Can A Believer Find They
Have Stepped Out of God's Grace...
By Backsliding, Dying In Their Sins, and Spending Eternity in Hell?
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Before I get into any of this, I would like to say that no matter what
you believe now concerning the possibility of Backsliding or Eternal
Salvation, please read this entire manuscript. It will give you
the chance to allow you to learn what others might believe. If
nothing else, it will give you an opportunity to study for yourself
(2 Timothy 2:15)
what you really believe, and why.
GETTING STARTED
Some of my Christian friends, when asked if one can backslide and end up
in Hell after they'd at one time accepted Christ as their personal Lord
and Savior, they say "Yes, because that's what Luke 9:62 means."
And they quote Luke 9:62 saying, "And
Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
But that isn't iron clad enough for me. If a Christian can indeed
backslide, die, and spend eternity in the pits of Hell, then there must
be more, much more, evidence than this.
On the other hand, there are passages that some construe as Eternal
Salvation, and Eternal Security. I can see from my studies in the
Bible that Eternal Salvation actually has it's roots in the Book of
Genesis. I will elaborate on this later.
As we enter this study, we can see what we've been taught as sound
doctrine, and that doctrine is quite logical and reasonable. However,
God is not a fair God, but rather, He is a just God using Righteous
Judgment (Romans 2:5; 2 Thess 1:5).
We are to "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding." (Proverb 3:5)
Now let's look at the subject of backsliding.
JUST WHAT IS BACKSLIDING?
First, we will look into the meaning of what backsliding really is.
In Scripture, the term "backslide" is used to describe the stubbornness of
Israel: as back-sliding children (Jeremiah 3:22),
a backsliding daughter (Jeremiah 31:22),
and as a backsliding heifer (Hosea 4:16).
The word "backslide" literally means to "turn back" or "turn away [from]."
1 Kings 11:9
- It's turning from God
Psalm 125:5
- It's turning toward evil; iniquity
Jeremiah 14:7
- It's turning toward iniquity, and willfully sinning
Galatians 1:6,7
- It's turning from the Gospel and Grace of God
1 Timothy 5:15
- It's turning to Satan
2 Timothy 4:10
- It's turning back to the things of this world
Revelation 2:4
- It's turning from our first love
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A thought that comes to mind is this...
First, if I have lived believing outside the doctrine of eternal security,
and I suddenly find myself standing before the Living God, and I find I was
wrong in my belief, then I have lost nothing because I've lived according
to the Commandments of God, and served Christ in Righteousness... so
I live eternally with Christ.
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Secondly, if I've lived my life believing that I have Eternal Salvation,
and I believe that all my sins are forgiven, including ones I had not yet
committed at my time of salvation, and I suddenly find myself standing
before the Living God, and I find my beliefs were wrong, then I am in very
deep trouble...
Let's see what the Bible says about which of these two scenarios might be
Absolute Truth.
Considering this, it's logically best to believe that one can backslide to
where he may not spend eternity with Christ. However, I won't commit
to this yet.
A look at John 3:3 which tells us that
Jesus told Nicodemus that "...Except a man be born again, he cannot see
the Kingdom of God." Logically, we must think that a man cannot be
"un"born or "un"adopted... so he must have eternal life; no
question about it. Let's read on...
Eternal Salvation vs Backsliding into Hell
Now that we know what backsliding actually is, let's look at some Scripture
to see if a Born Again Christian can indeed Backslide, or is that a
misunderstanding of some Believers.
Firstly, 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear
from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Interestingly, it says "If my people who are called by my name." We
are called Christians and Children of God. (Christ means
"Anointed One") We Believers are indeed called by His Name... But
next it says they should "turn from their wicked ways; ... and [God] will
forgive their sin..." This is quite interesting. It seems clear
that God's Children, the Believers; the Children of God, can live in
wickedness and stand in need of forgiveness.
But some may say that since God forgave all our sins, these too are
actually forgiven, and we only need to ask 'verbally' for forgiveness if
we want our land healed. I'm not sure that this reasoning can be
accurate. OK, so that's not enough to convince you? I fully
understand because it's not enough for me either.
Let's look at John 15:1-6 which says:
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh
away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth
it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more
can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that
abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast
them into the fire, and they are burned.
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This is telling us that we can be pruned from the family of God, because
of our wicked ways [sins] and spend eternity in hell.
"But," you may reason with all logic, "This is talking about farming, and
not one's soul."
OK, I'll give you the benefit of that doubt.
Let's look at Acts 8:13-21 which says:
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was
baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the
miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard
that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter
and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Ghost.
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the
apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever
I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee,
because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with
money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter:
for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
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What do we see here? They were among people who had accepted Christ
as their personal Lord and Savior. Here's Simon who is a Believer
(v13), and who was also baptized.
When Simon, the baptized Believer (Christian), saw that Peter was laying
hands on the people and they received the Holy Ghost, he wanted to be able
to do that also, so he offered Peter money for that power.
Peter told him in no uncertain terms that Simon was going to die because
his "heart is not right"...
I know, some may believe that this man, Simon, was never a true Believer,
and that's why his heart was not right. But Peter said "Simon
himself Believed also..." Unless maybe Peter is a liar.
I also find Scripture that seems to support that we can't lose our
salvation.
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John 10:27-29
- "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;
and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."
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When you put this next to the rest of God's Word, it seems to be something
just a little different. We will find that this may mean that no one
other than by our own choice can we ever be removed from God's presence.
But God won't force us to stay there.
As we move on into this study, we will learn more about this possibility.
THE WARNINGS
God created humanity with a free will. We are never forced to do
anything unless it's by the power of evil spirits. God allows us to
make up our own mind on what we will do, how we will do it, and when we
will do it. He never forces us to do anything we don't want to do.
Therefore, it seems, when God tells us something, we can do it, and later
if we choose, we can stop doing it.
Now, let's look at some of the warnings Christ arranged for us.
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John 15:10
- "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even
as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
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"IF" we keep His commandments. We are commanded to obey, but we can
be rebellious and chose to not obey.
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1 John 2:3
- "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments."
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Here we see another big "IF" in the passage. IF we keep His
commandments, we will know Him in a personal relationship. We can
chose to not keep them. What happens then?
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Galatians 5:1
- "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made
us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
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We must stand firm in our Christian Liberty in which we are Free.
However, the warning stands that we can indeed become entangled back into
the bondage of sin again.
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James 1:14-16
- "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it
bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren."
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Here's a passage that explains how one falls into sin. He's drawn
away by lust, and it conceives, and then sin and death. One might
say that this pertains to a sinner who had never before experienced the
Grace of God and his salvation. If that's true, how does one fall
into sin when he's already IN sin? So now we have Christians who
are warned that they can fall into sin, and told, "Do not err, my
beloved Brethren." This is a very, very clear warning.
WHAT SINS ARE FORGIVEN?
Let us look at 2 Peter 1:1, we will
see to whom Peter was writing in the Book of 2 Peter.
In verse 1, Peter wrote: "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the
righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:"
So it seems he was writing directly to those who are True Believers, the
Christians, because it's those who have received the precious faith
with [Peter] through the righteousness of God and [their] Lord Jesus
Christ.
Since Christ died for our "sins" 2000 years ago, they were then future
sins, so that must include all future sins, even sins that are in my
future now. Logically, that's sound doctrine. However, God
is not a fair God, He's a just God using Righteous Judgment
(Romans 2:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:5).
We are to "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding" (Proverb 3:5).
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2 Peter 1:8-9
- For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye
shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is
blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was
purged from his old sins."
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Here, "these things" which are in us are some of the attributes of
righteousness (v6,7). One who
has had these things, have "forgotten" that he was purged from his "old"
sins...
Did you see that? I hear a lot about how all sins, past, present,
and future are forgiven, but this passage specifies that it's only "old
sins" that were purged. Not the new or future sins. We MUST
ask for forgiveness for sins we commit now and in the future. But
this isn't the only place I see this.
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Romans 3:25
- "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins
that are past, through the forbearance of God;"
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Here again we find that it's the "sins that are past" and no future sins
are mentioned.
I know someone's thinking that this is for the sinners and not for the
Believers. However, to whom was the Book of Romans written?
Let's look at the greeting in Romans
1:1-6:
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an
apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the
holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was
made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power,
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead:
5 By whom we have received
grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among
all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the
called of Jesus Christ:
(Emphasis by me)
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Indeed, they were the Believers... Christians in the Church which
was in Rome.
MUST WE ASK FOR FORGIVENESS?
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1 John 2:1-2 says, "My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
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He tells them that IF they
sin, they have Jesus Christ to go to... Not only for the sins of the
sinners of the world, but for the sins of the Believing.
This shows that he's writing to those with whom they had Christian
fellowship. They not only had fellowship with the writer, but also
with the Father and Jesus Christ Himself.
It's difficult to deny that He was telling the Believers who had fellowship
with Christ that they had to confess their sins and Jesus would forgive
them. Remember, the past sins at the time of salvation were forgiven,
but this is for sins committed after salvation. They too must be
forgiven because the future sins were not yet covered.
It was Only a Little White Lie
Another thing I notice, is that "...the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"
(Romans 6:23). That says
"sin," and sin is sin, no matter how you look at it.
Consider this: Is there a good lie and a bad lie? Is there a
good fornication and a bad fornication? Is there good murder and
bad murder? Good idolators and bad idolators?
Not at all, you see, God's word says "But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the second death"
(Revelation 21:8). This is clear
my friend... any unrepented sin is facing death. God gave his Son
to be our Mediator so that we can have forgiveness even for sins after we
accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
Again, Sin is indeed sin, no matter when it's committed.
THE ABSOLUTE PROOFS
I look on into Ezekiel 3:20 which
tells me that "Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his
righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him,
he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his
sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered;
but his blood will I require at thine hand."
WHOA! What did he say there? When a righteousness man turns
from his righteousness... that's backsliding... and he "shall
die in his sin" and all the righteousness and good he'd done will not be
remembered. That tells me that a Christian [the righteous man] can
die in sin if his sins are unrepented.
So you still can't quite accept it?
Let's look at another passage from Ezekiel. Read over
Ezekiel
18:19-29. Here's what it says:
19 Yet say ye, Why? Doth not the son bear the
iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is
lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them,
he shall surely live.
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son
shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father
bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him.
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.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should
die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return
from his ways, and 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.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal.
Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your
ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his
iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his
wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful
and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all
his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live,
he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord
is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal?
are not your ways unequal?"
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Let's pick the more important portions of this passage apart:
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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.
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God is never pleased when one turns from his righteousness and into sin.
"All [the backslider's] righteousness will not be mentioned.â€
That's sad that all of one's good that they've done will not be mentioned
in judgment. And that's not all... "in his sin he shall die."
This unrepentant man dies in his sin. Not in righteousness!
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25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal.
Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are
not your ways unequal?
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God Is not a fair God, but rather, He's a just God. His ways are
well balanced and just. This word "equal"
(Strong's #8505) literally means "to balance, that is, measure out (by
weight or dimension); figuratively to arrange, equalize, through
the idea of leveling (mentally estimate, test): - bear up, direct, be
([un-]) equal, mete, ponder, tell, weigh.
What does this mean? I'll try to explain... God is a just God
with balanced plans and judgments. All is the same for every human
being who ever lived on earth, past present and future.
Every one of these human beings have the same opportunity to accept Christ
Jesus, live their life in Righteousness in obedience to God's commandments,
and make it in the end to live eternity with Him.
However, if any of them lets go of his Righteousness, and willfully
commits sin, then those people, regardless of who they are, get the same
recompense. They lose their relationship with Christ. They
live in sin, and die in that sin...
UNLESS they repent and
turn back to Christ.
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26 When a righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them;
for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
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He reiterates that when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and
dies, he dies for these newer sins.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his
wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful
and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all
his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he
shall not die.
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But if "again" he turns from those sins (wickedness), and does what's
right, his soul shall be saved. This is repenting of the sins
committed after he was a righteous man the first time.
I see here the word "considereth"... the Hebrew word for this means
to "regard; think about."
If we willingly sin, and then consider it, thinking about what we've done,
and turn away from that sin (repenting of it), then he is forgiven and will
live and not die.
Another passage says, "When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall
surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit
iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for
his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it."
(Ezekiel 33:13)
We must live by God's commandments and according to His description of
Righteousness. We cannot live according to our own righteousness.
I'm reminded that we're not to lean upon our own understanding
(Proverb 3:5).
And yet another passage is Ezekiel 33:18
which says "When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and
committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby."
It should start becoming very understandable by now. This should
indeed be self explanatory. When a Godly man turns from his
Godliness, and commits sin, and is not forgiven of that sin, he will die
IN his sin.
I know, there's at least one who will think, these are in the Old
Testament and not pertinent for today. Well I have news for you,
it's very pertinent. Read 2 Peter
2:20 and we'll pick apart the verses:
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v20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions
of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter
end is worse with them than the beginning.
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Here's bad news... If "after" they've come out of the sin of the
world “through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
That's salvation. Christianity! If after they accepted Christ,
and return back and get entangled in sin, the sin state is worse than the
time of Righteousness.
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v21 For it had been better for them not to have known the
way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from
the holy commandment delivered unto them.
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How bad is it? It would have been better if they'd have never known
Christ, than to turn from Him.
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v22 But it is happened unto them according to the
true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and
the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
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It's as sickening as the dog that laps up it's own vomit. But I
like the second analogy even better. The hog was washed, and
clean. That's symbolic of our hearts being washed white as snow.
However, that hog goes back to the mud and slop... This is symbolic
of a Christian turning back to the filth and sin of this world. The
Believing Christian has returned to his sin and is again a sinner.
Sadly, I find James 2:10 - "For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all." Since a Christian can sin and die in his sins, we
can see how horrible it can be if we don't live in Love and Righteousness.
How can this be that those who have experienced the Love Christ, and the
Grace of God, could turn back into the heathen's world?
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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; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"
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Here it is. Some of the reasons one might be enticed to leave the
Gracious Love of God. In the Last Days, and we're surely in the
final hours now, good and well meaning Christians will listen to deceiving
spirits, doctrines of devils, that can push a soul in to the pits of Hell.
ENCOURAGEMENT
I find that there is encouragement to hold on and not let loose of God's
awesome blessings, and eternal life. Some of those passages are here:
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Hebrews 3:14
- "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning
of our confidence stedfast unto the end;"
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Hebrews 3:6
- "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we,
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm
unto the end."
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We can't just say a prayer, and expect that God will do the rest making
us sin free for the rest of our life. When we truly study the Word
(2 Timothy 2:15), we will find that
we must do the work at maintaining our relationship with Christ, and our
Heavenly Father by doing our part.
There are numerous passages which use the word "keep" and it's important
that we understand this word. The word "keep" is Strong's #G5083 and
means "to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon;
hold fast, keep (-er), (ob-, pre-, re) serve, watch."
Now let's use this understanding of "keep" (G5083), let's look at a few
of these passages:
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Jude 1:21
- "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
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We must protect our relationship and hold fast to the Love of God.
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1 John 3:22
- "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."
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We must hold fast to God's Commandments and guard ourselves by doing the
Commandments.
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1 John 5:3
- "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:
and his commandments are not grievous."
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Again it's our duty to obey the Commandments of God, because they are not
so difficult so as to cause grief.
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1 John 5:2
- "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
God, and keep his commandments."
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We must do our part by continuing to be obedient to the Commandments of
God, and to Love Him as Jesus Himself had said, "thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment"
(Mark 12:30). This is not a
request, it's a commandment. We MUST Love Him enough to want to be
completely obedient in all that He has for us.
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1 John 5:21
- "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
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Now look at this one... Put the word "guard" where "keep" is.
It would say, "Little Children, 'guard' yourselves from idols...
It's not just handed to us. We must do our part.
WHAT ARE THE ROOTS OF ETERNAL SALVATION?
What are the roots of Eternal Salvation? The roots are found, as
with all true doctrine, in the Book of Genesis:
God took the man whom He had created, and placed him in the garden called
Eden (Genesis 2:15). He told
Adam that he could eat of any of the trees in the garden
(v16)...
EXCEPT one. That one
tree was the "tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil"
(v17). God warned Adam that "in
the day that thou eatest of thereof thou shalt surely die."
Man was originally created in God's image, an eternal being. Man was
created pure, innocent, and righteous. And he was given one
commandment; that being 'do not eat of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil.' Then later, God put Adam into a sleep, removed
a rib, and created Eve from the rib of Adam
(Genesis 2:21-24). Adam and Eve
were both pure, innocent, and righteous.
Now one day Eve was in the garden when she was approached by the serpent
who had enticed Eve to eat of the tree. She told him that God said
that if she would eat of that tree, she would die
(Genesis 3:2).
The serpent told the woman, "Ye shall not surely die"
(v4). The woman saw all the
good things about the tree, and ate of the fruit, and Adam ate too.
Do you wonder how Eternal Salvation was in these passages? Here it
is:
1. Adam and Eve were created in God's image, eternal
spirits, but they were in fleshly bodies.
2. In God's image, they were pure, innocent,
righteous. They were also eternal because spirits are
eternal. We're told that "God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
God is eternal. Therefore, if man was created in His
image, man therefore was created as an eternal spirit.
3. God gave a Commandment: Do Not eat of the
fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
4. Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate of the fruit of the
tree. That was the first sin. That's when the fleshly
body began to die.
5. They had eternal life, the serpent told them that
if they sin they won't die (Eternal Salvation).
See where this doctrine came from? It's very dangerous.
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IN CLOSING
I believe it's clear to see that a Christian can indeed fall away from
their relationship with Christ, and step out from the covering of God's
Grace by willfully turning back to our sinful ways.
We must be sure that our Love for God is kept intense; so great
that we never WANT to commit a sin that would remove us from Him.
However, we are still human, still in sinful flesh, and can still commit
sin... but we're covered.
Keeping in mind what we'd learned earlier, 1 John is written to the
Believers, the Christians of the Church:
1 John 1:7-9
- "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
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We as Christians will probably unintentionally sin on occasion. But
we can go to Jesus Christ, our Mediator, and He will forgive us our sins,
as we have learned in this study.
If we die with unrepented sin, we
WILL
be guilty of a sinners death, and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.
OTHER RELATED PASSAGES
The Logic of Eternal Security
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1 John 2:28
- "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he
shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before
him at his coming."
2 Peter 3:17
- "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before,
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked,
fall from your own stedfastness."
Revelation 2:5
- "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." (to the church at Ephesus)
Hebrews 10:38
- "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw
back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
Hebrews 10:39
- "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but
of them that believe to the saving of the soul."
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