I’m sure we’ve all seen at some point the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Back at its peak of performance, when Regis Philbin was the host (sorry Ms. Vierra), it was the talk of the town. Everyone tuned in to watch who would win the big bucks. Shortly after the TV show became a hit, it hit the internet with a free online gaming version, and then hand-held versions quickly followed. The vast majority of America was consumed with ‘Millionaire Mania.’
I still remember the one episode, possibly the most well-known episode to date, where the gentlemen on the ‘hot seat’ had made his way through the entire list of progressively difficult questions with relative ease….without using a single ‘Life Line.’ When he came upon the final question, the Million Dollar riddle, he paused and stated to Mr. Philbin that he had to ‘phone a friend.’ America waited with bated breath as the dial tone picked up. When the voice on the other end said “Hello..”, the gentlemen, very casually, proceeded to greet the ‘phone-a-friend’ as his father and then with a sly smirk said the phrase America will never forget “I don’t need your help or anything, I just wanted to let you know that I’m about to win a million dollars.”
The studio audience went nuts! There were cheers of laughter, amazement, and shock. He answered the question correctly and went home a millionaire.
As we go through this life, we have instances where we seem to have “Million Dollar” questions arise. Sometimes the solutions are simple, but often times they are perplexing and frustrating. One of those questions deals with eternal security of a believer. Denominations throughout the world that read, teach, and study from the same Word of God have been divided over this issue for centuries. Some say one’s salvation can be lost by unbelief. Some say it can be lost by a lack of repentance. Still others say it’s God’s call whether or not you are ‘safe’ and so you have to have your good works outweigh the bad and hope for the best. Others claim salvation is eternal. Who is right? Is anyone right? Can anyone truly know? What does the Bible have to say? This is one of those “Million Dollar” questions.
There are some passages, one of which I will look at briefly with you, used more often than any other passages of Scripture by individuals who make the argument that salvation can indeed be lost. The one we will look at today that is used most often is Hebrews 6:4-6.
“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.”
Keeping this in context, this is indeed written to saved people. These are people who have been born again. So, it is true that one can lose their salvation if they “fall away?” NO.
The key word in this passage that often gets overlooked is the word REPENTANCE. If someone who has truly experienced the work of Christ, the work of the Spirit, and the goodness of God’s Word, should all of a sudden fall away and claim to not believe anymore….it is impossible for them to be brought back to that repentance, to that changing of mind and deed. Why is that? Because they’d be crucifying Jesus all over again. In other words, a person who was a known believer, made it known that all this Jesus stuff was a bunch of bologna, then sometime later realized their error and came back proclaiming the name of Jesus all over again as true and just, they’d be bringing shame upon the cross and their witness would more than likely steer believers/unbelievers alike away from the Christ altogether. This is why we are urged throughout the New Testament to ‘hold fast and stand firm in the faith’, because if we do not, more harm is done than good. (The term used quite often for this is ‘hypocrite’….ouch)
So, the answer to the million dollar question – can you lose your salvation? No. However, a true believer, one who is fully convinced, will not depart from Christ. A true believer can always be brought back to repentance.
Until next time, GO SERVE YOUR KING.
