Good to Bad

Where do you stand when it comes to the “once saved, always saved” debate? If you’re unfamiliar with this long-standing argument, it stems from the question as to whether once someone becomes a believer, if it is possible for them to ever “lose” their salvation? Is it possible for them to turn from God; to reject him to the point of going to hell, not heaven, when they die? Very intelligent, godly, discerning believers fall on both sides of this argument. Every believer would agree that we can't earn our salvation. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith alone. It is a gift - the ultimate gift. But can the gift be returned? Can we turn so far from his righteous ways that we forfeit the gift? I don’t know for sure. There are strong biblical arguments on both sides. But I believe that we can reject him to the point of sending ourselves to hell. There are many verses that I could argue support this notion, and some that may seem to contradict it. But this is what God says in Ezekiel, chapter 18, verse 24:  

“But if a righteous man turns from righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.”

My commentary explains that this is a “warning against those who knowingly and willfully turn from righteousness.” As with everything, I believe that it begins and ends with our heart. What happens when a believer in Christ decides to reject Christianity and becomes a Muslim or a Buddhist then later dies? What happens when a believer chooses to reject his faith, abandon his wife and children, and embrace a life of orgies, drugs and all manner of wickedness, then dies? These are real life examples. And I know of several others; ones where even “once saved, always saved” believing pastors struggle to find answers to those they’ve known who have died under similar circumstances. When it comes to this question, I’ve always thought it wise to err on the side of caution. I think it is better to believe that it is possible to lose our salvation and be wrong than to believe that we can’t and be wrong. As far as my life is concerned, I don’t ever want to test this question. I choose to follow Christ with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength until I die, or until he returns, and I hope you do too.

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I debated, for a while, whether I should explore this argument here. Some may argue that the “once saved, always saved” argument is fruitless; that it doesn’t matter and that we will all know the truth when we get to heaven. But if this question will determine whether some of us will get to heaven or not, it does matter. I heard one pastor say that once we are saved we are going to heaven whether we want to or not. Many ardent believers in the “once saved, always saved” argument don’t even want to consider the other side. Many may become angry, discussions can become heated, and relationships can become frayed. My desire is not to sow fear or doubt. My desire is to encourage us all to seek the Holy Spirit in discerning his word; to allow him to teach us what is true so that we can clearly, and with all confidence, share that truth with others. So I encourage you to read the Bible. Allow what you’ve been taught to be tested through the scripture. If you’re at peace with what you know the Spirit has shown you, great. But if you aren’t, and the question of “once saved, always saved” continues to elude you, press God for an answer. The answer to this question may not affect you, but it could affect someone you know who has completely turned their back on God. It may plant an added level of urgency in your prayers for their soul.

No Honor

The notoriety that can often times come with success can have a strange effect on relationships. It can change the one who is blessed with success but it can also change the people who knew the person before they became successful. When someone gains success, notoriety, or are honored among many, they are often told “not to forget where they came from”. This saying is meant to keep them grounded. It is meant to help them remember their humble beginnings and to not forget those they knew before their life situation changed so drastically. But what about their family, friends and neighbors? They can change too. Is there a saying for them? I would argue that there is. In John, chapter 4, verse 44, it says:    

“(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country).”

Why would this be true? Why would someone, who is so honored by God, have no honor in his own country? I would argue that it is because when a person finds success, those who knew them before they became successful have a tendency to become jealous, indignant, or may have a hard time coming to terms with the idea of someone who used to be like them all of the sudden becoming a big shot. They may be struggling with the notion that someone they knew as “ordinary” is now being treated as someone “special”. Later, in John 6, verse 42 it says: “They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, who’s father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven?’” And it goes on to say in chapter 7, verse 5: “For even his own brothers did not believe him.” Jesus’ own brothers had a problem with who Jesus became. They had a difficult time accepting that the person they knew as a biological brother is now being heralded as a healer and a prophet; one who now claimed to be the Son of God. Why do I bring this up? Because if God blesses you through your ministry efforts with notoriety and success, don’t expect to find honor among those you’ve grown up with. I’m sure this isn’t always the case, but there is biblical evidence to support it.

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Imagine if your annoying little brother, or the bully down the street, or the underachieving kid at school would one day become a major figure in God’s plan for the world. How would that make you feel? How would you treat them? I would encourage you to treat them with the same honor as anyone you may consider a hero in the faith. I would encourage you to see them through God’s eyes, and to understand that God can, and often does, use those who we may not choose to do his work. King David dealt with these same kinds of reactions from his father, brothers and even Samuel initially. It is human nature to become indignant, jealous, or even bitter towards those whom God chooses to raise to a place of honor. If you struggle in this area, I encourage you to look beyond any selfishness or indignation that may well up within you and show honor for the one God chose for this task.

Drawn to Evil

I was listening to a podcast recently about the dark web. The “dark web” is place on the internet where anyone can operate with complete anonymity. It is almost as if those who surf the dark web are invisible because they can do anything without being identified. They can operate in the dark. What I learned from that show was more about the human condition than the dangers of the dark web. When we think there are no consequences to our actions; when we think no one can see what we are doing, our hearts often go to a dark and evil place. We may find ourselves doing things that, if we were operating in the light, we wouldn’t even think of doing. That is why believers need to continually be on guard. We need to continually pray that our hearts are not drawn to what is evil. Because if left to our own devices, I’m convinced that it is in our nature to desire it. Instead, we should pray Psalm 141, verse 4, which says:     

“Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.”

Sin can be enticing. We can often be tempted to do what we know is disobedience to God. That is why we need to be on guard. We all go through our highs and lows. There are times when we are close to God and there are times we are far from him. There are times when we are high in the clouds or in the promised land so to speak, and there are times when we find ourselves in the valley or in the desert. Anyone can fall to sin. And most of us have no idea how far we can fall. So I encourage you to pray this prayer from Psalm 141: “Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.” To think that any of us are mature and righteous enough that we can resist any temptation is arrogant and dangerous. David, a man after God’s heart, committed adultery. Moses, the chosen deliverer of the Israelites, murdered someone. Peter, upon whom Jesus said he’d build his church, denied Christ three times. And Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, turned to worshipping other gods. We can also fall. So I encourage you to pray that the Holy Spirit help you to stand firm.

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Denying our flesh is a daily battle. That is why Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily and follow him. We can’t succeed on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. We need to continually guard our heart. In Ephesians, Paul talks about the “breastplate of righteousness”. The breastplate guards the heart if its wearer. How is your heart today? Are you allowing it to be drawn to what is evil? Are you taking part in wicked deeds? Are you indulging in the delicacies of sin? Any of us are subject to finding ourselves in that place. So I encourage you to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Forgive Like God

Have you ever paused to consider how forgiving our God is? We disobey him, ignore him, hide from him, take him for granted, receive gifts from him without thanking him, and sometimes we even curse him. All the while, he is waiting, ready to forgive us if we would just come back to him and repent. We may even sin multiple times in a day, yet he is still merciful. If we come to him in sincerity, he is ready to forgive us. So when he asks us to forgive those who have wronged us, he is not asking us to do something he hasn’t done himself. Jesus says in Luke, Chapter 17, verses 3 and 4: 

“So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

For some, this mandate is more difficult than for others. Some of you have been severely wronged. Some have been abused. Others have been cheated and lied to. And still others have been stolen from or taken advantage of. It never ceases to amaze me what one human being is capable of doing to another. But, if we want to reflect the character of God, we need to remember what Jesus says. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” So like God, we are told to forgive. But unlike God, we may not forget. When we repent, Psalms reminds us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” And in Hebrews the Lord declares, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” God has the ability to do that, but even though we aren’t built that way, we are still called to forgive. God will help us to deal with the remembering part.

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What does it look like to forgive? It doesn’t mean that we are to behave as if nothing ever happened. And it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be on our guard against another offense or to let someone walk all over us by inviting them to continually hurt us. The dictionary describes forgiveness this way: “to stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.” So, forgiveness is as much about our personal healing as it is for the healing of a relationship. It may not mean that we will embrace the person who has wronged us. But it does mean that we can stop feeling angry or resentful towards them. It means that we are allowing ourselves find peace and allowing God to heal our hearts. If their repentance is true, then with the help of the Holy Spirit, true healing can begin. That is why it is so important that when we sin, our repentance is true. Only then can we begin to heal and rebuild our relationship with God. So I challenge you to do what Jesus says. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Required

I love Christian songs that incorporate biblical scripture within the lyrics. I’m sure you’ve seen this quite often in worship songs and hymns that you sing in church. But there are several contemporary artists who’ve done this as well. One of my favorite Steven Curtis Chapman songs is, “The Walk”. In it, he recites part of Micah chapter 6, verse 8 which says:

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

This comes after the Lord chastises his people through the prophet Micah for worshipping other gods. He lets the Israelites know what is required of them and he breaks it down into three seemingly simple things. As with so much of the Bible, I believe that these required mandates are for us as well. First he says that we are to act justly. Our God is a just God, and if we are to reflect his nature, we need to be just as well. We should want, and pray, for justice. As God hates to see the guilty go free and the innocent condemned, we should too. We also need to love mercy. If we don’t show mercy to others, mercy may not be shown to us. It is difficult to do, but God modeled this for us when he sent his son to die for our sins. Finally, we are to walk humbly with our God. God loves a broken and contrite heart. He loves a humble spirit. Not only does he love it, he notices it and rewards it. I encourage you to pursue these godly attributes. We should all aspire to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

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Try to imagine what it must look like to live a life in line with the requirements God put upon the Israelites in Micah, chapter 6; to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. What would that actually look like? You may know someone who is walking these principles out in their life. You may even be that person. But if you aren’t, I encourage you to think on what it might look like in your life. Would you have to change anything in your life to act justly in all of your interactions and your philosophy concerning judgment? Do you love mercy? Do you love it even when you’ve been wronged and are the one called to be merciful? And do you walk humbly with God? Do you know your place in relation to him? These are certainly attributes that are good and holy. Every believer should pursue them. And in Micah, God requires this of his people. Let us make every effort to let them mold us more into the character of Jesus.