I believe that it is a genuine possibility that
believers can lose their salvation after having once received it. Many evangelicals may not agree with this, but they do believe
it is possible for us to “backslide” or get “burnt out.” There is an awareness in most Christians
that we can always get off track if we give in to temptation. Or, we can lose our passion for the Lord and become bitter,
complacent people. How do we avoid these dangers?
One key that
I have discovered is the act of learning to recognize and be confident in the fact that Christ Jesus has already given me
victory over sin. Romans 6:14 reveals, “sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Likewise Romans 6:11 instructs, “consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” I find
that the more I view myself in this light, as currently free from sin, the less intimidating temptations are to me.
I have yet to gain the full revelation of this, but I know this concept is changing me nevertheless.
Too often in
the Church we spend all our time warning each other to make the right priorities, and to keep a disciplined,
moral lifestyle. We can forget though to emphasize the fact that it is God who empowers us to do these things. He does not
strengthen us by merely showing us our errors and reminding us of His commandments. No, the Spirit also continually works
to encourage us concerning the power of what Christ did for us through His sacrifice.
When Jesus died
and rose again, He was standing in our place. God looked at Him as He was being buried, and He saw our sinful, selfish, foolish
hearts being buried as well. When Christ arose, the Lord saw us rising as pure, loving, humble saints! This is what
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 means when it says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God.” The Father literally “made [His Son] who knew
no sin to be [the representative of] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” (2 Cor. 5:21).
This completely
shifts my understanding of God's call to holiness as it is found throughout the Scriptures. God does not want us to try
hard to be godly. He wants us to rest in the fact that He has made us righteous, and to let the truth of that transform
our behavior. 1 Peter 1:14-16 exhorts, “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts [which no
longer belong to you], as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because
it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'” In other words, the Bible is showing us that purity
should come naturally to us. We are identified with the Holy One who fills us, so it is only logical that His holy
virtues will now manifest as our own. Our old desires have been conquered, so we should not let them influence our present
actions.
We must learn
to quit trusting in our own weak efforts to improve our lives, and rather choose to operate out of belief in the reality that
we are clean and sanctified in Christ (1 Cor. 6:11, Col. 1:22). The more faith we put in His works, the more likely
we will be to maintain healthy behavior. As Hebrews 4:10-11 states, “he who has entered [the Creator's] rest has himself
also ceased from his works as God did from His [on the first Sabbath]. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that [sense of]
rest, lest anyone fall [into]... disobedience.” Amen!
New King James Bible used
