WHEN A BELIEVER WALKS AWAY FROM GOD... (Part 2 Still in the Family?)

Over the years, I've know many parents with heartaches.  Most of those heartaches arise when a child begins to act and live -- somewhere along the way -- like someone else.  Like a stranger.  Like a non-family member.

It's rare, but it happens.  And when it does, it is truly bewildering.  It brings a sense of failure to the parent, a hurt hard to describe and impossible to quantify.

For parents in this predicament.  Questions multiply.   Self-condemning questions like "What did we do wrong?"   Wisdom/relationship questions like,  "How can I relate to my son when he is living so contrary to our values?"  "Do we just accept her and her lifestyle--but isn't that just encouraging her in the wrong choices she is making?"  "But how can we reject? -- she is family!"

That last statement always makes up a sort of bottom-line.  No matter what the child may or may not do, there is no doubt the child remains family.

THE FATHER ON THE PORCH

We do well to think about the father who granted his foolish son's request (Luke 15:12, as per Jesus' story).  The boy takes off and squanders his assets, living as if he'd never grown up in his father's house.  His reckless life eventually hit the wall.  Nothing like yet another bowl of pig slop to motivate a reassessment.

We don't know how long the agony went on.  But day after day, the father stared down the horizon, wondering how his son could think and live like that.  Never doubting, however, that the boy was his.  Eventually, the father's patience kept him in a ready posture to receive his child home.

WHEN A BELIEVER WALKS AWAY FROM GOD...

Teaching on "the security of the believer" has wrestled for centuries over  the security status of someone who, by faith, is Spirit-born into God's family.  Undeniably, some "children" began well in faith and growth.  But then sometime later, some walked away.  Faith diminished.  Spiritual growth retarded.  Spiritually reckless living -- which often simply looks like abject complacency - has replaced spiritually fervent desire.

Several questions arise when this happens:

1. Did this person - who believed and grew initially as a Christian -- actually, truly believe?  Or was faith feigned--no justification was granted to the pretender, no regeneration actually occurred, and thus eventually the pretense could no longer be maintained?
2. If "yes" (he/she did truly believe and was born into God's family), it is possible for a child of God to walk away from God?
3. If a child of God walks away from God, is he/she still "saved" (does he/she still retain the benefit of having been declared righteous by faith, a faith once alive but now not)?  Or does cessation of active faith constitute a revocation of one's salvation?

Admittedly, my answers to these questions will not agree with answers given by others. 

Many good brothers and sisters who search the Scriptures insist that they teach that a truly born-again child of God can not lose faith, will necessarily persevere in growing godliness, and will finish strong.  Reformed Theology calls this answer "the perseverance of the saints."  Should a believer permanently fall away after a good spiritual start, such a person was not truly regenerated.  Perseverance is the evidence of genuine regeneration.  Dropping away demonstrates the opposite.

WHAT A WALKING-AWAY BELIEVER CAN LOSE...

There is a better understanding of this - one more fitting both Scripture's teaching and our experiences in life.

First, simple faith, not persevering faith, is what brings about the application of God's grace of salvation.  "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."  This Genesis 15:6 model, endorsed by Paul in Romans 4, compels us to believe that God does not declare us righteous on the basis of whether or not we persevere in faith or good works.  Rather justification is based on the propitiating, finished cross-work of Christ, and applied to the life when simple, sincere trust is exercised.  Jesus taught such faith is as trusting and fresh as the confidence a child can place in someone who has promised something to him/her.

Second, many things occur to the person who simply and sincerely trusts.  There are theological, biblical words pregnant with meanings which are rich and wonderful: justification (declared righteousness), sanctification (set apart to God), regeneration (creation of new spirit-relating-to-God life within us, a "new creation" 2 Cor 5:17) and so much more.  Simply put, a simple truster is born into the family by the Spirit (cf. John 3).

Third, life-long growth and development as a becoming-more-like-Christ son or daughter is what normally happens.  Clearly, we are expected to "grow up into Him" through all the provisions given by the Triune God for development. 

Fourth, what normally happens with a child of God doesn't always happen.  Children of God too walk away from their Father, Savior, Comforter and from the family.  Some live like they never were in the family.  They stop believing, or replace faith in God with faith in...well, you can name a thousand rival candidates.

When this happens, the very same things that the prodigal son lost become loss for the prodigal believer.  These include the following

• a loss of fellowship with and guiding direction from the Father throughout this short life
• the loss of a life protected by wisdom and the benefit of living righteously by the Holy Spirit
• a loss of time in this life, time which is invested in foolishness rather than true treasure which will last forever in eternity
• a loss of  commendation, reward, and inheritance when, at the judgment seat of Christ, our Lord will evaluate our faithfulness following our birth into the family.  Paul is clear that some believers "will be saved as through fire" because they squandered the opportunities they had to serve Him and Kingdom work through unfaithfulness

In a powerful letter written to Christians, the writer of HEBREWS urges his brothers (note the family identity) "not to throw away their confidence, which has great recompense of reward" (Hebrews 10:35).

No doubt, there are also "pretenders" who hang around the family for a while, but do so for less-than-genuine reasons, never actually trusting Christ.  Still, the presence of  pretenders does not explain the reality of others, who really did believe for a time, and now have walked away.  In so doing, they are forfeiting the blessings of staying true in the family.

SOME HAVE SAID...

"I don't really care about all that reward stuff.  I just want to be in heaven."  I get that.  And so does God.  God's grace in salvation is free.  Jesus paid it all and the provision is front and center.  Simple, sincere faith in Christ + nothing = salvation, heaven, in the family.

You can't be "unborn."

But there are other things to lose - very important things.  Paul said to lose them is to "suffer loss" (1 Corinthians 3).  Those who have been born into the family do well to look back over their shoulders and reassess their current steps toward the pigpen.