Lost, Found, and Lost Again

“Once saved, always saved.” How many times have we all heard that line? I know that we all want to believe that salvation is permanent and easy to achieve, but why do we think that? Look through the Bible. Everything that mentions being part of the body of Christ says that it’s difficult. In other words, IT’S NOT EASY!!! You have to reject the world. You have to avoid stumbling blocks. You have to not become a stumbling block for other Christians. What part of that sounds easy to anyone?

We have an immense amount of responsibility as Christians. I think that, at least for most of us, rejecting the world is the hardest part. What the world thinks of us seems to be extremely important, but it shouldn’t be. The car you drive, the house you own, the amount of money you bring in each month…none of these things are important to God and they shouldn’t be important to us. If we truly are saved, then shouldn’t our priorities align with God’s in the same way Jesus’ did?

Most of us turn to God at our weakest hour. I remember when I turned to God. My wife was ready to leave me if I didn’t truly change. We had three children at the time and I had shattered all trust my wife had in me.  Neither one of us started as Christians, but my wife has been miles ahead of me in her growth as a Christian. She learns more quickly and I see God moving in her more than in myself. She could tell that I wasn’t actually changing internally. Sure, I eliminated a few bad habits and started attending church, but that doesn’t make me a good person and it certainly doesn’t make me a Christian.

If the process of going from lost to found is so complex yet so simple, then why not the process of going from found to lost? Why would Jesus warn of stumbling blocks and frequently speak in allegory if we cannot lose salvation? Why would we be told that our names can be removed from the Book of Life if salvation is permanent? The thought of permanent salvation comes from the book of John.

John 10:28-29
They will absolutely never be destroyed, and no one will snatch them from my hands. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them from the Father’s hands.

I understand that the message seems very clear. He’s got us, and He’s not letting go. Our Father is a protective and strong one, but there is one thing that is left out of that verse. What if we choose to walk away? No one can snatch us from His hand. It has to be our own choice. No person or thing can take our salvation from us, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t lose our salvation through our own actions and choices.

John 15:
I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up. If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.

Even if you are once connected to the vine, you can fall away. How, as Christians, do we prove to be connected with the vine? We bear fruit. If we stop bearing fruit and become wrapped up in more worldly matters, then we know that we’re no longer part of the vine. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people that say they’re saved and call themselves Christians but don’t bear fruit. That or they knowingly sin and justify it by calling it necessary or claiming that it’s for a good cause. A sin is a sin, no matter the reason or cause.

I’ve struggled with this myself. I was a terrible person. After turning to God, I started to change rapidly. I wasn’t wrapped up in worldly things. I didn’t desire money, cars, a big house, material possessions. Things were going well for a little while, but then I started to change. I wasn’t changing into who I used to be. I don’t know that it’s possible for me to return to the person I once was before Christ and God. But who I was changing into wasn’t someone I wanted to be. Surrounded by hypocrites, liars, and gossips, I found myself turning into them. My wife and I began to seriously discuss the possibility of me finding a new job or working from home so that I could avoid the stumbling blocks I found myself surrounded by.

Once you’re saved, you never expect to stumble. If you did expect it, then it wouldn’t happen. One of the biggest mistakes a Christian can make is to justify their actions when they know what they’re doing isn’t right. If you stumble, catch yourself. Don’t stay down. Staying down is what causes you to stop producing fruit. Soon, you’ll find yourself stuck in a routine that creates the illusion of being a Christian while being dead inside. And then you find yourself causing others to stumble.

Matthew 17:1-2
Yeshua said to his talmidim, “It is impossible that snares will not be set. But woe to the person who sets them! It would be to his advantage that he have a millstone hung around his neck and he be thrown into the sea, rather than that he ensnare one of these little ones.

As Paul would say, we must be steadfast in our faith. Don’t allow yourself to fall away. Watch for stumbling blocks and don’t let yourself become a stumbling block to others.