WATCH OUT TO NOT CAUSE YOUR OWN SPIRITUAL DEATH
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: “Pas tog op dat jy nie geestelik verongeluk nie”
I had a discussion with someone about the following passage from God's Word, and I would like to share with you what has come up in my heart. I want to ask that you understand me clearly. I'm not talking here about people like me, who often stumble.
JAMES 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Nor of those who supposedly backslides. I'm talking about someone who turns his/her back, (leave, reject) knowingly and entirely on our Lord. Here is the passage from God's Word:
HEBREW 6:4-8
4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
I always explain this passage this way: Imagine you sitting on a chair, on the edge of an abyss. The chair stands with its back to the abyss and the hind legs of the chair are about 10 centimetres from the edge.
Now you sit on the chair and you lean back, so that the front legs of the chair just lift up and go down to the ground again.
You can now try to lift the front legs even higher and so you can experiment to see how far you can go backwards and back again, but there is a point; "The point of no return" – then you will fall backwards and break your neck.
There are people who play games with satan and because he is a god, even if it is the god of evil, all that happens is that they break their spiritual neck.
There are people who preach; ‘Once saved, always saved’ and one of the passages what they use to substantiate their point is the following:
ROMANS 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the passage you just read, my great hero Paul covers everything and everyone except one – and that's yourself. The closest he comes to you is “or any other creature. “
Everything he mentions above, plus "any other creature" or human, cannot separate you from God or His love, except you.
You see, God has given you a will and God does not take away that will when you accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. You do not become a puppet of God after your conversion. You become His child and as His child, you also have His qualities and one of those qualities is that you have your own will. That is why Jesus says:
MATTHEW 24:42-44
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
As I came to know Jesus, He never has and will never say anything just to say something. So – if Jesus says we must watch out, then we better watch out, or we will break our spiritual neck. (lose our salvation)
To me one of the best examples of someone who turned his back on God and openly shamed God, was Judas. Let's take a quick look at Judas. Jesus chose, you might say, Judas by hand:
MATTHEW 10:1-4
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Judas was one of the elect:
MAT 10:4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Judas could cast out unclean spirits and Judas could lay hands on people and heal every disease and every sickness:
MAT 10:1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Judas, however, started playing games with satan.
I think at first he probably just stole a little bit, but it got worse and worse, until even what was done for the Lord was a problem for him:
JOHN 12:4-6
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
So he went on and on, until he literally and figuratively broke his neck:
MATTHEW 26:14-16
14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15 and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
So with the tongue in cheek I just want to say that it would be very nice if it worked that way – ‘once saved always saved’. Then the leaders of congregations need not have struggled so hard to keep their sheep on the right path. Then they could have quickly led the people to repentance and then left them and spent all their energy on the next soul – but, here I am with my will, and satan with his slyness and deceit.
May this be a wonderful day for you and please – Do not play games with satan.
More writings on this subject are available under the names:
Can I as a Christian lose my salvation?
Is once saved, always saved?
Remain on guard in all circumstances.
In Your book were all written – the days that were appointed for me.
Greetings,
Sakkie