Here’s a structured overview of the debate on Eternal Security (“Once Saved, Always Saved”) vs. Falling Away (Perseverance/Losing Salvation), along with the main scriptural arguments both for and against.

1. Eternal Security (“Once Saved, Always Saved”)

Core Idea

Once a person is genuinely saved, they cannot lose their salvation. Their eternal destiny is secure because salvation depends on God’s grace and not on human works or perseverance.

Supporting Arguments & Scriptures

• Salvation is eternal, not temporary

  • John 10:27–29 – “My sheep hear My voice… I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

  • John 5:24 – “Whoever hears My word and believes… has eternal life; he does not come into judgment.”

• God preserves the believer

  • Philippians 1:6 – “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

  • Jude 24 – God “is able to keep you from stumbling.”

  • 1 Peter 1:3–5 – Believers are “kept by the power of God through faith for salvation.”

• Sealed by the Spirit

  • Ephesians 1:13–14 – “Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit… a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.”

  • Ephesians 4:30 – “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit… by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

• Not by works but grace

  • Romans 8:38–39 – Nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

  • Romans 11:29 – “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”

  • 2 Timothy 2:13 – “If we are faithless, He remains faithful.”

2. Falling Away / Conditional Security

Core Idea

Salvation requires perseverance. Genuine believers can choose to abandon faith and thereby fall away, forfeiting salvation.

Supporting Arguments & Scriptures

• Warnings against falling away

  • Hebrews 6:4–6 – Those “once enlightened… if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance is impossible.”

  • Hebrews 10:26–27 – “If we deliberately keep on sinning… no sacrifice for sins is left.”

  • 2 Peter 2:20–22 – Those who escape the world and then return are worse off.

• Faith must be maintained

  • Matthew 24:13 – “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”

  • 1 Corinthians 9:27 – Paul disciplines himself so that “after preaching… I myself will not be disqualified.”

  • Revelation 3:5 – Names can be blotted out of the Book of Life.

• Examples of apostasy

  • John 15:6 – Branches in Christ that do not remain are “thrown away… and burned.”

  • Galatians 5:4 – “You have fallen from grace.”

  • 1 Timothy 1:19–20 – Hymenaeus and Alexander “rejected faith… and suffered shipwreck.”

• Conditional nature of salvation

  • Colossians 1:22–23 – “If you continue in your faith, established and firm…”

  • Romans 11:20–22 – Gentiles stand by faith, but can be cut off if they do not continue.

3. Mediating Views

Some traditions hold a middle ground:

• Perseverance of the Saints (Reformed view) – True believers will persevere because God ensures their endurance. If someone falls away permanently, it proves they were never truly saved (1 John 2:19).

• Arminian / Wesleyan view – Believers genuinely saved can lose salvation through apostasy, requiring continual faith and repentance.

4. Key Theological Themes

• Nature of Eternal Life – If eternal life can be lost, is it truly eternal? (John 10:28)

• Human Freedom vs. Divine Sovereignty – Does God guarantee perseverance, or does man’s free will allow for falling away?

• Warnings vs. Assurances – The Bible contains both strong warnings (Heb 6, Heb 10) and strong assurances (John 10, Rom 8). Are warnings hypothetical or real?

Summary:

• For Eternal Security: Emphasizes God’s sovereignty, grace, and promises of eternal security.

• For Falling Away: Emphasizes warnings, conditional language, and the necessity of perseverance in faith and holiness.

Would you like me to list all these verses in full text (in order of appearance in the Bible) so you have a single reference sheet? That way you can compare the assurance texts and warning texts side by side.

You said:

Yes

ChatGPT said:

Perfect. Below is a reference sheet with the verses in biblical order. I’ve separated them into two categories — Assurance Verses (supporting Eternal Security) and Warning Verses (supporting Falling Away).

📖 Eternal Security – Assurance Texts

John 5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

John 10:27–29
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Romans 8:38–39
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 11:29
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Philippians 1:6
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

2 Timothy 2:13
“If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”

Ephesians 1:13–14
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 4:30
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

1 Peter 1:3–5
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Jude 24
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…”

⚠️ Falling Away – Warning Texts

Matthew 24:13
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

John 15:6
“If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Romans 11:20–22
“That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.”

1 Corinthians 9:27
“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Galatians 5:4
“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

Colossians 1:22–23
“He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…”

1 Timothy 1:19–20
“Holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

Hebrews 6:4–6
“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

Hebrews 10:26–27
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

2 Peter 2:20–22
“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.’”

Revelation 3:5
“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”