CAN CHRISTIANS
LOSE THEIR FAITH?
Introduction
Joshua
Harris, the author of the popular evangelical best-seller, “I Kissed Dating
Goodbye.” He is known as a relationship guru. Days after announcing his divorce
with his wife, denounced his Christian faith. He noted, “I have undergone a
massive shift concerning my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is
‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the
measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.”[1]
Marty Sampson, a worship music
writer, singer, and active member of Hill song, has publicly denounced his faith
on social media. Time for some real talk. I’m genuinely losing my faith, and it
doesn’t bother me. Like, what bothers me now is nothing. I am so happy now, so
at peace with the world. It’s crazy. Christians can be the most judgmental people
on the planet—they can also be some of the most beautiful and loving people.
But it’s not for me.”[2]
What a tragedy, two prominent
Christian young ministers for whom a lot has been going on, now no longer call
themselves as Christians. These are
certainly some of the signs of the end times. Mathew 24:10, “At that time many
will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.” In our
Post-Christian world, it remains a challenge to maintain our faith.
We have been on a journey to finding “greater
things” from the book of Hebrews. This past week, we addressed the question, “Are you A
Spiritual Babe or An Adult? We challenged ourselves to grow up and become spiritually
mature. Today we look at another very troubling question, “Can
Christians lose their faith”? Hebrews 6:4-12. I find these verses
four through six, particularly challenging. Over the years, these verses fueled
fires between Arminians (named after their founder, Jacobus Arminius) and
Calvinists after John Calvin in the 1500’s AD.
Arminians take them as proof that it
is possible for someone who has once been a believer to fall away from faith
irretrievably. Calvinists interpret them in such a way as to make that a
practical impossibility. But they often forget the author’s purpose was not to
deal with the Calvinist-Arminian controversy of “eternal security of the believer,
“but to move his audience from the practices of animal sacrifices to the
ultimate sacrifice of Jesus the Great High Priest.[3]
I.
BACKSLIDING IS A GRAVE CONCERN (Vs. 4-6)
I have never been to treatment for
any addiction. But I am aware of
the struggles of the addicts who are trying to quit their debilitating habits.
Therapists would agree that for most people dealing with addiction,
recovery is a long, winding path, with ups and downs, successes and
disappointments and often instances of relapse, in which someone returns to
using their substances of choice and to their problematic behaviors[4]
When born again, Christians are
resorting to their old sinful behaviors before they got saved; we call them
they are backsliding. The word backslides implies a movement away from Christ
rather than toward Him. What are the signs of a backsliding Christian?
Remember, a backsliding Christian
was once a fiery follower of Christ, but gradually, his love for the Lord
begins to grow cold, as he reverts to his old sinful habits. He lacks the
interest to read the Bible and pray, stops attending church, and in the end,
some could even walk away from God, his marriage, family, and ministry. We see
this backsliding happening everywhere.
On the other hand, some might be
attending church regularly yet may be backsliding in their faith. A couple of months ago, I was saddened to
hear that one of my former ministry friends in India is backslidden. He became
an alcoholic, left his wife, family, and the ministry.
I tried connecting with him, but I
couldn’t reach him. I pray that he would get back to his faith, which he once
held firmly. Let’s watch out! Backsliding could happen to anyone of us. Vs. 4-5, “For it is impossible to bring back
to repentance those who were once enlightened those who have experienced
the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the
goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come and who then turn
away from God.” By the way, the author speaks of people, and their character indicates
that he was not addressing Pseudo-believers but true believers. He highlights
four attributes of a true believer.
II.
FOUR ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUE BELIEVER
Firstly, “They were once
enlightened.” The author here was referring to those who were once enlightened
by God Himself. John 1:9, “There was the true Light which, coming into the
world, enlightens every man.” In the process of salvation, God always takes the
initiative. Salvation is a gift from God and not anything to be earned by us,
but to accept it gratefully.
Secondly, “they have experienced the
good things of heaven.” Many Jews of that time experienced the good things of
heaven, such as healings and deliverance from demons and eating the food that
Jesus multiplied miraculously. Yet, many refused to accept Christ as their Messiah.
Similarly, many experience the
goodness of God; it doesn’t mean that they all are saved. Thirdly, “they have shared in the Holy
Spirit,” It refers to the ministry of the believers by the power of the Holy
Spirit. Holy Spirit. Heb 2:4, “God
also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by gifts
of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Fourthly, “they have tasted the
goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come.” It is referring
to the call of God to all his believers in Ps 34:8, “Taste and see that the
Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Power of the age
is referring to the many Jewish people’s expectation of a coming age of
righteousness, justice, and peace.
Many Jews have expected that the
Messiah will come and inaugurate that era of God’s reign. The good news is that
Jesus, our Messiah, has already come. Therefore, His followers now experience a
foretaste of what will be consummated at his second coming. The author raises a
philosophical argument stating, what happens to a believer if he falls away
from his faith?
III
CAN CHRISTIANS LOSE THEIR FAITH?
Vs. 6, “and who then turn away from
God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the
Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding
him up to public shame.” These particular verses have stirred two theologians
of the past to take different theological positions. Let me try to explain my
understanding of this text.
In NASB, “then have fallen away.”
NIV, “If they fall away.” Whichever way you look at it, by the way, this text
was grammatically constructed, one could draw to the conclusion that this was
only a hypothetical argument, and the “falling away from faith may not happen.”
However, it serves as a warning to immature believers to progress to spiritual
maturity.
Let’s look at this argument in
detail. Suppose a person who has been enlightened by God, has tasted the gift
of salvation, and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in him, he understood God’s
word and demonstrated God’s power, what happens if he or she falls away or
loses their faith?
The author has an answer, “It is
impossible to renew them again to repentance.” The Greek word means “to have a
qualitatively new, or different repentance.” Why is it impossible to have
qualitatively different or new repentance? For that to happen, Jesus Christ would
have to come and die on the cross again. If that is so, then his earlier
crucifixion is nullified.
The hope of all those who believed
in Jesus is in vain. Therefore, for these and many other reasons, it is
impossible for those who fall away to renew them again to repentance. In
Philosophical argument, it is called “reduction to an absurdity.”
In other words, from a false
assumption, we derive absurd conclusions. Just by merely looking at the text,
it is incorrect for us to suppose that Christians could lose their faith
because that would invalidate the great sacrifice of Christ on which our
repentance of sins and salvation is based. Coming back to our question, can
Christians lose their faith, this is what I conclude.
This particular passage cannot
adequately answer that question with a definitive yes or no. It is only
addressing a hypothetical situation. After studying this passage and other
scriptures, I am confident that what Christ has done on the cross to attain our
salvation is final, complete, and once and for all. There is nothing we can do
to be saved and sanctified. He did it all for us.
The scriptures suggest that those
who have been entrusted to Jesus, He can protect and keep them till the end.
John 10:27-29, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I
give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away
from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than
anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.” This should give
all the believers a sure hope.
My concern, however, is whether or
not we will lose our faith, but about what can render us faithless, fruitless,
and disqualify us from getting the prize in the end. This passage is a clear
indicator of what could happen to immature believers. It also encourages us to keep
on loving others as long as life lasts and not to become spiritually dull and
indifferent. Instead, follow the example of those who are going to inherit
God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
We have examples of those who began
a good race but could not complete it. Let’s learn from their mistakes. We also
have examples of those who maintained their faith until the end. Let’s imitate
their faith. Let me close with these words of Paul; “I focus on this one thing:
Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach
the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through
Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Phil 3:13-14.
[1] https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainment/2019/july/author-joshua-harris-kisses-his-faith-goodbye-i-am-not-a-christian
[2]https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainment/2019/august/im-genuinely-losing-my-faith-hillsong-worship-leader-rejects-christian-beliefs
[3]
David H Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary
[4] https://www.addiction.com/in-recovery/relapse/
