The Gospel in Twenty Questions (27 page)

Under the old
covenant, if you failed to continue you were cursed. But what is the danger in
the new covenant? The danger is that you may fall from grace and lose the
freedom you have in Jesus Christ. You may even come back under the condemning
influence of the law.

In
the passage we just looked at, Paul and Barnabas were speaking to “Jews and
devout converts to Judaism” (Acts 13:43). They were addressing people who had
been raised under the law. What is the greatest temptation that these former
law-keepers will face? The danger is that they will do what the Galatians did
and swing back to the old ways of the law. Hence Paul’s exhortation: “Continue
in the grace of God. Don’t go back to where you came from.”

They preached the gospel in that city and
won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and
Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the
faith. (Acts 14:21
–
22a)

Different city, same
message. To remain true to the faith is to continue in the faith and grace of
God. It’s abiding in the vine and keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus. Again, we
don’t continue because we fear being cursed. We remain true to the faith
because it’s the smart thing to do, because we’d rather be free than fettered,
and because it’s better to walk under grace than condemnation.

We must pay the most careful attention,
therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the
message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience
received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?
(Hebrews 2:1
–
3a)

Here is another
verse that is easy to read through an old covenant lens. Under the law, there
was a real danger of tripping up simply because you weren’t paying attention.
The Jews went to extraordinary lengths to prevent this from happening. They
discussed the law ceaselessly and made a point of teaching it to their young
children. They wrote the commands on their doorframes and gates. Some even wore
the law in little leather boxes attached to their hands and foreheads.
[47]

Do
we need to take similar steps in the new covenant? Are we in danger of drifting
out of the kingdom through inattentiveness? If you are unsure of your Father’s
love, you may think so.

Perhaps
you think the Christian walk is like walking the wrong way on those moving
walkways you see at airports. You fear that if you stop moving forward you’ll
glide right back out of the kingdom. Or maybe you think the Christian walk is
like climbing a descending escalator. It’s a constant struggle, and you dare
not stop lest you find yourself heading down and out of the kingdom. What an
exhausting way to live.

The
author of Hebrews is not saying we maintain our salvation through works and
attentiveness. Instead, he’s encouraging his Hebrew listeners to heed the
gospel and put their faith in Jesus.

“The
message spoken by angels” is a reference to the law. The Jews believed that the
law had been passed down by angels (Galatians 3:19). This is why the author has
just spent the previous chapter showing that Jesus is greater than the angels.
He’s saying, “If those who ignored the angel’s message (the law) were punished,
how shall we escape if we ignore the salvation revealed in this greater message
(the gospel) by a greater mediator (Jesus)?”

The
writer of Hebrews is saying, “Brothers, don’t be like our hard-hearted
forefathers who heard the gospel but didn’t believe it. Jesus is greater than
the angels and he is greater than Moses, so trust
him
instead of them.”

The
river of human life flows to the falls of eternal separation from God. However,
a great Savior stands mid-stream, fishing for people and rescuing all who wish
to be saved. “Pay attention,” says Hebrews, “lest you glide right past him and
drift away.” In other words, don’t miss Jesus. Don’t miss grace.

If
you have been rescued by Jesus, then you don’t need to be rescued by Jesus, and
these words of warning are not for you. If Jesus already holds you there is no
chance you will drift past him. You are not safe because you are paying
attention; you are safe because
he
is paying attention and no one can
snatch you out of Jesus’ hand (John 10:28
–
29).

However,
if you don’t know Jesus, you need to heed Hebrews 2. Don’t allow the current of
life carry you past the grace of God. We all need grace. Jesus has it. Take
what he offers.

Do you feel guilty
if you miss a meeting or fail to read your Bible? Do you feel condemned for not
praying, giving, or fasting enough? If so, you have to ask yourself, “Why?”
Since your heavenly Father is not in the business of sending his kids on guilt
trips, why do you feel guilty? Since there is no condemnation for those in
Christ Jesus, why do you feel condemned?

There
can be only one answer. You are not continuing in the grace and faith of God.
You have allowed yourself to be distracted from Jesus. You are more conscious
of your imperfections than his sublime perfections. This is not healthy.

What
is the cure for guilt and condemnation? Look to the cross that divides the
covenants. See Jesus, who died to set you free from the demands of the law. In
him you have already passed the test. You have been granted an eternal A+ for
righteousness and holiness. You will never be any more righteous and holy than
the moment you became one with the Lord.

To
continue in the faith is to hold fast to Jesus. It is refusing to be suckered
into empty religion or conned into self-trust. It is being grounded and settled
in Christ and remaining unmoved from the hope of the gospel. It is giving
thanks to God who has reconciled you to himself and will present you as holy in
his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

What happens to Christians who
stray or follow another Jesus, or another gospel? This is not a hard question
to answer because it happened in the Bible. The consequences of going astray
are well documented. Yet the question is worth asking because many don’t know
the answer. Or, rather, they have the wrong answer, which is this:

What happens when Christians stray? They fall from
grace, prompting a loving God to discipline them with punishment. If they don’t
repent they’ll lose their salvation and be eternally condemned.

The bit about falling from
grace is true, but the rest is a big fat lie. Your heavenly Father’s discipline
never takes the form of punishment—that’s old covenant thinking—and those who
have been found by Jesus cannot be lost by Jesus.

Someone once
said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it.” The reason most Christians believe they can
lose their salvation if they stray is because they have heard it over and over
again. But it’s not actually in the Bible. It is an extra-Biblical fabrication
parroted by those who would distract you from Christ and his perfect work. It
is a lie that will cause you to trust yourself and your staying power instead
of standing on Jesus and the unshakeable foundation of his love and grace.

I’m sorry if
this sounds harsh, but it’s not nearly as harsh as telling your brothers and
sisters they are in danger of hellfire. And it’s not nearly as harsh as
speaking guilt and condemnation over those whom Christ has justified.

“So what will
happen to me if I stray from the Lord?” Well hopefully you won’t stray, but if
you do, you won’t lose your salvation. It’s just not
possible.
But straying or falling from grace does have consequences, as we will see.
Before we look at those, let’s look at the act itself.

You sometimes hear of a person
falling from grace, meaning they have fallen into sin and out of favor.
Typically this is said of famous Christians who have lost their ministries
because of some indiscretion. But while it is possible to fall out of favor
with people, you cannot sin your way out of God’s favor.

God’s favor
is unmerited. That’s why it’s called grace. You can’t earn it by doing good any
more than you can lose it by doing bad.
Where sin
abounds, grace does much more abound. If you fall into sin you fall into more
grace. I’m not encouraging sin. I’m saying grace is for sinners. Jesus didn’t
die for perfect people with perfect teeth and perfect hair. He died for real
people who make mistakes. If Jesus loved you when you were dead in sins, he
will always love you. Nothing can change that. Nothing
can separate you
from the love of God.

So how do we
fall from grace?

You who are trying to be justified by the law have
been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4)

We fall from the high place of
grace and favor when we try to merit what God has freely given us. If you think
you have to work before God will bless you, you have made Christ of no value.
If you’re striving to make yourself pleasing and acceptable to God, you have
fallen from grace.

I am so glad
the book of Galatians is in the Bible because we can learn a lot from other
people’s mistakes.
The Galatians lost their liberty in Christ by
allowing themselves to be enslaved to the yoke of the law. In their case the
issue was circumcision, but for us it could be anything that puts a price tag
on grace—church rules, confession of sins, the spiritual disciplines, whatever.
I’m not against these things. I’m saying there is nothing we can do to add or
improve upon Christ’s perfect work. We stand by grace alone.

The Galatians
had a different view. Some guys with long faces and long knives came preaching
mixture and the Galatians bought it hook, line, and sinker. But does this mean
the Galatians were now unsaved, under condemnation, and hell-bound? No. Falling
from grace does not mean falling out of the kingdom.

The NIV Bible says the
Galatians alienated themselves from Christ. Other translations say they became
estranged, separated, severed, and cut off. These are serious words with
serious implications, but they do not imply condemnation. Who cut them off? It wasn’t
Christ. Who did the separating? Not Jesus. As always, he remains the thoroughly
faithful husband who keeps us safe while promising that no one, not even
ourselves in a moment of stupidity, can snatch us out of his hands.

Paul never
tells the Galatians, “You are losing your salvation.” Instead, he says, “You
are indulging the flesh” (Galatians 5:
13). They were
becoming carnal, biting and devouring one another in vicious arguments. The
danger is not that God will destroy them,
but that “you will be destroyed
by each other” (Galatians 5:15).

Remove grace
from any community and you will soon have quarrels, strife, bickering,
manipulation, envy, hatred, and all the other works of the flesh that Paul
lists in Galatians 5:19–21. But none of these things will send you to hell.

When Paul
reminds the Galatians that “they who do such things shall not inherit the
kingdom,” he’s saying, “Those who belong to Christ shouldn’t act like those who
don’t.” If Christians were kicked out of the kingdom every time they walked
after the flesh, heaven would be empty.

Some would say that
backslider is a believer who has rejected God, returned to the world, and is
now drunk, pregnant, high as a kite, and living on welfare. But this picture is
a fiction. I have been in the church for five decades and I can’t think of one
person who has done this.

Sure, I know
a few who have rebelled against the unholy demands of performance-based
religion. But who wouldn’t? Fleeing from religious manipulation is not straying
from Jesus—usually it’s running
to
Jesus, albeit by a roundabout route.

If we get our
examples from the Bible, then the real strays are the Galatians reverting to
the law, it’s the Colossians and their precious rules, and it’s the loveless
Ephesians working hard for the Lord. In other words, it’s Christians who are
walking after the flesh. Many are sincere, caring people. They want what you
and I want. But the way they go about it reveals the ugliness of the flesh
rather than the beauty of Jesus.

A
straying Christian is any believer who is no longer walking by faith. They may
be running after the pleasures of sin, but they could also be building
churches, leading missionary organizations, or preaching to millions. They
could be doing any number of good deeds. But if they have become distracted
from Jesus, they have lost their way.