Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few weeks you most likely heard the news that popular Christian author (I Kissed Dating Goodbye) and pastor, Joshua Harris, decided to not only divorce his wife, but renounce his Faith in Christ.
I know. A shocker, right?
I’m sure you’ve read all the posts, comments and tweets about this, ranging from utter disbelief to outright glee. I want to zero in on a particular strain of the response to his announcement. There are A LOT of people out there who, in an effort to, well, almost justify his decision, have decided that Mr. Harris obviously was not a true Christian for all those years because, after all, no one can renounce their Faith in Christ. Their argument is that God’s love is eternal, so therefore a person’s Faith is eternal. Basically they’ve bought into the ‘once saved always saved’ mentality that is popular and prevalent in today’s society. But here’s what they’ve forgotten…
God gave us free will. We have the ability to choose what we believe or don’t believe.
I’m not disputing the fact that God’s love is eternal. I agree that we can NEVER lose God’s love for us. It’s written in the blood of the Lamb who died on the cross for our sins, proof enough of the extreme measures God will go to to show us He loves us eternally.
But can a person, a human being, not God, turn his or her back on God and renounce his or her Faith?
Yes. We can.
Here’s what the Bible says about this…
1) The parable of the Sower. (Luke 8:11-13 / Matthew 13:20-21 / Mark 4:16-17) Jesus lists 4 types of people here, and one of them is the Christian who receives salvation, and believes for a while, but turns away from God when their faith is tested.
2) 1 Timothy 4:1 – “The Spirit says clearly that in later times some BELIEVERS will desert the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive, and they will believe the teachings of demons.”
3) Hebrews 3:12-14 – “Take care, BROTHERS, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to FALL AWAY FROM THE LIVING GOD. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (He’s talking to Christian’s here, not the unsaved)
4) Matthew 24: 4, 9-10, 13 – “And Jesus answered them (his disciples), See that no one leads you astray…They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many WILL FALL AWAY and betray one another and hate one another…But the one who ENDURES TO THE END will be saved.”
Conclusion…
As much as we don’t like this truth, it is truth. Salvation is a choice. Jesus does not, and will not, ever, force us to accept Him as Savior, or to live for Him, even after we accept His grace and faith.
A person can be a Christian and turn away or reject Christ or renounce their faith – the terminology doesn’t matter. We cannot skip over the uncomfortable parts of Scripture to appease our own consciences. It may not be trendy, or popular, and it may upset our deeply held emotional belief system, but if we are following Christ, then we must follow Christ in ALL things.
In Philippians 2:12 we are “exhorted to work out our faith with fear and trembling.” If we are ‘once saved always saved‘ why would this admonition be necessary?
YES – God’s love is eternal. We can never lose God’s love for us.
BUT, through OUR choices, WE CAN reject God, even after knowing Him. God gave us free will, He does not want us to be robots in His Kingdom, He wants us to CHOOSE to live for Him daily.
While it can be difficult to understand his decision, this man, Joshua Harris, has opted out of his salvation. He’s turned his back on God, by his own words, and rejected his Faith in Christ. As much as some people don’t like it, it’s the truth.
Once saved always saved is NOT a valid option in the Kingdom of God.
And my heart breaks for him, because one day he will regret this decision.