As Christians, we understand and are thankful for that fact that the gift of salvation is available to anyone who places their faith in Christ.
"Whosoever will may Come," is the cry that we bellow when emphasizing the breadth of the call for a lost and dying world to be saved. John 3:15 states, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." The destiny of the eternal soul brinks on the simple decision of an individual to believe on Jesus Christ.
Acts 10:43| "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
We know that salvation is available to the uttermost who believe. But what if someone is incapable of believing? Or, what if someone willingly relinquishes their ability to be saved? Or, what if someone doesn't want to "retain God in their knowledge"? Can we say, with Scriptural integrity, that if a person doesn't even want to possess the knowledge of God, that they could possibly want to accept His Son and the free gift of salvation? The truth is, as powerful as the gospel may be, it cannot save someone who does not want to be saved. Hell is filled with people who rejected the gospel and chose damnation over eternal life, and no Bible believing Christian would say that anyone in hell could still be saved because we know that for that individual, it is already too late.
In like manner, the Bible also teaches that a person can reach the point of no return a lot sooner than that. This is what is known as the "reprobate doctrine" which essentially teaches that a person can abrogate their opportunity to be saved even while they are physically alive. To deny this would be to contest clear and concise portions of scripture. Here are some examples:
BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST
MATTHEW 12:32 "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
Jesus Christ performed miracles that should have undoubtably authenticated His Deity before the masses. And. although many believed on Him because of it, there were others who not only rejected His works but even went as far as to bring a railing accusation against Him claiming that He was able to perform those miracles by the power of Satan. It's one thing to refuse to believe that the miracles happened, it's quite another to believe they were legitimate but that they were an act of Satan rather than the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:24 states, "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." The Pharisees were essentially claiming that Jesus was possessed by an unclean spirit, and by doing so they eternally sealed their fate and damned their souls forever because, "...whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." This is undeniable proof that a person can forfeit their opportunity to be saved even before they die by blaspheming the Holy Ghost.
Contrary to common teaching, blasphemy against the Holy Ghost isn't referring to someone who is in a perpetual state of unbelief. As vindictive and harsh as it may sound, it is the action that provokes the Lord to remove a person's ability to ever believe and receive
the gift of salvation. This is clear by the latter end of verse 32 when it states, "it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Since the Lord is the only one that can permanently forgive sins, this shows us that it is He that carries out this eternal punishment while the person is still alive. This should come as no surprise since the Bible states in John 12:39-40, "Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."
TAMPERING WITH GOD'S ETERNAL WORD
Another example of the an individual becoming a reprobate can be found in the act of deliberately changing God's Word. God does not take tampering with His Word lightly and the removal from or adding to has grave and even eternal consequences. Revelation 22:19 states, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." Taking away from God's eternal Word is so grievous in the sight of God that the punishment for it is to be permanently removed from the Book of Life. Everyone's name starts off in the book of life because God is not willing that any should perish. The Lord's desire is for all men to be saved. It is for that reason that the registry of the book of life contained the names of every human being throughout history. However, individuals names are blotted out when they die without Christ, blaspheme the Holy Ghost, or (in this case) add to or take away from God's Word. This further proves the fact that people can relinquish their opportunity to be saved even in this life.
TWICE DEAD & PLUCKED UP BY THE ROOTS
The Bible references the second death in Revelation 20:14 and Revelation 21:8 and is essentially referring to those who are already suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. They are suffering in the current location of hell, but they will then be relocated to the lake of fire after the White Throne Judgment. Thus, referred to as the "second death" implying the current location of hell would be the first. Jude 12, when talking about false prophets, states "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots..." Notice the phrase "twice dead." This means that God views the person as thought they were already in the lake of fire also known as the second death. This places false prophets into the group the Bible describes as reprobates, which explains why 2 Peter 2:17 says, "These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever." Further proving that there are people in this world who have eternally relinquished their privilege to be saved.
Without a doubt, there are individuals in this world who are reprobate concerning the faith. 2 Timothy 3:7 states that these people are, "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Listen to the sermon below for a more exhaustive study on the reprobate doctrine.