Before moving on in this section, which is a warning against falling away, I want to quote Tom Hale. I found this in a general article taken from the opening pages of his ‘Applied New Testament Commentary.’ The piece is entitled: ‘Can we lose our salvation?’ (pp.41-45). I find his balanced approach extremely helpful:

‘Thus we see that some verses in the New Testament support the idea that a believer cannot lose his salvation, and other verses support the idea that he can lose it. Surely we must be seeing here two sides of a great truth, which our human minds cannot fully grasp. God’s wisdom is greater than ours.

Someone has said that believers need to hold in balance both of these truths. For the believer who is anxious about his salvation, one should emphasize the truth that his salvation is secure. Whereas for the believer who is overly confident that he cannot fall, one should emphasize the truth that he can indeed fall. Here again, we see the depth and richness of the Bible. The Bible meets the needs of every man and woman.’ (P.43).

‘…from New Testament times until now, Christians have had different opinions about whether or not a true believer can lose his salvation. The Bible does not give an unequivocal teaching on this subject. Therefore, whatever view we hold, we must not allow our opinion to separate us from our Christian brothers and sisters who may think differently on this question.’ (P.45).