“Can we lose our salvation?” my friends wanted to know where I stood in the age-old debate among the evangelical global community. Is it “once saved, always saved” or can we lose our salvation?

I started my reply with calling for a rewording. “Instead of saying, ‘lose,’ maybe we should view it from 1 John 2:19” where the apostle John talked about “followers” of Christ now following the anti-Christ.

These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. (NLT)

Probably recalling Jesus talking about the wheat and tares, and the sheep and the goat (Mt. 13:24-30, 25:31-46), John had anticipated that the church will be infiltrated so he was not surprised at the turn of events. He didn’t waste time wondering about the “salvation” of those that left knowing they never had it in the first place. Their leaving is proof of that. They may have talked and acted like believers, but “they did not belong with” them. It’s like tourists trying to act like locals, and might even be good at it but their citizenship still lies miles away.

So going back to my friends’ question, “Can we lose our salvation?” No, because when we say “lose,” it implies ownership over our salvation. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.” (John 10:28, NIV) We don’t own our salvation even though it’s given to us. Growing up, my parents would give me angpao but I never had possession of it. They still kept it until I came of age. In a way, our salvation is similar to that. God still owns our salvation as He safely secures us in His hands from which no one can snatch us until we come knock-knock-knocking on heaven's door.