Can we lose our salvation?

This is a quick Facebook response I gave to a good buddy in Christ who messaged me yesterday with the following query "Got a deep question to ask. In our small group today we had a little debate. Can we lose our salvation? once you are saved you are saved? or can we still go to hell if we drift away even though we commited our life to God years back?"

Hi .......,
That is indeed a very "deep" question. And I'm glad you have friends with whom to think deeply about salvation and Jesus.

Q1: Can we lose salvation?
A: Salvation is not something we have gained by our efforts nor we have to be lost. God saves us through the cross, it is his work in redeeming us. And God sustains us through the cross, it is his grace that keeps us faithful and walking with Jesus.

Jesus says "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day." (John 6:30) Jesus loses none, He raises all given him on the last day.

Another verse often quoted is Romans 8:30 "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." This is called the golden chain - none of the links in the chain are broken. Calling (When you become a Christian), Justification (Forgiveness through the cross), Glorification (Final redemption when Jesus returns).

Q2: Can we drift away? Do we go to hell?
The phrase "drift away" is from Hebrews 2:1, and the bit in Hebrews that causes the most difficulty and debate is Chapter 6 verses 4 to 6. There he describes someone who has been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of God's word, powers of the coming age... yet falls away. He then says it is impossible (referring to God) to bring back to repentance, with the reason "they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace".

2 big questions that usually arises in this passage. (1) Who is it talking about? (2) Why is it impossible for this person to be brought back to repentance?

(1) Who is is talking about? We need to be sensitive when answering this. Sometimes your friends will be thinking of someone they know, whom they love. This friend was a keen Christian at one time, but now they don't come to church, they don't pray or read their bibles, they may even be in some situation of worrying sin. If so, they are asking out of concern and love.

I would first of all say who this passage is not talking about. It's not someone who has committed suicide. It's not even talking about some particularly gross sin.

It does describe about someone who has been exposed to an amazing experience and blessing, unmistakeably from God. Who has come to benefit from learning about the bible. In this, the author is actually referring to an example he has already given in Chapters 3 and 4. There he talks about the Israelites who were rescued in the Exodus event from slavery in Egypt. Yet every single one of that generation fell in the desert. And then comes the warning in verse 12 - See to it brothers that none of YOU has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

The point is the passage is talking to you. Not your friend. Not that guy. The author talks about them - the Israelites in the desert, but he is addressing you, his hearers. And he says, you make sure, you don't fall away.

So in "debating" this passage, you shouldn't be coming up with hypothetical situations (this guy saved, but then sinned). You need to confess your own sins. You need to reflect on all God's blessings on yourself. If you don't, you aren't listening to the warning the bible is giving to us - whatever position you have taken in this debate.

It is worth pointing out verse 9 - Even though we speak like this, we are confident of better things in your case - things that accompany salvation. The author is confident they are saved through Jesus' blood. The warning is real, but so is the assurance.

(2) Why is it impossible for this person to repent?
People usually concentrate on the last bit of verse 6 where it says "crucifying the Son of God... subjecting him to public disgrace". How horrible, they say. No wonder this person will be judged.

To which I reply, that's what every single one of us as sinners do. If you are a Christian, don't you confess that Jesus took your pain and shame on the cross? Isn't this what all of us - as believers in Christ - have done? We have given him our sin and received his forgiveness and life?

No, the force of the argument is the one little word "again". This person is crucifying Jesus "again". In fact, the phrase "brought back to repentance" is actually brought "again" to repentance.

And this word "again" contrasts the word "once" in verse 4. Once enlightened+tasted the gift+Holy Spirit+goodness of God's word+powers of coming age. Salvation is a once for all, unrepeateable, complete event. The cross happened once in history. There is only one Saviour.

And what this person is saying is... Jesus get back up on the cross and die again. I don't care about what you did for me through your sacrifice. A good summary of this is in Chapter 9. "Nor did he enter heaven again and again.... then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."

It is talking about the preciousness of the cross and the power of the cross.

Q: You didn't ask this, but such a debate must always talk about sin in the Christian's life.
A: As Christians, we should not sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. But in this world, we are still living in a struggle with our sinful nature and Christians will sin. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8)

As Christians - saved by the cross - we must always come back again and again to the cross. Jesus is our faithful high priest, our advocate who pleads for our forgiveness of sin before our heavenly Father.

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

I say this because 1 John was written to Christians who might be unsure about their salvation. And we need to understand, that genuine believers do go through times of difficulty and doubt. That's why he ends his letter by saying, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

If you or any of your friends come away from such a debate feeling worried about your salvation, 1 John would be a fantastic book to read. It was written just for you, to assure you that God's love in Jesus is secure, and forgiveness is certain through the cross.

Hope that helps!
God bless,
Calvin

Do you know God? (1 John 2:3-6)

You are walking down the street and someone with a microphone walks up to you and asks, “Do you know God?” What would you say?

I think most of us would hesitate to answer. Even if you’re a Christian, I think you might be more confident answering questions like “Do you go to church?” or “Do you believe in God?”

Some hesitate because they are embarrassed. Doesn’t it sound arrogant to claim that you know God? After all, doesn’t the bible itself say that God is invisible? (1 John 4:12, Colossians 1:15, Romans 1:20) Who can really be sure?

Yet the bible does want us to be sure.

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
1 John 2:3-6

John says you know God if you know and obey his word. “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.” Still, the comparison he makes is not between a Christian and a non-Christian but between two people who both claim to know God. And John says one of them is a liar. He is the person who does not obey God’s command.

Specifically this is the command to love one another (2:10, echoing Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 15:9-17). What is remarkable about the letter of 1 John is how this command to Christians to love one another is repeated again and again, yet not once is it framed in terms of doing good or being moral. Instead, John says the one who loves his brother in living in truth and the one who hates his brother is living a lie.

You don’t need to be a Christian to know the importance of showing love to the people around you. Both Christians and non-Christians display sacrificial love every day – a mother’s love for her child, the soldier’s love for his country by laying down his life on the battlefield. Yet such love is understood as either a social, emotional or moral response. Some might even say it is a basic human quality to be found in each one of us to some degree or other.

Yet here, the New Testament document of 1 John speaks candidly and abundantly about love – love for man and love for God – but John never ever calls it a mere human emotion. Instead, John defines the love of a true believer as a rational, decisive, response to the truth of the gospel. Here, love is commanded. Here, the object of love is specific – love for God and not love for the world – the two are mutually exclusive. Here, love is a test of the Christian’s integrity – Is he is she really a Christian?

Or in other words, does he or she really know God?

In part, John writes this letter to combat the rising threat of false teachers. They were denying that Jesus was the Christ (2:22) and were trying to lead the church astray (2:26).

But John’s main purpose is to reassure us as Christians. He writes these words near the end of his letter.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5:13

These are such encouraging words! He is writing to Christians (“you who believe in the name of the Son of God”) to assure them that they have been saved (“so that you may know that you have eternal life”). Or putting it another way: John is reminding those who are saved that they have been saved.

Which means: there are Christians who are not sure of their salvation. Which means: Christians will sometimes struggle with their own faith. There will be times of difficulty, depression and doubt. And John writes these words to those who have been saved so that they know they have been saved and so that they can be sure of their salvation.

The key word in this verse is “know”. “So that you may know that you have eternal life”. In response to the question, “Do you know God?” The bible wants us as Christians to be able to answer confidently, “Yes!”

Yet the bible anticipates times when we will be unsure. In fact, the bible expects it. That is why it keeps bringing us back again and again to the same truth of the gospel – to Jesus on the cross and his effective work of redeeming sinners through his death and resurrection. This is the supreme display of God’s love for us. The cross is the one foundation of all Christian assurance.

But it is also the basis of God’s command for believers to love one another. The command to love is given us for God’s glory – as a display of his goodness and grace. But the main argument in 1 John is that this command to love another is given us for our good. It is for our assurance.

So much so: that when our conscience condemns us or when we struggle in prayer, John will remind us of the importance of both trusting in Jesus and loving one another (1 John 3:23). To be clear, our love does not save us, God’s love does. Christians trust in the one foundational truth that Jesus has saved us. But we must also be able to see this truth working out in our lives through obedience. God’s love for us in Jesus produces the fruit of love in the believer. It means that the authentic Christian life is one marked by growing obedience to God’s word.

Conversely, the person who claims to know God, yet lives in disobedience to his will is foolishly living a lie. John warns us against deceiving ourselves.

Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.
1 John 2:4

Do you know God? Maybe for you, the humble – if not, honest answer is No. If so, the bible’s simple and clear answer to you is: know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. That’s how you come to know God. Through Jesus, God provides a way for sinful men and women to know him as their heavenly Father, by pouring out the punishment for their sins upon Jesus on the cross.

Yet some might answer, “Yes, I think I’m sure. I wish could be more certain, though. And I want to know God better.” To you, John reminds you of the same truth of the gospel – of the death of Jesus on your behalf securing your status as sons of God. But he also wants to draw your attention to the display of God’s grace working in your life moulding you to become more and more like Jesus – in your walk of obedience before God and in your love for other believers.

But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
1 John 2:3-6

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:7-12

Preparing for Judgement, Assured by Salvation (2 Peter 2)

2 Peter 2 is a hard passage. We studied the chapter this week at bible study and it is was hard. Not because we couldn't understand it, but precisely because we were confronted with words that were clearly serious, urgent and relevant.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

(2 Peter 2:1-3)

Peter warns the church - here, the bible is warning us as Christians - there will be false teachers who will attempt to lead believers away from the gospel of Christ. It has always been so. Just as the Old Testament people of God were surrounded by false prophets, so the New Testament church will have its share of false teachers. Note the shift in role from prophet to teacher. The prophet was one who stood between man and God, speaking to man words from God. The teachers derived their authority from the written Word of God; the scriptures. But therein lies the greater temptation and danger, for the teacher would interpret the meaning and fulfilment of the words in scripture. It would be harder to discern wisdom from word, rhetoric from revelation, interpretation from illumination.

Also, we are not to think that the teacher has less significance than the prophet. In his first letter, Peter opens by reminding Christians of the more complete revelation we have in the gospel, compared even to the prophets of God. Indeed, he says they were not serving themselves, but us (1 Peter 1:12). And in his second letter, he now compares his own authority as a witness to Jesus to that of the prophets. Peter himself heard the voice of God on the mountain affirming the Sonship and approval of Jesus (2 Peter 1:17-18). Yet Peter's aim in writing the letter is to remind Christians of what has already been revealed in Christ as the fulfilment of scripture. In other words, he is teaching them. In verse 12, he writes, "So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have."

The contrast between Peter and the false teachers is that of content. Peter goes to great pains to assure Christians of the truth of the gospel they have already been established in (1:12), writing mainly to refresh and remind them of this truth (1:13), making this his sole purpose in life and ministry - that the gospel be firmly rooted in the hearts and minds of believers long after his passing. On the other hand, the false teachers introduce false teaching that contradict the gospel (verse 1), exploiting their hearers with stories they have made up (verse 3).

What follows is one whole chapter describing the attributes and condemning the actions of these false teachers - an entire chapter. But why go to such lengths? Judgement, fire, condemnation, hell - we get it, Peter - you are serious about dealing with these problematic teachers. But you say you write to the church to remind us of the gospel, the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, where is it? How do we see the gospel in these words?

Many who preach from this passage (rightly) say that Peter is concerned that we are able to identify these false teachers. He describes them for us: they are boastful, driven by their sinful and sensual desires and despise authority (verse 10). They speak out of ignorance (verse 12). They are motivated by greed and lust (verse 14). Ultimately, their actions will result in judgement. Therefore, Peter's repeated reference to instances of judgement in the Old Testament serve as a warning that we do not follow in the footsteps of these false teachers.

Yet is Peter's main concern to warn believers of these false teachers and their impending judgement?

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.

(2 Peter 2:4-9)

These verses are difficult not because they speak of judgement. They are difficult because Peter is reminding believers of their salvation in the midst of judgement.

He builds the momentum of his argument with a series of "if" clauses.

• If God did not spare angels
• If God did not spare the world in its wickedness by sending the flood (Genesis 6-8); but protected Noah
• If God condemned Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19)
• If God rescued Lot

However looking back at 1 Peter 3 which links the imprisoned spirits/angels with the "days of Noah" (1 Peter 3:20), we find that Peter is laying out two strands from biblical history, like this:

• IF God did not spare angels nor the ancient world
  BUT protected Noah
• IF God condemned Sodom and Gomorrah
  BUT rescued Lot

THEN...verse 9 tells us Peter's conclusion - the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and hold the unrighteous for judgement.

What is Peter's main concern in Chapter 2? It's not them but us. Not just their condemnation - the judgement awaiting the false prophets and false teachers; but the salvation that God is more than able to bring upon us as his people. The Lord knows how to rescue godly men. He rescues them - verse 9 says - from trials.

The temptation and persecution that results from the actions of these false teachers are part of the trials that God's people have always face, and Christians continue to face today. In the midst of our distress, in the face of temptation, perhaps even death - Peter's main concern is that we continue to trust in the God who saves, who has always saved, and who will save us on the last day. In short, we will face trials, and in these trials, we can depend in a God who is utterly dependable.

It is striking that Peter minces no words when speaking of judgement, condemnation nor hell; all the while emphasizing rescue, deliverance and salvation. Salvation has little meaning if we are not aware of what we are saved from. The gospel of the great announcement of Jesus bearing the just wrath of God towards sinful men upon himself on the cross, and through his violent death purchasing a people for himself - now no longer slaves to sin nor facing condemnation; but recipients of Christ's righteousness, regenerated by the indwelling of his Spirit, sanctified for his purposes and glory.

Christ makes the promise of salvation in the gospel certain. At the same time, the cross also makes the final judgement all the more just. Both are part of the same gospel. Trusting in the cross is our only way of rescue. Rejecting the Saviour is the only assured way to destruction (verses 20-22).

To those far from Christ, even the good news and certainty of the promises of God will smell of death. But to those in Christ, even trials and temptations in this world will remind us of the God who is ever able to work all things for his glory and for our good. Paul puts it like this:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:38-39)

Let nothing shake you from the knowledge that you are always, always, always in the love of your Saviour and God - Jesus knows how to save those who are his!