Most people, and certainly most Christians, have heard of Billy Graham, arguably the greatest evangelist of the twentieth century. But there was another man that many thought would be greater. His name is Charles Templeton. But something shocking happened. After preaching Christ for a number of years suddenly Charles denied the deity of Christ and repudiated his faith in Jesus.
This kind of spiritual defection is very troubling to evangelical Christians. Most of us know someone personally who has willingly walked away from his or her belief in Christ. A lot of Christians are still trying to figure out exactly how this is possible. Over the years I have heard three different explanations about faith and apostasy over and over.
The first is that those who are given faith by God to believe will continue to believe and will never apostasize, i.e., permanently repudiate their faith in Christ. Therefore, anyone who becomes an apostate never really had faith to begin with. The big problem with this view is that some people, like Charles Templeton, certainly seem to have faith in Christ for a long time before they finally reject Him.
The second view is that some people have genuine faith in Christ for a while but because of Satan's schemes or their own sinfulness they 'lose' it and willingly walk away from Christ. The problem with this is that there are a number of passages in Scripture that indicate the impossibility of someone believing in Christ and then willfully rejecting Him. This is not because we as Christians are so spiritually strong or because we are incapable of losing our faith, but because the Bible teaches that ultimately God is the One who makes sure those who believe, continue to believe and make it to the finish line (see I Thessalonians 5:24 especially, but also I Peter 1:5).
The third view, which was very popular when I was in seminary, is that people can have genuine faith, but then stop believing in Christ completely, and yet still be saved. I like to refer to this as the 'extreme grace' position. I admire the emphasis on eternal security, but it makes no sense to say that someone who no longer believes in Jesus is still saved. It is both a logical and biblical contradiction. I Peter 1:5 says that we are "protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
So what is the answer? All three of these views have some truth in them, but they all have at least one serious error. The biblical answer is in Luke 8:13. This is the parable of the sower. In the context, "the seed is the Word of God" (v 11) and there are four types of soil that represent four distinct responses to God's Word. The second soil is "rocky" and this refers to people who hear the Word and respond with joy and belief for a while, but then," in a time of temptation fall away". Clearly, in the context this means they stop believing, and as we see from verse twelve, when that is the case they cannot be saved. But how can this happen? These people are explicitly said to "believe". That cannot be disputed. The problem is that they have "no root". This is a reference to their belief. They do believe, but their faith is defective in one or more ways. The person either does not understand and/or embrace Christ as the completely sufficient basis for his or her salvation, or the individual without "root" does not understand and/or embrace the truth that he or she is a sinner deserving of eternal condemnation apart from Christ. It is either one or the other or both. The person may say, "I believe in Jesus" and his or her faith is real as far as it goes. But it doesn't go deep enough or far enough, and in a "time of temptation" that person will abandon what faith they have, i.e., "fall away".
In summary, Luke 8:13 addresses all the weaknesses of the three most popular views of faith and apostasy, and it helps us to understand how people who appear to have genuine faith in Christ can later reject Him. Their faith is defective from the very beginning. Understanding this won't make the problem go away, but it is comforting to know that those with genuine faith in Christ will never apostasize. (II Tim.2:19)
This is a great example of you, Kirk explaining a difficult concept in scripture. Like sinning against the Holy Spirit, praying continuously which you just explained recently and even today with the different examples in knowing what comes from God and what comes from satan.
ReplyDeleteI know a Warren Hiebert who was the pastor of the church in Weeping Water, NE when I was saved in 1981. It is a Christian and Missionary church. Gail Thomas
I would urge for a careful understanding of the context of the parable and the point within it. A parable is a story within a story. Often I hear the parable of the sower and the seed explained in such a manner that leaves the rocky or thorny soils allagorized as unsaved believers. I do not hold this position. I would argue the point of this parable or story within the story of Luke was not how to be saved but as stated how to bear fruit through perserverance. Note the progression of the final satement of the 4 soils, the first "will not believe and be saved" the rocky soil " believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away" the thorny "bring no fruit to maturity" while finally the good soil heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
ReplyDeleteAs is probably obvious I hold the "extreme grace" position as the correct Biblical position. I am still looking to meet and have an honest conversation with the believer not effected at all by the worries and riches and pleasures of this life.
Every parable has a point and the point of this one is how to bear fruit. We could argue what fruit is but that would be a different blog. I would argue after reading the parable of the Good Sammaritan is not whether the preist and Levite as compared to the Sammaritan rather who was acting neighborly in response to the lawyerrs self justifing question of who is his neighbor.
Thank you so much Pastor Kirk for putting meaningful, thought provoking content in your blog and allowing interaction. This is how we as the body of Christ become unified.
Love is Christ