"God loves me so much that He will allow me to leave Him if ever I should want to do that. I don't ever foresee me doing that, but it is a possibility."
I have heard it said that if you love someone you are willing to let them go if it is in their best interest. This may be true when it comes to our personal relationships, but it does not describe how a Christian's relationship works with God. Every time I see a comment like the one above, obviously written by someone who does not believe in the eternal security of the believer, I want to ask them some questions.
- What is the evidence of a believer wanting to leave God?
- Why would a believer want to leave God?
- Have you ever left God, why did you come back and what did you do to come back?
In almost every case, when a comment is made about a believer "leaving God," or losing their salvation, there is never any evidence, scriptural or otherwise, given to support the claim. What I believe is at the heart of a statement like this is that the person saying it believes in performance-based religion. If they were to answer the questions above I would bet that their responses would have there origins within the context of religion. They believe that by adhering to the standards of their particular faith they are earning or maintaining their salvation. Therefore, anyone who is not doing what they are doing is either not a Christian or has lost their salvation. For example, if I believed that getting water baptised, tithing and attending church every time the doors were open were evidence of a believer, anyone not doing that has "left God." First of all, these things, any religious activity for that matter, are not what saves a person and are not the evidence of a saved person. Secondly, When I put the responsibility of the Christian life on the individual, I have removed it from Jesus Christ. And thirdly, by making salvation a work, of any kind, we have lowered the Christian faith to the level of every other religion on the planet.
A fundamental truth of the Gospel is that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer. With that being the case, it would seem impossible to "leave" that which lives inside of you. That which indwells you will only go with you when you, supposedly, "leave." The author of Hebrews writes, "...God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)." The comment made above implies that God will leave us because of something we decide to do. If that were true this verse is a lie. It would mean God would remove His indwelling Holy Spirit, His very life, from a believer. And there is no sin that would cause that life to leave because of the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Continuing on with this theme, we see where Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28)." Jesus gives us eternal life. It is a free gift of God, not a reward for a life of obedience. It is not conditional on whether or not we decide to "leave God." Furthermore, if no one can snatch a believer out of His hand, doesn't that include the individual believer? Yes. We can't snatch ourselves out of God's Hands. If we could, that would mean there is something, most likely a sin, that could overpower His grasp. Again, there is no sin that will cause His life to leave a believer.
What did Jesus say to Martha? He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this (John 11:25:26)?" Salvation is life. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have life. Anybody who has been born again of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ has eternal life. The moment you accepted God He restored His life to you. That life, the Holy Spirit, is a seal from God guaranteeing our salvation. If there was more for us to do than Jesus could not have cried out "it is finished" when He died on the cross. Anybody who says we can "leave God" is saying that Jesus' work on our behalf was not complete and there is more for us to do. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law about their traditions. In the midst of the conversation Jesus said to them, "Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that (Mark 7:13)." The Pharisees and teachers of the law were highly respected by their Jewish brethren. However, what they were teaching was in direct opposition to the truth of God's Word. If you believe or teach that a believer can lose their salvation by "leaving God" you have nullified the grace of God and don't understand the full Gospel. After all, saying someone can lose their salvation by leaving God means that they are not upholding religious traditions of some sort. This is not something you will find taught within the pages of scripture. It indeed is a "ridiculous" belief and should be tested up against the full teachings of scripture. It is not your faith in your ability to uphold religious traditions that saves you or anybody else. It is your faith in Jesus Christ that has saved you. Believing otherwise means you are leaving the truth and that is something ridiculous to do. And, finally, remember, as is the case in the comment above, those who teach the insecurity of the believers salvation never admit to being guilty of violating their beliefs about the teaching. Think about it the next time you hear it preached.
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