JULY 20: CAN I WALK AWAY FROM MY SALVATION?

Focal Passage: Hebrews 6:1-12 

The Point: A true relationship with Christ is seen in our perseverance. 

Can a true believer walk away from the faith? The answer is an unequivocal NO. Yet, thousands walk away from Jesus every day. What’s going on? Answer: It is entirely possible to confess what you do not possess. 

Yes, we are commanded to confess Christ as Lord and Savoir based on His atoning death for sin and victorious resurrection from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). But not all who confess Jesus actually possess a true relationship with Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23). 

Genuine faith is not just seen in what a person says but in how a person lives, the spiritual fruit their life produces. While we are not saved by works, our works demonstrate that we truly belong to Jesus. No fruit? Probably no root. 

Show me a true believer and I’ll show you a person who loves the things Jesus loves — the Word, the Church, good works, righteous living, grace and mercy. True faith confesses AND endures. 

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 distills what Scripture teaches about faithful endurance. Article V on Salvation states: “All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” 

Kevin DeYoung has helpfully written: “Too often Christians have a mechanical view of salvation – say the prayer, walk an aisle, raise your hand – and you’re in the kingdom…you have your ‘get out of jail free’ card forever, and God is obligated to redeem you on the last day. That’s not exactly what the Bible teaches. … We cannot lose our salvation, but we can be deceived about having it in the first place. The perseverance of the saints is not a doctrine to encourage spiritual lethargy or moral laxity. It is a doctrine that encourages the Christian to actively persevere in faith, repentance, and in godliness because we have the confidence that God will unfailingly preserve the elect.” 

Hebrews 6:1-12 teaches some valuable truths about perseverance so that we will not be like Demas who deserted Christ and the ministry of Paul because he was “in love with this present world” more than he was in love with Jesus (II Timothy 4:10). 

• Perseverance calls for growing in our faith (Hebrews 6:1-3). We are to mature in our faith, moving on from the foundation of the ABC’s of the gospel to spiritually fruitful living. People who ‘taste’ of the gospel but never drink deeply of its truths so that it produces spiritual fruit are not true believers to begin with. Spiritual growth is essential to faithful perseverance. 

• Perseverance is grounded in what we have in Christ (Hebrews 6:4-8). And what do we have in Christ? The power of the Holy Spirit who enables us to truly taste of God’s heavenly gift of the good news that empowers us to trust and obey, repent and bear fruit. The person who has heard the gospel, faked a profession of faith, and then “falls” away is in great danger of being unable to be restored or truly saved. 

• Perseverance calls for diligently walking with Christ (Hebrews 6:9-12). And how do we walk with Christ? We do so in love and good works, by serving the saints, and displaying an earnest desire to know and experience the hope “of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” of eternal life. 

In the end, God alone knows who are truly saved. Yet, let us heed the admonition that we must truly possess what we truly confess. B&R