Many Christians (especially Baptists) are fond of claiming “once saved always saved”, and there is truth in that statement. Those who are genuinely saved will indeed never lose it. But many misinterpret that teaching to mean that anyone who makes a profession of faith is genuinely saved and can never be lost. But scripture gives no such blanket assurance. In fact, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that many will make “professions” of faith who were never saved at all. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus indicated that many would say to Him, “Lord, Lord” but that He would say to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

Though it does not teach that everyone who ever professes faith is saved, the Bible does assert that those who are genuinely saved will indeed never lose their salvation. However, it also teaches that those who are genuinely saved will demonstrate it by persevering in their faith: “holding it fast” to the end.

There are two verses in Hebrews 3 which teach this doctrine, called “The Perseverance of the Saints”:
— :6 “But Christ was faithful as a son over His house — Whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.”
— :14 “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”
Each of these verses, using the phrase “if we hold fast”, teach the doctrine of “The Perseverance of the Saints”, that is, that those who are genuinely saved will not fall away from the faith, but will hold to their profession to the end.

Verse 6 says that we are His house, “IF we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” It says that we are not His just because we claim that we are, but that we demonstrate the reality of our claim by holding our faith fast to the end.

Then verse 14 asserts “we have become partakers of Christ”, NOT just because we make a profession of faith, but “IF we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.” Again, persevering in one’s faith demonstrates the reality of that faith.

Now, lest someone think that these verses teach that a person EARNS salvation by persevering in their faith, let us look for a moment at the verb tenses used in these verses:

— :6 says “Whose house we ARE (present tense verb) if we hold fast our confidence …”. He does NOT say we “will become” His house if we hold fast our faith, but we ARE NOW His house, if we subsequently demonstrate that faith is genuine by persevering in it.
— then :14 adds: “We HAVE BECOME partakers of Christ (perfect tense verb: a PAST action with abiding present results) if we hold … firm until the end.” We do not become partakers of Christ in the future as a “reward” for holding firm, rather, holding firm until the end demonstrates that we ALREADY WERE partakers of Christ! This is an important distinction.

Thus perseverance in our faith does not “earn” us salvation. It just demonstrates that we have all along possessed genuine, saving faith. So one might indeed claim, “Once saved; always saved.” But he might do better to assert, “IF saved, always saved”, as well as adding that “If saved, he will PERSEVERE in his profession to the end”!