore” might have never had a genuine faith to begin with. They might
have only wanted a conservative environment of clean living, family values,
and Christian principles. In this case, they are simply deciding to not have
that lifestyle anymore, but they never had Christ Himself living within them.
Whatever the scenario, our response can still be the same: We can love them
and testify to God’s grace. If they’re a believer, then this may restore their
hope that their loving Father is better than the treatment they received in a
particular religious group. And if they are an unbeliever, they can begin to
recognize the difference between “good living” and truly living in Jesus
Christ.
In summary, a true believer cannot forfeit their salvation. Their old self has
already died, and they are the new self (Romans 6:6, 11). We believers are
“slaves of righteousness”, and there is nothing within the new self that wants
to reject Christ (Romans 6:18; Ephesians 6:24). This reality, along with the
total forgiveness of the believer, is what secures us forever with our God.
Let’s Make It a Conversation!
1. Have you ever known someone who said they no longer believe? How
would you now explain their situation?
2. How does your identity as a new-hearted child of God factor into the false
