Another high profile Christian walks away from the faith. What's going on?

A headline this week has many people scratching their head: Former Desiring God writer Paul Maxwell announces he's no longer Christian. How can this happen? Did he lose his salvation? Below is my response about salvation that I’ve shared before. I also just released this short clip that goes into more detail on why Paul Maxwell may have fallen away.

A common question for many is, “Can I lose my salvation?” I’ve heard both sides of the argument, and only God truly knows a person’s heart, but I can share a few thoughts. The reason there is a debate is because the Scriptures teach that salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned, but they also offer warnings about falling away. There should be a healthy tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. This issue should not create a spirit of division, elitism, or theological superiority.

One school of thought suggests that salvation cannot be lost, as in losing your car keys, but that it can be left, as in walking away from it. This may be why Jesus spoke of the man who said in his heart “my master delays His coming; therefore, I will turn from living a godly life”. When the master returned unexpectedly, the servant was banished because he chose to turn from what he knew to be right.

In another passage, Jesus said, “You have left your first love,” when speaking to the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:4). James 5:19-20 adds, if anyone wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, a soul is saved from death. If anything, these Scriptures, and many more, reinforce the fact that we have certain responsibilities.

1. We must look at the context of such verses. For example, in James 5 the context is a believer who is sick because he or she wandered from God (a pattern of sin) – from alcohol and drugs to lying and slander, and from sexual sin to the sin of pride – the warnings, convictions, and rebukes were all ignored. The elders become involved in hope that confession and repentance take place, and that faith-filled prayer releases the person from God’s chastisement (cf. Hebrews 12:5-7). The believer is heading toward physical death as the result of wandering from God, but if repentance takes place, they will be restored – the soul is saved and his ongoing pattern of sin (multitude) is covered, concealed, and dealt with. This verse is not about salvation, but disobedience.

We should never turn from what we know to be right. Jesus encouraged His followers to be watchful, prepared, and ready for His return. Are we watchful? Are we prepared? Are we ready? (Read Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 21:34.) The Scriptures offer a healthy tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.

The other school of thought suggests that some passages are dealing with people who never fully surrendered to Christ. As a result, they fell away. They heard the Gospel, but never fully embraced it and turned from their sins; they only had “intellectual” knowledge of salvation. According to this view, the real question isn’t, “Can a person lose their salvation?” but, “Was the person really saved to begin with?”

Titus 1:16 and James 2:14 both conclude that many people “say” that they know God, but deny Him by their lifestyle. I John 2:19 suggests that those who acknowledge Christ initially, but deny Him later, are not saved to begin with: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.”

2. Who holds us together? If we must maintain our salvation, what happens if Alzheimers or some other mind-debilitating disease sets in and begins to twist, corrupt, and pollute our thinking? Is all lost, or are we held together because we are a child of God? I am convinced, like Paul, “that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing can separate us from God, but we should never ignore the strong warnings about turning from Him.

When it comes to salvation, we all agree that God gets all the glory and all the credit. Salvation is His work. We are never outside of His sovereignty and control: “It is God who makes us stand firm in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:21).

Our salvation is guaranteed based on the assurances found in Scripture, but we also must “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (cf. Philippians 2:12). My goal is to be faithful to the command to preach, witness, and proclaim while understanding that God does the drawing, saving, and sealing.

3. At the heart of the division is Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Sadly, brother is shooting brother and sister is wounding sister. Have we forgotten how to show grace to those in the Body who we disagree with? Those who believe you can lose your salvation should not chide those who believe in eternal security – “once saved always saved” is by no means a license to sin – it’s a belief in God’s guarantee. But on the flip side, those who embrace eternal security should not mock those who disagree.

I can hear it now, “But what about Hebrews 6:4-6.” It says, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

Based on my understanding of terms such as “enlightened,” “tasted,” and “shared,” they are not necessarily words linked to salvation. Judas Iscariot was enlightened — he knew a great deal. He also tasted and shared in the ministry of Christ, but we all know his fate. When he fell away, repentance was elusive. His fate was sealed. However, this verse should force all Christians to take inventory.

We all sin and fall short, but the important question to ask is what is the condition of your heart — have you truly repented and believed in Christ as your Lord and Savior, or are you trusting in false assurance? This may be why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?”

Our actions reveal a great deal about our relationship with Christ. A.W. Tozer said: “When people find that after being in the church for years they are not making much progress, they ought to examine themselves and wonder whether they have been truly converted.”

Has your heart become so hard as to reject Jesus Christ? If so, you can change that today. I’m aware that I’m driving this point home, but I’d rather err on the side of speaking too much about a committed relationship with Jesus than too little. It’s never too late to get back on track: “Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord (Micah 3:7). God is sovereign but man has a responsibility to repent and return.

Question from article?

Answer: There are two facets to our relationship with God. There is union, which happens at the moment of salvation and guarantees our eternity with Him (2 Cor. 1:21-22, 2 Cor. 5:5, Ephes. 1:13-14, Ephes 4:30) and there is fellowship, the ability to dwell in His presence and communicate with Him in the here and now (John 15:4-5). Union is unconditional and is based on our belief. Fellowship is conditional and is based on our behavior.

The context of Hebrews 6 is interrupting our fellowship with God, not breaking our union. The key is the phrase “renew again to repentance.” Jewish believers were being pressured into keeping the law, especially where it concerned the daily sacrifice for sin. Those who relied on the daily sacrifice instead of invoking 1 John 1:9 (confessing directly to God) were in effect crucifying the Lord all over again, since He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The daily sacrifice was a foreshadowing of Him, and when He came the shadow gave way to the reality. The old way was no longer sufficient to restore them to fellowship (Hebr. 10:1-18).

Since 1 John 1:9 says that confession brings forgiveness and purification from all unrighteousness (renewal again to repentance), then by implication, anything other than confessing our sins prevents forgiveness and purification and causes estrangement from God. It doesn’t revoke our salvation, but because God can’t be in the presence of sin, it does suspend our relationship, depriving us of blessings we could have otherwise had.

There are many clear verses that unequivocally promise eternal security. Since the Bible cannot contradict itself and still be the Word of God, interpreting Hebrews 6 as having anything to do with salvation is a violation of the rules of interpretation, which teaches that we’re to use clear verses to interpret obscure ones, not the other way around.

Satan laughs when Christians hurt. His goal is to cause as much misery in a person’s life that they quit or worse.

My belief is that Satan knowing that he is doomed, is trying use humans as a bargaining chip to get the LORD to change his mind, which we know will never happen.

I would say Satan made a mistake believing that once he killed the Son, that all mankind and the earth would be his and lost forever.

HUGE MISTAKE! Now we can become joint heirs with Christ.

Soon Satan will be thrown down to the earth and will try again to make the LORD a liar by killing all the Jews, thus stopping the LORD from fulfilling His promises to them.

But John tells us otherwise in the Revelation of Christ our Lord.

If you die with your "fellowship with God" in an "interrupted" state, where do you think you go? Is there a special compartment in heaven for people who don't actually like God or get along with Him?

Yeah, you should laugh. It's a ridiculous concept.

Hebrews 6:4-6 is absolutely about salvation, but it's written in a (not atypically) hyperbolic way. The context is (Jewish) Christian believers who have been fully initiated returning to (non- and anti-Christian) Judaism.

(Note that the historical context of Hebrews is almost certainly the Roman invasion of AD 70. Jewish Christian believers are under intense pressure to return to Judaism and "put on the uniform" to fight the Romans.)

The hyperbolic part is the assertion that is is "impossible" to bring such people to repentance. Of course it's not literally "impossible". (cf "nothing is impossible for God") The non-hyperbolic statement would closer to "unlikely to work; don't waste your time".

And yes, such people absolutely "lose" (I detest that word; they threw it away quite deliberately) their salvation, unless you want to content that they were "never truly saved" in the first place. But how would you -- objectively speaking -- ever know that except after-the-fact?

>>> The Bible gives us a sign to watch for to determine who is an apostate or not.

Really?... where? what scripture says this?

>>> If that person fulfills the terms for being an apostate, there is no longer any chance that person can be saved.

Jesus said to be wary of false prophets... not apostates. There’s a difference.

We are also advised that some simply cannot be saved, and that if the Holy Spirit Himself cannot turn them, what makes us think we can?

The scripture I think you are referring to states “... let them be accursed” (for teaching another gospel)

That does not mean “point them out and curse them”.

It means “Let them be... under God’s curse.”

In other words... “Leave them alone” Do you see the difference?

It is NOT for us to judge others. the bible does NOT give us signs to determine who is savable and who is not.

It is NOT for us to know, nor can we.

What we CAN know is that God does not break covenant.

We should know ourselves whether we are saved or not.

We cannot judge another person’s heart.

Deuteronomy 13:13
Verse Concepts

some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known),
Hebrews 3:12
Verse Concepts

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Luke 8:13
Verse Concepts

Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
2 Timothy 4:10
Verse Concepts

for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
1 John 2:19
Verse Concepts

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
2 Peter 2:17
Verse Concepts

These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Verse Concepts

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates

Pardon » Withheld from » Apostates
Hebrews 10:26-27

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates#thematic_title_2198

Apostates » Never belonged to Christ
1 John 2:19
Verse Concepts

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates#thematic_title_2198

Matthew 24:12
Verse Concepts

Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Verse Concepts

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
1 Timothy 4:1-3

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates#thematic_title_2198

Deuteronomy 13:13
Verse Concepts

some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known),

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates#thematic_title_2198

Apostates » Cautions against becoming
2 Peter 3:17
Verse Concepts

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates#thematic_title_2198

Apostates » It is impossible to restore
Hebrews 6:4-6

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Apostates#thematic_title_2198

[[>>> If that person fulfills the terms for being an apostate, there is no longer any chance that person can be saved.

Jesus said to be wary of false prophets... not apostates. There’s a difference.]]

Sorry- not true- see verses above- The bible talks specifically about what to watch for-

[[>>> The Bible gives us a sign to watch for to determine who is an apostate or not.

Really?... where? what scripture says this?]]

See verses above

[[The scripture I think you are referring to states “... let them be accursed” (for teaching another gospel)

That does not mean “point them out and curse them”.]]

Huh? Where did i ever say we are to curse them?

[[It is NOT for us to judge others.]]

Actualy we are to judge- God tells us to judge all the time- concerning false prophets is a prime example- several verses talk about it-

In fact, the Temple is referred to in the present tense several times, But no mention of Jerusalem under siege, which started in 68 A.D. or so.

The letter seems to document the absolute sufficiency of the Lord’s death as payment in full for man’s sins to the large community of Jewish believers in Israel, many of whom had been priests in the Temple when it happened.

Considerable pressure was being exerted upon Jewish believers to revert to Judaism.

The conflict between Law and Grace is evident in nearly every chapter, as well as the necessity of choosing grace.

The Jewish believers were being told to go back to offering sacrifices again, why do that when the Real Lamb has been sacrificed once and for all, and is now seated at the right hand of God.

That would be comparing Jesus the True Lamb to a goat. A central element of the Levitical system was the daily sacrifice for sin.

God showed that he would no longer accept sacrifices when the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom.

Although not signed by anyone, I believe this is letter was written by Paul. Surely most of the Jews thought he was a traitor. And wanted him dead. Maybe the Lord said keep it on the down low.

The letter hinges here. Time to leave the milk,as it were.

Hebrews 6:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

3 And this we will do, if God permits.

The elementary teachings about Christ to which the writer refers are those having to do with our salvation. By his examples, he shows that what he’s about to say does not apply to the salvation experience, which includes repentance, faith, baptism and such, but things that are important to more mature believers

. So what does come after salvation? Walking in victory and enjoying the blessings that come from being in fellowship with God.

Now on to the meat.

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age

6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Hebrews 10:25ff (emphasis mine)

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the MANNER OF SOME is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

26 For if we sin WILLFULLY after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains NO MORE SACRIFICE for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath TRODDEN under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an UNHOLY THING, and hath done DESPITE unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I WILL REPAY, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

31 It is a FEARFUL THING to fall into the hands of the living God.

I will paraphrase:”
If you are a Christian, and if you are able, be at worship.
Some habitually skip worship service.
They are committing willful sin.
There is no forgiveness for willful sin.
They stomp on the Lord’s body...
They consider the Lord’s blood unholy...
They despise the Holy Spirit.
Vengeance is mine, I WILL REPAY!

Many comments here are of the sort, “They were not (fully) converted.”
How about: They were fully converted but the preacher preached such a wishy-washy gospel that the guy had no idea he was straying. The poor guy didn’t know any scripture!
How many have you observed who “before,” would cuss, drink, lust; who, “after” continue to do those things but, since they are “Christians,” go to worship on Sunday? (sometimes.)
Hebrews 10:25 leaves no latitude.

And, think of the scope of “willful sin.” It’s as big as the ocean and then some.

Good Comment, Thanks.
John 4:23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the TRUE worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

If there is a class of true worshipers, then there is a class of not-true worshipers. There are quite a few reasons that true believers would decide to fall away — family, peers, porn, yada, yada, yada.

Those Jews in Act 2:38 were convinced by Peter’s sermon to believe that Christ was the Messiah — then, they obeyed Peter’s command to repent and be baptized (and from other verses, we learn they confessed that Jesus is Lord. They worshiped in “truth.”

RE: There are many good churches

Definition of Denomination: Divisions based on names.

The Lord told Peter, “I will build my church.” He did not say, “I will build my churches.” Nor “I will build your churches.” The question is, “Of the good churches that you mention, which one did the Lord build?”

There were denominations at Corinth, one was named after Paul, one after Apollos, another after Peter and another after Christ. Paul’s response destroyed three of those denominations: He said, “Did Paul die for your sins?” Did Luther die for the sins of Lutherans? Wesley, Smith... Every denomination has a “founder”, a “human founder” who did not die for the sins of that denomination — except Christ, of course.

I will agree that many churches do good works; search for the one built by Christ.

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