Some people think that when one is saved, he is saved in such a way that he can never be lost. However, the New Testament teaches three salvations.
1. One is saved from past or alien sins when he by faith does what God requires of him. That is the salvation Jesus was talking about when he said: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). It is the same salvation that the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of the apostle, referred to when he told believers to “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). It is the salvation of Acts 22:16 where Saul was told to “arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins.” The New Testament plainly teaches that in being saved this way from his alien state and sins, one becomes a child of God or a Christian. This means he enters into the body of Christ, which is the church Jesus purchased with his blood (Colossians 1:2, 18; 3:15; Acts 20:28). After one thus becomes a Christian, he can still sin.
2. When a child of God sins, he should ask his Father in heaven to forgive him. A child of God who sinned was told by the apostle Peter to repent and pray that he might be forgiven (Acts 8:22). Of Christians the New Testament says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Some preachers tell alien sinners to confess their sins and ask God to forgive them, and then quote 1 John 1:9 as a proof text for such instruction. But, this passage sums up the responsibility of erring children of God. Alien sinners were told by inspired preachers to believe the Gospel, repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission of their sins.
If a child of God errs from the truth, he must turn from the error of his way back to the Lord if he expects to be saved in heaven. “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).
3. Jesus said: “He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22). Being saved in heaven is the third kind of salvation under consideration. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things ye shall never fail. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11).
