We are promised by Jesus Christ our Lord that we cannot be lost. He tells us, “However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them (drive them away). And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:37, 39). Here our God and Savior makes the promise He will never reject us or lose us! That we are forever sealed by The Father, Christ, and The Holy Spirit!
Jesus confirms this same statement again in a later passage, “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.” (John 10:27-29). Here he promises a third condition, that nothing can snatch you away from Him. So it begins with Christ will never reject you, He can never lose you, and no one will be able to snatch you out of His hands!
The Apostle Paul echoes this in his letter to The Romans, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39). But you may say, that’s just God’s love, well remember what the Apostle John says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8).
I imagine then the question lingers what of Jesus and Paul talking about the falling away from the faith?, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:10), and “No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy (falling away of the faith) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” (2 Thessalonians 2). Well there is an answer to why there are Christians who can never fall away, and those that who can fall away. The answer lies in Gospels and an epistle of John. Lets begin with epistle, “These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us,” (1 John 2:19). This verse is key, those who left the faith were never really saints and part of God’s family. The key is there is a difference between knowing about (gnosis) Jesus and doctrine, and knowing Jesus personally in a relationship (ginosko, epignosko). We see Christ himself make a distinction, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” (John 17:3), and “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life.” (John 10:27). The know here is Ginosko or Epignosko, to know in a relationship, the same Greek word comes up in the following passages, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23). There are many on Sunday who say “Lord Lord” but they do not actually know Christ, His Father, and the Spirit. It is in knowing the Lord through a intimate relationship that you cannot be rejected, lost, or fall away; because the faith isn’t just platitudes, philosophy, and performance, it is a personal friendship, and if you allow yourself to truly know the Lord God, to talk with Him, feel Him, spend time in His presence, you can never fall, for He becomes one with your DNA, your heart, and Spirit; you may forget yourself, even become angry, maybe even shout blasphemies, but you will always be like the parable of the two sons, the one who goes out to harvest, “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.” (Matthew 21:28-31).
I would argue the first son is a Christian who knows the Lord, and in moment of passion says no, but goes and does the Will of the Father, while the later son is the one who says “Lord, Lord,” but doesn’t do the Will of the Lord. This reminds me of what Jesus said of the Pharisees, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” (Matthew 15:8).
What ensures you never fall away is knowing Christ. To know Him in personal relationship, because then you arn’t just fighting to protect Scriptures, Doctrines, Dogmas, Rites, and Creeds, but a living faith and friendship you share with The Living God! If you are to be Once Saved Always Saved, you must open your heart to the Lord Almighty, let Him in and get to know Him; for if you choose to know Him, your Soul will be fortified, you will die to stay close to the Author of Life. For God the Trinity’s presence and personal friendship is greater than any pleasure, it fulfills all of you, makes you whole, makes you feel totally accepted and that you have complete purpose and worth, that you are loved unconditionally, and unreservedly. No one and nothing on this planet can do that save our Lord, and once you have felt His touch, all pales in comparison, and you become addicted, like young lovers who crave to be with one another all the time. This is the Joy to the World, to know to the Lord and never fall away ever. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment