What does it mean to continue or endure? Can I lose my salvation if I don’t?

Quick Answer: What does it mean to continue or endure? What if we don’t continue in the faith? Will we lose our salvation? Passages that speak of the need to “continue” or “hold fast” are addressed to those who are not yet saved and still need to continue hearing and believing until they take in the whole message of the Gospel. At some point, if they do continue, each will be born again. Once saved, we can do nothing to maintain or sustain our salvation. Jesus has secured us forever.

Diving Deeper: Colossians 1:23 says you are holy and blameless “if indeed you continue”, while 1 Corinthians 15:2 says you are saved “if you hold fast.” There is a clear condition in each of these two challenging passages.

We might approach these passages with a modern-day perspective which includes a sinner’s prayer mentality. A person is unsaved, prays the prayer, and is then saved. However, the view in Scripture is that people are in a process of hearing and believing. There is a progression in their understanding. So, as Paul addresses particular congregations, he is not certain where each individual stands. Therefore, his advice to the group as a whole is that they “continue” hearing and believing. If they do, at some point, each of them will be saved.

In short, this is not about born again believers needing to sustain something. It’s about the recipients of Paul’s letters (many of whom Paul does not know personally) being urged to continue their pursuit of truth about Jesus. In so doing, each will be born again as they continue to hear, process, and eventually believe.

We might not be able to point to the day, the hour, or the moment we were saved. It is sometimes a lengthy journey or process. People are learning about the Gospel, and everyone is at a different point. Much like physical birth, we might not have any recollection of our spiritual birth. For a while, we were each in the process of hearing and believing the Gospel message for the first time. Likewise, Paul’s readers are each in a different place but are all being urged to continue hearing and believing and holding fast to the truth. Paul reveals his evangelistic heart as he urges his readers to keep on keeping on in their exposure to the Gospel.

The Gospel itself is not about our ability to continue or keep promises to God. No, the Gospel is about God making a promise to Himself to never let us go. We enter into the benefits of God’s own faithfulness to Himself (Hebrews 6:16-18). Hebrews describes this as “two unchangeable things” (God and God). Once we are in Christ, God is the one who “continues” to hold us in His hand and no one can snatch us out (John 10:28). Nothing separates us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39).

Let’s Make It a Conversation!
1. What was your journey toward salvation like?
2. Do you remember an exact moment of being born again or was it more of a process over time? Explain.
3. What do the “two unchangeable things” in Hebrews 6:16-18 mean for your safety and security in Jesus?