Saturday, January 23, 2021

Can You Walk Away from the Faith?

 

Photo by Liftam 2008

God’s freely given gift of salvation and eternal life, once received, changes us forever. Born-again believers who have placed their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6) cannot return to eternal death, any more than a butterfly can go back to being a caterpillar or than a child can return to the egg and sperm from whence he came.

How then can we explain those who say they are saved but then appear to walk away from the faith, as brought up by a dear reader of this blog in her comments on the post, “Who Needs the Law?” If a person trusts Christ but then chooses to walk away from the faith, can they lose their salvation, as some Scripture verses appear to suggest at first glance?

One of these verses is 1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.

The verse refers to false teachers preaching heresy, perverting the truth of the Gospel and telling lies to delude others without even feeling guilty, because their conscience is seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2)

For example, they preach salvation by works, saying that to be saved, it is necessary not to marry and to follow strict dietary laws, implying wrongly that we are saved not by God’s grace, but by our own self-righteousness in keeping the law (1 Timothy 4:3).

Or, the product of false belief may be a reprobate mind that rebels against God’s authority, not only wanting to sin, but taking pride in it (Romans 1:28).

Even though a born-again believer in Christ has the Holy Spirit within (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13), and hence the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), he still has the sin nature of Adam (Romans 5:12). He may fall prey to these lies, particularly if he neglects Bible study, prayer, and worship. He may have quenched and grieved the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30) within him so many times that he no longer hears His warning against false teaching and against sin.

In this case, some souls who appear to have accepted Christ, to have been born again (John 3:3-8), and even show evidence of a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17) suddenly “walk away” from the faith. In the movie Signs, a faithful preacher and man of God “loses” his faith when his wife dies in a car accident.

No doubt we all know of real life examples where someone we thought was a born-again Christian becomes a Jehovah’s Witness, Muslim, or Mormon and even tries to convert Christian friends to these religions. If they were born again into God’s family, have they now lost the salvation that God gave them (Ephesians 2:4-9) and that only God can keep (John 10:28-29) for them? Have they lost the gift He promised them of “eternal” life? Would not that negate almighty God’s total, complete and perfect power? 

The apostle Paul said it is possible for a believer to “deny the faith” by not providing for his family, making him worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8). Does that mean that a Christian father who can no longer earn money because he loses his job or becomes disabled is no longer saved? What about the Christian father who makes bad business decisions motivated by greed, or who falls prey to a drug, alcohol or gambling addiction that consumes his earnings?

And Paul added that young widows who were once faithful in serving Christ may “cast off their first faith,” turning to idleness, gossip, and worldly ways, resulting in their “damnation,” meaning not eternal damnation, or loss of salvation, but rather reproach (1 Timothy 5:11-15). The analogy would be to a student getting a demerit on his record, but not getting expelled from school.

Sadly, many who are saved do not live as if they were saved, and sometimes we refer to these as “backslidden” (Jeremiah 2:19; 5:6; 8:5). Yet when the nation of Israel was backsliding, God asked her to return to Him, for He would be merciful and no longer angry, and He would love, heal and provide for her (Jeremiah 3:12,22; Hosea 4:16;14:4)  

If a son walks away from his father; disrespects him, his faith, and his heritage; and squanders his inheritance, as in the parable of the prodigal son, he is still his father’s child, and nothing can change that fact. When the prodigal came to his senses, his father welcomed him back with loving arms, ran to meet him, and celebrated his return  (Luke 15:11-32).

But what if the prodigal had died while he was still in the pig pen? Would that have made him any less the son of his father? In modern times, sadly we hear all too often of a son rebelling against his father, running away, stealing from the family and even murdering his own father. But can all these evil wrongs change the biological fact that the two are inexorably united as flesh and blood?

Once we are saved, we are God’s children (Romans 8:16-21). Just as a father cannot do away with the fact that his son is biologically his, so Our Father does not expel us from His family even if we walk away from Him. Once we are saved by His grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), we become His child forever. Similarly, He did not disown His chosen people Israel even when they were repeatedly unfaithful and served false gods.

A loving father would not simply ignore his disobedient or runaway child, but would do all within his power to restore their relationship. Similarly, God will never abandon His rebellious child, but will remain faithful and true as He guides him back to loving fellowship using all measures at His disposal. 

Let us listen to God's still, small, voice when He lovingly entreats us to return to fellowship with Him, and not wait until He has to smack us on the head with a 2 x 4 to get our attention!

© 2015 Laurie Collett
Reposted from the archives





6 comments:

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
it is difficult to know what the future of every 'Christian', but I do know that it is good to do our utmost to serve our lovely Lord while on this earth. I have always wondered what the 'heavens' are in the scriptures, and who is taken to all of them. As you know, I really believe I was taken to the third heaven at the time of my NDE, but who are taken to the other heavens, as in 'God created the heavens' and why. I also find this scripture getting me thinking. 'Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.' Matthew ch. 7 v. 21. The main thing that we have to do, as a believer, is to do our best to be guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit, and to act upon the Word spoken to us through our daily 'mana' as we grow in our Lord. God bless you Laurie as we all interact with one another with what our Lord has given us to encourage one another.

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
Thank you for your insight into the doctrine of Eternal Security of the Believer.
I have often pondered about those who sincerely professed Jesus Christ as their Saviour and then later fall away from the faith. A very famous example of this was Charles Templeton, a one-time American evangelist who was close friends with Billy Graham. During his heyday, his public preaching has brought many to Christ. Then, when doubt began to fill his mind, he fell away.
After reading a bit about Templeton's life, I was able in a way to piece together an idea of what might have happened:
That Templeton was shown "proof" of Darwinism and "evidence" from the sedimentary rock layers that the earth is billions of years old, and therefore validating Darwin's theory that the human race had evolved from primates, hence negating the historicity of Divine Creation and the reality of Adam's existence.
Therefore with death already at work long before Adam ever came to be - if he ever existed at all - Templeton concluded that Adam's sin was not the cause of death and therefore, there was no need for Christ to die to atone for sin.
But to judge whether Templeton is in heaven or hell is not for me to say dogmatically. But if there was good evidence that he won many to Christ - something only the Holy Spirit can do within him - there is good reason to believe that Templeton is now in Heaven, after having his tears wiped away by his loving Father, when he realised that his former belief in Darwin had cost him his eternal rewards.
I hope you don't mind this being such a long comment.
Blessings to you and Richard.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Interesting point about the 'heavens.' I believe that the first heaven is our atmosphere, where birds and airplanes fly; the second heaven is outer space, containing the stars and galaxies, and the third Heaven is where God is on the throne and Jesus Christ is at His right hand. When born-again believers die, I believe they go to the third Heaven to be with Jesus, and the unsaved go to hell, in the center of the earth, a place created for the devil and his angels. May we all trust and serve Him, knowing that our future in Him is secure, and that we will rewarded by Him for our earthly service to Him, if it is done with the right motive.
Thank you as always for your thought provoking comment. God bless you and your lovely ministry,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Frank,
Thank you for your thought-provoking comment and thorough discussion. Only God knows the hearts. It is sad how Darwinianism has perverted the truth and corrupted the minds and hearts of so many. I personally believe that like anyone, if Templeton were truly saved to begin with, then he is in heaven today. Adam and Eve had a perfect e3nvironment and perfect fellowship with God, but believed Satan's lies anyway. Yet I believe they were saved despite their sin, as is evidenced by Eve's subsequent belief in God's promises, and their education of their children regarding God's commandment for a blood sacrifice.
Thanks again for your comment, and may God bless you and Alex,
Laurie

Donald Fishgrab said...

Great post, Laurie.

Peter was quite clear when he said believers are kept by the power of God, but that in no wise contradicts Jesus' statement about not everyone who claims to believe is saved. Matthew 24:24 warns, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Because they have the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth, it isn't possible for him to completely deceive them. Thankfully, God is the judge, and not me.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Donald! Only God knows the hearts. May His Spirit guide us into all truth, and may we be vigilant to not fall into the devil's snares.
Thanks again for your comment, and God bless,
Laurie