Q 002

Question:

“Galatians 5:20-21 sounds like it is talking about losing your salvation. However, I know we are saved by grace. Please explain this to me.”

Answer: 

It is important to note the beginning of Galatians chapter five. Verse one says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The emphasis here is being entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Remember, Paul is addressing a region that has been affected by teaching that states the law must be followed for a person to be saved. These teachers were called Judaizers. If we understand what the yoke of bondage is it will help us understand verse 20 and 21 later in the chapter. Verse four says “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace”. The teaching here is not that a person can fall away from grace but that they can live as though the law is what saves them, and Christ no longer has the effect of saving a person. Of course, this is not true, but if those who are teaching claim that a person can be saved by their works then they are ultimately saying that Christ is of no effect to an individual. Why? Because they are stating that a person can be good enough to become saved on their own merit. Essentially, Paul is exposing these teachings as a fraud. In verse 14 he says that the law is fulfilled in one word by loving your neighbor as yourselves. He then continues in verse 15 to say if you bite and devour one another you need to take heed that you are not consumed by those actions. Paul is exposing those who are teaching that good works can save you. He is showing that we are all sinners, that we all fall short, and that we all need the grace that was provided to us through Christ death, burial, and resurrection.

There are other clear verses which indicate a person cannot lose their salvation. We must hold on to the clarity of these verses. We must hold on to the truth that they teach us. For example, consider Ephesians 1:13-14. They claim that upon the moment of belief a person is sealed until the day of redemption. We also have a guarantee in Titus 1:2 which state that God cannot lie. One of the best verses to support eternal security is found in Hebrews 13:5. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Consider what the Bible also teaches regarding the flesh and the Kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 15:50 says “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” When we die, we shed our flesh. Our bodies are returned to the dust of the earth from which they were formed. In the rapture those who are alive and remaining will be changed and transformed. What is transformed? The answer is their bodies, their flesh. So, in heaven there will be no flesh. The list here in Galatians 5:20 and 21 and in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 10 are teaching that the actions of the flesh will not be in the Kingdom of God. Believers have nothing to fear because our flesh nature will not be the one that goes to heaven. It is our new nature which will live forever in Heaven.