Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
Nothing means nothing.
So what about Hebrews 6, Hebrews 10, John 15, and Matthew 7?
These are some of the strongest warning passages in the New Testament, and they should never be ignored.
But do they teach that someone who has truly been born again can become unborn?
I don’t believe they do.
Rather, they warn those who have been exposed to the truth, identified with God’s people, experienced the blessings of the gospel, and yet never truly placed their faith in Christ. Others warn professing believers to examine themselves and demonstrate the reality of their faith.
John explained it best:
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.”
1 John 2:19 (NKJV)
Their departure did not cost them their salvation.
It revealed they never possessed it.
Think about the alternative for a moment.
If salvation can be forfeited, then at some point its security depends on my continued performance.
That raises a question Scripture never answers.
How much faithfulness is enough?
How much obedience is enough?
How much sin is too much?
The Bible never gives us such a standard because our assurance was never meant to rest on our performance.
It rests on God’s promises.
One final thought.
Repentance does not make us perfect.
It never has.
King David is a wonderful example.
After his terrible sins of adultery and murder, he cried out to God in repentance.
Read Psalm 51.
There you will find not the prayer of a perfect man, but the cry of a broken sinner who cast himself entirely upon the mercy of God.
David did not claim perfection.
He confessed his sin, acknowledged his guilt, and threw himself upon the mercy of God.
That is what genuine repentance looks like.
Repentance is not sinless perfection.
It is the broken heart of a sinner who recognizes his need for a perfect Savior.
Believers are not sinless.
But as they walk with the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they should sin less - not to remain saved, but because they have been saved.
The Father chose you.
The Son redeemed you.
The Holy Spirit sealed you.
The same God who has faithfully preserved Israel for thousands of years despite her repeated failures is the God who faithfully preserves every person who has been born again through faith in Yeshua.
Our confidence is not in the strength of our grip on God.
Our confidence is in the strength of His grip on us.
God’s faithfulness has never been performance-based.
It has always been based on who He is.