Mark Broadbent
MISUNDERSTANDING
> You can sin your way out of heaven
A few days ago, I was talking with a Christian leader who believed that we could sin our way out of heaven. Inevitably this lead to an argument about whether or not we could lose our salvation.
HERE IS HOW I DEAL WITH THE ISSUE (you may disagree with this)...
I try to explain...
1. 'If my actions can't get me into heaven, and then my actions can't get me kicked out of heaven'.
I am saved by faith, then surely my salvation is maintained by faith.
2. 'If I have to maintain my salvation by doing works, then I could never be sure that I was doing enough works'.
The Bible is clear that we can be sure. Our salvation depends upon the works of Christ, not the works of man.
3. 'If I am not currently trusting in Christ alone to save me, then I am definitely not saved'.
It doesn't matter whether we prayed some prayer in the past, had some experience of God, or have even made great sacrifices for God, we must have faith in order to be saved. If I do not have faith, if I am not trusting in Christ to save me, then I am not going to heaven.
Some will interpret this to say that I was never saved in the first place. Others will say that I was saved, but threw my salvation away. Either way, if I don't have faith, I am definitely not saved.
4. 'If there is no evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in my life, then I may not be saved'.
More on this next week...
5. "If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself". (This is a direct quote from 2 Timothy 2:12-13)
There is a difference between disowning Jesus and being faithless to him.
One person explained it like this... Imagine there is a mother carrying her baby across a busy road. The baby is holding onto the mother, and the mother is holding onto the baby. Should the baby let go of the mother, the mother will continue to hold onto the baby. But suppose the baby is able to kick and scream and break out of his mother's arms, then he is no longer safe from the traffic.
Now obviously there is debate as to whether a saved person is able to disown Jesus, but regardless of the debate, I think it is extremely important to differentiate between being faithless and disowning Jesus.
If we are faithless - he will remain faithful!!! Why??? Because he cannot disown himself. Christ's Spirit lives inside us. Disowning us would be like disowning himself.
Good explanation of 2Ti 2.12-13
I think that's a nice little analogy to explain the point of disowning vs. faithless. While it doesn't resolve the issue about whether it is possible for the elect to commit apostasy, every passage in the Scripture that mentions this has this huge point to make: as far as God is concerned, he is never going to let you go.