Am I aware of my need to stand firm in my faith, so that I don’t fall away? 

6 “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

INSIGHT:  There are those who believe we cannot fall away from grace in Christ (lose salvation), those that believe we can, and those that believe if you fall away, you were never really a true believer to begin with.  I really wanted to believe that I could never fall away, but I had to ask myself, “If it were not possible, or if I have no responsibility in it, then why did Jesus warn us about it?” And, if it could only happen to false believers, then why is there over 66 other passages warning us to hold firmly, so that we don’t fall away?   If these do not apply, then why are they in the Bible?

In Christ, I have a future inheritance of “salvation” (Col 3:24, 1 Pet 1:3-9), by God’s free gift of grace alone (Eph 2:8), which makes me “saved”.  However, I really have an inheritance, not actual or full salvation yet (Rom 8:24-25). I am sealed with His Holy Spirit, and salvation is now reserved for me, but I don’t attain it fully until I have stood firm to the end (Mat 24:13, 2 Tim 2:12, Rev 3:11). Then Jesus allows me to eat from the tree of life (Rev 2:7).  My inheritance is His gift, and I did nothing to earn it.  However, I still believe I can fall away from the faith, through neglect, false teaching, pride, or disowning Jesus, and that I have a responsibility to work out my salvation (Phi 2:12).   Like Paul, I do not presume to have taken hold of it yet (Phi 3:13), and like Paul, I believe it would be arrogant of me to say I could never fall away (Rom 11:20-21, 1 Cor 10:11-12).  But does that mean I’m now earning my future salvation, if it’s dependent on me in some way to keep it?  No!

Let’s say a wealthy man grafts you into his will and says you will inherit his $10 million 2nd home when he dies, as a gift.  He lets you go ahead and move in now, and all he asks in return is that you maintain it.  He even gives you a cleaning, maintenance, and improvement budget as well.  He then promises that no one will take the home, or sell it out from under you, if you care for it.   If you agree to the maintenance terms, are you now earning the free gift?  No, you are maintaining the gift, and you can’t even take credit for that, because he gave you the money for it.  But suppose you become complacent, and start leaving the doors open when you leave, having questionable individuals over, or spending the maintenance money and your time on other things, at the neglect of caring for the house.  Would he not be justified in taking back your inheritance since you lost respect for it and you didn’t do his will in the agreement?

Yes, he would. The truth is that while we did nothing to earn the gift of salvation, we do still have an obligation to maintain the gift, with the grace He has given us (Rom 8:12). 

We need to get over this Satanic lie that we have nothing to do, and that if we dare do anything, we are “earning” our salvation.  The Bible says that only those that do God’s will make it to heaven (Mat 7:21, 1 Jn 2:17).  The way I see it, if you take that “do” out, you don’t make it to heaven.  But remember, no one can do God’s will apart from God’s enabling (grace), so at no time can it be said that we earned anything by our doing.  However, if we don’t do our part, empowered by His grace, the time will come when it will be said that we squandered or trampled His gift and grace.

The salvation gift (saving grace Rom 3:23-24) comes first, then our obligation to maintain that gift is met with His second gift (enabling grace Col 1:29).  So, what happens if we neglect this gift of salvation, or if we squander His grace? See the terrifying words of Heb 10:26-31

These 6 verses (Jn 6:39, 10:28-29, Rom 8:38-39, 2 Cor 1:22, Eph 1:13-14, Jude 1:24) say no one, or nothing, can take us out of Jesus hand, but that doesn’t mean we can’t remove ourselves.  These verses are true, but they presume our humble dependence upon God’s grace, and our need to hold firmly to the faith and remain in His love (See Jn 15:5-7, Jud 1:21). 

I can’t say I have attained salvation until I stand firm to the very end.  I don’t know what tests of my faith lay ahead.  If the government turns against me, and I renounce my faith in Christ, I lose my inheritance.   This calls for deep humility before God, not the arrogance of saying, “I could never fall away” (1 Cor 10:12, Rom 11:19-22).

The 66 verses below (10 x as many as above) show that standing firm is truly a teamwork effort, between us and Christ in us.  Paul never said, “Jesus did it all, and I had no part, or I’m covered under grace so I’m good regardless” …he had a vital role (1 Cor 9:24-27, 2 Tim 4:7).  We must believe what the Bible teaches, not just what we suppose, or passionately want to believe!