Author Unknown
Now that we have examined the pathway to victory over darkness in the soul of man, it would be appropriate, at this point in time, to examine the issue of losing one’s salvation. Some denominations say “once saved, always saved.” The word of God, however, is the foundation upon which we must stand and not denominational doctrines. I have seen Christians, because of circumstances they were in and emotional issues they were facing, hold steadfast to a false doctrine because it gave them a sense of security. We are wise to allow God’s mind renewing process to work upon us before we get in these types of circumstances. However, even in these circumstances, false security is no security at all. The Word of God is black and white, not various shades of gray. Simply because our circumstances, at the present time, do not seem to fit into our current understanding of God’s word, does not in any way detract from the eternal truth of God’s word. We must not adapt the word of God to us; but rather, we must adapt to it. If we do not, at some point, yield to the truth, this can place us upon a pathway leading to death.
There is a sin unto death. There is a place where the blood of Jesus will not go. If the blood of Jesus does not go there, then there can be no forgiveness. If there is no forgiveness, there can be no justification. If there is no justification, there can be no redemption. It is our redemption by the blood of Jesus that qualifies us for eternal life. When this is lost or removed, it cannot be recovered.
1 John 5:16-17
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
Is the Apostle John when he says, “there is sin not leading to death,” contradicting the Apostle Paul when Paul stated that “the wages of sin is death?” Are we to now understand that only the wages of some sin is death? No, this is not what is being stated. First, this applies to someone called “brother.” Whereas Paul was speaking about those who are lost, John was speaking about Christians. For a Christian there can be sin leading to death. Secondly, the word lead is repeatedly used indicating a progression rather than a single step or a single action of sin.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
Some will depart from the faith. In order to depart from the faith, you must first have come into the faith. But this departure is not something that happens suddenly. It is rather a subtle path that a person begins to walk down and at the end of the pathway is eternal death a pathway that leads the person into a place the blood of Jesus will not go. This is the place ofsalvation lost. But notice that it is having a “seared” conscience that allows this falling away to occur. In other words, because the mind was not renewed and the truth was never yielded to, there was a searing or sealing effect that occurred to their old way of thinking. They never allowed it to be changed. They stubbornly held onto their old way and never yielded to the light of the truth. This finally led them to a place where their salvation was given back to the Lord Jesus by an act of their own will. The Bible presents to us three ways a person may lose their salvation.
Hebrew 6 — walking away and rejecting God after salvation
Matthew 12 – blaspheming the Holy Spirit
Revelation 14 – the mark of the beast.
We will examine each one of these individually.
Rejecting God
Hebrews 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and_the_powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
In this passage of Scripture, we see five qualifying facts that must be present within the believer for one to reject God and God takes it as a sin unto death. These qualifying facts are there because of God’s grace and represent qualities found in a mature Christian. At one point in my life as a child, I became angry with my grandfather. It was over a very childish thing; but to me at that point in my life, it seemed like a major issue. Because of my childish anger I told my grandfather that, “I don’t love you and my dog doesn’t love you.” To a child, that was as serious as it could get. But my grandfather, because of his maturity, could see my words were being spoken out of my own ignorance and because of his love for me our relationship never changed. Only an hour later, I had completely forgotten about the incident and was again standing by his side closely watching everything that he did. Our heavenly Father also understands that sometimes we do or say things out of our own ignorance. If we had greater understanding, we would have never said or done the thing.
Therefore, not just any Christian can qualify for Hebrews six. Only a Christian that has walked with the Lord and has developed qualities of maturity can qualify. It would be another thing altogether, if now, at the age of forty, I were to say that I do not love my grandfather. These words would now carry a new significance because they would no longer be the words of a child but instead the words of a mature man. Let us look at these qualifying facts of spiritual maturity to gain an understanding of how one would qualify for Hebrews six.
1. Once enlightened —–—– having been born again.
2. Tasted the heavenly gift – operated in the gifts of the Spirit.
3. Partakers of the Holy Spirit — having received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
4. Tasted the good word of God — having received revelation knowledge of the word.
5. Tasted the powers of the age — one who has imparted and to come operated in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
If a person has matured spiritually to a place where these five qualities are found within their spiritual life, then they qualify for Hebrews six. For if one has progressed with God to a place where the anointing is actively operating through him and then that person allows himself to be lead to a place where he rejects God, the word says it is impossible to renew him again to repentance. It must be understood that this does not occur overnight. But rather, it occurs over a progression of time as we are led away. It starts with a word spoken into our lives by the enemy. This word is actually a lie that we now receive and come into agreement with. The Apostle Paul cautioned young Timothy about this very thing.
1 Timothy 6:20-21
20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge-21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you.
Once the false word is received, it leads to sin activities that take the person farther and farther away from the Lord. Finally, the person’s heart is hard towards God and open to the activity of sin. All during this time, the Holy Spirit is reaching out to them through conviction about the sin. Finally, circumstances develop that force a decision upon them. They are probably annoyed at this point and have totally given themselves to the sin. Then he or she rejects God when the Holy Spirit comes again to convict them of the sin and, in essence, tells God to get out and leave them alone. This person has just lost their salvation and can never recover it again. They will actually be happy with their decision and never think about the Lord again because the Holy Spirit will leave them alone. It is our responsibility to guard our heart by remaining yielded to the word of God. Do not let words of doubt and unbelief become part of your thinking. These very words will have a profound effect upon your life and possibly your eternal destiny.
Matthew 12:31-32
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin leading to death and can be identified as associating the Holy Spirit Himself, as well as His work, with the person of Satan and the work of Satan. When people, either saved or lost, mock the things of the Holy Spirit, they enter onto dangerous ground. Mockers of God are living very dangerously. God will not tolerate them forever. But if they begin to mock the Holy Spirit, He will not tolerate them at all. It is best, if one does not understand a spiritual issue, to say nothing at all rather than mock it. Jesus went on to say this very thing just a few verses later in Matthew chapter twelve.
Matthew 12:36-37
36 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
When the Holy Spirit has been blasphemed, the guilty person will not know it. At this point, the Holy Spirit no longer convicts the person of sin or attempts to draw the person to repentance. If a person is worried that they may have committed this sin, it is a certain fact that they have not committed it. The very fact that they are experiencing remorse does away with the possibility.
Revelation 14:9-10
The Mark of the Beast
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 “he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
The mark of the beast is not available at this present point in time. However, at a point in the future, there will be a great “falling away” from the Lord that will occur during the days of the Antichrist. Carnal Christians, that still love the world, will be greatly tempted to take the mark because without it they will not be able to do business and make money.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
There will be a “falling away” from the Lord before His Second Coming. Those that fall away, along with those that have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, will be given over to the delusion that they chose to believe instead of the truth. This will happen to purge the body of Christ from any compromised influence. Because they resisted God’s work of renewing the mind earlier, they now commit treason with His enemy.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 9. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10. and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12. that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Some Christians may say, “Oh I will not be here at that point in time because I will already be raptured.” You may be one of the people that believe that and it is not my purpose in this text to change your opinion or your Millennium/Rapture perspective. My words to you are to cautiously guard your heart from all false teachings and to diligently seek the truth of God with your whole heart. If you seek the truth, the Truth will find you!
Do not attempt to stand on a doctrine. A doctrine is like a photograph of a man. The man in the photograph is real. However, the image that you are looking at is not real. So many Christians only look at the image of Jesus in the Bible. They have never touched the substance of the Bible Jesus, the Word of God. They have never seen the actual reality of that image. When we can see the truth by a revelation received from the Holy Spirit, we can never be fooled by the image of that truth again. But only the Holy Spirit can make the Bible become the Word of God.
It is like trying to tell a man that was blind from birth about the color green. You cannot say it is like the grass for he has never seen the grass. You cannot say that green is a mixture of yellow and blue for he has never seen yellow or blue. You simply cannot tell a blind man what green is for it MUST be experienced by him seeing it for himself. This is the way it is with a man that has only seen the doctrine. He is the most difficult of people to show the reality to. Do not be wise in your own understanding. It will fail you. Do not trust or lean upon it. God will reveal the truth to you if you will allow Him to do so.
Proverbs 3:5-7 5. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
Luke 10:21 21. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
