‍The Serious Problem of Serious Sin

‍If salvation can never be lost, why does Scripture warn Christians that certain sins will exclude them from heaven?

  Gary Hoge  ·  October 15, 2026

‍We all sin, right? Virtually every Christian acknowledges that even sincere believers sometimes fall into sin. But can any of our sins be serious enough to cause us to forfeit our salvation if we don't repent?

‍Some Christians believe that once a person has been truly saved, he is guaranteed to go to heaven, regardless of what he subsequently believes or does. Even if he commits the most serious sins and never repents, or abandons his faith altogether, his salvation is secure. This is one version of the doctrine commonly called once saved, always saved. Other Christians who believe salvation is eternally secure hold that those who permanently abandon the faith were never truly saved in the first place. But it is the former position that we'll examine here.

‍Proponents of this doctrine would deny that it amounts to a license to sin, and many sincerely strive to live holy lives. They may believe that serious sins damage one's relationship with God, bring divine discipline, or diminish heavenly rewards, but cannot prevent someone who has been truly saved from ultimately entering heaven.

‍But the Bible repeatedly addresses Christians—not unbelievers, Christians—and warns that persisting in certain sins can exclude them from the kingdom of God. How can we reconcile those warnings with the belief that a Christian can never lose his salvation, regardless of what he does?

‍You reap what you sow

‍Consider Paul's warning to the Galatians (6:7–8):

‍Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

‍Paul was writing to Christians, and he explicitly contrasted destruction with eternal life. He did not tell them that their conduct couldn't affect their eternal destiny because it had already been settled. Nor did he say that the consequences of sin would be limited to divine discipline or diminished heavenly rewards. Instead, he warned them that what they sow would determine what they reap, and the alternatives were destruction and eternal life.

‍And what does it mean to sow to please the sinful nature? Paul had already provided several examples in Galatians 5:19–21:

‍The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

‍Notice those words: “I warn you.” Paul was addressing Christians, and he explicitly warned them that those who live this way will not inherit the kingdom of God. He did not suggest that having once been saved exempted them from this warning.

‍Do not be deceived

‍Paul issued a similar warning to the Corinthians:

‍Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)

‍And notice what he says immediately afterward:

‍And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (verse 11)

‍Paul was reminding the Corinthians that they had been washed, sanctified, and justified. Their former sinful lives were behind them. But his warning was unmistakable: Don't go back to your former sinful way of life. Those who live that way will not inherit the kingdom of God. And notice his words: “Do not be deceived.” Evidently, Paul considered it possible for Christians to deceive themselves into thinking they could return to their former sinful lives without jeopardizing their salvation.

‍And that's the serious problem with this version of *once saved, always saved*. The issue is not whether its proponents take sin seriously. Many certainly do. The issue is whether their doctrine takes seriously the consequences that Scripture attaches to sin.

‍Paul warned Christians that those who persist in serious sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. This version of *once saved, always saved* assures them that they will. They can’t both be right.