Can I tell you something that used to keep me up at night?
There was a time in my life, maybe you’ve been there too, when I genuinely wondered if I could lose my salvation. Like, what if I messed up too badly?
What if I said something dumb or got tired of trying and drifted away?
What if I just… wasn’t good enough?
I mean, I loved Jesus, but I also knew myself. And me? Well, me makes mistakes. Me gets tired. Me doesn’t always feel super spiritual. And back then, I really believed that staying saved depended on how well I held on to God.
Spoiler alert (I know, one of my favorite words): I had it backwards. Completely backwards.
What I’ve come to learn (and honestly, what has set my soul at rest) is this: I’m not holding on to Jesus; He’s holding on to me.
Let me back up for a second and tell you how this shift happened.
The Lie I Believed (and Maybe You Have Too)
I grew up in a catholic home thinking being a Christian meant doing your best, trying really hard not to sin, and staying in God’s good graces by, well… being good. And if you slipped up too much? You better repent quick and get right with God or else.
It was exhausting. Like spiritual whiplash. One day, I was sure God loved me; the next, I was convinced I blew it.
I thought salvation was like holding on to the edge of a cliff, fingers gripping the rock, muscles trembling. One slip, one wrong move, and whoosh, I’d fall.
But here’s the beautiful, tender, life-giving truth: Jesus isn’t standing at the top yelling, “Hold on tighter!” He’s the one holding me in His arms.
One day, I was reading John 10:28 (or maybe it read me), where Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
And I just sat there thinking, wait a minute. Never perish? No one can snatch them out of His hand. That’s not about my grip on Him; it’s about His grip on me.
I think I exhaled for the first time in years.
And then one day I was also reading a scripture in Romans 8, where Paul basically lists everything, death, life, angels, demons, fears about today, worries about tomorrow, and then says none of it can separate us from God’s love. None of it.
Friend, if even death and demons can’t separate us from Him, then your doubts? Your rough days? That argument you had last night with your kid. They don’t even come close.
Here’s the thing I kept missing: salvation is God’s idea, God’s work, and God’s promise. Not mine. If I didn’t earn it by being amazing, I can’t lose it by being a mess. That’s grace.
Now, that doesn’t mean I live carelessly. Knowing I’m secure in His love, actually, it makes me want to love Him even more, not less.
It doesn’t lead to laziness; it leads to worship. To gratitude. To tears in the quiet moments when I remember how much He’s done for me.
And let me tell you, there are still days when I don’t feel spiritual. Days when I question certain things, wrestle with thoughts, or fall emotionally flat. But on those days, I remind myself: my security isn't based on how I feel. It’s based on His Word and His unchanging love.
Let me tell you about my wife’s story (and why it matters)
My wife’s salvation story is beautifully simple. She was sitting quietly in the back of a small church at Turtle Lake, and in her heart, she whispered, “I want this Jesus.” That’s it. No thunder from heaven. No dramatic moment at the altar. Just a quiet "yes."
That "yes" changed everything for her; she simply believed, and it was enough.
Jesus doesn’t grade our salvation based on theatrics. He listens to the heart. Remember the thief on the cross? He simply said, “Remember me.” And Jesus didn’t hesitate. “Today you’ll be with me in paradise.”
You know what breaks my heart? How often religion complicates what Jesus made simple. Some churches teach like we’re on probation, constantly under review, waiting to see if we measure up. But Jesus didn’t come to bring us spiritual anxiety, He came to bring us life. And not just life, but eternal life.
And if eternal life can be lost… was it ever really eternal?
So now, when someone asks me if I believe “once saved, always saved,” I tell them this:
Absolutely. Because once adopted into God’s family, always His child.
Because once sealed by the Spirit, always marked as His.
Because once saved by grace, always covered by grace.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being His.
And friend, if you’re His, you’re secure. Fully, freely, and forever.
If you’ve been walking through your Christian life afraid to mess up, constantly checking your spiritual pulse to see if you’re “still saved,” … let this be your moment to exhale.
God’s not pacing the floor wondering if you’re worth it. He already decided you were, at the cross. Jesus didn’t save you temporarily. He saved you eternally.
So, take a deep breath. Rest in His arms. Trust the One who started this good work in you, because He’s the One who’ll carry it all the way to the end.
And spoiler alert (again): the end? It’s not really the end at all.
It’s just the beginning of forever.
RJ (Rox) Nolin
Note: for the free eBooks, click the link.https://payhip.com/HearttoHeartPublications