Building Christians Up From The Foundation & Unto Perfection
Hebrews 6:1-3
Hebrews 6:1-3
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Being a Christian is not something that happens one day and then you carry on with your life. Being a Christian means you are now a follower of Jesus. Your life has not just changed. You have an entirely new one!
You want to walk the way God wants you to and you no longer want to fall into sin. In fact you hate the very thought of sin because what is in you now is holy. Suddenly it happens, your first temptation that drives you to your knees. What happens next?
The biggest fear new Christians have most of the time is wondering can a christian lose their salvation. They just met a living God and fell in love. The absolute worst thing for them would be to lose that relationship with God!
That combined with a new sense of just how filthy sin really is can send chills through your soul. What if you sin now that you know the truth? Would God turn His back on you? What if you try over and over to live without sin and still fail? Does it mean you are not a Christian?
1 Corinthians 15:1-3
1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
These verses show us that if we keep in memory what we believe then we are saved. But it also says that if we do not continue in what we have believed then we believed in vain. The Bible says in many scriptures that those who are saved are the ones who continue to the end with God. It also gives examples of those who will start to walk with Jesus and then turn their back on Him.
So it seems to be clear that our salvation is dependent on us continuing in the faith or not. We can not and should not believe that we will be granted pardon for our sins if we turn our backs on Jesus! The requirements of salvation is that we believe and follow Him.
Hebrews 10:18-29
18Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. 23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
These verses strike fear into the hearts of many. It is indeed a somber warning. But many people don’t seem to understand it. For some these verses mean that if you fall into sin after you come to Christ then you will lose salvation and never be able to find your way home.
For others these verses are a hypothetical statement. The thought that a Christian could ever turn their back on God is glanced over by saying this is not possible and only a hypothetical point being made.
Often times when we see two extream views the truth is in the middle. This is no doubt the case here. First lets look at the thought that this is not a possible situation.
Ezekiel 18:21-22 and 24
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
God has never changed His ways. The Bible makes that clear in Malachi 3:6. Since He has never changed then this passage of scripture still applies to us today. If we turn from our sins and turn to Jesus then we shall live. We will not even have God mention our sins to us.
But if we turn our back on Jesus, especially after we have become a Christian, then we will die in our sins because we did not continue with Him. That is what the scriptures teach. It is possible for someone to turn their back on God.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
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; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
You can not depart from a location without having been there. In the same way you can not depart from the faith without having been in the faith. It is clear that those who have known God can turn away from Him. Such was the case with Saul, Solomon, and many others through history.
These are some more of the scriptures that support this:
Hebrews 3:12-13
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Revelation 2:4-5
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Galatians 5:4-7
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
So all thoughts of this being impossible for a Christian must be brought into captivity to the truth found in scripture. It is indeed possible for this to happen. But if this brings fear to you then you are in good company.
Matthew 26:21-22
21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
Even the twelve closest to Jesus knew in themselves that it was possible for this to happen to them. It brought them great sorrow and they asked “Lord, is it I?”
With it now said that a person can fall from grace and turn their back on God another question must be answered. How many times will God forgive?
The reason many do not want to believe the idea that salvation can be lost may be because they fear reaching the limit with God. The verse already mentioned above says something that makes that fear even stronger.
Hebrews 10:26-27
26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
What sin is not willfully? If we know the law and we still sin then does this mean the blood of Jesus is not going to be enough for us anymore? God forbid such a thought!
To say that the Holy blood of Jesus isn’t enough is blasphemy. Look back in Hebrews 10 again. Take note that he says those who were under the law of Moses were worthy of death. That law was about sins needing judgment. But he was only using it to compare with the blood of the new covenant.
As Christians we are no longer under the law of sin and death. We are under the new covenant…one of faith. In the old law the way to be righteous was to not do anything wrong. Under the new law of faith the only way you can break the law is by not having faith anymore.
Romans 4:4-8
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
So if we are not under the law (those of us now walking in faith) God will not lay sin to our charge. That means there is nothing you can do in the flesh that can stop the power of the blood! But if you stop having faith…you are fallen from grace.
There are days when we have questions and even doubt. Sometimes we will say we don’t believe and then act like it. But if you truly ever gave up all faith in God then you would never feel drawn to Him. You would never return to Him at all at any point in the future. So if you want to be saved and you are still breathing then you have enough faith still to believe. Because you know He is the only one who can save!
There is so much more to be said on this subject. But I hope you will take away the knowledge that it is possible to turn away from God and even though that may be true there is no amount of anything that would make God turn away from those who seek Him.
July 9, 2015 at 6:34 am | | 20 comments
Hi, earlier today I had a thought about me not believing In God anymore. I did not mean what I had thought and am a little scared. Has God left me?
No. It doesn’t work that way.
I am a 59 yr old male and back in November I was involved in a horrible car crash so much in a sense that law enforcement on the scene did not believe someone in such a crash I rolled over 3 times and smashed into a telephone pole but praise God I am alive today, in a wreck that I could have been killed, paralyzed or maimed God has brought me through and I will never miss a chance just to praise his High and Holy name.
Can god turn away from you for good.or can you come back like Samson
God never turns away. WE turn away. God is where He has always been. He is just waiting for the Samson’s of this world to turn to Him.
Hello I am a 63 male that I think I have lost my salvation. I was a Mormon for 40 years until I accepted Christ. I was dating a woman who became my wife and started taking me to an Christian church an realized Mormons were wrong. But over the last five years I keep backsliding into sin, specifically porn addiction. Every time I do it I immediately feel grief an guilt about what I have done, and promise myself not to do it. Back in February I said enough is enough and stopped doing what I was doing. Started praying more often and reading the Bible more often. But can’t seem to hear his “still small voice” that I will be okay. Please pray for me that I can be certain of my salvation and get back to a godly man I once was and hear God and do what I know to be right and not do what is wrong
Sorry it has taken so long to reply. I moved the site to a new host and wasn’t getting notifications of comments. Thanks for your comment Cary. I want to tell you one thing. Certainty of salvation comes down to one thing. It is faith in the word of God. When you can accept that God has said He would in no way cast you out if you were to come to Him then you will find your certainty. Too often we look to our feelings and that “still small voice” as you put it. But if God never speaks in that small voice it doesn’t mean what He already told you is no longer true. Remember how you began? It was no doubt by believing that God meant what He said about loving you even as a sinner. It was by believing He forgives based on the word of God.
I am like the 51 year old woman above, although I am 52 and have had the same affliction with sexual sin as well as completely falling away. I’ve been taught that you cannot lose your salvation; but after studying the verses on it I believe that you can. I fell away. I still believed in God, but knew I was no longer loving God since I loved my sin more. I prayed the Lord (not men) if I could lose my salvation. And with each passage I read He told me. Some were only for Old Testament believers. Some are for the churches in Revelation and He showed me that those were not applicable for one reason or another. But the references in the New Testament, (where He’s not specifically talking to the Jewish community or the churches in Revelation) are very specific and easy to understand. Yes; if you know the Lord and His goodness and salvation, then turn away into your old life you will lose your salvation. Otherwise, you would be requiring Christ to be crucified again. We all know that any time we ask he will forgive us; but the scriptures tell us plainly not if we fall away from the faith. Like a dog returning to its vomit or a pig to its mud hole. That is the sin that grieves the Holy Spirit. To know Him, but yet go back to your old way of living. (That was always a scripture I couldn’t understand as Catholics believe it refers to suicide). I’m not happy about this. But I truly believe the Lord showed me. And the passage in Hebrews is stating, that God doesn’t change, and look how bad it was in the Old Testament. It’s going to be much worse for new believers because our salvation is from the blood of Christ. We can’t just throw away all we have received by the blood of Christ, return to our previous sins, then say hey, yeah, forgive me for turning away but I have eternal life….That would mean we are asking Christ to be crucified again. Trust me. I don’t want to believe this. I don’t want to know that no matter what I do from this point on I’m still going to hell. But I also can’t manipulate the Word if the Lord to make me feel better. He tells us over and over that we can rise above sin, that there’s always a way of escape. I think if we love God then we’re going to find that way. Not chose our sin over Him. I’ll keep praying that I’m wrong. But I can no longer fool myself into thinking that I’ll be forgiving because I was taught incorrectly. God tells us once we’re saved His Word lives within us and we know; and trust me, I knew it in my heart even though multiple Pastors as well as well known commentaries have told me otherwise. I don’t mean to say that I know more, just that it was in my heart because God planted it there. And even though I scoured scripture for a way out, bottom line is if you turn away you are choosing to give up your salvation. He does not take it away, you are choosing to give it up when you turn away. None the less, I’ll remain hopeful that I’m wrong.
I’m glad you are holding onto that hope. I’d like you to read the next page. Because you CAN return to God. https://onthelineministries.com/coming-back-god-falling-away/
always go to God for understanding first guys, dont just believe anything, check with God
Hi everyone. Please pray for me for I think I have lost my salvation. I am 51 years old and a believer since 1991 but kept falling into sexual immorality every now and then until last year when I fell again, the Holy Spirit totally rebuked me and led me to Hebrews 6 & 10. I suddenly had unexplained weight loss and have lost the sensation of feeling hungry or full when eating until now. And I think the Holy Spirit has left me. Worse is when I sleep these past few days, my teeth is gnashing and wakes me up in the middle of the night:( I still continuously pray to the Lord asking for mercy & forgiveness, I hope this is just a punishment. GOD Bless!
It’s not a punishment, it’s fear. One of the greatest tools of Satan is guilt. It’s also one of the greatest tools of God. It just depends on who is using it at the time as to if its good or bad. Let it bring you to God, but don’t let it prevent you from accepting the mercy He gives.
I love God and have faith, but I can’t stop drinking alcohol
Yes, you can. But it’s not easy to give up things like that. I want to encourage you to hold onto your faith, but also live it out. That doesn’t mean you won’t fall. In fact you will…a lot! But it does mean you will keep getting back up to try again.
I referred a friend to this article. (Can you lose your salvation) This is pure truth, keep up the great work.
Hey Jason! Tina, your lovely wife, sent me a link to this page after we had a discussion about what I’ve been struggling with lately.
This article is so helpful because it makes sense to me now! I just pray that I can remember this when I begin to struggle. I have a bad tendency to forget the truth when I’m distracted by struggle, but I am going to try to burn this into my brain!