Hello, this is for anyone who is curious about whether or not Christians can lose their faith (regardless of whether or not you are a Christian).
Luke 8:13 (New American Standard Bible)
13 "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.
The argument that many make is that, from the passage above, you can lose your faith. Meaning that you can truly believe in Jesus Christ and then no longer believe in Jesus Christ.
However, the interpretation of that passage belongs in the words you are paying attention to. Which word are you focusing on, "believe" or "root?" That's the key to interpreting this passage.
I wrote the long answer in my theology blog, Christian Ed:
Thanks!
Ed
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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I think you have rather trivialized the discussion here. I don't think the "answer" is nearly that simple. There are a lot of Christians that would disagree with you. Not because they think that one can earn their salvation or that a simple misstep can land you in hell but they just don't agree that eternal security is spelled out in the scriptures. What about Hebrews 6:4-6
ReplyDeleteIf we have free will maybe a person can really decide to no longer be saved.
Trivialized by only bringing up Luke 8:13? I just intended to mention one verse on the subject and bring up both sides for the one verse.
ReplyDeleteIn the post I link to, I bring up a dozen or so passages that support the concept that faith is eternal. In fact, that's the Love chapter. 1 Corinthians 13 is all about how there are only three eternal qualities... faith, hope, and love (the greatest is love). The doctrine of assurance of faith is fairly prolific in Scripture.
If you can lose your faith, you truly have no assurance. Romans describes how the Holy Spirit becomes your assurance of faith. If you have faith and the Holy Spirit and can lose both, then you don't truly have any assurance and thus, the Bible lies.
Your right. I didn't mention this Hebrews passage. I should have. I will add it to the list in the theology blog post. Here's a response I found that does a good job of explaining that one...
http://www.gotquestions.org/Hebrews-6.html
I think they are a little too bold in their points, but they do provide excellent insight into what that passage means and why it isn't describing somebody who is saved by faith and then loses that faith.
Also, free will is another topic. I don't actually believe in it. What I believe is that God allows us to make choices. He can (and has) at any time make up our minds for us. He can do this by changing our hearts and minds (He did this with Pharaoh, for example), and He can also be very persuasive in forcing us to do His will if He wants to (Jonah, Job, Paul was blinded, Moses complained when God first told him what to do, etc.). And, knowing God is perfect, I'd want Him to do that as much as possible. I trust Him.
Plus free will conflicts with the doctrine that He chose us. Allowing us to make some choices (and Him making other choices for us) does not conflict with God choosing us.
Ed