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I believe the Bible teaches that you can't "lose" your salvation for one simple reason. It is God who saves us when we put our trust in Him by faith alone in Christ alone. There’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation (Eph.2:8-9). Because God is the one who saves, our salvation cannot be undone. Romans 8:38-39 speaks to this very clearly.
Perhaps the strongest passage about our security in Christ is John 6:35-37, where Jesus says, “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.”
There are a couple of passages (Hebrews 10:26 comes to mind) that seem to indicate that we can lose our salvation. But when you read this verse carefully, you can see that it is those who come to a knowledge of Christ and then refuse to follow Him who are held accountable. Knowledge alone doesn’t save, but knowing and then continuing to refuse to receive the gift of salvation could lead to a hardening of the heart.
Comments
I don't have strong opinion about this subject or a hard stance, however I have thought long and hard about this subject, and I'm not convinced that we are incapable of willfully giving up our salvation. As you pointed out, salvation is a free gift from God, as state in Ephesians 2:8-9 (the first bible verse I learned). I wonder if we can be saved and then throw it all away because of our freewill? We can receive a gift and never open the wrapping and therefore never experience the pleasure of the gift. Or, we can open the wrapping, experience the gift, and for some reason decide we no longer want the gift. I have discussed this subject with other believers, I usually get the following scripture response reference. Usually, someone will say that a person that gives up there salvation was never really saved to begin with.
John 10:28 -29
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I went into a really dry arid valley around the turn of the century (not because of the new millennium) , which I won't go into detail about now, but I was continually being drawn to the following versus in Hebrews. I personally was convicted by the Holy Spirit of the sin of pride, and He started showing me my prideful spirit and I knew that getting out of this dry and arid valley was going be a long hard journey.
I realized that I had backslid, that I had done something I said I would "never do." Pride proceeds a fall. Now I have to live with the fact that I did backslide and there is nothing I can do to regain the ground I lost. I'm praying for Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. Around this same time, our Senior Pastor (at the time), Roger Whitlow, gave a message about this subject and gave us two-sides (I think there is another slant at this too, but the theologian's name escapes me.)
Hebrews 6
The Peril of Falling Away
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.
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. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
I'm definitely not saying I am correct (I'm not sure), but I am saying that I'm not convinced that Calvin is entirely correct.
Here is Chuck Smith's (Pastor at Calvary Chapel) simplified version of the differing opinions. http://www3.calvarychapel.com/library/smith-chuck/books/caatwog.htm.