Those that are still waiting for a Messiah are not saved.
Those that no longer believe He is Messiah are not saved
Those that have never believed at all are not saved
So to start with, the answer to the 3 statements above is a BIG YES
This issue as actually been one the church has been going round on for years
Way before we were born
There are 2 extremes to it and I am not on either side.
Once Saved always saved Or If you say a lie and due right after, you are definitely going to hell
I've been a recipient of these 2 teachings. I've leaned on both sides for some period. Both for very short periods actually. Even during those times, I had my reservation.
The bone of contention was the second statement:
Those that no longer believe He is Messiah are not saved
Some of us were (are) of the opinion that if a Christian goes on to become an atheist, He is still saved because He was once a Christian
Like I said during the week, I get am before no be property
Who is an atheist?
An atheist is one who doesn't believe in the existence of God.
Who is a Christian?
A Christian is one who is Christlike. One who basically follows Christ
How does one become a Christian?
What makes us Christians, born again, is our acceptance of Christ as our Savior.
Now, an atheist is one who doesn't believe there is a God, talk more of coming to Him through Christ.
Now, let's go back.
Can a Christian say they are not doing again? Does this mean they were never Christians?
Let's look at a couple for example.
Myself and Samson have been married for 20 years. Today, I wake up and demand for a divorce
Does this mean we were never in love? Or I was never truly married to Samson?
No. It simply means I have made a conscious decision to end my marriage/relationship with Samson.
Samson wants to stay married to me.
He never wants to take away my position as his wife but what he cannot do is stop me from walking away
Cos it is by freewill I accepted to be his wife. I was not forced into the relationship so I cannot be forced to stay
Samson will beg me to stay. Even after I get the divorce papers, because he loves me, he will keep trying to reach me.
Because of his strong love for me, the only time he will give up is when I'm dead. He will keep trying
Now let's go back to my marriage to Samson.
There are families in Nigeria that when you are married to them, you get some privileges.
You are carrying the surname. It opens doors for you. But the minute you walk out, those privileges end
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1 Timothy 4:1 KJV
If it is not possible to lose faith, Scripture will not tell you and I to hold fast to our faith
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
2 Peter 2:20-22 KJV
These Scriptures here speaks of people that knew Christ. They had a true relationship not mere head knowledge. Yet they went back
There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.
1 Timothy 1:19-20 MSG
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Hebrews 3:12 KJV
This was directed at Christians, believers. He wasn't writing to those yet to accept Christ
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Matthew 24:10-13 KJV
This is directly from Christ
A lot of believers will be led astray. Many will fall away.
Jesus mentioned these things
So yes, it is very possible for someone to be once a Christian
For someone to say they are not doing again with the same mouth they used to accept Christ.
Very very possible
Let's go back to our atheist friend, right back to when he accepted Christ. What exactly was he accepting?
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:1 KJV
This is one of the things our then Christian, Atheist friend received when He accepted Christ.
No more condemnation....Eternal Life
“Martha,” Jesus said, “ You don’t have to wait until then. I am the Resurrection, and I am Life Eternal. Anyone who clings to me in faith, even though he dies, will live forever. And the one who lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26 TPT
One of the things our friend received was Eternal life.
He had life before but then according to Biology , every living thing must die
It is a cycle.. You don't stay alive forever.
A sacrifice had to be paid for eternal life to be available for all. It was paid by Jesus. He is the source of the eternal life. He is the eternal life himself.
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Acts 17:28 KJV
This eternal life our friend had is not just given by Christ but it is IN Christ.
What happens when our friend decided that He didn't want Christ anymore?
The presence of Christ was the Eternal life itself. Rejecting Him is also rejecting Eternal life
What happens if he dies in this rejection?
We read that there is no condemnation for they that are IN Christ. Not they that Christ gave eternal life (Christ is the Eternal life)
Now that he is no longer in Christ, He will face condemnation as everyone in the world. But till the very minute that he dies, The love of God will keep trying to pull him out and reach out to him. It will never force him into acceptance.
If God could force us into acceptance of Him, then the whole world is going to Heaven
Or you think God delights in people going to hell?
Definitely no.
So yes, if an atheist regardless of his former belief or stance dies, he is not going to heaven.
There is no sugarcoating it (except there is another way outside Christ)
If as Christians we sin or do wrong things then die, are we going to hell?
No
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8 KJV
Christians do sin, it is actually very possible to. But as Christians we are not characterized or identified by a life of sin. No matter how many times we make mistakes and sin, we are forgiven
But it gets tricky. Our lives are not to be controlled by sin.
And it is either we are controlled by the flesh or by the spirit.
Now here is my take.
If we continually choose to reject the work of the spirit in our lives and cling to the flesh, our hearts harden.
It is very possible that we derail from here. It is very possible that stop holding honour belief from here.
The life we've received is in Christ and the Holy Spirit is the maintenance of this life. If we constantly reject him and his works, we reject Christ and his work too.
Let's look at John 15.
It says Abide in me, and I in you
He didn't say now that this branch is part of the tree, that is all. Here Christ notes our choices and decisions to stay continually. To stay in continued fellowship with him. (Note that fellowship is not same as relationship. Though fellowship affects relationship)
He is asking us to do thongs which exposes us to Him more and more. To make the decision to stay always
Now what happens to those that do not abide in Him, that choose to branch out
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
John 15:6 KJV
Let's note here that he didn't say "if anyone refuses to bear fruit, I will cast them out"
He says if they refuse to abide. A branch has no life unless it is on the tree. The tree is the source of life for it.
At what point of continually rejecting the Vine (tree) is the branch cast out?
I wish I had the answer to this one but I do not as the Bible does not give a specific time.
5years, 10years?
But one thing I know for sure is that God doesn't want anyone casted out. His love is all up in our face always. He'd prefer we have life than death
People will come on that great day and say, I casted demons in your name but the Lord will tell them I do not know you. Of course, they accepted Christ but something happened along the line.
Remember the parable of the sower. The ones that believed but temptation came.
I think only Christ knows at one point anyone stops being truly in Him.
But one thing we all know is the road that leads to that place, which is continual rejection of Christ nd the works of the Spirit.
When someone becomes so controlled by sin, we say the person's conscience is dying or is dead
In our case, what the person is killing is the spirit of God in Him
For those of us here, I don't think we plan to reject Christ.
And if we've been living a life characterized by sin, now is the right time to stop.
This is why we have the Holy spirit. Allow Him help you. You can't fight the flesh on your own.
Finally, we have Christ so we have Eternal life. We actually have already started living it
God loves us so much He couldn't wait for us to come join Him, He brought Heaven here (right inside our little hearts). Enjoy Him. If His presence is boring to us now, then why do we look forward to Heaven?
What makes Heaven is not the streets of Gold, the precious stones or pearls, it is the Presence of God and it is now in you and I.
Let us pray.
Lord, we thank you for your word and all we've learnt today.
Help us to abide in you forever. Let us not seek a life outside you.
For those of us that do not understand or agree with some things, speak to us directly. Teach us your truth now and always.
Amen
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