A FALL FROM GRACE
Galatians 5:4
Can A Christian Fall From Grace? – What That Means
A “fall from grace” as Paul spoke about in his letter to the Galatians means that you have chosen that God’s grace alone is not enough. Your faith and salvation must be based on Jesus PLUS the law, good works, or righteous behavior. It means that you are depending on something other than the grace of God. It doesn’t mean that you have lost your salvation.
Grace is a very important concept. It’s one of the most important doctrines in Christianity because it’s about God’s unconditional love and mercy for us. Grace is simply defined as God’s unmerited favor. We can’t do anything to earn it – it’s a gift from God. We are speaking of the grace of God that is given to believers having put their faith in Christ as their only Savior. The saving grace of Jesus Christ is available to all people because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) It is through His grace offered to us that we can be saved from the punishment, penalty, and ‘future’ presence of sin.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
First, let me give my answer to the whole “fall from grace” question, so you understand that I am a believer in eternal security. If you’re a Christian and you don’t, I will still see you in heaven, but you may worry a lot more about getting there than I do (saying that with a smile)! If you were born again (that was Jesus’ term for it), I don’t understand how you can be unborn.
I’ve done things that have not pleased my earthly father before. Maybe our communication was somewhat broken during those times. Maybe I needed to apologize to Him or start behaving appropriately. However, I could never stop being his son. That’s the way I see it with God. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) - providing that you have actually believed the gospel of the grace of God (Gal. 1:8; Acts 20:24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Ephesians 3:2; Romans 11:6) and believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior.
It's possible for Christians to commit all manner of sins. Christians can fall from grace:
None these acts can cause you to lose your salvation!
Yet God be praised. One thing is eternally off the table as a consequence: hell! Once you believe in Jesus—and it only takes a moment of faith—you’re born again and guaranteed never to perish, come under judgment, be condemned, or die. You have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
However, that doesn’t mean you can sin consequence-free. “Hell” is not on the table, but there are “other consequences” to falling away. (see here) Here is a little book explaining all the things eternally secure believers can lose. Suffice it to say that sin makes you miserable and isn’t God’s best for you. But He’ll be faithful to you, even if you’re faithless to Him, and nothing can separate you from God’s love in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:13; Rom 8:35-39).
So, to answer the original question, Can a Christian fall away from the faith? Yes, they can. They can stop believing, and they can stop obeying, but no matter what they do, they can never lose eternal life.
Grace is a very important concept. It’s one of the most important doctrines in Christianity because it’s about God’s unconditional love and mercy for us. Grace is simply defined as God’s unmerited favor. We can’t do anything to earn it – it’s a gift from God. We are speaking of the grace of God that is given to believers having put their faith in Christ as their only Savior. The saving grace of Jesus Christ is available to all people because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) It is through His grace offered to us that we can be saved from the punishment, penalty, and ‘future’ presence of sin.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
First, let me give my answer to the whole “fall from grace” question, so you understand that I am a believer in eternal security. If you’re a Christian and you don’t, I will still see you in heaven, but you may worry a lot more about getting there than I do (saying that with a smile)! If you were born again (that was Jesus’ term for it), I don’t understand how you can be unborn.
I’ve done things that have not pleased my earthly father before. Maybe our communication was somewhat broken during those times. Maybe I needed to apologize to Him or start behaving appropriately. However, I could never stop being his son. That’s the way I see it with God. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) - providing that you have actually believed the gospel of the grace of God (Gal. 1:8; Acts 20:24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Ephesians 3:2; Romans 11:6) and believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior.
It's possible for Christians to commit all manner of sins. Christians can fall from grace:
- (1 Tim 1:18-20)
- (2 Tim 2:17-19)
- (1 Tim 6:20-21)
- (James 5:19)
- (Heb 10:38-39)
- (Gal 5:4)
- (1 Tim 4:1-3) [Note: You cannot fall away from something that you were not once in]
- (1 Tim 5:8) [Note: You can’t be an unbeliever and worse than one at the same time.]
- (1 Tim 5:14-15)
- (2 Tim 1:15, 4:10, 16).
- (2 Tim 2:24-26)
None these acts can cause you to lose your salvation!
Yet God be praised. One thing is eternally off the table as a consequence: hell! Once you believe in Jesus—and it only takes a moment of faith—you’re born again and guaranteed never to perish, come under judgment, be condemned, or die. You have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
However, that doesn’t mean you can sin consequence-free. “Hell” is not on the table, but there are “other consequences” to falling away. (see here) Here is a little book explaining all the things eternally secure believers can lose. Suffice it to say that sin makes you miserable and isn’t God’s best for you. But He’ll be faithful to you, even if you’re faithless to Him, and nothing can separate you from God’s love in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:13; Rom 8:35-39).
So, to answer the original question, Can a Christian fall away from the faith? Yes, they can. They can stop believing, and they can stop obeying, but no matter what they do, they can never lose eternal life.