They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
–1 John 2:19
Every so often, I’ll receive an email, text message, or a phone call from someone asking me about a loved one who has walked away from the Lord. They say they’ve followed Him faithfully for years, even decades, and one day just decided they were done. So I’m inevitably asked the question, “Are they still saved?”
It’s hard to respond to that question. I know for a fact that there are many faithful believers who experience a time of rebellion and ultimately come back to following the Lord. And for those, I’d say they never lost their salvation. They had it all along, and that’s why God called them back to fellowship with Him.
Then there are those who don’t return. And while I won’t generalize too much on their salvation, the Bible clearly teaches there are those who hear the message of Christ, seem to accept it, but don’t persevere in the faith. And in passages like today’s we’re told it’s because they never really had a saving faith in the first place.
Salvation is a work of God, not of us. We can’t convince others to follow Christ through wisdom or clever words. But we can have every confidence that if God has saved us through authentic faith in Christ, we’ll never lose that precious gift.
SALVATION IS A WORK OF GOD ALONE. SO TRUST HIS SOVEREIGN PLAN WHEN YOU SEE OTHERS WALK AWAY FROM THE FAITH.
