Braden’s Thoughts on Christianity

There seems to be a large contingent in the realm of Christendom today that holds the Calvinistic belief that once a sinner is saved by the blood of Christ, such an individual cannot possibly lose the salvation they have received. From the outset, that kind of belief is comforting, isn’t it? The notion that no matter what we do, we can still be saved by Christ from our sin once we’ve come into contact with the blood of Christ.

 In fact, such a claim may not be wholly unsubstantiated by scripture. In John 10:27-30, Christ speaks of His flock, how they hear His voice, and how no one will snatch them out of His hand. We would naturally interpret that to mean that as followers of Christ, we hear His voice, His teachings, His word, and no one, not even Satan, can snatch us from His divine grasp. But is it possible that we could be released from that grasp? Or is it even possible that we could find a way to, God forbid, “free” ourselves from that grasp?

In several places, the book of Hebrews admonishes its readers to remain faithful. Hebrews 3:14 tells us that once we are in Christ, we share in Christ, “if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Let’s note a few things about that passage. That word “if” makes that statement conditional. If we do not hold our original confidence firm to the end, then what? I believe it directly implies that we cease to share in Christ.

Hebrews 10:26-27 takes it a step further. It says that “if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” For those who would say that a “knowledge of the truth,” does not imply salvation, let me remind you that the Hebrew writer uses the words “no longer,” which indicates that such an individual once had salvation.

Furthermore, if there no longer remains a sacrifice of sins, that means the individual is no longer covered by the blood of Christ. And if a “fearful expectation of judgment,” and a “fury of fire that will consume the adversaries,” doesn’t sound like eternal punishment to you, I’m not sure what else it would be.

If these passages alone are not convincing, let’s look at Hebrews 6:4-6. The passage states that it is impossible to restore someone again to repentance if they fall away after having been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, having shared in the Holy Spirit, and tasted the goodness of the word of God. This passage not only describes the possibility of an individual falling away, but it also indicates a state in which a soul cannot be renewed to repentance. The passage also says that such an individual crucifies Christ again. What could be a greater sin than that?

Now, some will say that these passages are merely hypothetical. Surely no one would ever reach the highest heights of salvation only to swan dive into the lowest form of apostasy. Unfortunately, the Scriptures not only indicate that such an occurrence is possible, it has in fact happened. Galatians 5:4 states to those who would seek justification in the law of Moses after coming to Christ, “You are severed from Christ,” and more explicitly, “you have fallen from grace.” Not “you are falling from grace,” not “you’re about to fall from grace,” not even “you will fall from grace.” It says “you have fallen,” meaning that the individual has already fallen from God’s grace.

Isn’t that what this is all about in the first place? Falling from grace? So many who hold the view of “once saved, always saved,” will also be quick to point out that we are saved by grace through faith… and rightly so! There is nothing anyone can do to earn salvation. The only way to salvation is through the grace of God. But the scriptures clearly indicate that the Christian’s access to that grace can be destroyed only by the individual that has that grace.

No one can snatch us away from Christ. No one can separate us from the love of Christ. Saved or lost, Christ loves us. But if we seek release from Christ, unfortunately, we can achieve it.

The way to avoid such a disaster is living a faithful life in Christ. For as the latter part of Revelation 2:10 says, “be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”