“If God’s justice demands our pardon in Christ, then how could we ever lose that?
How could we actually ‘fall from grace?’”
Many believe that once a person has become saved, they can be sure of their present status of salvation and have God’s guarantee that they will never lose it. Once we are saved, we will remain saved forever; once the gift of salvation has been received, it is irrevocable. This is called the “once saved, always saved” view, also described as “once in grace, always in grace,” “final perseverance,” and “eternal security.”
The conditionality of staying saved is affirmed in numerous passages. For example, John 8:31 says, “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.’” The key word here, and in the following texts, is IF: “if you continue.” Here, Jesus speaks to those who were already believers and declares that continuing in His word and continuing to believe His teaching is a condition for faithful discipleship. This implies that believers can stop believing and cease being disciples.
The conditional nature of staying saved and the possibility of a believer becoming lost is taught in several scriptures. Let’s look first at John 15:1-6. Here, Jesus is discussing those who are already indeed in a saved state; they are branches that are “in Me” (v. 2), fully attached to the life-giving vine. But Jesus encourages these branches to “abide in Me” (v. 4), implying that whether we abide or remain in the vine is our responsibility. Verse 6 shows that it is possible for one to choose not to abide in Christ: “If anyone does not abide in Me.” If anyone makes this choice, two things follow. 1. The individual who does not abide in Christ (i.e., ceases to believe) “is thrown away as a branch and dries up.” He was at one time inside the church, inside the love of God, inside the circle of grace, but now he is outside, excluded from grace, as the result of his initiative, not God’s. 2. Those who choose to stop believing and who are, as a result, excluded from grace are finally condemned to hell: “They gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (see Matt 13:40-42). Here, the excluded branches themselves, the fallen ones, are burned.
A similar text that shows the conditional nature of staying saved is Rom 11:17-22. Here, the original olive tree represents OT Israel, with the natural branches standing for the Jews; the present version of the olive tree represents the church, with the combination of natural and engrafted branches standing for Jews and Gentiles who have become believers in Christ. In explaining this analogy, Paul makes two points that disprove the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. First, when the natural branches (the Jews) were confronted with the gospel and then refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Lord, “they were broken off for their unbelief” (v. 20). Even if they were true believers in Yahweh and in a saved state before hearing the gospel, by rejecting Christ they became unbelievers, they “fell” (v. 22), and thus were rejected by God and lost their salvation. Second, Paul warns the Gentiles who became believers and were grafted into the olive tree to remain faithful, “for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off” (vv. 21-22). The final responsibility for staying saved belongs to the believer: “if you continue in His kindness.” The result of not continuing is made very clear; “otherwise you also,” like the unbelieving Jews, “will be cut off.”
Another passage to consider is 1 Cor 15:1-2, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain.” Here, Paul speaks to those who have known the gospel facts concerning Jesus (vv. 3-4), who have received them (past tense), who are standing in them (present tense), and who are saved by them (present tense). Indeed, he is speaking of those who have truly “believed” (v. 2). But Paul says that continuing in this saved state is conditioned on continuing to hold fast to these facts or continuing to trust in the saving work of Jesus for salvation: “if you hold fast.” If you do not hold fast, your past and present faith will mean nothing; that faith will be “in vain.”
Another text is Col 1:21-23. Verse 21 describes the Colossians’ (and every Christian’s) former state: “formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.” Verse 22 then relates our present and future states. We are “now reconciled,” i.e., no longer aliens and enemies, but in a saved state because of our faith in the gospel (v. 23). Our future is the complete sanctification and deliverance from sin that characterizes heaven: “to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” However, whether we reach that final salvation depends on whether we continue to believe in Jesus Christ. Verse 23 states this condition: “If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” The unavoidable implication is that we may choose not to “continue in the faith” and may allow ourselves to be “moved away from the hope of the gospel.” Such a contingency would not result from a lapse in God’s protection nor the triumph of an enemy power; it would simply be the individual’s exercise of his God-given free will. The passages just discussed uniformly emphasize the conditionality of staying in a saved state: “if you continue . . . if anyone does not abide in me . . . if you continue . . . if you hold fast . . . if indeed you continue.” Even though now you are genuinely saved, if you do not continue to hold on to Jesus with true faith, you will be truly lost.
In Rom 11:22, Paul speaks of the Jews who became unbelievers as “those who fell,” and he says that any Christian who does not continue to trust in the provisions of God’s grace “will be cut off.” In the former case, the lostness is actual, and in the latter case, it is potential, but in both cases, it is real.
In 1 Cor 9:24-27, the Apostle Paul says that it is possible to run in a race and still lose and not receive the prize (v. 24). Some think this means that undisciplined believers (vv. 25-26) will simply lose their rewards, but not their salvation as such. Verse 27, however, shows this is not the case: “But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” The alternative to finishing the race is to be “disqualified” (adokimos). Every other NT use of this Greek word refers to the state of lostness, not a loss of rewards. Paul is saying that he could lose his salvation if he does not persevere in the race. In addressing the Judaizers in Gal 5:4, Paul affirms that they “have been severed from Christ” and “have fallen from grace.” This is a state of lostness, which was preceded by a state of salvation. They could not have been severed from Christ unless they were joined to him; they could not have fallen from grace unless they had been standing in it (Rom 5:2).
In 2 Pet 2:4, we are told that angels who sinned are “reserved for judgment,” i.e., lost and destined for hell. We must assume that all angels were created holy and in a right relationship with God and that all were created with the free will to remain holy or rebel against God and become lost. In this second chapter, Peter uses the “angels who sinned” as an analogy for Christian teachers who stray into heresy and wickedness and thus lose their salvation (vv. 1-3,9-19). That these teachers at one time were true believers is seen in verse 15, which says they have forsaken the right way and “have gone astray.” This is especially seen in verses 20-22, where these false teachers are described as earlier having “escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 20). As having “known the way of righteousness” (v. 21). They have experienced three states: lost, saved, and lost again, just as “a sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire” (v. 22). The bad news is that “the last [lost again] state has become worse for them than the first” [original] lost state (v. 20). Without doubt this passage refers to specific individuals who fell from grace and lost their salvation. They are “twice dead,” as Jude 12 (NIV) says.
An even more straightforward teaching on the reality of falling from grace is Heb 6:4-8. The entire letter to the Hebrews is based on the fact that such a fall is possible. The letter is being written to Jews (i.e., Hebrews) who had become Christians but who are now thinking they had made a mistake and are seriously considering abandoning their Christian faith and reconverting to Judaism. The theme of the entire letter is the danger and the foolishness of such a decision.
If this decision is not possible, then the whole book of Hebrews is a sham. However, Hebrews is filled with warnings against turning away from Jesus Christ, the only source of salvation (2:1-3; 3:12-14; 4:1,11; 10:26-39; 12:25). The most apparent such warning is Heb 6:4-8. On the one hand, here, the writer is, without doubt, speaking of those who are truly saved since they possess five characteristics of the saved state; here are those five characteristics:
1) They are “enlightened,” i.e., they possess true knowledge and understanding of the gospel.
2) They “have tasted of the heavenly gift,” the gift of salvation in general (Eph 2:8-9).
3) They “have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,” having drunk the living water (John 7:37-39; 1 Cor 12:13).
4) They “have tasted the good word of God,” having believed and received its promises.
5) They have tasted “the powers of the age to come,” referring to the already experienced resurrection from spiritual death (Eph 2:5; Col 2:12-13), in anticipation of the future redemptive resurrection of the body.
The use of the word “taste” in Greek (geuomai) in these verses does not imply a tentative, aborted sampling of salvation in contrast with actual eating or consuming. (See Heb 2:9, where the same word is used for Christ’s tasting death on the cross.) It is used instead to contrast the real but incomplete salvation experienced in this life with the fullness of salvation to be received in glory, in the same sense that the present gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is but a pledge or down payment of the entire inheritance that is to come (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13-14). The fact that those to whom this passage speaks are true Christians is also shown in the statement that, if they fall away, “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance” (v. 6). To speak of renewing them again to repentance indicates that they were once in a state of repentance, indicative of salvation.
On the other hand, it is also clear that this passage warns against the reality of becoming truly lost instead of simply losing one’s rewards. Verse 6 warns against becoming “fallen away,” a state devoid of repentance and hostile to Christ. The fallen one’s life yields “thorns and thistles”; it is “worthless” and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned” (v. 8; see John 15:6).
Passages like these indeed contradict the “once saved, always saved” idea. They cannot be explained away as referring only to people who were never saved in the first place, nor can they be reduced to the loss of rewards rather than of salvation as such. Nor can we say that they are merely hypothetical warnings by which God motivates us to remain faithful by threatening us with a scenario that could never occur. Such a tactic would be deceitful and cruel, unworthy of our gracious and loving Savior.
I hope this has answered the question logically and carefully through a review of God’s word. Before I close, and perhaps I am going too far beyond the question, I believe it is important to consider how one " falls from grace.”
To answer this question, we must remember the central doctrine of grace, that a sinner is justified by faith apart from works of law (Rom 3:28). We not only initially become justified by faith; we also remain justified by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Falling from grace occurs when our faith in the blood of Jesus dies.
The Christian must be on constant guard concerning his faith, using every opportunity to strengthen it and being constantly aware of how it may die. What are the ways in which faith may die? I will suggest three.
First, faith may be put to death through an act of sudden suicide (spiritual, not physical), i.e., by a deliberate decision to stop believing in Christ and his saving work, thus renouncing the Christian faith. This is the choice being contemplated by the converts from Judaism to which the letter to the Hebrews was originally written. They seem to be wondering if they had made a mistake by becoming Christians and were considering renouncing Christ and returning to their OT faith and practice. A similar decision may be and sometimes is made by Christians from other backgrounds, e.g., by someone who has begun to have intellectual doubts about the truth of Christ and His works or who allows a personal tragedy (such as the death of a loved one) to destroy his belief in an all-powerful, all-loving Creator.
A second way faith may die is through slow starvation (spiritual, not physical). Faith does not come into existence full-grown but begins with a stage of infancy, often tender and fragile and definitely in need of maturing and strengthening. Thus, faith must constantly be nurtured, nourished, and exercised. To this end, God has provided us with spiritual disciplines such as those in Acts 2:42: “the apostles’ teaching,” or in post-apostolic times, Bible study; “fellowship,” which includes an active church life; “breaking of bread,” or consistent and faithful participation in the Lord’s Supper; and “prayer.” These are how faith is nourished; to neglect them allows faith to weaken or even to die. This is a true sense in which “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). In his parable of the sower, Jesus warns us of this danger. Sometimes, he says, the seeds of the Word fall “on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; Because they had no root, they withered away” (Matt 13:5-6). This represents “the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet, he has no firm root in himself but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (13:20-21). Faithful participation in the spiritual disciplines mentioned above is necessary to extend faith's roots beyond and beneath the rocky places of life, enabling them to anchor and nourish the Christian life. If we are not careful to extend these roots, spiritual starvation results.
A third way that faith may die is through strangulation by sin. After conversion, if a Christian allows sins to continue and to flourish without fighting against them, they will sooner or later choke the life out of his faith. In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of seeds that “fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out” (Matt 13:7). Jesus explains, “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (13:22).
Some are tempted to think that because God’s grace forgives all sins and salvation is assured, it does not matter if we keep on sinning (Rom 6:1). In response, Paul points out that becoming a Christian involves not just forgiveness but also regeneration, in which we are raised up from a state of spiritual death (Eph 2:1,5) to walk in a new spiritual life where sin does not belong (Rom 6:2-14). But if one continues to live a life controlled by the sins of the flesh, he will surely go back into that state of spiritual death: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13,). Peter warns those who have “escaped the defilements of the world” of the danger of again becoming “entangled in them” and being “overcome” (2 Pet 2:20).
Continuing to purposely sin after becoming a Christian is like opening the gates of the fort and inviting the enemy inside. God will protect us (1 Pet 1:5), but we must make a deliberate effort to keep our faith alive and strong by clinging to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord!
Dick Moser
October 15th, 2024
How could we actually ‘fall from grace?’”
Many believe that once a person has become saved, they can be sure of their present status of salvation and have God’s guarantee that they will never lose it. Once we are saved, we will remain saved forever; once the gift of salvation has been received, it is irrevocable. This is called the “once saved, always saved” view, also described as “once in grace, always in grace,” “final perseverance,” and “eternal security.”
The conditionality of staying saved is affirmed in numerous passages. For example, John 8:31 says, “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.’” The key word here, and in the following texts, is IF: “if you continue.” Here, Jesus speaks to those who were already believers and declares that continuing in His word and continuing to believe His teaching is a condition for faithful discipleship. This implies that believers can stop believing and cease being disciples.
The conditional nature of staying saved and the possibility of a believer becoming lost is taught in several scriptures. Let’s look first at John 15:1-6. Here, Jesus is discussing those who are already indeed in a saved state; they are branches that are “in Me” (v. 2), fully attached to the life-giving vine. But Jesus encourages these branches to “abide in Me” (v. 4), implying that whether we abide or remain in the vine is our responsibility. Verse 6 shows that it is possible for one to choose not to abide in Christ: “If anyone does not abide in Me.” If anyone makes this choice, two things follow. 1. The individual who does not abide in Christ (i.e., ceases to believe) “is thrown away as a branch and dries up.” He was at one time inside the church, inside the love of God, inside the circle of grace, but now he is outside, excluded from grace, as the result of his initiative, not God’s. 2. Those who choose to stop believing and who are, as a result, excluded from grace are finally condemned to hell: “They gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (see Matt 13:40-42). Here, the excluded branches themselves, the fallen ones, are burned.
A similar text that shows the conditional nature of staying saved is Rom 11:17-22. Here, the original olive tree represents OT Israel, with the natural branches standing for the Jews; the present version of the olive tree represents the church, with the combination of natural and engrafted branches standing for Jews and Gentiles who have become believers in Christ. In explaining this analogy, Paul makes two points that disprove the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. First, when the natural branches (the Jews) were confronted with the gospel and then refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Lord, “they were broken off for their unbelief” (v. 20). Even if they were true believers in Yahweh and in a saved state before hearing the gospel, by rejecting Christ they became unbelievers, they “fell” (v. 22), and thus were rejected by God and lost their salvation. Second, Paul warns the Gentiles who became believers and were grafted into the olive tree to remain faithful, “for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off” (vv. 21-22). The final responsibility for staying saved belongs to the believer: “if you continue in His kindness.” The result of not continuing is made very clear; “otherwise you also,” like the unbelieving Jews, “will be cut off.”
Another passage to consider is 1 Cor 15:1-2, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain.” Here, Paul speaks to those who have known the gospel facts concerning Jesus (vv. 3-4), who have received them (past tense), who are standing in them (present tense), and who are saved by them (present tense). Indeed, he is speaking of those who have truly “believed” (v. 2). But Paul says that continuing in this saved state is conditioned on continuing to hold fast to these facts or continuing to trust in the saving work of Jesus for salvation: “if you hold fast.” If you do not hold fast, your past and present faith will mean nothing; that faith will be “in vain.”
Another text is Col 1:21-23. Verse 21 describes the Colossians’ (and every Christian’s) former state: “formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.” Verse 22 then relates our present and future states. We are “now reconciled,” i.e., no longer aliens and enemies, but in a saved state because of our faith in the gospel (v. 23). Our future is the complete sanctification and deliverance from sin that characterizes heaven: “to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” However, whether we reach that final salvation depends on whether we continue to believe in Jesus Christ. Verse 23 states this condition: “If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” The unavoidable implication is that we may choose not to “continue in the faith” and may allow ourselves to be “moved away from the hope of the gospel.” Such a contingency would not result from a lapse in God’s protection nor the triumph of an enemy power; it would simply be the individual’s exercise of his God-given free will. The passages just discussed uniformly emphasize the conditionality of staying in a saved state: “if you continue . . . if anyone does not abide in me . . . if you continue . . . if you hold fast . . . if indeed you continue.” Even though now you are genuinely saved, if you do not continue to hold on to Jesus with true faith, you will be truly lost.
In Rom 11:22, Paul speaks of the Jews who became unbelievers as “those who fell,” and he says that any Christian who does not continue to trust in the provisions of God’s grace “will be cut off.” In the former case, the lostness is actual, and in the latter case, it is potential, but in both cases, it is real.
In 1 Cor 9:24-27, the Apostle Paul says that it is possible to run in a race and still lose and not receive the prize (v. 24). Some think this means that undisciplined believers (vv. 25-26) will simply lose their rewards, but not their salvation as such. Verse 27, however, shows this is not the case: “But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” The alternative to finishing the race is to be “disqualified” (adokimos). Every other NT use of this Greek word refers to the state of lostness, not a loss of rewards. Paul is saying that he could lose his salvation if he does not persevere in the race. In addressing the Judaizers in Gal 5:4, Paul affirms that they “have been severed from Christ” and “have fallen from grace.” This is a state of lostness, which was preceded by a state of salvation. They could not have been severed from Christ unless they were joined to him; they could not have fallen from grace unless they had been standing in it (Rom 5:2).
In 2 Pet 2:4, we are told that angels who sinned are “reserved for judgment,” i.e., lost and destined for hell. We must assume that all angels were created holy and in a right relationship with God and that all were created with the free will to remain holy or rebel against God and become lost. In this second chapter, Peter uses the “angels who sinned” as an analogy for Christian teachers who stray into heresy and wickedness and thus lose their salvation (vv. 1-3,9-19). That these teachers at one time were true believers is seen in verse 15, which says they have forsaken the right way and “have gone astray.” This is especially seen in verses 20-22, where these false teachers are described as earlier having “escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 20). As having “known the way of righteousness” (v. 21). They have experienced three states: lost, saved, and lost again, just as “a sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire” (v. 22). The bad news is that “the last [lost again] state has become worse for them than the first” [original] lost state (v. 20). Without doubt this passage refers to specific individuals who fell from grace and lost their salvation. They are “twice dead,” as Jude 12 (NIV) says.
An even more straightforward teaching on the reality of falling from grace is Heb 6:4-8. The entire letter to the Hebrews is based on the fact that such a fall is possible. The letter is being written to Jews (i.e., Hebrews) who had become Christians but who are now thinking they had made a mistake and are seriously considering abandoning their Christian faith and reconverting to Judaism. The theme of the entire letter is the danger and the foolishness of such a decision.
If this decision is not possible, then the whole book of Hebrews is a sham. However, Hebrews is filled with warnings against turning away from Jesus Christ, the only source of salvation (2:1-3; 3:12-14; 4:1,11; 10:26-39; 12:25). The most apparent such warning is Heb 6:4-8. On the one hand, here, the writer is, without doubt, speaking of those who are truly saved since they possess five characteristics of the saved state; here are those five characteristics:
1) They are “enlightened,” i.e., they possess true knowledge and understanding of the gospel.
2) They “have tasted of the heavenly gift,” the gift of salvation in general (Eph 2:8-9).
3) They “have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,” having drunk the living water (John 7:37-39; 1 Cor 12:13).
4) They “have tasted the good word of God,” having believed and received its promises.
5) They have tasted “the powers of the age to come,” referring to the already experienced resurrection from spiritual death (Eph 2:5; Col 2:12-13), in anticipation of the future redemptive resurrection of the body.
The use of the word “taste” in Greek (geuomai) in these verses does not imply a tentative, aborted sampling of salvation in contrast with actual eating or consuming. (See Heb 2:9, where the same word is used for Christ’s tasting death on the cross.) It is used instead to contrast the real but incomplete salvation experienced in this life with the fullness of salvation to be received in glory, in the same sense that the present gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is but a pledge or down payment of the entire inheritance that is to come (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13-14). The fact that those to whom this passage speaks are true Christians is also shown in the statement that, if they fall away, “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance” (v. 6). To speak of renewing them again to repentance indicates that they were once in a state of repentance, indicative of salvation.
On the other hand, it is also clear that this passage warns against the reality of becoming truly lost instead of simply losing one’s rewards. Verse 6 warns against becoming “fallen away,” a state devoid of repentance and hostile to Christ. The fallen one’s life yields “thorns and thistles”; it is “worthless” and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned” (v. 8; see John 15:6).
Passages like these indeed contradict the “once saved, always saved” idea. They cannot be explained away as referring only to people who were never saved in the first place, nor can they be reduced to the loss of rewards rather than of salvation as such. Nor can we say that they are merely hypothetical warnings by which God motivates us to remain faithful by threatening us with a scenario that could never occur. Such a tactic would be deceitful and cruel, unworthy of our gracious and loving Savior.
I hope this has answered the question logically and carefully through a review of God’s word. Before I close, and perhaps I am going too far beyond the question, I believe it is important to consider how one " falls from grace.”
To answer this question, we must remember the central doctrine of grace, that a sinner is justified by faith apart from works of law (Rom 3:28). We not only initially become justified by faith; we also remain justified by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Falling from grace occurs when our faith in the blood of Jesus dies.
The Christian must be on constant guard concerning his faith, using every opportunity to strengthen it and being constantly aware of how it may die. What are the ways in which faith may die? I will suggest three.
First, faith may be put to death through an act of sudden suicide (spiritual, not physical), i.e., by a deliberate decision to stop believing in Christ and his saving work, thus renouncing the Christian faith. This is the choice being contemplated by the converts from Judaism to which the letter to the Hebrews was originally written. They seem to be wondering if they had made a mistake by becoming Christians and were considering renouncing Christ and returning to their OT faith and practice. A similar decision may be and sometimes is made by Christians from other backgrounds, e.g., by someone who has begun to have intellectual doubts about the truth of Christ and His works or who allows a personal tragedy (such as the death of a loved one) to destroy his belief in an all-powerful, all-loving Creator.
A second way faith may die is through slow starvation (spiritual, not physical). Faith does not come into existence full-grown but begins with a stage of infancy, often tender and fragile and definitely in need of maturing and strengthening. Thus, faith must constantly be nurtured, nourished, and exercised. To this end, God has provided us with spiritual disciplines such as those in Acts 2:42: “the apostles’ teaching,” or in post-apostolic times, Bible study; “fellowship,” which includes an active church life; “breaking of bread,” or consistent and faithful participation in the Lord’s Supper; and “prayer.” These are how faith is nourished; to neglect them allows faith to weaken or even to die. This is a true sense in which “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). In his parable of the sower, Jesus warns us of this danger. Sometimes, he says, the seeds of the Word fall “on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; Because they had no root, they withered away” (Matt 13:5-6). This represents “the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet, he has no firm root in himself but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (13:20-21). Faithful participation in the spiritual disciplines mentioned above is necessary to extend faith's roots beyond and beneath the rocky places of life, enabling them to anchor and nourish the Christian life. If we are not careful to extend these roots, spiritual starvation results.
A third way that faith may die is through strangulation by sin. After conversion, if a Christian allows sins to continue and to flourish without fighting against them, they will sooner or later choke the life out of his faith. In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of seeds that “fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out” (Matt 13:7). Jesus explains, “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (13:22).
Some are tempted to think that because God’s grace forgives all sins and salvation is assured, it does not matter if we keep on sinning (Rom 6:1). In response, Paul points out that becoming a Christian involves not just forgiveness but also regeneration, in which we are raised up from a state of spiritual death (Eph 2:1,5) to walk in a new spiritual life where sin does not belong (Rom 6:2-14). But if one continues to live a life controlled by the sins of the flesh, he will surely go back into that state of spiritual death: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13,). Peter warns those who have “escaped the defilements of the world” of the danger of again becoming “entangled in them” and being “overcome” (2 Pet 2:20).
Continuing to purposely sin after becoming a Christian is like opening the gates of the fort and inviting the enemy inside. God will protect us (1 Pet 1:5), but we must make a deliberate effort to keep our faith alive and strong by clinging to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord!
Dick Moser
October 15th, 2024
