“Is it possible for a Christian to “fall from grace? Tell me from the Bible. Give me book, chapter and verse.” That’s the question we are being asked; and that is our study today.
My warmest greetings to you, friend. Welcome to our program of Bible study In Search of the Lord's Way, to become a Christian-- to live like one here-- and to be welcomed into the very presence of God in the hereafter. We pray we'll both be blessed by our study today.
We have been receiving some requests for a program on the question of whether a Christian can fall from grace. I don’t know-- it may have been on television or radio; I don’t know but someone somewhere must have spoken on it and created some question about it. Anyway, we'll give the message today the title, "Can A Christian Fall From Grace?"
O no, we're not being argumentative or trying to get anybody "told off about it or anything else." These people seemed to be sincerely seeking Bible help. And we promised to comply with their requests. If you think you might want a free printed copy or an audio cassette tape of it, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail searchtv@searchtv.org. Or our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. You may read it, or hear it or even view the program again by visiting our website at www.searchtv.org. Ok! Now, Ken Helterbrand's going to lead us as we sing.
We are reading today from the book of 1st John in the first chapter; we will begin at verse 5 and we will read through chapter 2, verse 2. “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” And now let’s go to Him in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You that in Christ Jesus we have the forgiveness of sins; and that continues as we walk in the light as He is in the light. We have fellowship one with another and He keeps on cleansing us from our sins and we are thankful for this blessed assurance that we realize, too, that we do sin. We confess those sins and beg Your forgiveness in His name. Amen!
It is good to have you with us today, friend. John Calvin is recognized as one of the great leaders in the historical reformation movement of the apostate church that swept northern Europe in the first half of the 16th century. His influence is ranked right along with that of Martin Luther who is said to be the "father of the reformation." As a matter of fact, his influence may be even greater than that of Luther, because it lives on almost five centuries later. I think I would be safe in saying that he impacts American religious thought now more than any other of the great reformers. Calvin is the author of a theological system called "Calvinism," naturally-- and some parts of which have been adopted by most of the evangelical churches in America in this 21st century. Depending on how we define "evangelical," I suppose, but I'd say these churches combined may currently constitute the largest group of non-catholic churches in American religion today.
Calvin believed in the absolute sovereignty of God, that is, that God is totally and absolutely free to do as He pleases. And I would agree with that, wouldn't you? To deny that would be a denial of faith in the true God. Psalm 115, verse 3 says, "Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases." However, based on that faith, Calvin developed his systematic theology that went like this: First, he said, that as a result of the fall of man, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, all of us are born totally depraved-- meaning sinful-- totally evil-- absolutely unable to think a good thought, to say a good word, or make a good choice or do a good deed. Some churches still believe that, officially. But for obvious reasons, you probably won't hear them teaching it in a church where there are mothers with little babies. (2) He said, some people (before birth) are "Unconditionally elected," to be saved. That is sometimes called “predestination.” By that Calvin meant that, in the exercise of His sovereignty, God has pre-elected and pre-destined, certain people to be with Him in glory and enjoy eternity with Him in heaven; without their choice, of course. Those who were not so elected were predestined of God to spend eternity in everlasting torment. Well, if those things are taken to be true, the third plank in his "platform" (I guess you could call it a platform.) has to be true, too; that Jesus didn't die for everyone, that "whosoever will" may be saved as Jesus taught in John 3:16 and elsewhere. He died only for those whom God had already chosen or predestined to salvation. That's called "limited atonement" or "particular redemption." If that’s all true, it must follow that those who are so saved, are saved by the irresistible grace of God. One of the proof-texts for that teaching is Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, which you probably remember says, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves [you couldn't even made that good choice, remember!]; it is the gift of God, not of works [not even the exercise of a good choice-- that would be works], lest anyone should boast." (5) And finally, comes the idea we're addressing today: what’s called the preservation of the saints; sometimes said to be the impossibility of apostasy or the security of the believer. Well, by whatever term you say it, it's the teaching that it is impossible for a person to be pre-elected or predestined and so saved by God's irresistible grace, to so sin as to fall from that grace. Well, that's "Calvinism" in a nutshell.
And one reason I went into such detail to explain it was so you can know why some people believe and teach what they do about “falling from grace.” If you're a "Calvinist," you don't believe you can possibly so sin as to be lost in eternity, because you had nothing to do with your being saved anyway. Before you were even born, God predestined you to be among the saved at the judgment, whether that’s your choice or not. You have no choice in it, and you can do nothing to be “lost” once you are saved by grace.
Now I need to explain, too, that my chief sources for this brief, but fair and accurate analysis of "Calvinism" are the Encyclopedia of Religion and Religions by E. Royston Pike, Erdman's Handbook To Christian Beliefs, and Neander's Church History, none of which was written or published by anyone in churches of Christ. I thought I needed to tell you that so that you would know what I've said is an objective and fair evaluation of "Calvinism." My friend, I have absolutely no purpose or benefit at all for misrepresenting anyone about this or anything else for that matter.
In the last of these principles with which we are concerned today, this matter of falling from grace. But, it is as I said already; it doesn't make sense without the acceptance of the other basics of Calvinism. The Bible clearly teaches that Christians are saved people; saved by the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 say "By grace have you been saved." It's true! Yes, it is; of course it is. However, the Bible never contradicts itself. So, in the interpretation we give a verse seems, if the, I should say, if the interpretation we give a verse seems, to contradict other easily understood inspired passages, we know we're not giving one of them-- perhaps both of them, a wrong meaning. The question before us today is, "Can a Christian, a saved person, saved by the grace of God, so sin against God that he can fall from that state of grace?”
Well, first, let's define sin. The simple definition of "sin" is that it is "missing the mark." As I have said so many times in these programs, it is as though the archer aims and shoots his arrow-- misses the mark by coming short of it-- or he goes beyond it. And that can be illustrated by two verses of Scripture. James chapter 4, verse 17 is written to Christians and it says, "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." (Sounds like he can sin, doesn't it?) He misses the mark by coming short of what God says that he should be or he should do. First John 3 and 4 says, "Sin is lawlessness." That's the New King James version. The Old King James has it, "sin is the transgression [or it’s the going beyond] the law." Can a Christian fall short of doing-- or can he go beyond the teachings of God?
Well, Jesus said, "A sower went forth to sow.” Some seed fell on the wayside soil, some on the stony ground, some fell among the weeds or the thorns, and some fell in good ground and produced. In explaining the parable in Luke chapter 8, verses 11 to15 He said the seed is the word of God. The different kinds of soils are the different kinds of hearts hearing the word. Listen to what He says in verse 13: "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away." So, Jesus taught very powerfully that some people would receive the word with joy! They will "believe for awhile" and then "fall away." Really? Can they do that; well, can they? Can a person believe for awhile and then stop believing, become an atheist perhaps, and still be saved?
The apostle Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in the regions of Galatia and established churches in that area. After his departure from Galatia, others came into those churches preaching "another gospel," which Paul says really is not another gospel, but it was a perversion of the gospel of Christ. Some of these Christians believed that perverted gospel. Well, Paul wrote them a letter in which he said: (listen!) "You have become estranged (meaning cut off) from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace" (Galatians 5 and 4). But, wait a minute. Can a Christian fall from grace? Obviously so! Some in the churches of Galatia had! By the inspiration of God the Bible tells me so!
In the early days of the church, many Jewish believers, having stepped out of Judaism and become Christians, were severely, I mean brutally and relentlessly persecuted. It doesn't surprise us, that under those circumstances, some of those disciples were seriously considering renouncing their newly-found faith in Jesus Christ, and going back to Judaism. Others of them might have been thinking of just-- tossing in the towel, so to speak-- on religion-- or just giving up the Christian faith altogether as a bad cause. But, someone, we don't know who he was; some think it was the apostle Paul, was inspired of God to write a letter to encourage them and strengthen them in their faith in Christ Jesus. That letter is the book of Hebrews in your New Testament. Let's look quickly at some of those verses.
Well, let's begin with Hebrews chapter 3, verses 5 and 6: "Moses was indeed faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward. But Christ as a Son over His house, whose house we are if-- oh, if-- if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." For the sake of time, let's move on quickly to verse 14: "We have become partakers of Christ if (there's that "if" again) if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." Then there is chapter 6 verses 4 to 6: "It is impossible for those who were (1) enlightened, (2) have tasted the heavenly gift, (3) have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, (4) have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away-- to renew them again to repentance, seeing they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." That is the New King James.
Let's go on now to James chapter 5, verses 19 and 20, "Brethren" (he says, oh, he is addressing brothers in the Lord isn’t he, saved people); “if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and one turns him back (the Old King James says "converts him"), let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." Can a Christian so sin as to be lost?
In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 1 to 3, the Holy Spirit related the story of Israel in Egyptian bondage just as Christians were once in bondage to sin. Israel was baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea at which time they were freed from their bondage in Egypt, just as Christians were baptized into Christ and set free from their bondage to sin (Galatians 3:27). "But with most of them (Israelites in the wilderness) God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." My friend, what he is saying is this: they never reached the Promised Land-- a type of heaven. And Paul says in conclusion, "These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." Lest he what? Let’s pray. Thank You, Father, for these warnings and these examples and these teachings in Your divine word. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Oh! There are many more plain teachings in the Bible that a Christian can sin and be lost. We haven't been able even to begin to mention all of them. But, let me get back to the verses that we read as our text in 1st John. Remember, it's written to Christians. "My little children, he said, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.” “The wages of sin is death,” friend (Romans 6:23). “And if anyone sins, we have an advocate [One who pleads our case] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
But someone may read 1 John 3 and 9 and wonder what that verse says, "Whoever has been born of God, does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." It sounds like a contradiction of those other plain verses, doesn't it? But, remember now, God doesn't contradict Himself. So, let me read that verse to you from Dr. Charles B. Williams' translation called the New Testament In The Language of the People. Dr. Williams taught on the graduate level preparing men to preach in the most prominent Calvinistic church of our time. His translation emphasizes the kind of action required of the Greek verbs. And he translated the verse that we are studying right now like this: "No one who is born of God makes a practice of sinning, because the God-given life-principle continues to live in him, and so he cannot practice sinning because he is born of God." You see, John is not saying he cannot sin in the sense that it's impossible for him to perform a sinful act. Rather, the Christian doesn't make a practice of sinning because of who he is-- he is a child of God and it isn't consistent with the will of God in his life as such, for him to make a practice of sinning.
Well, I've had to be brief, but I must take time to emphasize that although a Christian can sin, he doesn't make a practice of it. And when he does slip and fall into sin, he can be forgiven. First John chapter 1, verse 9 says-- now remember, it's written to Christians-- “if we confess our sins, He (that means God) is willing and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And, "confess" here doesn't mean go to confessional; it means simply admit it. Admit sinning against God and/or someone else-- admit it to the sinned against and pray to God and the aggrieved person for forgiveness. Of course, there are also the inferences of repentance.
Well, I pray that and I believe I have taught you the truth about this matter, and I pray that you will be profited by it; and I hope we've been some help to you who asked for it. If you would like a free audio cassette tape or printed copy of this message you may have either one or both by writing us: In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083, or by e-mail searchtv@searchtv.org or by calling our toll-free telephone number (1-800-321-8633). Check it on our website, too, if you like: searchtv.org. We plan to be back next week at this time; hope you will, too. God bless you. We love you.
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