Can a Holy Spirit filled Believer lose His Salvation? Are We not sealed by the Holy Ghost?

‘A fellow believer asked me through Facebook  these questions relating to “Once Saved Always Saved” vs. “Conditional Security.

1. ” At what point do you lose it [salvation], how many sins do you have to commit exactly?”

A believer is condemned whenever he deliberately disobeys God, as “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luk 13:3). Forgiveness always comes after repentance, never before. God has wrath for the impenitent and mercy for the repentant, so when a believer is in sin they stand condemned until they repent.

The Biblical principle is this: wrath for the impenitent and mercy for the repentant. “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5). “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:22). “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Pro. 28:13)

Paul was explicit in telling the churches, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived” (1 Cor. 6:9). He then went on to list certain types of sinners, like fornicators, adulterers, etc. He wasn’t warning unbelievers of these things, but believers. If a believer becomes a fornicator or an adulterer, they will not inherit the kingdom of God unless they repent of their unrighteousness and become righteous again by faith in Christ.

Saul and David both sinned, but one was restored and the other one wasn’t because one repented and one didn’t. Judas and Peter were both Apostles, both betrayed the Lord, and yet one was restored and the other one wasn’t because one repented and one didn’t. If a believer sins and doesn’t repent, he’ll die in sin and be condemned. If a believer sins and repents, he is restored.

“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20

Jesus told a parable of a prodigal son, who left the father for a life of sin, and then when he returned the father said, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again” (Luke 15:24). In the Greek, “alive again” means “alive for the second time.” He had a relationship with God, he lost his relationship with God, then his relationship with God was restored. This is what happens when a believer forsakes God for sin and later repents and comes back.

Consider also how the unforgiving servant, in Matthew 18, was first pardoned of his debt but than because he didn’t forgive others, he lost his pardon and had his debt reinstated. Jesus then warned the father would do the same to us if we did not forgive. Evidently, our salvation and security is conditional upon not committing the sin of unforgiveness.

2. ” If we are sealed by the Spirit unto the day of redemption, how can we become unsealed and where does it say that in scripture.”

Simeon was a sorcerer who became a believer (Acts 8:13), was baptized (Acts 8:13), and was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17), yet he afterwards committed sin and so Peter told him that he needed to repent of his wickedness in order for God to forgive him (Acts 8:22).

Evidently, being a Holy Spirit filled believer does not mean that you have all your future sins already forgiven, or that you do not need to repent and seek God’s forgiveness if you sin.

The Bible tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit because He is the means by which we are sealed, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). The implication to me is that since He is our seal, we do not want to grieve Him. If we grieve Him, we risk losing Him as our seal. You don’t want to lose the Holy Spirit, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul” (1 Sam 16:14).

Paul said to believers:

Col 1:23 – If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister

Paul encouraged Holy Spirit filled churches to continue in the faith and in the grace of God:

Act 13:43 – Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

Act 14:22 – Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Evidently, Holy Spirit filled believers have a choice to continue in the faith or not, to continue in the grace of God or not.

That means that the Holy Spirit influences your will, but not irresistibly, as the Bible says you can resist the Holy Spirit:

Act 7:51 – Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

We are sealed and secured by the Holy Spirit, given that we do not grieve and resist Him through sin. If we sin, the Holy Spirit will convict us and chasten us, because we are in danger of dying in sin and going to hell

“But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32). If we do not repent and heed the chastening of the Lord, the implication is that we will be condemned

Notice the conditions mentioned in this verse: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1). The condition of not having any condemnation is that you walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. If you walk after the flesh, you are condemned. This is what Paul warned believers in the same chapter, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Rom. 8:13)

This explains why Paul said, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:27).

The primary texted that convinced me of the believers conditional security, or of the possibility of losing your salvation, is Hebrews 10:26-31

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Notice the author said “if we,” so he included himself. It speaks of someone who “received” the knowledge of the truth, not merely heard it. The word “received” in that passage means to take, to claim, to procure, to choose, etc. It is the same Greek word found in this passage, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Notice also this passage speaks of one who “was sanctified” by the blood of Christ but now tramples it underfoot by sinning.

So Hebrews 10:26-31 is saying if a saved believer willfully sins, trampling the blood of Christ which had sanctified them underfoot, they will face “sorer punishment” than those who merely sinned against the law, and have the “judgement and fiery indignation” of God to look forward to. The damnation of a “sinning Christian” (a backslider) who sins against the Gospel that saved him is worse than the damnation of a sinning heathen or pagan who merely sinned against the law

“For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:21)’

source: Jesse Morrell (biblicaltruthresources).