Many questions are asked today by Christians regarding Grace, that is the unmerited favor of God. One of the most popular is, "Can a Christian backslide?" Well, before we jump to a quick response, we should take a look at the Word of God and see what it has to say about the matter, after all the Bible should be the deciding factor, not a man's opinion.
Now there are many patterns of thought on this subject, but I will list the two most extreme. One line of thought is that you must achieve salvation through your works and you constantly lose you salvation and constantly have to repent and work out, through good deeds, your salvation. The other line of thought is once saved, always saves or that because we are under grace we can do no wrong and can't backslide.
First, let us discuss what grace actually is. Grace typically refers to that act of Jesus on the cross. That is, the Father's unconditional love for mankind and the sacrifice of His son Jesus to redeem us from sin and the curse, being made a curse for us (Gal.3:13).
However, if you do a simple study on the word "grace" in the Bible, you will find that not every reference is referring to the "grace" received at the cross. In Paul's letters He many times begins and ends with "Grace of God be unto you..." This is simply a greeting that is saying, "May the favor of God be upon you..." To further explore this concept of the word "grace" that is found in the New Testament, let us look at the definition of the Word from Vine's Expository Dictionary:
1,5485,charis>This clearly explains that the word "grace" in the Bible does not always carry the meaning and message that so many of today's Christians are trying to proclaim. Now, let me make it clear, I am NOT trying to belittle or demean the work at the cross. The sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf should never be taken lightly, but what I am addressing are people who feel that Grace is a "Get Out of Hell Free" card and use it as such to get out of having to do the right things and live a holy and righteous life before God. These people have perverted the grace of God (Jude 1:4) into a way of living the way they want with no boundaries and being free from condemnation or conviction for their acts. They believe that because they are "under grace" that they can do no wrong and that they can never backslide. However, New Testament scripture is VERY clear on the fact that someone CAN fall off of the path of righteousness, in other words they can backslide, fall out of fellowship, turn their back on God, and whatever you want to call it, the Bible is clear on this fact. But, there are many who do not believe me, well for your sake in hopes of leading you back to the Truth I will give you scripture to support this rather than giving you an unsubstantiated or unsupported opinion, because when eternity is all said and done a man's opinion of what the scripture says won't get you into heaven, the pure, unadulterated truth will!
has various uses, (a) objective, that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard; it is applied, e.g., to beauty, or gracefulness of person, Luke 2:40; act, 2 Cor. 8:6, or speech, Luke 4:22, RV, "words of grace" (AV, "gracious words"); Col. 4:6; (b) subjective, (1) on the part of the bestower, the friendly disposition from which the kindly act proceeds, graciousness, loving-kindness, goodwill generally, e.g., Acts 7:10; especially with reference to the Divine favor or "grace," e.g., Acts 14:26; in this respect there is stress on its freeness and universality, its spontaneous character, as in the case of God's redemptive mercy, and the pleasure or joy He designs for the recipient; thus it is set in contrast with debt, Rom. 4:4,16, with works, Rom. 11:6, and with law, John 1:17; see also, e.g., Rom. 6:14,15; Gal. 5:4; (2) on the part of the receiver, a sense of the favor bestowed, a feeling of gratitude, e.g., Rom. 6:17 ("thanks"); in this respect it sometimes signifies "to be thankful," e.g., Luke 17:9 ("doth he thank the servant?" lit., "hath he thanks to"); 1 Tim. 1:12; (c) in another objective sense, the effect of "grace," the spiritual state of those who have experienced its exercise, whether (1) a state of "grace," e.g., Rom. 5:2; 1 Pet. 5:12; 2 Pet. 3:18, or (2) a proof thereof in practical effects, deeds of "grace," e.g., 1 Cor. 16:3, RV, "bounty" (AV, "liberality"); 2 Cor. 8:6,19 (in 2 Cor. 9:8 it means the sum of earthly blessings); the power and equipment for ministry, e.g., Rom. 1:5; 12:6; 15:15; 1 Cor. 3:10; Gal. 2:9; Eph. 3:2,7.
To be in favor with is to find "grace" with, e.g., Acts 2:47; hence it appears in this sense at the beginning and the end of several Epistles, where the writer desires "grace" from God for the readers, e.g., Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; in this respect it is connected with the imperative mood of the word chairo, "to rejoice," a mode of greeting among Greeks, e.g., Acts 15:23; Jas. 1:1 (marg.); 2 John 1:10,11, RV, "greeting" (AV, "God speed").
The fact that "grace" is received both from God the Father, 2 Cor. 1:12, and from Christ, Gal. 1:6; Rom. 5:15 (where both are mentioned), is a testimony to the deity of Christ. See also 2 Thess. 1:12, where the phrase "according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" is to be taken with each of the preceding clauses, "in you," "and ye in Him."
In Jas. 4:6, "But He giveth more grace" (Greek, "a greater grace," RV, marg.), the statement is to be taken in connection with the preceding verse, which contains two remonstrating, rhetorical questions, "Think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain?" and "Doth the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) which He made to dwell in us long unto envying?" (see the RV). The implied answer to each is "it cannot be so." Accordingly, if those who are acting so flagrantly, as if it were so, will listen to the Scripture instead of letting it speak in vain, and will act so that the Holy Spirit may have His way within, God will give even "a greater grace," namely, all that follows from humbleness and from turning away from the world.
In the scripture we are encouraged as believers to remain steadfast, finish the race, stay true to the faith, and other forms of encouragement to remain faithful to God. My question is, if we are under grace and it is impossible for us to backslide, then why would Christ and the Apostles consistently encourage us to not give up? It doesn't make sense does it? The scriptures say that there will be those who will say, "'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" (Matt. 7:22-23). Now if that scripture is blatant, I don't know what is? Christ blatantly tells us that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom, it will be those who follow after the Father and His will (Matt. 7:21), in other words, it will be those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit of God (Rom.8:1). Christ also addresses this when he uses the analogy of a master and slave, He says that "...the servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few" (Luke 12:47). Christ didn't pull any punches on that one. You can see a relation here, a believer knows the will of God is held to a higher accountability than a non-believer who does not know the will of God. If a believer stumbles and does that which is the opposite of what God desires his punishment is far worse than one who does not know the desires. We are commanded many times throughout the New Testament to live holy lives, pleasurable and accepting to God. "So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed. Live as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel]. But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short]." (1 Pet. 1:13-17). We are commanded to conduct ourselves in a holy and moral manner, but if God's grace is with us through it all and if we can live however we want because we are under grace and will never lose our salvation, why do you think God found it so important to warn us against falling to lusts of the flesh and encouraged us to keep steadfast in the things of God? Why did He do this? The answer is that it is possible to walk off the path of salvation, to slide backwards in our relationship with God and to go back to the old ways. If this wasn't possible, then why would God even waste the time of the writers of the New Testament when grace would cover us no matter what? Well the Bible goes on to tell us that people can forsake, renounce, turn away from entirely, abandon the righteous way of life which is a result from the grace of God, "Being destined to receive [punishment as] the reward of [their] unrighteousness [suffering wrong as the hire for their wrongdoing]. They count it a delight to revel in the daytime [living luxuriously and delicately]. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions and carousing together [even] as they feast with you. They have eyes full of harlotry, insatiable for sin. They beguile and bait and lure away unstable souls. Their hearts are trained in covetousness (lust, greed), [they are] children of a curse [exposed to cursing]! Forsaking the straight road they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam [the son] of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness." (2 Pet. 2:13-15). They turned their back on God's grace and left the path of righteousness by going the way of the world. Grace is not a "Get Out of Hell Free" card to use as a license to sin. The grace of God is what leads Him to send His son to die for the sins of the world and grant, to those who would accept this act of love and live according to the word of God, eternal life. We don't get saved and then have a free ride to heaven that allows us to live however we want. If that were so, the only thing that would make us different from the world is that we had a ticket to heaven and they didn't. We could steal, cheat, lie, drink, smoke, fornicate, murder, rape, molest, and any other form of sin and not have to feel the least bit guilty about it because we are "under grace" and don't have to worry about it because we are going to heaven. What complete lunacy, I mean dear idiots of Christianity, who has bewitched you? Who has deceived you into believing that your actions and decisions don't matter because you'll make it into heaven no matter how you use your life. This is such a lie, straight out of the pit of hell, and what is really scary is that thousands of Christians are flocking to this mindset, you know why? Because they don't have to conform to the will of God, they don't have to change their way of doing things, they don't have to leave behind their old habits, because they're under a "new" system that allows them to be "free" from the law.
These people have twisted the meaning of New Testament references to the Law as being anything that "binds" you, to make it clearer these people refuse to submit. They believe that submission is bondage and we are free from that. Well, we are free from sin and free from the curse of the Law, but that does not free us from walking in the commandments which Jesus himself taught. We are not free to live the way we want, we are not our own, we have been bought with a price and because of that we have standards to live up to! Our purpose on this earth is not to see how close we can get to the line and how far we can go and still remain under God's grace, our purpose is to go from glory to glory and faith to faith, to move up higher in the things of God, to see how close we can get to the standards and how far we can go towards being like Christ! God tells us that when you walk after the flesh you were deluded into believing a false gospel. You believed those who turn the grace of God into licentiousness (Jude 1:4). You had no love for the truth. You may have had much zeal, but not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2). You were under the delusion that you could have a relationship with me, serving Me, while remaining a servant to sin (Rom. 6:16) You deceived yourself into thinking you could sow to the flesh without reaping eternal corruption (Gal. 6:8). You thought you could receive imputed righteousness while wallowing in the vomit of iniquity (2 Pet. 2:22), you loved darkness more than the light (John 3:19), therefore depart from Me into everlasting darkness (Matt. 22:13). Those who say they know Me and do not keep my commandments are liars, they have not the truth in them, (1 John 2:4) and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire (Rev. 21: 8). They praise Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me, and in vain they worship Me (Matt. 15:8). We must understand that just as one act of sin is not going to send us straight to hell, we are not free to live a life style of sin under the guise of being free. The Bible tells us to confess our sins one to another, and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin (James 5:16). So, obviously grace does not free us from sinning, it is possible for Christians to sin and fall short, but there is hope if we commit our life to God and confess our sins He will forgive us. We are not perfect and we will make mistakes and fail, but we should sincerely seek to live clean upright lives before God and men, and when we do fail, admit our faults ask for forgiveness and turn from those wicked ways and He will forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness.
Jesus made the greatest command of all. The entire Law is summed up in this one commandment, and that is that we love our neighbor. If we love our neighbor we are not going to commit acts of sin that would lead them astray. Paul elaborates on this in Galatians 5:
"You were running the race nobly. Who has interfered in (hindered and stopped you from) your heeding and following the Truth? This [evil] persuasion is not from Him Who called you [Who invited you to freedom in Christ]. A little leaven (a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump [it perverts the whole conception of faith or misleads the whole church]. [For my part] I have confidence [toward you] in the Lord that you will take no contrary view of the matter but will come to think with me. But he who is unsettling you, whoever he is, will have to bear the penalty. But, brethren, if I still preach circumcision [as some accuse me of doing, as necessary to salvation], why am I still suffering persecution? In that case the cross has ceased to be a stumbling block and is made meaningless (done away). I wish those who unsettle and confuse you would [go all the way and] cut themselves off! For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another. For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. But if you bite and devour one another [in partisan strife], be careful that you [and your whole fellowship] are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God). For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do. But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law. Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.] Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another."My earnest prayer is that people are able to see the Truth, because it is only the Truth that can set them free. So, many have been deceived by false doctrines that men proclaim, telling them they don't have to live a certain way because if they do that is bondage! Well, I am here to tell you that it is bondage to not submit to the will of God and still act in sinful ways, you are being held captive by sin! The devil has bewitched you and tricked you into believing that you are ok just the way you are and your offering of vegetables is good enough for God, well that is the same lie he has been telling since Cain and Abel. God looks at the heart, for the superficial stuff will one day fade away but the thoughts and actions that come out of our hearts are what echo in eternity! In closing I will ask you one question: Will you keep the grace of God and your "Get Out of Hell Free" card or are you going to sell it for a License to Sin card?
"The terrible thing is that so many preachers today, under the pretense of magnifying the grace of God, have represented Christ as the Minister of sin; as One who has, through His atoning sacrifice, procured an indulgence for men to continue gratifying their fleshy and worldly lusts. Provided a man professes to believe in the virgin birth and vicarious death of Christ and claims to be resting upon Him alone for salvation, he may pass for a real Christian almost anywhere today, even though his daily life may be no different from that of the moral worldling who makes no profession at all. The Devil is chloroforming thousands into hell by this very delusion. The Lord Jesus asks, ‘Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’ (Luke 6:46); and insists, ‘Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven’ (Matt. 21) ...It is the bounden duty of every Christian to have no dealings with the "evangelistic" monstrosity of the day: to withhold all moral and financial support of the same, to attend none of their meetings, to circulate none of their tracts. Those preachers who tell sinners they may be saved without forsaking their idols, without repenting, without-surrendering to the Lordship of Christ are as erroneous and dangerous as others who insist that salvation is by works and that Heaven must be earned by our own efforts." - Arthur W. Pink
"For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith. For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves]." - Romans 1: 17-22
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