The scriptures teach that a child of God can't fall (eternal security or "once saved always saved")

I agree with Dan's first two definitions. However, he has actually misunderstood what the doctrine of eternal security actually teaches. Paul wrote, "shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Certainly not! " (Romans 6:1-2). Those who believe in eternal security do not believe you can be saved, then go out and live a life of sin as if you did not belong to God simply because you have your salvation. There's a difference between an intellectual assent of the facts, and actually taking God's Word to heart. What is required for salvation? "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Romans 10:9). Confession and belief are required for salvation. But let's look at James 2:19: "You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble! " You can believe in God and not actually be saved, as the demons do. James also tells us: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. " A true, genuine, saving faith (belief) is one that leads to do good works, and to keep oneself from sin. Obivously no one, not even saved believers, can be absolutely sinless -- we just believe that once saved, a Christian will now hate sin and will do everything they can to avoid it. Jesus is the "author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2). As such, since our salvation is through Jesus, He is also able to keep us from stumbling (Jude 24). Jesus is certainly powerful enough to keep us from stumbling to a point where we could, potentially, lose our salvation. There is only one unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31). The only sin that can not be forgiven is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Any sin can be forgiven, even any sin that a Christian commits. But a Christian who is genuinely saved will not want to commit any sin, though they still do stumble into it. First John 5:16 talks about a "sin that leads to death. " If a Christian does sin willfully, especially a heinous one, then God may decide to end that Christian's time on earth prematurely. That Christian will certainly lose his/her reward in Heaven, but will not lose their salvation. Finally, if one could lose their salvation, how much sin or what sins would cause you to do it? The Scriptures certainly don't say there are any sins that would cause you to lose your salvation. No Christian could be secure in their salvation, which would directly contradict 1 John 5:13. I will now respond to Dan's objections. Jesus Taught that some would FallAs for the parable of the sower, the one who "fell away" was never a genuine believer. That's why someone can fall away in time of temptation. In verse 13 of the passage, we see that the seed never took root. These believers were never genuine; the Word never took root in their heart. They may have believe because it sounded good or because they wanted to avoid an eternity in Hell, but they never genuinely trusted in the Lord for their salvation. There is no evidence Judas Iscariot was ever a true apostle. In fact, Judas was chosen because it had been prophecied that one of the disciples would betray Jesus. In fact, Jesus even said He chose the twelve, and one was a devil (John 6:70). It is true that disciples must abide in Him to be fruitful. However, one who is not a genuine believer will not remain in Christ, in fact has never taken root in Christ in the first place, as in the parable of the sower. Paul Warned Christians of ApostasyIf we read 1 Corinthians 10 in context, we see that Paul is not actually talking about salvation. He is talking about avoiding sin. There are those who fall into temptation and sin. Some do die from their sin, as I mentioned there is a sin that leads to death. However, God will never allow us to be tempted more than we can bear, and He will always provide the way out. No Christian has to sin, there is always a way out of it, which God provides. This also goes to show that there are those who are not genuine believers. In the first few verses we read of people who went through the motions, being baptized, eating the same spiritual food, drinking the same spiritual drink, but God was not pleased with them. If they do not genuinely believe, if the Word never takes root in their lives, God will not be pleased with them. Even if one does fall, they can repent and God will be faithful to forgive them (1 John 1:9). Examples of ApostasyFirst, this passage shows that if anyone were to "fall away," that they could never again be saved because God will not allow His Son to be sacrificed again. However, as I have already stated, one who is genuinely saved will continue on in the faith because God's Word has taken root. Those who fall away never had the Word take root in their lives and so won't persevere forever, or usually they won't persevere very long. They will fall away when temptation comes against them, when life gets hard, or when they perceive something better has come along. Provision for the FallenI agree that sin separates us from God. That is why a believer must repent of their sins before making their petitions known before God, so that He will hear their prayers. However, what if someone dies with sin in their life? Does that person go to Hell, even if they're saved? I don't believe they will. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus died for all our sins: past, present, and future (Heb. 10:10, 14). If someone dies unexpectedly, without having repented of any sins, they are still sanctified by the blood of Jesus. If Simon was saved in that event, Peter was not saying "repent or you will perish"; he was using strong language to show Simon how sinful it was to think that the Spirit of the Lord could be purchased with money. He also told Simon, "and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. " God will be faithful and just to forgive our sins if we ask, so why would Peter say "if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you" if it definitely would, according to the Scriptures. He was showing that his attitude toward the Spirit of the Lord was incredibly heinous. In fact, he might not have even received the Holy Spirit when the apostles laid their hands on the people, because we also read that Peter said, "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. "Acts 13:43: the followers were admonished to continue "in the grace of God" as a reminder that God works within them. II Corinthians 6:1: Receiving the grace of God "in vain" would be what I already described. To hear the Word, to receive it with gladness, but not to let it take root in your heart. To never actually let it change you, to accept it only because you like what you hear, or you want to escape judgment. Those "believers" don't last for long. Philippians 2:12: As we see in the following verse, it is God who works in us both to will and do for His good pleasure. If God is the one who works in us, surely He is strong enough to keep us on the right path. We don't work out to get a body, we work out to develop our body. In the same way, we work out our salvation so that we can grow in the path of righteousness to become more and more like God. We work out our salvation in fear and trembling because it's God who works in us, and God is so much higher than us. Paul talked about being with the Corinthians in fear and trembling (1 Cor. 2:3), because the words he spoke were not his own, but the Spirit working within him. We are also told to perfect holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). I have shown that Dan has fundamentally misunderstood the doctrine of eternal security, therefore creating a strawman argument against it. I have also shown how his arguments do not stand. I look forward to our next round.