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I know a few people who previously were actively involved in the church. They demonstrated more than just an interest in church activity; they seemed genuinely in love with Jesus.
But these people are no longer in the church. By that, I mean not only do they no longer attend church services, but neither do they profess to be followers of Jesus. They might say that they have “moved on.” We might say they have “fallen away.”
What I have wrestled with for a long time (as possibly many of you have) is whether these people had something called salvation and then, by virtue of moving on, lost it.
The hymn belts out a phrase: “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!” The question is, “Is that true?” Is there assurance that “once saved, always saved,” is even biblical?
The book-end argument of Romans 8 seems to say that the assurance of salvation is solid. It starts:
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
It ends, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
So, what about these folk who have moved on? We all know people like this. Many of them are family members and loved ones who once walked the Christian walk, and then one day, stopped.
Often considered the most theologically difficult passage in all of Scripture, Hebrews 6:4-6 provides text that sounds like a warning for “falling away.” Here they are, as recorded in the New American Standard Bible:
4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
The debate from as early as the second century has been whether these verses speak about genuine Christians or do they speak of those who experienced the Christian culture and even practiced it but never truly converted. Furthermore, whoever these “fallen away” people are, are they now doomed to eternal damnation?
I recently read a lengthy and scholastically weighty article about the interpretation of these verses. The conclusion the author of this article reached was that these fallen-away people are actual believers. It’s pretty hard to imagine that someone who had experienced all that we read about in verses 4 and 5 could be anything other than a true Christian. But the author of the article also doesn’t believe that this passage talks about losing salvation:
“The judgment that these believers incur does not involve loss of salvation. Their judgment is more accurately designated “discipline,” which involves both a temporal and an eschatological aspect. It is not final judgment in the sense of eternal loss. Temporally, this discipline involves loss of opportunity to go on to maturity in the Christian life, loss of effective service for Christ in this life, loss of the blessings of God that come from an obedient life, and in some cases perhaps premature physical death” (Allen, D.; The New American Commentary for Hebrews, 2010).
If this interpretation is correct, what answers are provided as it relates to those we know who left the faith? It provides a greater hope than we might have previously held. It means that if a person truly surrendered themselves to Jesus, there is nothing in heaven and earth that will separate them from that loving salvation.
It also means that some genuine believers who have fallen away may never experience growth in their Christian walk again. Their repentance becomes impossible, meaning the Lord will not permit them anymore to do so. While I don’t know if we have a way of determining if someone has crossed that line, it does sound like some will live the remainder of their days stunted in terms of their spiritual growth.
That doesn't mean that every person whoever left the faith is truly stunted in their spiritual growth. There remains a difference between someone who has truly fallen away and someone who is merely backslidden. You know this because many of you have had this experience yourself, where you stopped practicing your faith but then came back.
Nonetheless, I remain thoughtful and uncertain about this interpretation. After all, it’s been disputed for close to 2000 years.
Do you think this interpretation is true? Do you believe a Christian can lose their salvation? Do you think those who have fallen away can still come back to genuine faith? I welcome your thoughts.