One of Christianity's most hotly debated doctrines took center stage this week as Lakepointe Church Senior Pastor Josh Howerton and fellow pastors Paul Cunningham and Carlos Erazo tackled the question that has divided believers for generations: Can a Christian lose their salvation?
Their answer was immediate-and unanimous.
"Absolutely not," Cunningham declared during a recent episode of Live Free With Josh Howerton, arguing that genuine believers are eternally secure because "the same grace that saves us also changes and sustains us."
Howerton acknowledged that the topic is deeply personal for many Christians, especially those who fear losing their own salvation or who have watched loved ones walk away from the faith.
"This is one of the most common questions," Howerton said. "It's extremely emotional for people."
Rather than relying on tradition or emotion, the pastors insisted the debate must be settled by Scripture. Cunningham cited passages including John 10:26-29, Romans 8:28-30, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, Jeremiah 32:40, and John 6:38-40 as evidence that those whom God saves will ultimately persevere.
The conversation didn't shy away from the Bible's most difficult passages either.
Howerton challenged Cunningham with Jesus' Parable of the Sower, noting that some listeners appear to respond positively to God's Word before falling away. Cunningham responded that those individuals may have displayed outward signs of faith without ever possessing genuine saving faith.
"There will be people who, from a human perspective, appear to evidence salvation," Howerton summarized, "but the Bible shows us were not actually, in the spiritual realm, saved."
The trio also wrestled with warning passages in Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10, texts frequently cited by Christians who believe salvation can be lost. Cunningham argued those warnings should be taken seriously but maintained they do not overturn the broader biblical teaching of eternal security. He also pointed out that if Hebrews 6 refers to believers losing salvation, the passage appears to teach they could never regain it-a conclusion many who reject eternal security would also find difficult.
Throughout the discussion, the pastors distinguished between the visible church-those who outwardly profess faith-and the invisible church, made up of those who are truly regenerate. In their view, people who ultimately abandon Christianity reveal that they were never genuinely converted, rather than proving salvation can be forfeited.
The episode is the latest theological discussion from Howerton, who leads the Dallas-area multisite megachurch and has frequently generated conversation for his sermons and outspoken teaching on controversial biblical topics.
