REGARDING THOSE ABANDONing THE FAITH
A lesson about how to deal with those who abandon the faith.
INTRODUCTION
REGARDING THOSE ABANDONING THE FAITH
CONCLUSION
As you read this lesson, be sure to hover over the the Bible verses to read them or look them up in your own copy of the Bible. When the Bible passage is longer, you need to click on “more” in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.
Introduction
Welcome! The Bible has much to say about this interesting topic. You may find it helpful to invite a mature Christian from your church to study this topic with you. You may have a lot of questions that are not answered here. Maybe there are ideas here that seem hard to understand. Do not get overwhelmed! You can contact us with any questions that you may have. The elders of your local church can help you as well.
Remember that learning the content about this topic is helpful, but knowing the information will not truly change you. For you to benefit fully from this topic, you must…
Become born-again by securing a personal relationship with God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith by grace. This information cannot change you until the Holy Spirit of God gives you a new heart that is able to apply it to your life. To begin a personal relationship with God, it is imperative to understand and believe the following:
God is separated from you, because He is good, pure, and holy. 1 John 1:5-6
You are sinful, impure, and unholy because you do not measure up to God’s holiness. Romans 3:10-12 You are a descendent of Adam and Eve who rebelled against God. Romans 5:19
Your sinfulness provokes God’s anger and separates you from Him because He is holy. Romans 5:12 As a result, you deserve to be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. Revelation 20:14-15
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life. He was nailed to the cross, shed His blood, and died in your place for your sins. He was buried, rose again, and went to Heaven to prepare a place for all who believe. He will return one day for those who believe. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is enough for you to be accepted forever by God the Father the moment you believe. John 3:16 God does not accept you on the basis that you try to be a good person and do good works. Romans 4:5 He accepts you fully and forever the moment you abandon your sins and call on Jesus to save you. John 3:36
As you understand, meditate on, and believe the information presented here about this topic, you must also do what the Bible says. James 1:21-22 Only by trusting and obeying God’s Word regarding this topic will you experience the full benefits of this information. James 1:23-24 Trusting and obeying God’s Word will change you as you learn this. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 You will be happy as a result of your obedience. James 1:25
Seek and heed the advice of your church leaders regarding this topic. Hebrews 13:17
Depend upon the Holy Spirit to change you. Galatians 3:1-3 You cannot change without Him enabling you. John 15:5 He will change you in His time and way; but not apart from your faith and obedience to God’s Word. Trust Him to do His work in your heart. Philippians 2:12-13
Allow the joy that you experience from obeying God’s Word to transform how you interact with others. James 2:12-20
Some Churches Will turn away from Christ
Some churches will abandon Christ for a “different gospel” Galatians 1:6-10 that teaches that if we want to be declared righteous by God Galatians 2:14-21 and be truly pleasing to Him, Galatians 3:1-3 then we must keep the Law of Moses. This is what it means to “fall from grace”. Galatians 5:1-18
Some BELIEVERS will Depart from the Faith
Some believers will distance themselves from the faith by clinging onto deceitful spirits of prophecy and teachings of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1-5
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Timothy in their context here.
SOME BELIEVERS RUIN THEIR FAITH
Some believers abandon the course of sanctification by pushing away faith and a good conscience. 1 Timothy 1:19-20
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Timothy in their context here.
WHAT CAUSES BELIEVERS TO ABANDON THE FAITH?
Some believers forget that they have been forgiven. They forget, because they do not pursue growing in their sanctification. As a result, they become unfruitful and useless in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-11
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
Some professing believers who were never saved are antichrists and children of the devil. 1 John 3:1-10
Antichrists…
…claim to have a common bond with God while they live their lives apart from Him. 1 John 1:6
….deny that they have sinned 1 John 1:10 and that they are sinful. 1 John 1:8
…say that they know God, but deny Him by their deeds. 1 John 2:3-6; Titus 1:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; Matthew 24:11-13
…love what the world of sinful humanity loves rather than what the Father loves. 1 John 2:15-17
…hate believers. 1 John 2:7-11
…follow the spirit of the Antichrist by living lawlessly. 1 John 2:18-19; 1 John 4:1-6; 1 John 3:4-6; 1 John 5:18
…say that they love God, but demonstrate that they do not love His children by sacrificially giving what they have to meet their needs. 1 John 4:19-21; 1 John 5:1-5
…do not seek to live righteously. 1 John 2:6, 29; 1 John 3:3, 7, 9-10
…deny the Gospel. John 10:24-26 They disassociate from the children of God, revealing that they are antichrists who never were truly children of God, nor were they born again by His Spirit. 1 John 2:18-27
Some professing believers are imposters. They pretend to be believers in order to make money. Sadly, unstable believers will follow them. 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Peter 2:18-22 ; 2 Peter 3:9-18; Jude 1:3-4; Jude 1:12-13; Jude 1:17-19; Jude 1:20-23; Jude 1:24-25
Some believers are not grounded in the faith. This renders them easy targets for false teachers and false teaching. Colossians 1:22-23; 2 Peter 3:16
HOW TO RESPOND WHEN SOMEONE ABANDONS THE FAITH
We must gain a firm grasp deliberately on the teaching of the Bible in order to save ourselves and others from shipwrecking the faith. 1 Timothy 4:16
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Timothy in their context here.
We must remember not to be discouraged, because we (the elect) will always be saved. 2 Timothy 2:8-13
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Timothy in their context here.
Jesus will be faithful to keep us, because He cannot deny Himself. Even if we struggle with doubt when we see others depart from the faith, He will keep us.
Christ will deny those who deny Him.
We must not get so discouraged by others’ denial and our sufferings that we deny Him.
We must remember that Christ has risen already and that one day, we will reign with Him in glory.
We must remember that the Lord knows those who are His. 2 Timothy 2:14-26
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Timothy in their context here.
It is the responsibility of every professing Christian to distance himself from what is not right.
Some Christians will be used by God for great things, because they do not waste time with frivolous debates.
Other Christians will be used by God for basic things only, because they lack integrity. Titus 1:16
As a man stays out of useless debates and handles God’s Word with integrity, he is ready to be used by God at any time.
We must run away from the youthful strong desire to debate. Instead, we must run after righteousness, faith, love, and peace. We must decline invitations to moronic debates, because they only cause fights.
We must avoid meaningless debates and minister the Word to people with integrity, consideration, and precision, even if we are wronged by them in the process. We must correct the debaters calmly as we trust God to change minds. We are to pray that God gives them a change of mind which causes them to acknowledge the truth of the Gospel. Our desire is for them to embrace God’s will so that they will sober up from the intoxication of Satan’s lies.
We must remind ourselves that a child of God is different from an antichrist. The children of God…
…confess their sins. 1 John 1:9
…truly believe the Gospel. 1 John 2:21-27; 1 John 3:23; 1 John 4:1-6, 13-16; 1 John 5:1-5, 10-13, 20
…truly love believers with their actions. 1 John 2:10; 1 John 3:11-18; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 John 5:1; John 14:21-24; John 15:12-17
…love what the Father loves. 1 John 2:15-17
…receive answers to their prayers. 1 John 3:19-22; 1 John 5:14-17; John 15:7
…imitate Christ and His righteousness. John 10:2-4, 27-30; 1 John 2:5-6; 29 1 John 3:1-3, 7, 10
…reject the Christ-denying message of the antichrist. John 10:1, 5, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 John 2:18-27; 1 John 4:1-6; 1 John 5:18-19
…have the testimony of the Spirit of God in their hearts that witnesses that they are indeed children of God. 1 John 5:6-13
…bear good fruit for God. John 15:1-16; Romans 7:4
…are restrained by the Holy Spirit of God from committing lawlessness and denying Christ. 1 John 2:26-27; 1 John 3:4-6, 8-9; 1 John 5:18; 1 John 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7
You can read these verses from the book of 1 John in their context here.
We must remain faithful to use the all-sufficient Word of God to minister to ourselves and others even when it is not popular. 2 Timothy 3:13-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-4
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Timothy in their context here.
We must seek to turn back those who are wandering from the truth of the Gospel. James 5:19-20
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
We must be on our guard against those believers who oppose the Gospel. 2 Timothy 4:14-18
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Timothy in their context here.
We must remember that God takes no pleasure in those who abandon the faith. Hebrews 10:19-39
We must intentionally scope out godly believers whom we should imitate. Some professing believers will harden their hearts and live their lives as enemies of the Gospel, deliberately seeking to contradict it. Professing believers who live as enemies of the Gospel truly worship their own appetites rather than Christ. They get excited about their disgraceful lifestyle, and they only care about this life instead of the next. As a result, they will be destroyed. This should cause us to weep for them. Philippians 3:17-19
You can read these verses from the book of Philippians in their context here.
We must make sure that we do not enable false teachers by hosting them or their studies in our homes. We know that they are trying to lead others to deny the Gospel. 2 John 1:7-11
You can read these verses from the book of 2 John in their context here.
We must hold some truths in tension.
Genuine believers can be certain of their salvation. It is impossible for them to lose it. It is possible, however, for them to lose the assurance of their salvation. Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 3:12-14; Hebrews 10:35; 2 Peter 1:8-11
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
Imposters can pretend to be a believer and even convince themselves that they are saved by their works even though they do not genuinely believe the Gospel. Matthew 7:13-27
Simply because people say they believe the Gospel doesn’t make them children of God. John 8:30-31, 45, 47; Luke 6:43-49 Being a child of God is not determined by being a physical descendant of Abraham; Romans 9:6-8 rather, a child of God has been born again by His Spirit. John 1:10-13 Every child of God truly believes the Gospel. John 8:24; 1 John 5:1; 1 Corinthians 12:3 Their changed lives John 8:30-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and obedience to the Father Matthew 7:21; 1 John 2:3-5 demonstrate that they are children of God. 1 John 3:1-10; Romans 2:1-11
All genuine believers have eternal life, but not all are disciples. John 6:26-47 Disciples are only such so long as they deny themselves, taking up their cross, and following and obeying Jesus. Matthew 10:34-39; Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 6:39-49; Luke 9:23-26; Luke 14:25-35 Not all believers follow the Lord immediately or obey Him consistently. Hebrews 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Not all who strive to follow and obey the Lord are true believers. John 6:59-71
God already knows those who are genuine believers and will reveal them at the judgment. For those who are His, it is their responsibility to distance themselves from what is evil. 2 Timothy 2:19
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Timothy in their context here.
We must recognize that it is possible for a genuine believer to deny the Lord even three times; but they should repent. Matthew 16:16-17; Luke 22:31-34; Mark 14:43-72 In fact, all of the Twelve Apostles fell away from the Lord. Mark 14:26-31 With the exception of Judas, He restored them all. John 20:19-26; John 21:1-23 Just as Jesus will in front of His Father Matthew 10:32-39 deny Luke 12:8-9 having known Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 13:22-30 those who deny Him, believers will at the judgment shrink back in shame over those who have denied the Gospel. 1 John 2:28 This is why John warned the elect lady and her children. 2 John 1:6-11 It is also why Paul was concerned that his labor might be in vain for the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 2:1, 19-20; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13, the Philippians, Philippians 2:15-16; Philippians 3:17-19 and the Galatians Galatians 1:6-9; Galatians 3:1-4; Galatians 4:6-20. In other words, the apostles, John and Paul, were concerned that their ministry labor would be in vain. This would be because certain professing believers might deny the Lord and not be found in Christ when He appears. 1 John 2:18-28; 2 Peter 2:11-15
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Thessalonians in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of Philippians in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of 2 John in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of 1 John in their context here.
Those who deny the faith and deliberately teach others to do so have crossed a line that demonstrates that they do not have God the Father and God the Son. 2 John 1:7-9
You can read these verses from the book of 2 John in their context here.
There are false teachers who professed Christ, but were never saved. These false teachers will sneak into the church as tares among the wheat. Matthew 7:13-23; Matthew 13:24-30; Jude 1:4-13
You can read these verses from the book of Jude in their context here.
There are untrained, weak believers who can be carried away to follow after the teaching of the false teachers. Jude 1:22-23 Even an apostle was carried away after false teaching. Galatians 2:11-13 These undiscipled, untrained, weak believers are the unstable ones to which Peter was referring in 2 Peter 3:16 when explaining 2 Peter 3:14-18.
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
Some false teachers genuinely know the Lord [Compare: 2 Peter 1:3-4 with 2 Peter 2:1 and 2 Peter 2:20-21], but will convince themselves that they do not know Him. They harden their hearts Hebrews 3:12-14 to such an extent that when they depart from the Lord 2 Peter 2:20, it will be impossible to bring them to repentance. Hebrews 6:4-6 Because of their hardness of heart, the quality of their lives will be worse than if they had never believed the Gospel. 2 Peter 2:20-22 In that situation, even praying for them will not change their minds. 1 John 5:16-17 If indeed they are saved, then the Lord will discipline them, Hebrews 12:5-8 and may even cause them to die early. 1 Corinthians 11:29-32; Acts 5:1-11
God will not separate the wheat from the tares until the end. Matthew 13:36-43
As a result, genuine believers who forsake sanctification and depart from the Lord will not be assured of their salvation until they repent or die. 2 Peter 1:8-11 They will indeed answer to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; Romans 2:1-11
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
Believers are to pursue sanctification. 1 John 3:1-10
When believers intentionally pursue a rebellious life, the church should help to restore them lovingly back into fellowship with the Lord and the church by helping them to see their need to repent. Matthew 18:15-20
If rebellious believers are still stubbornly unrepentant after the process of church discipline, then they are to be regarded as unbelievers. True believers of that and other local churches are to urge them to repent and believe the Gospel.1 John 2:1-6 1 John 1:5-10
Until the believer does repent, other believers must not associate with the unrepentant believer. 1 Corinthians 5:6-13
When other Christians encounter the rebellious believer, they should urge repentance James 5:19-20; Jude 1:22-23; 2 Timothy 2:24-26 before he denies the Lord altogether. 1 John 5:16-17; Hebrews 6:4-6
Hopefully, the believer will repent as the Lord allows Satan to test the unrepentant believer until he comes to his senses and repents. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 1:19-20
If the unrepentant believer summarily forsakes the LORD and never repents, then he is likely not to be a believer anyway. 1 John 2:15-19; 1 Corinthians 11:17-19
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Timothy in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Timothy in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of Jude in their context here.
You can read these verses from the book of 1 John in their context here.
While we wait for the judgment, there will be some people who we think are saved, but are not. There will be others who we think are not saved, but are. 1 John 2:18-24
You can read these verses from the book of 1 John in their context here.
In the meantime, we must not prematurely declare someone as “saved” or “not saved”. 1 Corinthians 4:5
The Lord is giving all who are destroying themselves room to change their minds and walk in holiness before He destroys everything and starts over. 2 Peter 3:9-12; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32; 1 Corinthians 5:4-5
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
We must encourage believers to keep believing. Hebrews 6:9-12
If a believer departs from the Lord, we must warn them of the consequences. Luke 12:8-11
If a professing believer denies the Lord, then he should be afraid, because Jesus warned that the He will in front of the Father deny having known that professing believer. Matthew 10:32-33
We should not comfort that professing believer with the doctrine of eternal security; rather, we should warn him to repent. 2 Peter 2:20-22; Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-31; Hebrews 2:1-3
Knowing that Jesus saves believers forever should not motivate us to deny the Lord. John 5:22-29; Romans 3:8; Romans 6:1-2; 1 John 5:18
Knowing that the Lord will deny those who deny Him should motivate us never to do so. 2 Timothy 2:12; 2 Timothy 2:19
How to Avoid departing from the LORD
We must keep a close eye on what we believe and how we live. 1 Timothy 4:16
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Timothy in their context here.
We must love people from a pure heart, maintain a good conscience, and live out a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5-6; 1 Timothy 1:18-20
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Timothy in their context here.
We must keep ourselves in the love of God by meditating on the Gospel. Jude 1:17-25
We must pursue sanctification. 1 Corinthians 9:23-27; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Philippians 3:1-16
We must allow God to mature us when we encounter various trials and temptations. James 1:1-8
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
We must not blame God when we are tempted to sin. James 1:12-18
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
We must obey the Gospel by applying God’s Word rather than merely saying we believe it. James 1:19-27; James 2:14-26
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
We must imitate godly believers. Philippians 3:17-21; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Corinthians 11:18-19; 3 John 1:9-12; Hebrews 13:7
You can read these verses from the book of Philippians in their context here.
We must humbly resist the devil by putting on the armor of God. James 4:1-12; Ephesians 6:10-18
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
We must bare our souls to God and run to our leaders for help, knowing that God truly cares for us and He has given us the elders to watch over our souls. 1 Peter 5:1-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 13:17
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Peter in their context here.
We must make every effort to handle God’s Word correctly. 2 Timothy 2:14-18; 2 Peter 3:14-18
We must seek close fellowship with Christ by obeying Him, loving believers, and confessing our sins to Him. John 15:1-11; 1 John 1:3-2:6; 1 John 3:1-10.
You can read these verses from the book of 1 John in their context here.
As we grow in maturity 1 John 2:25-29 and our understanding of God’s love, 1 John 3:19-24 we will grow in confidence 1 John 3:19-21; 1 John 4:16-18 that we are secure 1 John 4:12-21 in our salvation. 1 John 5:10-13 Our standing is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in His Son alone. 1 John 2:20-24; 1 John 3:23-24; 1 John 4:15; 1 John 5:1-5
You can read these verses from the book of 1 John in their context here.
The Security of Salvation that a Child of God POSSESSES
As declared by the Scriptures, our salvation is eternally secure through faith in Jesus’ life, shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection. Romans 8:1; Romans 8:38-39
What Christ did to save us is fixed and unchangeable. Romans 6:9-10 The moment we believed and were regenerated (born again) was an historical reality that is fixed and unchangeable. John 1:12-13
The moment that as we believed the Gospel, the Father declared us righteous was an historical reality that is fixed and unchangeable. Romans 5:1
Once we become born again by the Spirit through faith in the Gospel, we are forever God’s child. John 5:24
Nothing can change our identity in Christ before God the Father. Colossians 3:3-4
You can read these verses from the book of Colossians in their context here.
It is impossible for born-again believers in Jesus Christ to lose their salvation. There are reasons why it is impossible for children of God to lose their salvation:
God would have to renege on His promise of eternal life. 1 John 5:11-3 This is impossible.
God would have to be a liar. Titus 1:1-3; 1 John 5:9-10 This is impossible.
God would have to change Who He is. Hebrews 6:17-20 This is impossible.
Jesus would have to undo His fulfillment of the Law. Romans 8:3; Galatians 3:13-14; Galatians 4:1-5; Romans 10:4 This is impossible.
The historical reality of what Jesus already did through His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection would have to be erased from history. Romans 6:5-10 This is impossible.
God would have to take away His Spirit from that believer, because He is sealed into the hearts of every believer for the day of redemption. Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 This is impossible.
The new birth of that believer would have to be undone. 1 John 5:1; John 1:12-13; John 3:1-8; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:1-5 This is impossible.
God would have to take back His declaration concerning that believer that he is righteous in His sight through his faith in His Son’s blood. Romans 5:1; Romans 8:31-33 This is impossible.
God would have to be unable to glorify those whom He called and justified. Also, He would have to undo His predestination of them to be conformed into the image of His Son. Romans 8:28-30 This is impossible.
Jesus would have to be unfaithful to intercede for that believer. 1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 8:34 This is impossible.
That believer would have to be taken out of Christ in order to be condemned. Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; John 10:27-30 This is impossible.
The Holy Spirit would have to enable that believer to deny Christ completely and embrace the Antichrist. 1 John 2:18-27; 1 John 3:6, 9; 1 John 5:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; 2 John 1:1-2 This is impossible.
The historical reality of that believer having already passed from death unto life would have to be undone. John 5:24 This is impossible.
The Father would have to take away the children that He already gave to the Son. Hebrews 2:9-18 This is impossible.
Jesus would have to lose those whom the Father gave Him. John 6:37-40 This is impossible.
Judas is not an exception to the rule because he never truly believed in Jesus for eternal life. John 6:64-65, 70-71; Matthew 26:1-25; Mark 14:1-21; Luke 22:1-23; John 12:1-8; John 13:1-30 Christ “losing him” was a fulfillment of prophecy. John 17:1-12; Acts 1:15-20
The Assurance of Salvation That A Child of God POSSESSES
We have assurance of salvation as a result of being mature in the faith.
This maturity comes from the fruit of the Spirit, walking with the Lord, and loving believers.
We walk with the Lord by seeking to understand, believe, and obey the Gospel.
We grow in maturity through our consistency with Christian disciplines such as: bible study, obedience, loving people, repenting, serving as church members, sharing the Gospel, discipling believers, and worshipping the Lord, etc. 2 Peter 1:1-15
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
We should not assure our hearts that we are saved simply because we do good works such as persevering, repenting from sin, and committing to a local church. Galatians 3:1-6 Although these can be fruit of growing in maturity, they could be somewhat imitated by unbelievers. Our mature understanding of the Gospel, God’s love, and ourselves is what produces assurance of salvation in our hearts. Our assurance is not based in our actions. It is based upon who we are. Galatians 5:22-23 Our assurance is proportional to our spiritual maturity. This assurance comes from a correct understanding of our Christ’s payment and our obedience to the Gospel.
a gOSPEL rEMINDER
Justification is an effect of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection that means:
God declares that we are righteous in His sight, once and for all, by our faith in the blood of Jesus. Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:1
Sanctification is an effect of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection that means:
God set us apart from this world and sin the moment we believed the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 He sets us apart unto Him by making us more like Christ Romans 8:28-30 and causing us to progress in holiness 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 as we trust and obey Him. 2 Corinthians 7:1
God is progressively ordering our lives in a way that is consistent with what He has already declared us to be…righteous in His sight.
Glorification is an effect of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection that means:
When Jesus returns for believers, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 He will instantaneously make them completely righteous in the sight of God the Father. 1 John 3:1-2 He completely removes their desire to sin 2 Corinthians 5:1-9; Romans 7:14-25; Romans 8:18-25 and their ability to die. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 He will change their mortal body Romans 8:11 into a new, glorified body 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 like His. Matthew 17:1-2
A practical understanding of Justification and Sanctification:
Justification happens when we genuinely believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. Romans 10:9-10
Sanctification happens when we love God more than anyone else and our neighbor as ourselves. As we do, we lay our lives down for the sake of sharing the Gospel with and discipling others. Matthew 16:15-28
We are saved by grace and mercy through faith alone in Christ alone, apart from good works.
Grace is receiving the favor of being accepted in God’s sight without having done anything to earn it.
Mercy is God the Father not dispensing the eternal punishment that we rightly deserve because of our sinfulness.
Faith allows us to trust in and solely rely upon Jesus. Particularly, we are fully accepted by God the Father forever by faith in His perfect life, shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection.
Good works are actions that we perform to please God.
In other words…
Grace + faith = justification. Romans 3:22-26
Grace + 0 ≠ justification.
We must believe the Gospel. Romans 5:1Faith + 0 ≠ justification.
We need God’s grace provided through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 5:2Good works + 0 ≠ justification.
We cannot be accepted by God apart from His grace through our faith. Romans 9:30-32Grace - faith ≠ justification.
God does not save us apart from faith. Hebrews 4:2; Galatians 3:22-26Faith - grace ≠ justification.
We are not saved by our faithfulness to Him, but by His faithfulness to us who believe the Gospel. Titus 3:4-8Grace + works ≠ justification.
Grace and works are incompatible. They cannot coexist as contributors to our salvation. Romans 4:4; Romans 11:6Faith + works ≠ justification.
We are accepted by faith apart from doing good works. Romans 3:27-28; Philippians 3:9You can read these verses from the book of Philippians in their context here.
Grace + faith + good works ≠ justification.
We are not saved by our faith in our faith; rather, we are saved by grace through our faith in Christ. We are not saved by our faith in our works; we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. We are not saved by our good works making up for our lack of faith; rather, we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. Even if we receive no rewards for our obedience to Christ, we will be saved, nevertheless, if we believe the Gospel. Galatians 2:16; Galatians 2:20-21; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15Grace + faith - good works ≠ eternal condemnation.
Once we become born again, we are God’s children. We cannot undo our new birth. Romans 4:3-5; Galatians 3:9; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:13-15; Ephesians 4:30; John 1:12-13
Grace + faith = initial sanctification.
God the Father chose believers in accordance with His prior precise knowledge of everything. He planned to set us apart by the Holy Spirit to obey the Gospel and thus, have the blood of Jesus applied to us. 1 Peter 1:1-2
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Peter in their context here.
Believers are called “Beloved of the Lord” because God preferred us as best portions for salvation. At salvation, the Holy Spirit set us apart as holy when the truth of the Good Message of Jesus gave us faith. This faith comes by the Holy Spirit setting us apart when we hear the truth of the Gospel. God called us through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ rather than experience the destruction that is to come. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Thessalonians in their context here.
God the Father put believers in Christ. Christ is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
We received from God the Father an equally precious faith as the Apostles by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:1
You can read these verse from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
Grace + faith + obedience = progressive sanctification.
It is God’s will for believers to be sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Thessalonians in their context here.
Believers must pursue sanctification while we wait the return of Jesus. 2 Peter 3:9-15
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
The Holy Spirit progressively sanctifies believers. We are not sanctified progressively by our human efforts to obey the Law of Moses. Galatians 3:1-3
Believers must work toward the completion of our own salvation. In other words, we must make every effort to grow in our sanctification to become more like Christ. We should fear and quake at the thought of Jesus returning to find us being complacent with our sanctification. God is working inside us toward the completion of our salvation for His good will. Philippians 2:12-16
You can read these verses from the book of Philippians in their context here.
Believers must not be sluggish in their sanctification. Hebrews 6:9-12
Since believers have escaped the corruption in the world by faith, we must make every effort to pursue sanctification. 2 Peter 1:3-11
You can read these verses from the book of 2 Peter in their context here.
Believers depend on God to sanctify them. 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Thessalonians in their context here.
God is the One Who will mend, stabilize, strengthen, and ground them in the faith.1 Peter 5:10
You can read this verse from the book of 1 Peter in their context here.
Without sanctification, no one will see God. Hebrews 12:14
Believers have the Gospel implanted in our hearts. As we put away our old, sinful ways and humbly obey the Gospel, It sanctifies us. James 1:21-27
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
If we do not obey the Word of God (the Gospel), It will not sanctify us. If we are not being sanctified, then our faith will be useless to us and others. Also, our works will not demonstrate the faith that we claim to possess. James 2:14-26
You can read these verses from the book of James in their context here.
Believers should value knowing Christ more than anything else. We should desire to be found by Christ upon His return with His righteousness by faith. Our desire is not to earn righteousness through the law. We should want to know Christ personally and experience the ability of His resurrection to change us now. We will be changed completely into the image of Christ at the resurrection. The resurrection will transform us completely out of our deadness. While we wait, we partner in Christ’s sufferings by proclaiming the Gospel. We resemble Christ’s death by laying our lives down freely for the sake of the Gospel. We have not yet been completely sanctified. Paul persecuted the church zealously in order to please God. For good, we must pursue complete sanctification with the same passion so that we will become more like Christ. That is the purpose for which Christ saved us. We ignore the things behind us (like our past failures and righteousness) while we stretch forward toward the character of Christ that we still lack. Philippians 3:1-16
You can read these verses from the book of Philippians in their context here.
Justification (initial sanctification) + progressive sanctification + glorification = salvation.
The end of justification and progressive sanctification is glorification. Romans 6:11-23
The inheritance of all believers is their future immortal, uncontaminated, unfading, glorified bodies, received as a result of their faith. 1 Peter 1:1-9; Hebrews 9:27-28
You can read these verses from the book of 1 Peter in their context here.
All believers will be conformed into the image of Christ and every believer pursues this purification. 1 John 3:1-3; Philippians 3:20-21
Initial sanctification (justification) is irreversible once someone believes the Gospel. Hebrews 10:10; Hebrews 10:14; Hebrews 10:29
Glorification is guaranteed to all who have been justified.
Progressive sanctification is commanded of all believers. It fluctuates, though, depending on the believer’s pursuit of sanctification and obedience to the Gospel.
All believers progress in their sanctification at varying rates.
For a believer not to pursue sanctification affects his life now and his future eternal rewards; but it does not affect his justification. That believer, however, is thwarting the opportunity for his faith to be demonstrated by his works; and therefore, his faith is not being vindicated presently by his actions.
Someone claiming to believe the Gospel, but not pursuing sanctification, may not be a genuine believer. Hebrews 6:4-12; Hebrews 10:37-39; John 15:1-17
Conclusion
Now that you have studied this topic, we encourage you to...
Ask us or any of your church leaders about any questions or concerns you still have about this topic.
Pray for yourself to grow in maturity regarding this topic.
Do your best to practice what you have learned.
Tell someone else about what you have studied.
Ask one of your church leaders to help you overcome your weaknesses regarding this topic.
Teach this subject to others.
Consider reviewing this topic once each year.
Commit to growing in this area together with other members of a local church.
Trust the Holy Spirit to change you as He uses His Word, others, and circumstances to make you more like Christ.