On Eternal Security - Part 9
Back in Part 6, we briefly looked at the true nature of those that are genuinely saved. And in Part 7, I have shown that we’re driven by what we know or believe to be the truth in our heart. That was briefly demonstrated in Part 8—Peter knew his Lord and didn’t want Him to die, Judas on the other hand didn’t know Jesus as Lord and wanted to betray Him (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:8), this is evidenced by the fact that Judas never called Jesus “Lord.” In today’s post, I want to show and demonstrate that we can’t deny what we know to be the truth.
“A genuine believer can doubt their own salvation, but they will never doubt the truth that Christ is their only hope.” —Paul Washer
Man’s vain imagination says that a child of God can walk away from the faith. But according to the testimony of Scripture it’s not possible to deny what you have come to believe and know, even if your belief is wrong, Judas (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). Think of Muslims willing to blow themselves up for their belief (cf. John 16:2).
When Jesus asks, “Do you also want to go away?” Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” A child of God not only believes, but knows. Many have an intellectual surface understanding and knowledge of Christ that haven’t taken root in the heart, and therefore don’t know Him in a biblical sense (cf. “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”). There are “those who handle the law” but “did not know Me” (Jeremiah 2:8). And “…let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and know Me…” (Jeremiah 9:24). That’s the difference between a goat and a sheep, between Judas and Peter.
“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:14).
Nothing can separate this bond. The good shepherd will always leave the 99 behind just to go after the missing one (Luke 15:4). Under threats and persecutions, this is their cry, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20). Not one Apostle who believed and knew the Son walked away from the faith. But man’s vain imagination will have you believe otherwise, doing all they can to say that Judas was saved and fell away.
Many were seeing what Simon Peter saw, but were not seeing “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). This sight is something [different]. —John Piper
A Challenge
If you insist that a true child of God can walk away from the faith, then here is my challenge: Reject Christ and walk away. See if you can deny what you know in your heart to be the truth.
Others have objected to this challenge and said that what I’m doing is not of God, but that’s an incorrect assessment. I put forth this challenge because I don’t believe that a true child of God can reject Christ. I don’t believe that you can deny 2 + 2 = 4. If I believe in my heart that a true child of God can reject Christ, then yes, my attempt to get you to do so isn’t of God, in fact, it would even be demonic. However, I’m just repeating Christ’s word in the form of a challenge, see John 6:67. And to prove that you can’t reject or deny what you know to be true.
Not Lose It, But Forfeit It
I had an actual conversation with another Christian and it went something like this:
Not lose it, but forfeit it.
How exactly does one do that?
by rejecting Christ
Give it a try. See if you can reject Christ.
never!
Why not? What’s holding you back? Don’t you have freewill? Or are you now slave of Christ? I put forth this challenge because I don’t believe that a true child of God can ever renounce Christ from the heart. You just proved my point.
because I choose not to walk away now.
And that’s because there’s something preventing you from making that choice. There’s a verse for that: “I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” (Jeremiah 32:40). Many of the warning passages have put God’s fear in you. And God says that His words (warnings) will not come back void.
You can’t walk away because doing so is like denying that 2 + 2 = 4. You can be forced, by having a gun pointing at your head, to say that 2 + 2 = 8, but deep down in your heart you don’t really believe that. So in truth, you can never deny that 2 + 2 = 4. Take Peter for example. He was scared for his life and denied any association with Christ, but deep down in his heart he never denied Christ (Luke 22:54-62). Why? God the Father had revealed the Son to him (Matthew 16:17). God gave him a heart to perceive, eyes to see, and ears to hear (Deuteronomy 29:2-4). That’s why when Christ asked, “Do you also want to go away?” Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:67-69).
I did for a while and came back like a prodigal son.
I don’t know you personally to make a proper assessment. But based on what you said there, there are two possibilities:
The first scenario is that you didn’t really know God. You knew something [about] God the way we know a President—but you wrongly assessed yourself and believed that you were saved. Then down the road God finally revealed Himself and you actually came to know Him and got saved. From this perspective, it appears that you lost your salvation and then gained it back. But that’s not what actually happened. If we wrongly assess ourselves, then it follows that we will wrongly assess others as well.
The second scenario is that you were saved but backslided and then returned home like the prodigal son. In that case you never lost your salvation, you just backslided. The prodigal son never ceased to be the son.
I’ve seen people who were strong in the faith and walked away because of stuff that happened to them in life.
Like I said, if we wrongly assess ourselves, then it follows that we will wrongly assess others as well. We don’t know what someone is made out of until life gets tough. Spiritually speaking, we don’t know what kind of faith a person possesses until that faith is tested. Trials and sufferings are good in that they show us the kind of faith we possess. Deuteronomy 8:2 has this to say, “God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
“Adversity is the surest revealing of a man’s soul. A disclosure of what he is and how he responds when suffering through trials.” —Steven Lawson
“It is an easy thing to talk of trusting God for daily bread, while we have a full barn or purse; but to say as the prophet, ‘Though the fig-tree should not blossom, neither fruit be in the vine, yet will I rejoice in the Lord:’ surely this is not easy.” —John Flavel
Are you saying they were never true followers?
True faith endures. False converts will not.
To be continued.…