A Genuine Born-Again Christian Cannot Repent To Reunite With God If He Rejects And Denies Christ

           Can a genuine born-again Christian, who has once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, and shared in the Holy Spirit, fall away from faith (reject the triune God / Christ)? And after his rejection of God, can he repent to be reunited with God forever?

            A genuine born-again Christian can fall away from faith. The question of the week from the Christian website “gotquestions.org” claims that a Christian cannot lose his salvation.¹ The Calvinistic position “once saved always saved” is a partially agreeable position.

            Some Scripture passages affirming the Calvinistic position are: John 6:39-40, John 10:27-30, and Ephesians 1:13-14. These passages communicate truth, hence none can disagree. So a Christian need not lose his faith.

            These passages do not emphasize that a Christian cannot lose his faith, instead they emphasize that a Christian need not lose salvation as long as he believes in Christ.

            If a Christian cannot lose his salvation, then he is locked into his Christian faith. If he is locked into his Christian faith, then he is no longer free.

            But the Bible affirms freedom of the Christian through the affirmation of apostasy, which is to fall away from faith or to reject God / Christ. Hebrews 6:1-8, Hebrews 10:26-31, 2 Peter 2:20-22, James 5:19-20 are some verses affirming apostasy of a Christian. These verses teach that this Christian was genuine to begin with.

            If the Bible teaches that a genuine Christian can lose his faith in Christ, then a genuine Christian has the freedom to lose his salvation. Thus, it is incorrect to state that a genuine Christian cannot lose his salvation under any circumstances. But, a genuine Christian need not lose his salvation.

            The bigger question is whether an apostate or a fallen away Christian can repent and regain his salvation? The Bible teaches that God will forgive all but one sin. That one sin is the “unpardonable sin.” Several Scripture passages speak about the unpardonable sin – Matthew 12: 31-32; Mark 3: 29-30; Luke 12: 10; Hebrews 6: 4-6, 10: 26-27; 1 John 5: 16-17.²

            The nature of the unpardonable sin is as follows:

            (1) The person who commits the unpardonable sin has a clear knowledge of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in Christ.

            (2) This person willfully rejects Christ and HIS activities.

            (3) He insults the work of the Holy Spirit in Christ by attributing it to the work of Satan. 

            So if a person denies the work of the Holy Spirit in Christ, then the Bible teaches that God would not forgive this man. In other words, this person’s heart will be permanently veiled to receive Christ again (Cf. 2 Corinthians 3: 14).

            This person will see but will not see; he will hear but will not hear. Understanding and perception will fail him because of the callousness of his heart. He is beyond forgiveness and healing. This person has lost his salvation once and for all.

            It is also evident that a genuine Christian cannot unintentionally or in a state of momentary blindness reject Christ. The passage in Hebrews states that apostasy occurs deliberately.

            Although apostasy occurs deliberately, can there be a situation where the apostate Christian does not reject Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit?

            Imagine a situation where a genuine Christian loses something / someone he has cherished much - his parents, spouse, children, friends or even property in some cases. Unable to comprehend this situation, he feels lost and as if God let him down badly. So he chooses to disbelieve in God.

            Even in a state of disbelief or suspended belief, he does not insult Christ and the Holy Spirit in any manner whatsoever. Sadness and disbelief remain in him, but anger and hatred for God remains out. When anger and hatred for God remains out of the apostate Christian’s life, he could refrain from attacking or denigrating Christ. This is a safe position.

            When an apostate Christian does not denigrate Christ and the Holy Spirit, he is in a safe position. Picture a situation where a Pharisee heard Christ’s miraculous works and chose to disbelieve in Christ as the promised Messiah.

            This Pharisee did not think or state that Christ’s healing is the work of demons. Although he did not believe in Christ, he did not invoke Satan to substitute Satan for Christ. Though this Pharisee remained an unbeliever, he chose not to denigrate Christ.

            Therefore, if an apostate Christian does not denigrate or blaspheme Christ and the Holy Spirit, he remains safe, and thus has an option to repent and reunite with God. So it seems to me that an apostate Christian who retains a healthy reverence for the triune God, even as an unbeliever, could possibly repent and be united with the Triune God.

            If a genuine Christian can lose his faith in Christ, another question storms to the forefront. Can a genuine Christian possess eternal security or the utmost confidence that he will remain with the Lord forever and ever? In other words, what about the Scripture passages that assures eternal security for a Christian?

            “Remain in me, as I also remain in you…If you remain in me and my words remain in you…” (John 15: 4a, 7), to remain in Christ is the only recourse for the Christian. If a Christian remains in Christ, he will be safe unto eternity. Despite that, the Christian should also believe at all times that the triune God lives in him. To know and believe the presence of the living God in oneself is vital for our salvation.  

            Therefore, if a Christian remains in Christ and understands the presence of God in him, he will possess eternal security and utmost confidence that none can steal him away from God’s presence. Christ always remains in those who believe in HIM. So the believer should fulfill his part by remaining and believing in Christ always – be it in good or bad situations.

            But what dissuades a Christian away from Christ? The answer is, doubt. Lack of understanding of the Bible, adversity, misplaced priorities (e.g. wealth) and pride are good institutions for the proliferation of doubt in a genuine Christian.

            In other words, this Christian dreadfully allows the tangible material benefits to irreparably damage his spiritual union with the living God.

            Then again, the apostasy or falling away of the genuine Christian is due to his failure to remain and believe in Christ. Doubt snakes in as temptation, but when the Christian believes the doubt instead of believing in Christ, he begins to lose faith in Christ.

            When a genuine Christian does not desire and allow the Holy Spirit’s illumination of HIS Word and does not dedicate enough time and effort to understand the Bible, he would fall away at the earliest instance.

            Adversities, large and small, are grand persuaders of apostasy. The devil dangles doubt over the Christian’s life during moments of adversity. The Christian falls when he doubts God or assumes that God has neglected him, which is not a truth for a believer. 

            Misplaced priorities are another agent of doubt in a Christian life. The Christian’s priorities are misplaced when Christ is replaced by other priorities from the core of his life. This is a consequence of not remaining in Christ.            

            When a genuine Christian, in pride, fails to resist the devil, he refuses to listen to God. For instance, the devil may fuel his pride through his extraordinary knowledge. This person then would exalt his knowledge over God. He considers himself cleverer than God.

            Proverbs 1: 7 pertinently describes this person, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Ironically, his exceptional knowledge renders him a fool in the presence of the Almighty God, so much so he refuses God’s wisdom and instruction, which could at times sound simple and foolish, but in reality, not so.

            Is man’s freedom more powerful than God’s sovereignty? Never! Man’s freedom operates within the overarching sovereignty of God. God allows man to choose or reject HIM.

            Can God overpower man? Can God work HIS way in a disobedient man so to fulfill HIS desires? Yes. Jonah’s life is a case in point. Therefore, God remains sovereign always.

            In conclusion, these are the thoughts communicated in this short essay:

            (1) A genuine born-again Christian can reject the Triune God. When he rejects God, he loses his salvation.  

            (2) If those who have rejected Christ continue in their state of rejection, then they will not repent to reunite with God.

            (3) If those who have rejected Christ actively deny Christ, then they have committed the unpardonable sin, and hence cannot repent.

            (4) Those who have rejected Christ but do not deny HIM instead maintain a healthy reverence for Christ could possibly repent to reunite with God.

            (5) Once saved is always saved, provided the believer chooses not to reject Christ.

            (6) Man’s freedom operates within God’s overarching sovereignty.

            (7) God’s sovereignty emphasizes that HE can fulfill HIS plans in a disobedient believer or an unbeliever’s life.

            Last but not the least, Christ will judge everyone. Judgment is Christ’s activity; no one else partakes in judgment. The intent of this essay is not to judge anyone, but merely communicate my thoughts on this subject. Amen.  

Endnotes:

¹ http://www.gotquestions.org/questweek.html or http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-lose-salvation.html

² 1 John 5: 16-17 – There is a considerable debate as to whether the death mentioned in this verse has a temporal or eternal connotation. Another similar passage is John 15. Even without these passages, the Scripture teaches that there is an unpardonable sin, which merits an eternal damnation.