Does Mortal Sin Lead to

a “Light Bulb” Salvation?

The objection is occasionally raised that the Catholic belief that by committing a  mortal sin one can lose salvation only to regain it shortly after is a sort of "light bulb" salvation, where one moment it is on, the next it's off.  One moment a person is saved, the next he is not. This idea is said to be unbiblical because it seems to speak to a certain instability that some have a difficult time seeing being a part of a relationship with God.

 

There are two problems with this.  First, Catholic theology doesn't understand mortal sin this way.  The Catholic understanding of this would say that in reality, salvation is not a light bulb salvation, but to the human mind, the linear "saved, unsaved, saved" way of looking at things is about the best understanding that is possible.  Catholic theology does not limit God and force Him into a human understanding of time.  In reality, how the salvation of a person works is much more complicated than men could understand.  

Second, the fact is that the concept that justification can be lost or restored is quite Scriptural.  There are many different passages that one could point to show this, however an example is often better suited to illustrating a point, especially in Scripture.  There is one particular example in Scripture where this can be seen.  To begin, consider Christ’s teaching on denying Him in Matthew 10:32-33:

 

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

It is clear that whoever denies Christ will be denied.  Nobody who has denied Christ can enter into Heaven without repenting and seeking forgiveness from God, which of course He would mercifully grant.  Jesus teaches something similar later on in Matthew, saying, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (16:25) During the Last Supper, an exchange between Peter and Christ occurs which builds upon this point:

 

Peter answered him, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away."  Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!" And all the disciples said the same. (26:33-35)

Later, during the trial of Christ, Peter did indeed deny His Lord three times.  A relationship can be seen between Peter’s actions and Christ’s teaching.  Peter denied Christ to save his life, and Christ said that if one did that he would lose his life. When Peter denied Christ to save his life, he did not physically die, so earthly life could not be what Christ was talking about.  Therefore, it is clear that had Peter died that moment, he would not have been saved.  He did have faith before this. There is no reason to think that he was not in a state of salvation at that time.  In fact, because of the usage of the terminology “fall away” in the Last Supper account, it is clear that Peter had something to fall away from; he must have been saved.  Luke’s Last Supper account provides further evidence of this when Jesus says to Peter, “and when you are turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (22:32)  The fact that Peter can be turned “again” shows that he would be turning back to what he already had before.  Because his sin was denying Christ, his turning back again would be to acknowledging Christ.

 

Thus it is clear that Peter lost salvation at the time of Christ’s trial.  Jesus teaches that whoever denies Christ would be denied by Christ to the Father.  The Scriptures record that Peter denied Christ.  If Peter had died at that moment, Christ would have denied Peter before the Father and he would not have been saved.  Jesus also teaches that whoever saved his life instead of following Christ would lose it, and Peter, in his act of denial, did this as well.  Therefore it is even clearer: Peter, in that act, lost his life.

In John 21, Peter’s return to Christ is recorded. Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times.  Each time, Peter answers yes.  This has consistently been interpreted to be symbolic of repentance from his three-fold denial.  Peter said he loved Christ for each time that he had denied Him.  If he had died at this point, it is quite certain that he would have been saved.  This is a Biblical example of “light bulb” salvation, at least from the human perspective.  How this played out from the eternal perspective of God is not known, and could most likely not be understood.  However, the key to understand as a child of God is that to God’s mind there is stability in this relationship.  Just as with so many things that we do not understand in this life, we need not worry about them.  We should have peace knowing and trusting in God, and remember to rely not upon our own understanding, but only trust in Him, and He will set right our paths. (see Proverbs 3:5)  

 

God Bless,

 

 

Shane Coombs 2005