True or False?

“Once saved, always saved” is not a guarantee, but it is a possibility.
As you ponder that statement, allow me to make a case to defend its truthfulness. Most of us are familiar with the errant systematic theology of John Calvin represented by the acrostic “TULIP.” In this acrostic, the letter, “P” represents the doctrine of “Perseverance of the Saints.” Or in more common terms, “Once saved, always saved.” Calvin taught that once a person is saved, he is always saved and that he can never do anything to forfeit his heavenly home.
Through the years, I have had many studies with people who believed this doctrine. They believed that once a person is saved, he is always saved and that he cannot fall as to be eternally lost. However, the Bible just doesn’t support such a view. Consider just a few verses:
John 15:1-6 – A branch that was once connected and alive can be cut off and cast into the fire.
Galatians 4:5 – Christians were warned about being estranged from Christ and falling away from his grace.
1 Corinthians 9:27 – Paul said he had to discipline himself so that he might not become disqualified.
While the Bible contradicts the guarantee of “once saved, always saved,” it doesn’t exclude the possibility of “once saved, always saved.” Don’t allow the biblical doctrine of the possibility of apostasy evolve into the unbiblical doctrine of the probability of apostasy.
Friends, there is security in Jesus (2 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; 1 John 1:7, etc.). While it is not guaranteed, it is certainly possible for one to turn his back on sin and the world, turn to Jesus, and walk in the light, never again to turn back to the world. That’s not to say that he will never sin again, but it is to say that he will never stop walking in the light again.
May God help us to expose the deceptive doctrine that gives false hope by guaranteeing “once saved, always saved,” but also, may God help us to expound on the hope-filled truth that “once saved, always saved” can be the story-line of our life.