This will be a short post that will address an issue that could easily take us down all sorts of rabbit trails. At the outset, it is important to understand that I have the presuppositions of a Reformed Evangelical.
I believe in the Sovereignty of God. I believe in the Supremacy of Christ. I believe in Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, and all of the wonderful, liberating doctrines that were "brought back to life" during the Protestant Reformation.
This post has everything to do with our doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. Those who place their faith in Christ will persevere to the end - without exception. Again, my point is not to debate this doctrine, but to address the implications of it when speaking with those who say they have left the faith.
I have encountered, over the last few months, a few individuals who both say that they were Christians, and eventually left the faith. One of them is now a Muslim and the other is an atheist. In my evangelical conversations with them (conversations that they both are and have been very open to), I have stressed the point that they were never a Christian in the first place. In other words, when they say that they have been a Christian, I take the opportunity to lovingly disagree. Here are a few reasons why.
1. This statement is simply wrong. Biblically speaking, a person who leaves the faith never was a true Christian (1Jn 2:19). He/she may have once been among us, but he/she was not of us. Simply put, not everyone who says they are a Christian is one. And, everyone who says that they were a Christian, never was.
2. This belief will keep them rebelling against Christ. Disbelief is not a noble, morally neutral, innocent thing. Unbelief is rebellion. It is rebellion against the only true God. This must be communicated clearly, but also very lovingly and compassionately. Remember, we too were enemies of God.
I also take time to stress that the life I am presenting is not one that they have formerly experienced. Many, who believe that they were once in the faith, do not come to faith b/c they believe that they will be "going back" to a life they once lived. It didn't fill them so they left. So, to avoid addressing this point is to leave them thinking the Christian life is not life at all; but simply death with a Christian sticker on it.
We must take time to show them the real Christ that they have never encountered. We must faithfully share the gospel.
3. This belief undermines the glory of Christ in the gospel. Christ is our treasure. In Him, we are eternally forgiven, accepted, safe, and secure. We are also, eternally filled and satisfied. When a person is genuinely committed and faithful to a particular treasure, the person is not the ultimate focus, but the treasure.
Our desires for whatever control us (Rom 6-7). And whatever can keep our attention for any length of time must be a pretty significant thing. In other words, if Christ is the greatest treasure in the universe, anyone who had this Treasure would never leave it.
The good news of the gospel is NOT that we embrace Christ for less enjoyment and fulfillment; but that until we embrace Him we have no earthly idea what true enjoyment is (Ps 16:11)! The good news of the Gospel is that we have access, through simple repentance and faith in Christ alone, to God - the chief and greatest Treasure in the universe (Ps 73:25).
So for a person to say that they left Christ simply will not do. If they truly did, it says everything about Christ (Rom 2:24) - that He is not great enough to keep our hearts for any length of time.
4. Last, this belief leaves the unbeliever believing that leaving Christ was a rational decision. Unbelief is the hight of human irrationality (for more on this, research Van Tillian presuppositionalism). Many disbelieve in the name of intellectualism. Many churched kids supposedly "leave the faith" during the college years for this reason.
But if what the Scriptures say about Christ is true...if He really is the perfection of Beauty...if He really is God in the flesh...if He really is the Lord of the universe...then, to leave Him is utterly irrational. It's like deciding not to breath b/c you have never seen air.
Christian, find your comfort here - that, by faith, we are seated "safely" with Christ at the right hand of God the Father (Col 3; Eph 2). Set your mind on this. Think of your [heavenly] Treasure often. And know, with absolute rational certainty that not one single sheep will be lost under His providential watch (John 6). When a person comes to understand this by faith, he/she will never leave. They will never want to. And Christ will never let them go!
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