Falling Away?

 

Jesus says in John 16 verse 1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”

This is a most interesting thing for Jesus to say. Hasn’t he been telling us over and over that those whom he has called will never fall away? Since we can’t accuse Jesus of lying, then what is he talking about? He has been talking about the Apostles being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. He will continue to tell them even more about this. He is warning them, and us, that if we are not prepared to suffer for our faith, we are likely to do something in this present age, fall away, but that will
not affect our salvation. Now that sounds like a contradiction because Jesus clearly told us that anyone who disowns him will be disowned by the Father. We can really dig ourselves in theological holes if we take verses out of context.

The mistake we make is that we look at what Jesus said about being disowned as a final unforgivable sin. However, falling away is not something permanent for a true believer in Jesus Christ. We can look ahead to Peter’s denial of Jesus and his restoration. Jesus even knew in advance that though Peter would “fall away” under some very minor discomfort when confronted that he knew Jesus, he would return.

Unfortunately, there are still some people who express their faith in Jesus and fall away permanently. They never turn back and that is because there was something wrong with their faith. Like Judas, who had hoped that Jesus was the conquering Messiah. When he realized that his faith was misplaced, he fell away. He didn’t understand who Jesus really is. The same is true of many people who claim they believe in Jesus. When things go sideways in their lives and they don’t get what they think they should be getting out of their faith, then they leave. John explains in first John 2 verse 17 that when this happens, they didn’t really belong. “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us”.

This is also the reason why the Book of Hebrews was written. Too many of the early Jewish Christians were denying their faith in the face of persecution. The author warns in chapter 3 verse 10 that only those who hold on to their faith to the end are the ones who truly are saved. “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” It is healthy for us to stop every once in a while and think about our salvation. When we do, we should acknowledge that we are capable of falling, but we must also consider that if we truly know Jesus, then he will never let anyone snatch us out of his hand . That is a confidence we can have that will keep us until the end.

But if you think you may be one who isn’t save, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel." 

 May God Bless you!