Q&A Home > S > Salvation

Can salvation be lost? Is it not the case of either having it or not having it? Our Lord Jesus Christ says that “I will give them eternal life and no one will snatch them out of my hands”, and “they are in my Father's hands” However, in the book of Hebrews, it says it is impossible for someone who had accepted our Lord Jesus Christ and tasted the heavenly gifts, when he falls to be restored.

In the Holy Gospel of St. John 10:28 our Lord says �And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." Who are the ones that shall never perish? The verse that proceeds gives the answer: and the condition for not perishing. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27). Those who continue to hear Christ's voice, and to follow Him, shall never perish.

In the Holy Book of Hebrews 3:12 and 6:6, St. Paul is referring to deliberate apostasy,as a defection from the faith. It is hard to restore those who fall in it. According to the Jewish law, in order for a sinner to return to God, he  must first repent and his repentance must be  complemented with a proper sacrificial offering, If  a sinner rejects the only available sacrifice of the New Testament, Jesus Christ, then his repentance for sin would be vain, and their salvation impossible.

He that endures to the end shall be saved, and he that is faithful unto death shall have a crown of life.

The Holy Book of Hebrews 6:6 also stresses the fact  that  Baptism cannot be repeated. So when sinners repent, they don't need another baptism because the second baptism is like a second crucifixion for the Lord Jesus Christ.

For more details, please read "Salvation in the Orthodox Concept" by H.H. Pope Shenouda.