Question: There are Arminians who say to me that in the Bible we find proofs that a person who is saved can lose salvation. For example in Luke 8,13 they say to me that there are people who believe only for a time: “for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away”. They say to me that these people believe and after a time leave the faith and lose that salvation. This is confirmed by 1 Timothy 4,1 where we read: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith”. Since we can depart from the faith we can loose that salvation we previously have with that faith.
Another “proof” they point me to is 1 Samuel 10,6: they say that Saul received the Holy Spirit and was turned into another man, he was converted to God. But despite being turned into another man by the Holy Spirit, towards the end of his life he disobeyed God and was no longer converted to God but had the ability to rebel against God.
They also teach that Calvinists are wrong when they teach we are surely saved only by election because the apostle Paul was not sure to be saved at all: in 1 Corinthians 15,2 Paul says: “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” Here Paul was not saying we are certainly saved by election but that we are saved if we do something. It is an illusion to believe we are saved because we must pay attention since our salvation is not sure: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10,12)
They say to me that certainly we can lose our salvation since ” if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrew 10:38. If we are saved and always saved why we can draw back?
They believe we can return to sin after we are saved: For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. (2 Peter 2,20-21).
At the end the Arminians terribly distressed me with this final reasoning: Paul had a collaborator named Demas (Colossians 4,14). Paul said that his collaborators had their name written in the book of life, this means they are saved. (Philippians 4,3) So Demas was saved with his name written in the book of life. But Dema left Paul because He loved the world, so he was no more a believer. (2°Timothy 4,10) This is proof that his name was blotted out from the book of life and he loose his salvation.
Answer: First of all, let me present the case for eternal security and perseverance of the saints. Biblical support is as follows:
John 6:44, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (ESV) Jesus says no one is able to “come” to him (his phrase, in this message, for believing in him) unless the Father draws this person. The basic inability of humans to come to Jesus, to believe in him, is overcome by the Father’s drawing action. But could it be that this drawing action can be resisted? Apparently not. Jesus says that the person so drawn to him will be raised up by him on the last day.
John 10:25–30. Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (ESV)
Jesus acknowledges that there are people who cannot believe because they are not among his sheep, that is, they have not been selected to believe and become his flock. Those who have been selected for his flock hear his voice and respond to it by following him. AND they will NEVER PERISH! He gives them eternal life and no one (not even themselves, I would argue) can snatch them from his or his Father’s hand. They are eternally secure.
Romans 8:28–39. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)Paul describes an unbreakable chain: whoever is predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ is called, whoever is called is justified (declared righteous before God by the merit of Jesus’ righteousness and sacrifice), whoever is justified is (or we would say, will be) glorified (resurrected and eternally perfected). If God is for the believer in this way, then nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. That is eternal security.
1 Corinthians 1:4–9. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (ESV)
For those Corinthians who were responsive to the testimony about Christ and enriched, therefore, in all speech gifts and knowledge gifts, Paul gives assurance that they will be sustained by Jesus Christ to the end and presented guiltless in the day of the Lord Jesus. God’s faithfulness assures this.
Ephesians 1:13–14. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV)
For those who have believed Paul gives the assurance that they were sealed with the Holy Spirit, i.e., marked as belonging to God. And that Holy Spirit in our lives is the guarantee that we will acquire our inheritance from God.
Philippians 1:6. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Paul sees the evidence of salvation in the lives of the Philippians, most notably in their financial support for him from the very beginning, so he is convinced that God has begun a good work in them, the work of salvation, and he knows that what God begins He finishes.
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (ESV)
God will surely sanctify the spirit, soul and body of the true believer.
Matthew 24:22–24. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (ESV)
Jesus is giving his disciples the signs of the end of the age. He describes a time of great tribulation that will come with many false christs proclaiming themselves, and will sound very convincing, but it is not possible to lead the elect astray.
Romans 6:1–7. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (ESV)
We who have died to sin with Jesus Christ cannot continue to live in sin. So if we have been united with him in his death (saved) we will also be united with him in his resurrection. There is no chance that we will pull away from him and lose our salvation. We’ve been set free from the dominance of sin over our lives.
Romans 8:5–11. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (ESV)
Those who live by the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit, and you are in the Spirit in this way if the Spirit dwells in you. If the Spirit does not dwell within you then you do not belong to Christ. But we know that the Spirit dwells within every true believer (see Ephesians 1:13,14 above, and 1 Corinthians 12:12,13).
1 Corinthians 6:9–11. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)
The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom, but believers will not continue in unrighteousness. Believers have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit. They will inherit the kingdom. By implication, those who do continue in unrighteousness were not saved to begin with.
1 John 2:18–20. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. (ESV)
Theological support is from two standpoints:
A. From the nature of salvation
1. We are not saved on the basis of works. How could we lose our salvation on that basis?
2. If we have been justified (declared righteous by God), not on the basis of works or personal righteousness, that judicial pronouncement made on the basis of Christ’s righteousness imputed to our account cannot be overturned by anything we do.
3. If we have to pay for any sin of ours, past, present, or future, we must pay with our lives eternally. Unless Christ’s death paid for every sin I ever committed or will commit, I can never be justified in His sight, but if all are paid for I can never be punished for anything I do wrong.(Romans 8:1-4)
4. If we were reconciled when we were enemies, why, once friends, would we ever be subject to God’s wrath again? (Romans 5:9-11)
B. From the standpoint of God’s election, how, if He chose us to be saved, not based on anything in ourselves, would He then unchoose us because of something in ourselves (a repudiation of faith)?
1. Romans 8:29; 9:22-24, What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ; 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
2. Ephesians1:4-12; 2:4-10 (1:4,5, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. – 2:4-10, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
3. Philippians2:12,13
4. Hebrews12:7-11, God disciplines true believers resulting in sharing His holiness
5. 2 Peter 1:5-11, walking in righteousness confirms your calling and election
Now let me respond to the passages offered by your Arminian friends.
Luke 8:13. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. (ESV)
There is genuine belief and there is temporary belief. Of Simon the sorcerer/magician in Acts 8:13 it is said, “Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip“. But Peter tells him, after he offers to pay Peter to have the ability to confer the Holy Spirit upon people, “I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” In other words, Simon is not saved. Jesus is speaking here about that temporary kind of faith that does not save anyone. True believers persevere through times of testing.
1 Timothy 4:1. Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (ESV)
Those who depart from the faith, that is, from the teaching which we are to believe, not from faith itself, were not true believers to begin with, like those John describes in 1 John 2, who went out from the church with a false teaching about Jesus, and whom John says were not actually “of” us.
1 Samuel 10:10–11. When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 1 Samuel 16:14. Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.(ESV)
The giving of the Holy Spirit to anointed kings in Israel was not the giving of the Spirit for salvation but for carrying out their responsibilities as king. The removing of His Spirit was the removing of the man as king. Whether Saul was saved or not is not a matter of whether he had the Spirit to lead as king, but whether he had truly believed in Yahweh. If giving of the Spirit to Saul was for salvation then he wasn’t saved until he met these prophets, but that is patently not what meeting the prophets is all about.
Hebrews 10:35–39. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (ESV)
The writer to the Hebrews is wrestling with some Jewish believers who are being tempted to give up Christianity and returning to Judaism. He tells them in chapter 6 (see my article on it) that someone who does that cannot be renewed to repentance. In essence, they have committed the unpardonable sin. But the writer says there the same thing he says here, that “we are convinced of better things concerning you, things pertaining to salvation” (6:9). “We,” the author says here of himself and his readers, “are not of those (unbelievers) who shrink back (whose faith is only temporary, not saving) and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls,” that is, those who persevere in faith, as true believers do.
2 Peter 2:1–3, 20-22. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (ESV)
This might be the most difficult passage to explain. It is clear that these false teachers are not now saved. But were they saved before this. They are denying the Master who bought them. Did He actually buy them, redeem them, or is this speaking from the perspective of what they claimed. They escaped from the defilements of the world, like those who had no root that Jesus mentioned (Luke 8). But was this genuine salvation or a temporary turning from unrighteousness that they could not maintain? They know the way of righteousness but do not actually believe it, teaching instead a false doctrine so they can engage in unrighteousness. They are dogs returning to their vomit. They never became sheep. I suggest that my interpretation that they were never saved is preferable to overturning all the clear passages I shared above that clearly teach eternal security and perseverance of the saints.
Colossians 4:14. Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. (ESV) 2 Timothy 4:9–11. Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. (ESV)
Paul does not say that Demas has his name written in the book of life. But even if he had, Paul is not saying that Demas has lost his salvation. He is saying that Demas deserted him. John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, also at one time deserted Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:13) and Paul refused to take him on the next journey because of this. But now Mark is serving with Paul and Paul asks him to come join him in Rome, where Paul is in prison. As far as we know, Paul still considers Demas a saved person, just not a faithful co-worker.
Jesus said, in his sermon on the mount: Matthew 7:21–23. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (ESV). It is not the case that they knew him and he knew them and that therefore they were saved, and that somehow they turned from the truth, though they still claimed to be living it, and lost their salvation. Jesus says, “I never knew you.” They were never saved to begin with.
Here are some articles I have written on this
- https://askthepastors.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/can-brain-damage-make-me-lose-my-salvation/
- https://askthepastors.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/would-jesus-forsake-a-believer-who-worships-other-gods/
- https://askthepastors.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/what-is-the-unpardonable-sin/
- https://askthepastors.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/can-backsliding-cause-me-to-lose-my-salvation/
- https://askthepastors.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/can-a-christian-fall-from-grace/
- https://askthepastors.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/does-suicide-keep-me-from-heaven/
- http://thimblefulloftheology.com/category/perseverance-of-the-saints/
Will People Have as an Excuse Before God at the Judgment That He Did Not Open Their Minds to Their Sins?
Question: If a man makes a mistake and commits a sin but he believes in his heart that it is not a sin and it is the will of God, then God will punish him for this error despite the fact that this man believes in his conscience that it is the will of God? For example, Islam’s kamikazes who cause terror and death believing it is the will of God. Why does God not clearly show the truth to people but lets them make terrible errors in His name? I can imagine a future dialog on judgment day where a person blames God for not opening his mind to the truth. Or would God forgive him for at least seeking to honor Him even though he did it improperly?
Answer: If I believe in my conscience that taking your life to further mine is correct, should I be given credit for killing you conscientiously? I ask it that way because I believe we are dealing with the question of absolutes here, moral absolutes and doctrinal absolutes.
Suppose I know someone you know, let’s call him Brett, and you see Brett as a loving family man and trusted worker, but I see him as a terrorist who is only putting on a front. Perhaps I carry out a terrorist act in Brett’s name with him as my mentor and example. In my conscience I believe it is proper to kill innocent people for the sake of the cause we, Brett and I, espouse. But is it ever right to kill innocent people to bolster one’s cause? Why do some people believe it is? Because Brett told them too? But if you know that Brett is not a terrorist and does not approve of terrorism, should you still honor me for killing in his name because I so firmly believed he was a terrorist? If you know Brett is a terrorist, does that cause you to honor me for doing terrorism in his name?
In Romans 1:18-26 Paul describes how everyone knows the truth about who God is because He has made it plain to everyone. No one on earth has an excuse to say they didn’t know about God. Paul similarly describes the role of conscience in Romans 2 and how it guides us in our decision making. We can violate our conscience and deny God and His moral law and even find ourselves doing it in God’s name.
Paul says that we hold down the truth or suppress the truth about God and His moral law. We do this because we don’t want to have to submit to a God whom we cannot control. We redefine God in a way that makes Him acceptable to us. All the religions of the world are a defining of God in a way that keeps Him manageable. All the religions of the world, except Christianity, hold, for example, that the way to have a right relationship to God is by obeying Him and that we have the ability to do that. Christianity, on the other hand, denies that we have the ability to obey God and so holds that a right relationship with God can only come as a gift from Him. All the religions of the world, except Christianity, believe that God will forgive us if we are trying hard to obey Him. Christianity, on the other hand, acknowledges that we all justly deserve eternal separation from God and He cannot forgive us unless the demands of justice are met, and He has indeed met them for us by dying in our place. Christianity alone requires a sacrifice because Christianity alone understands how truly alienated and rebellious we are.
So we are truly culpable or blameworthy for claiming wrong things about God. We do know better deep down but don’t want to acknowledge it. God will not honor the terrorist for thinking he was doing God’s will. The terrorist is in rebellion against the true God and will not be pardoned for wicked deeds done in God’s name. He will have no excuse before the throne of judgment.
There may be areas of moral decision that are not so clear as the issue of murdering innocents. In these areas there is room for honest differences between people and God will certainly honor the intent of the heart. But He will not justify killing in His name for the sake of striking fear in people’s hearts to get one’s political or religious view more influence. That young man or woman who believes he or she is getting into heaven because they blew themselves up in Allah’s name is going to be sadly disappointed. They should have known better. Deep down, they did know better. They had to stifle their conscience with the false teaching of those who recruited them.
If Christians are forgiven, why are we going to be judged?
Question: It says in the Bible that those who are in Christ are free from condemnation. If this is so, why then will
we face judgment? And child molesters, rapists, and murderers, are they also free from condemnation when they accept Christ and repent? What sort of judgment might they receive? We will be judged according to our deeds? What does that mean? Christians say we should be free from guilt and shame and accept the free gift of grace and salvation. Then they say we will be judged. This is confusing to me. Should I fear for my salvation or just believe all is well? And honestly, where’s the justice? For those who lived a life of abuse and neglect, hurt, and shame caused by another, God says He will make things right for us. But if the perpetrator is forgiven completely, where’s justice for the victim?
Answer: There are several judgments mentioned in the Bible. The final judgment is mentioned in Revelation 20:11-15 and is often referred to as The Great White Throne Judgment because if depicts Jesus sitting on a white throne as he carries out this judgment. But only unbelievers are present at this judgment, only those whose names are not found written in the Lamb’s book of life. They are thus judged for not having believed in Christ and they are also judged on their works. This suggests that there are degrees of punishment in hell (see my article on this). Dante, in his book Inferno, sought to describe what these different degrees of punishment looked like but there are no specific descriptions given in Scripture.
Believers, on the other hand, will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10):
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Though it may sound as if this determines whether we are saved or not, Paul makes it clear in all his writings, and especially in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, that this judgment is really about determining our reward in heaven. Just as there are degrees of punishment in hell, there are degrees of reward in heaven. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). When we believe we “pass from death to life” (John 5:24).
But your question suggests that for those who have been abused the presence of their perpetrator or any perpetrator in heaven because they repented and were forgiven may compromise your sense of reward. This assumes that the sin of the perpetrator is different in kind than your sin and less worthy of forgiveness. And truly, the sin of the perpetrator is egregious and heinous, having devastated and tortured the life of the victim in extraordinary ways. But we are also rebels against God’s kingdom and rule. We too have rejected the love and grace of God until He visited us in grace and forgave us. We are equally undeserving of heaven.
Besides, when we are fully enveloped in the love of heaven, we will be able to love the perpetrator the way God loves the perpetrator and the way He loves us. We will be able to say as Christ did, “Father, forgive them.” The perpetrator will be able to acknowledge how deeply and gravely he injured those he abused and seek reconciliation. We have seen a bit of this miraculous transformation in the aftermath of the end of apartheid in South Africa and in the forgiveness offered after the slaughter of Tutsis and Hutus.
There is a need in human beings, generated by the uncompromising love and justice of God, to see justice done and to see hatred quashed. God has figured out a way to do both. If there is not justice for the least infraction, there is no justice. If there is not forgiveness for the worst infraction, there is no forgiveness.
Related articles
Is There No Forgiveness For Intentional Sin?
Question: Hebrews 10:26 says that if we sin willfully knowing better there is no more sacrifice for our sins.
Well I have been taught that if you keep sinning over again knowing you’re going to do it, like premeditated sinning I guess you could call it, that’s what the scripture is talking about. Others say that its talking about rejecting Christ as savior after knowing the truth. So which is it?
Answer: Let me let you decide. Here is the full passage:
Hebrews 10:26, If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Does it seem clear to you that the deliberate sinning being talked about here is equivalent to having “trampled the Son of God underfoot”? And if you view the letter as a whole it is written to a church with many Jewish believers who are considering returning to Judaism. Context clearly answers your question.
But the other question here is one of choosing to deliberately keep sinning. How does that affect you? I think the answer is it hardens your heart and your conscience to sin. It makes it harder and harder to really come to a place of repentance. You are damaging your soul and certainly hurting the heart of God. A true believer cannot lose his or her salvation. But God will certainly, out of love for you, discipline you until you come to a place of righteousness (Hebrews 12:4-11). That is not an enviable place to be.
See also:
Related articles
- Can a true Christian lose their salvation? (newjerusalem.net.au)
Before Christ, Did God Expect Gentiles to Become Jews in order to be Saved?
Question: Cornelius was a God-fearing Roman. One commentary says,”These were Gentiles who loved the God of Israel and were sympathetic to and supportive of the Jewish faith. Yet they stopped short of becoming full Jews in lifestyle and in circumcision.” How did God feel about Gentiles who came to love Him but would not “fully commit” in terms of observing the Law? Did He desire believing Gentiles to adhere to Jewish Law, or did He not expect that of them because they were Gentiles? Cornelius was post-Jesus, but what about before Christ came? When a Gentile became a believer in the God of Israel, did God want them to observe Jewish Law, or was that just for the nation of Israel?
Answer: This is a very interesting question. We are not given any specific answer to it that I am aware of in either the Old or New Testaments. However, we might be given some clues.
We may suppose that Melchizedek (Genesis 14) was approved by God as priest, since he received tithes from Abraham, and we may presume that he was not required by God to adhere to the same standards Abraham was. On the other hand Jacob’s sons told the men of Shechem that they could not ally with them unless they were all circumcized (Genesis 34). But they were lying to them in order to avenge their sister. So we might not believe that their statement was a valid one in any point.
When Naaman the Aramite was healed by dipping in the waters of Jordan (2 Kings 5), Elisha did not also preach to him that he needed to become a Jew as well, even though he presented Elisha with a request that when he had to go into the pagan temple and bow it be forgiven. This indicates that he had converted to worship of Yahweh. Elisha told him to go in peace.
The message in Acts 10 that comes from Peter’s mouth is, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (verses 34,35). I’m leaning toward the view that it didn’t matter in any generation, before or after Christ’s coming, that Gentiles did not follow Jewish legal codes.
On the other hand, Paul continued at times to observe Jewish law (hence, his arrest, Acts 21:20-33). He did not keep it in order to be saved, but simply because he was a Jew and it was permissable for Jews to keep the Law God had given them to set them apart from Gentiles. Gentiles are not meant, it seems, to keep the Law, only Jews.
Randall Johnson
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Why Didn’t Jesus Have to Suffer the Way Unbelievers Will?
Question: Why was it such a difficult thing for Jesus to die on the cross and pay for our sins? I know that he took the full force of God’s wrath for our sin, but what did that do to Jesus? I know Jesus went through hell, but it was only temporary. All of us die, some very horrible deaths. And then some of us receive payment for our sins forevermore to be separated from God. This is terrible to say, but honestly it seems like a small price to pay considering humans and demons continue paying for their sin forever. I know Jesus was innocent of any sins. How can I see this from a more realistic and Godly viewpoint?
Answer: I think you’re asking why Jesus didn’t have to pay more of a price equal to the punishment humans receive for rebelling against God. He only died physically (and though torturous it was fairly limited compared to how some have been made to suffer) and then he was only separated from God for a short time and then entered Paradise upon death. In other words, Jesus’ penalty seems way less than what others have exacted from them by God.
I have just had some of my own assumptions challenged in this area. Are we correct in assuming that Jesus’ death has to be equal to the suffering of death that anyone else experiences to adequately pay the price for their sin? Is the price for sin related to how horribly we die or just that we die physically? It would seem it could only be related to the fact that we die, not the extent of our suffering.
And was Jesus’ statement that God had forsaken him a statement of the Father’s actually abandoning him spiritually (so that he experienced a taste of hell)? What is the actual penalty of rebellion against God? It might only be physical death and that physical death for the unbeliever leads to eternal separation from God as a consequence, not so much as a penalty.
I don’t know yet how to answer each of those questions I raised, but I think it is important to recognize that Jesus was the only human being who ever lived a completely righteous life in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the value of his life is of infinite value and capable of paying for every human being who believes. The fact that he would choose to die in our place when he did not deserve to die at all lends even greater weight to his sacrifice.
So we don’t have to see some kind of one-to-one correspondence between how Jesus died and how everyone else dies. It is more a matter of what God accepts. God values Jesus’ death as equal to what we would have had to pay corporately. He feels it is a just payment in our place. We may not fully understand how that is so, but we know His balance scales are always honestly weighted. He didn’t give himself an easy way out.
Can Brain Damage Make Me Lose My Salvation?
Question: I have a question concerning senility in older believers, or amnesia in any other age. I suppose the root of this question pertains to the nature of the soul, but what is the state of a believer who begins to lose his or her mind because of his or her age, that is when memories begin to fade and recollections do not exist anymore? Along the same lines, what would be the state of a person who professed true faith but, due to some accident, has lost that memory and, in essence, has become another person?
Answer: There are three ways to answer this question.
(1) I am assuming that by “state of a believer” and “state of a person who professed true faith” that you are ultimately asking whether this would affect the person’s salvation. Could a person’s personality be so changed that they might deny the truth of the gospel and of their relationship with God? It is possible, I suppose, that they could so change, but it is not possible that this would cause them to lose a salvation they already possessed. Jesus says of his sheep, believers, in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” The phrase “no one” seems to mean no one, including the believer. I’ll refer you to several articles on this blog about the impossibility of losing one’s salvation (backsliding, fall from grace, suicide, breaking promise not to sin).
(2) It is very possible, given the nature of human beings as both spirit and body, that the body can affect the spirit and the spirit can affect the body. If someone was paralyzed we would not expect them to kneel in prayer, stand in worship, or walk door to door in evangelism. They’re not accountable for those things given their physical limitations. Why would we expect someone to exhibit strong mental and spiritual capacity if their brain is injured or diseased? If we can’t do something, we are not responsible for doing it. This is why in God’s new covenant message Jeremiah quotes the proverb, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge,’ but then reverses it. The children cannot be responsible for their parents’ actions.
(3) There will be many situations in our lives when we will be called upon to love those who cannot seem to give anything back. This might be especially true of those who suffer Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. Like the man who was paralyzed we may need to carry them to Jesus because they cannot get to him themselves. The state of their soul is that they are still precious in the eyes of the Lord. Unconditional love cannot be more effectively demonstrated than when someone cannot give us anything back. As Jesus taught, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13, 14)
Randall Johnson
Would Jesus Forsake a Believer Who Worships Other Gods?
Question: According to Hosea 5:6, 9-11, and 14 God withdraws, removes protection, pours out wrath, tears to pieces because He is ticked off at Israel’s spirit of prostitution. Is it fair to say, even in light of the cross, that God still does all those things to believers who are operating out of a spirit of prostitution?
Answer: Hosea is prophesying against idolatrous Israel. His own marriage becomes a parable of how Israel has been unfaithful to Yahweh, her husband. He (Yahweh and Hosea) must “wall in” (3:6) his wife (Israel and Gomer) until she can be faithful again. She is caught up in a spirit of prostitution (4:12; 5:4).
The specific actions described in chapter 5 are consistent with God’s covenant agreement with Israel as found in Leviticus 26, a series of punishments for covenant unfaithfulness ranging from disease, crop failure, wild animal infestations, plague, sieges by other nations and eventually exile from the land. Hosea’s prophecy reflects this last stage where God is ready to abandon the nation to exile from the land. This is the final warning, so to speak.
Now we must understand that Israel stands in a covenant relationship with Yahweh and there is both a conditional and unconditional aspect to it. When God made the covenant with Abraham it was in response to Abraham’s believing God’s promise that He would give Abraham a son and make him a great nation. Abraham believed God and He credited that to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Abraham was saved by faith. Then He instructed Abraham to cut several animals in half and arrange them on the ground so they could be walked between. This was a common way for two parties to make an agreement, in essence saying, this is what will happen to you if you fail the agreement. But Yahweh then put Abraham to sleep and in the form of a smoking firepot and flaming torch He alone walked between the pieces. He alone held Himself responsible for fulfilling the promise of the covenant.
Nevertheless, successive generations must be in compliance with the covenant requirements (the laws God gives them) in order to gain the promises. In various generations it may be that nearly the whole nation consists of unbelievers. God always maintains a remnant of believers (Isaiah 1:9, this is part of God’s way of unconditionally maintaining the nation’s existence for Abraham’s sake), but when the majority are unbelievers there is a needed response of judgment. Yet, one day, God will restore the nation as a whole to faith (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 37; Romans 11:25-32). He will “circumcise” the hearts of His people to enable them to keep the covenant and thus receive the promise (Deuteronomy 30:6).
Consequently, when we see these judgments against the nation of Israel, we cannot make a one-to-one correlation with them and individual believers today. No believer can ever be forsaken by the Lord (Hebrews 13:5; John 10:27-30; Romans 8, etc.). A believer might develop a spirit of prostitution, but God will discipline us (Hebrews 12) to bring us back to a proper relationship with Him. Believers will persevere in faith.
Randall Johnson
Why Did Caiaphas Say It Was Good for Jesus to Die?
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Question: Why in verse John 18:14 does Caiaphas advise the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people?
Answer: Caiaphas believed that Jesus was a threat to the commonwealth of Israel because he was claiming to be the Messiah. Several others had made similar claims in recent years and tried to start rebellions against Rome. He felt that Jesus might stir up the Romans to clamp down even tighter on Israel and this would be a threat to the high priest’s authority and a challenge to the effectiveness of his influence.
From God’s perspective it was good for one man, the God-Man Jesus, to die for (the sins of) the people that they might be redeemed from divine retribution. God’s wrath rests on all who follow their own ways and the only means of forgiveness is for someone to pay the penalty for our disobedience. That is what Jesus’ death accomplished.
Randall Johnson
What is the unpardonable sin?
Question: : What is the “unforgivable sin” and “the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”?
Answer: When Jesus heals a certain demonized man who is both blind and mute, the Pharisees say he had authority over the demons because he cast them out by the prince of demons (Matthew 12:22-37). In other words, they accuse him of being in league with Satan and using Satan’s power to cast out demons as a way of tricking people into believing in him. Jesus argues that Satan would thus be dividing his own kingdom against itself and this strategy would lead to his destruction. He claims instead that his power has come from the Spirit of God.
But because the Pharisees have attributed the Spirit’s power working through him to Satan instead, they have blasphemed (spoken evil against) the Holy Spirit. Every indicator in the miracles that Jesus performed pointed to the fact that it was the Holy Spirit and not Satan who was behind Jesus’ miracles. The Pharisees were responsible as leaders of Israel to evaluate any contenders to messiahship. But if they had not had a personal agenda of retaining their own power and influence, they could instead have acknowledged that Jesus’ compassion, the sheer number of miracles, the good results coming from them of people giving God glory, and their changed lives proved that God was behind Jesus’ ministry.
Instead they hardened their hearts against the truth and attributed to Satan what only the Holy Spirit could have done. Consequently, Jesus said their sin would not be forgiven in this age or the age to come, that is, ever. The unforgivable or unpardonable sin is refusing to see the plain truth in front of you of the Holy Spirit’s power and attestation that Jesus is the Messiah. Anyone who is blessed to see the truth this plainly but hardens his or her heart to it and refuses to submit to the truth cannot be forgiven.
If someone you think might have committed the unpardonable sin does demonstrate repentance and faith, you know they did not commit the unpardonable sin, or else they would not be able to have repentance and faith. If someone wants Jesus in his or her life, they can have him. The fact they want him shows they did not commit the unpardonable sin.
Randall Johnson
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