Those Who Fall Away

We have seen that those who are truly saved have abundant Scriptural reason to be assured of their eternal security. And yet, the Bible is full of examples of people who fall into gross sin and sometimes protracted periods of impenitence. Some, in fact, appear to never repent at all. David, who was known as a man after God’s own heart, fell into sin with Bathsheba and remained impenitent for more than a year. Peter and Barnabas denied the truth of the Gospel by refusing to eat with Gentiles in the presence of certain Jews (Gal. 2:11–14). Two men named Hymenaeus and Alexander suffered shipwreck concerning the faith, forcing Paul to excommunicate them (1 Tim. 1:18–20). And the list goes on. How are we to understand these falls?

We must make a distinction between the profession and possession of faith. The Bible makes clear that it is possible for people to profess faith in Christ without actually possessing it. In other words, they say they trust and believe in Christ when they actually do not. These are the people who Jesus says will come to Him at the last day, calling Him “ ‘Lord, Lord’ ” and reciting all the great deeds they have done in His name. But Jesus says He will tell them, “ ‘I never knew you.’ ” They profess faith but do not possess it.

That leaves us with two possibilities for understanding the falls recounted in Scripture. First, true believers are falling into sin. Such falls can be serious and radical, as the above examples show. But because these people are believers—they possess true faith—their falls are not total and final. The Spirit working in them will, in time, bring them to repentance. Second, unsaved people are giving way to their natural proclivities. These people are not believers—they merely profess true faith. In time, they may resume their guise of godly behavior, or they may simply wander away from the fold entirely, presenting a picture of Christians who have lost their salvation. But this they cannot be. They are like those of whom John speaks: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us” (1 John 2:19a).

A true Christian will not fall away completely—though he may seem to do so. But if there is a total falling away, the person never was a true Christian—though he may have seemed to be one.