"Do Methodists believe in the premise "once saved always
saved" or that one can lose their salvation?"
- Anonymous
Good question...and let me go ahead and answer first, no United Methodists do
not believe in the doctrine of 'once saved always saved' and yes we do believe
it is possible to lose your salvation. This is tricky, so with that
said...let me explain:
The doctrine of 'once saved always saved' for those who don't know states that the moment one has faith in Christ, they have achieved salvation and that nothing can take away that which they have gained through faith. Many Baptist congregations and those of Calvinistic heritage share in this doctrine. Calvinist theology carries with it the doctrine of predestination which states that before time, God choose, or predestined, certain individuals to receive the gift of eternal life. These people are called the 'elect'. Which means, if God choose some to receive eternal life, he also choose, predestined, the rest to eternal death. This would mean that if you were elect, that is predestined to heaven, you could worship toads and denounce God and would still enjoy eternal life. And likewise, if you were predestined to eternal death (hell) you could be the pope and it wouldn't make a difference. Out of this doctrine of predestination came the idea of 'once saved always saved'. Once you accepted Christ, you were set for good, regardless if you worshiped toads, etc. A verse commonly stated to support this view is John 10:27-30 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall 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. I and the Father are one."
United Methodists, on the other hand, strongly and have always opposed the doctrine of predestination. John Wesley was vehemently opposed to this idea and instead proclaimed that God gave us the gift of free will. God calls us all to eternal life through Christ and his prevenient grace works within us moving us to accept this Blessed gift from God. Because of free will we have the option of accepting or refusing this gift. If God did not call all to eternal life and if we do not have free will, why would he need to send Christ to offer salvation to all? If we do not have free will, what good is John 3:16? So, because of free will, we can choose to opt in as well as opt out of the kingdom of heaven. The term for losing ones salvation or 'falling from grace' is apostasy. Jesus warns his disciples about being led astray (Matthew 24:3-14 key verse 13, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved). If the doctrine of 'once saved always saved' were true, why would Christ offer this warning? Even more straight forward is the Hebrews 6:4-6 "it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace". This verse clearly states that one can fall from grace or lose their salvation. One might also think about Judas, betraying Christ and then killing himself, a clear case of apostasy.
Now, here is where it gets tricky. Our Catholic brothers and sisters believe that one can never be too sure of one's salvation, which is why they place a strong emphasis on salvation by faith and works. A verse commonly quoted is St. Paul saying "not that I have already obtained all this (knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection) or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it....." Philippians 3:12-13.
Now United Methodists believe that one can fall from grace but we also believe that one can be sure of their salvation. We call this John Wesley's doctrine of assurance. According to Wesley "the testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the souls of believers, whereby the Spirit of God directly testifies to their Spirit, that they are children of God". It is an "inward consciousness" of sins forgiven, joy of life, acceptance by God, and assurance of salvation (Lovett Weems, John Wesley's Message Today). Which goes to say, when we are living in the Spirit of God, moving on toward perfection in love, seeking to fulfill the will of God, and remain strong in faith, our heart will be "strangely warmed" as we feel that we do "trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given....that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death". The previous quote was taken from Wesley's experience at Aldersgate, where he encountered this assurance.
I know this was probably more than you were looking for........