Finding verses supporting the fact that the moment a person puts all of their trust in Jesus's finished work to get them to Heaven, they are irrevocably saved from Hell and given Eternal Life, regardless of:
This doctrine will be attacked perpetually by those who:
Notes regarding a verse will be below the verse, and we will go in order of the books of the New Testament.
Press ctrl + f on your keyboard to search the page.
Mark 16:16
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
No, this does not teach Baptismal Regeneration. He that believeth and stands on one leg shall be saved. What's the essential part? Well, we learn from the similar dichotomies given in John 3:18, and John 3:36 that the essential part is belief.
Luke 8:12
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
The Devil knows that once they believe, they are saved, so he works to harden the hearts of those that hear the word lest they believe it. Notice the Devil apparently doesn't care about anything other than preventing their belief. Personal holiness isn't mentioned. Neither is a devious scheme to stop up the plumbing to prevent water baptism.
Luke 7:50
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
Luke 17:19
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
In regard to the two passages above, "thy faith has made thee whole/saved thee" is used many many times by the Lord, but the two here are specifically and obviously in regard to eternal Salvation, in context. I see in these verses the fact that the Lord wanted to give people assurance of Salvation. He did not make them wait on pins and needles.
John 1:12
12 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:
This verse is reiterated in Galatians 3:26 and in 1 John 5:1. There is not a single verse in Scripture even hinting at the idea that once you've been born into God's family, you can ever be unborn/kicked out of the family. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again (John 3:3, 3:7), and compares this spiritual birth to a fleshly, aka "water" birth (John 3:5-6). That is, an event that happens at a moment in time, as opposed to a process that takes a lifetime.
John 3:14-16
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The only way to get around this clear teaching is to redefine faith to mean good works and obedience, which the Scriptures declare cannot be done as that would be a category error (Romans 4:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:6).
John 3:18
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Notice the black-and-white nature of the two dichotomies. None can be saved without belief that Jesus is their Christ (John 8:24: 1 John 5:1), but those who believe have Eternal Life and shall not in any circumstance come under condemnation. Notice that eternal life is a present possession. They have eternal life. And eternal life, by definition, can never be lost, or it wasn't eternal. "Temporary" eternal life is a doctrine invented by a false prophet who needs logical impossibilities to cling to their religious dogma.
John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Notice that those who have eternal life shall not - speaking of the future - come into condemnation. In no future possibility can they be condemned. Once again, Eternal Life is spoken of as a present possession.
John 6:35
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
The Scriptures always liken Salvation to something easy, or something that takes a moment - in this case, eating a piece of bread. I did an entire article on the Bible's metaphors for Salvation which gives many such examples. He doesn't say whoever eats and keeps eating will never hunger - such a point would be redundant and superfluous. Jesus states that if someone comes to him, then they will in no future scenario ever hunger, and that no one who believes in Him will ever thirst (like they do in Hell).
John 6:39-40
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Here the will of God is clearly defined in regard to Salvation, and works aren't even mentioned. This is the will spoken of by the Lord in the oft-twisted passage Matthew 7:21. The Father's will is that every single last person which trusts Jesus Christ to save them will have Everlasting Life and never be lost.
John 6:47
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, or Eternal Life is obtained at the moment of faith in Him. This is the clearest statement of faith alone for Eternal Life in the Bible. The only recourse to dismiss it must be to redefine faith to mean doing works, which as I've already pointed out, simply cannot be done (Romans 4:5). I, an ordinary human, because I have believed on Jesus Christ, will live forever in perfect harmony with the God of the universe.
John 8:24
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
To give some context, believing that Jesus is "he" means that you are believing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ (1 John 5:1). This is why none can be saved without Jesus, because there is no other Christ, no other means by which to pay for sin. Only blood atonement of the Christ can appease God's justice and pay for sin (Hebrews 9:22, 9:12).
John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Am I alive? Check. Do I believe in Jesus as my Messiah? Check. Will I ever die? Never.
John 16:8-9
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
They aren't reproved because of the sin per-se. They're reproved because they refuse to take the cure for their sin, the payment that God paid for with his own blood. Why do men reject the cure? It's like refusing to drink life-giving water (John 4:10-14) that's offered to you when stranded in the vast Sahara Desert because you'd rather try to dig a well through hundreds of yards of sand with a plastic shovel to get your own.
John 20:31
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
To those who say that tracts are useless - be sure to inform the Apostle John. He was fully under the impression that written material can persuade men to trust the Messiah, as that is why he sat down to right the book. I am proof-positive that written material can save, as I was led to the Lord through the ministry of GotQuestions.org, as you can read in my testimony.
Acts 10:43
43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Remember this next time someone tries to tell you that Acts 2:38 is the Gospel. Show them this verse and Acts 10:47, because in tandem the same speaker of Acts 2:38 (Peter) makes it clear that the remission of sins is through faith, and that people receive the Holy Ghost who have not yet been baptized (Acts 10:47).
Acts 13:38-39
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
There are still people today who fail to understand why the Law was given. It was to show us our need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24). No one has ever kept the Law, in whole or in part, because once you break any aspect of it, you are as guilty as if you had broken each point of it (James 2:10).
Binding yourself to keeping any aspect of the Law for Salvation is binding yourself to keeping all of it perfectly (Galatians 5:3), which no one has ever done except Jesus Christ. This is why no one can be justified by the Law (Galatians 2:16, 3:11, Romans 3:20).
Acts 15:9-11
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Here we have Peter rebuking those who went about teaching that people had to be circumcised to be saved. And beyond circumcision, how many hundreds of different things have men throughout the ages tried to add to the simple Gospel? These additions are likened to yoke which none can bear in verse 10, because if any aspect of human effort is involved, then perfect obedience is required and the grace of God is nullified (Romans 11:6). But we know that, as mentioned in verse 11, grace - unmerited favor, is the means by which God provides Salvation to His hurting, desperate creation.
The true Gospel, that our hearts are made perfectly spotless and pure by faith alone, has always and will always stand in stark contrast to the dozens of things men have dreamed up as the way to curry favor with God.
Acts 16:30-31
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
What must I do to be saved? What a poignant question to ask for a man that was about to kill himself in despair not one moment beforehand (Acts 16:27). He wanted to know how to be saved, but saved from what? From his sins (Matthew 1:21). The answer given, so concise, so clear - believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord (God, deity), he was a man named Jesus, and He is truly humanity's Christ (Messiah, Savior).
Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Paul says that the Gospel message is what leads us to faith in Jesus, and consequently we are saved. It does not say that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that "behaveth", or "liveth a good life".
The fact that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead gets us to put our faith in Him, because it shows us what He did for us as a Savior. The Gospel means "good news", and it's good news that Salvation is free because of the atoning work of Jesus. Lordship Salvation and other forms of work Salvation are invariably bad news. Hearing that you have to obey God to some unspecified degree until you die or else you'll go to Hell is horrible news.
Romans 3:22-26, 28, 30
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
I wanted to break this up for easier digesting, but it all flows together so well. It's a relentless condemnation of the idea that someone can keep the Law to please God, and a repeated reminder of the basis for our justification - faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. This is the solution to the dilemma presented earlier in the chapter (Romans 3:10, 12), that none of us are righteous. Therefore the way to be made righteous is to obtain the righteousness of God by faith, which frees us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:10, 13).
Romans 4:3-8
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Again, I can't break up the passage without breaking the flow of the point that Paul is hammering again and again - that it is by the mercy of God which is obtained through faith in the Messiah that He provided, not by our own efforts, that we are declared righteous in His sight. The examples of Abraham and David are testimonies to the fact that Salvation has always been by faith (Acts 15:11), as all of the prophets gave witness to the coming Messiah (Acts 10:43, 26:22).
Also notice that verse 5 plainly shows that while "faith without works is dead" (James 2), it is sufficient to save any sinner. If faith alone without works doesn't justify a sinner, then verse 5 is meaningless. If some unknown quantity of works always follow faith, then verse 5 has said nothing at all, and is deceptive, and false.
Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
I have peace with my creator, because the Messiah reconciled me from the condemnation of the Law (Romans 3:20) which I've broken innumerable times. I am a guilty convict, the Judge is God, and yet my sentence has been paid for by another man.
Atheists call this substitutionary redemption 'injustice', and in so doing blaspheme the perfectly just God of the universe, who is made just by the fact that the atonement applies to all men (1 John 2:2). The gift of justification is offered to all, for free, and therefore the substitutionary redemption of Christ cannot be called injustice. Just because you refuse it, don't be mad or cry 'injustice!' if those that sinned against you accepted it.
Romans 9:33, 10:11
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
"Ashamed" means disappointed, and this references Isaiah 28:16. Catholics say that you can believe and be disappointed. So do Lutherans. So do Charismatics. They all believe that a genuine believer can wind up in Hell, completely refuting this verse. I won't be disappointed that I chose to believe in Jesus, because my hope is totally in Him, and He is reliable.
Romans 10:3-4
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Faith in Christ gives us the righteousness of God (Romans 3:22). I am as righteous as Jesus Christ. In God's sight, I've kept the Law perfectly, because Jesus's righteousness has been imputed to me. That's the only way to meet the terrible demands of the Law, which requires a righteousness which no man, try as they might, can ever hope to achieve.
This is because the new man born again in every believer is utterly sinless and incapable of sin (1 John 3:9). While we live on earth, this new man struggles against the old man of our first, fleshly birth (Galatians 5:17), something I cover in-detail in an article entitled Every Believer Has Two Natures.
1 Corinthians 1:21
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
It pleased God to save them that believe, not them that behave. That's the will of God. Trying to get around it doesn't make any difference. He's chosen to save all those that believe, period.
Galatians 3:11-13
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Those who would teach a "repent of your sins" for Salvation are teaching that a man can be justified in part by the Law, because sin is the transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4). We are not justified in any sense by the Law. We live, and have Eternal Life, by faith (John 6:47).
Galatians 3:22-26
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
What an excellent passage to demonstrate the purpose and role of the Law, and the Law's relation to Jesus Christ. Verse 26 mirrors the message of John 1:12, and 1 John 5:1, that we become children of God, born again spiritually into God's family, by faith plus absolutely nothing.
Ephesians 1:12-14
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Yet another excellent proof that we can never lose our Salvation. Ephesians 4:30, and 2 Corinthians 1:22 also bear witness to this fact - we as believers are sealed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit until a fixed point in time (the resurrection). We are sealed forever by the God of the universe, and nothing whatsoever can possibly break that seal.
Furthermore, it is called the Holy Spirit of promise - what promise? The promise itself is Everlasting Life (1 John 2:25, Titus 1:2).
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Every single denomination (even Catholic) will claim that they aren't earning Heaven by good works. They will say, in accordance with this verse, that Christ is the only reason that they can get to Heaven. You just, well, ehh.. Still need to have good works to get to Heaven. But you aren't saved by your works! But if you don't do them you won't be saved. This will never be anything more than a contradiction.
Every false branch of Christianity tries to sneak works into the definition of faith. In doing so, they must literally cut this verse out of Scripture with scissors, or pretend it doesn't exist, or assert that it doesn't say what it clearly says, because it repudiates them.
Philippians 3:9
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Pairs excellently with Romans 10:3-4. Through faith in Jesus Christ, I have God's righteousness. When God looks at me, He doesn't see the sinful flesh. He sees His Son's righteousness.
1 Timothy 1:15-16
15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Are you a good person? Okay, this message isn't for you then. The Gospel is for sinners who need a Savior. And this Savior gives them eternal life, and saves them from Hell.
1 Timothy 4:10
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
A great verse for the Deity of Christ. This, along with John 5:24, equate faith in Jesus Christ with faith in God. That is, we believe the record that God gave of His Son, that whoever believes in Him has Eternal Life (1 John 5:10-13).
2 Timothy 3:15
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Another proof, along with John 20:31, that it's possible to get saved by reading the Bible. Is it easier and more likely to get saved if someone explains it to you? Yes. Are the Scriptures still able to make you wise unto Salvation by faith in Christ? Yes, without a doubt.
Titus 3:5-7
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Since we are justified by his grace, works are foreign to our justification (Romans 11:6). Notice that the Law isn't mentioned. A common way to dismiss Romans 4:5 and Romans 3:28 is to say that we don't have to keep the Law, but we still must do good works to be saved. Titus 3:5 makes it clear, we are saved by God's mercy, "not by works of righteousness which we have done".
Furthermore, the Law contains things like prohibitions on lying, stealing, adultery, and all kinds of other things that we are expected to follow today. Therefore this assertion is just more grasping at straws by those desperate to have a role in their own Salvation.
1 Peter 1:5
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
God keeps all those who have come to Him without exception (John 6:37). This is a fantastic Eternal Security verse, mirroring ones such as Philippians 1:6, and Ephesians 4:30. The Bible is clear that God himself is the one securing our Salvation, therefore we can in no circumstance lose it. It's secured by the most powerful being imaginable.
1 John 5:1
1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
Pairs well with John 1:12 and Galatians 3:26, both of which also testify to the fact that we are born into God's family by faith alone. Belief in Jesus Christ is how you meet the demands of John 3:7, where we are told that "[we] must be born again". Our new birth is of "incorruptible seed" (1 Peter 1:23) because God is our father.
1 John 5:11-13
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Verse 12 parallels the other dichotomies in John 3:18 and in John 3:36, where he makes it abundantly clear that the only factor determining whether or not someone goes to Heaven or Hell is based on whether they've trusted Jesus Christ to save them or not. Verse 13 is an exhortation to confidence assurance to those of us that have believed, that we can know that we have Everlasting Life as a present possession.
In reality, this only scratches the surface of the New Testament's teaching on faith alone. If this list was totally exhaustive, it would need to include almost the entire chapters of Romans 3, 4 and 5, Ephesians 1 and 2, Galatians chapter 3, all of the references in the Gospels where Jesus likens saved people to children, the passages that Jesus is called the Savior/Lamb of God (either he is or you are, pick one), all the chapters that explain the blood atonement, the fulfillment of the Law, etc.
These verses are just the ones that are especially good for quoting and memorization. The message is so, so clear - Salvation is a free gift, and it's received through faith alone in Christ alone.