The Paradox of Perseverance and Apostasy

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

The concept of justification by God’s grace through faith in Christ is central to Christian theology. Paul’s writings emphasize that believers are considered righteous by God through Christ’s sacrifice, despite their inherent sinfulness. This righteousness is imputed to believers through faith, a truth echoed in the faith of Old Testament saints like Abraham. At the same time, God’s word also teaches two paradoxical ideas: 1) that a person who is a believer in Christ can forfeit, or lose that faith, and 2) that God who works faith in men by means of God’s word will cause men to persevere in that faith.

According to Paul’s writings in Romans and Galatians, God justifies believers by reckoning or counting them as righteous, even though they are not inherently righteous.1 God does this not because of anything we do; his favor is unmerited. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ because of His death and resurrection.2 God sees believers through the lens of Christ’s righteousness, despite the fact that we are sinful.3 The believer is called to actively strive against the sinful flesh,4 considering it as good as dead because of Christ’s crucifixion.5 This concept of justification through faith finds its foundation not only in the New Testament but also in the experiences of Old Testament believers. Consider Abraham: scripture affirms that Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.6 Like Abraham, we believe, and God counts us righteous because of our faith. We are considered Abraham’s children by faith.7 Thus, the nature of justification highlights how God’s reckoning of righteousness extends to both old and new testament believers, demonstrating His consistent faithfulness throughout all times. He deals with all mankind in the same way.

While believers are justified and counted righteous through faith in Christ, they are not exempt from the ongoing struggle with their sinful flesh. Paul describes this battle against the power of sin in Romans Chapter 7. He describes the tension of having “sin living in me,” acknowledging the coexistence of the redeemed inner man and the lingering influence of sin.8 The sinful flesh is not eradicated; rather, we can consider it dead and defeated because of Christ’s work on the cross.9 Believers are called to actively starve their flesh and not gratify its desires.10 This duality within the Christian experience reveals that while the inner man delights in God’s law, believers must persistently strive to overcome their sinful inclinations. It is an ongoing journey of sanctification where the inner transformation by the Spirit is met with the arduous task of mortifying the flesh. This tension between righteousness and sinfulness in the life of a believer is often referred to as “simul justus et peccator” in Lutheran theology, which means “simultaneously justified and sinner.” This concept underscores the paradoxical nature of the Christian’s state, being both declared righteous through faith and yet still struggling with the effects of sin. In the words of the Formula of Concord, Epitome:

“We believe, teach, and confess that original sin is not a minor corruption. It is so deep a corruption of human nature that nothing healthy or uncorrupt remains in man’s body or soul, in his inward or outward powers11...This damage cannot be fully described.12 It cannot be understood by reason, but only from God’s Word. We affirm that no one but God alone can separate human nature and this corruption of human nature from each other. This will fully come to pass through death, in the blessed resurrection. At that time, our nature, which we now bear, will rise and live eternally without original sin and be separated and divided from it13 (FC Ep. I, 8-10).”

Yet, though we were by nature children of wrath, God graciously saved us and made us alive in Christ.14

As there is a paradoxical element in the Christian’s nature, so too there is a paradox that must be acknowledged when discussing the faith of the Christian and the possibility of falling away from it. This is more commonly known as election or predestination. The concept of election or predestination is the understanding that God, in His sovereign will, chooses people for salvation in Christ.15 Scripture also teaches, however, that man is entirely responsible for his damnation. In the words of the Solid Declaration, “Few receive the word and follow it. Most despise the word and will not come to the wedding.16 The cause for this contempt for the word is not God’s foreknowledge but the perverse human will (FCSD XI, 41).” Consequently, Holy Scripture is littered with calls to repent, and to guard against falling away.

These biblical teachings reflect a tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. On one hand, it affirms that salvation is entirely the work of God, as He alone is responsible for granting faith and securing the believer’s eternal destiny. This aligns with passages such as John 10:27-28, Romans 8:28, and Ephesians 1:3-6, which emphasize God’s role in choosing, protecting, and preserving His people. On the other hand, scripture recognizes the reality of human accountability and the potential for falling away. The paradox lies in holding these truths in tension, affirming both the divine initiative in salvation and the necessity of human response and perseverance.

The language of “losing salvation” can be misleading, as it implies misplacement rather than a deliberate choice (Cooper, 2018). It seems to suggest that it is something that happens to you rather than something for which you are responsible. While no external force can pluck believers from Christ’s hand, individuals can reject Christ and willfully apostatize themselves. Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, the Jews who were not willing to be gathered together by Christ as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing.17 As he faces death by stoning, Stephen calls his murderers stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts, who always resist the Holy Spirit,18 which is the cause of their faithlessness. Living in unrepentant sin can lead to the forfeiture of faith, as sin destroys faith (Cooper, 2018).19 This tension between the possibility of falling away and God’s perseverance of His people is a paradox and cannot be resolved by human reason. Neither element should be ignored in favor of the other; neither scriptural truth should be used to cancel the other out (Cooper, 2018).

The author of the letter to the Hebrews warns against falling away from the faith, emphasizing the danger of a hardened heart and turning away from God.20 He gives the examples of Israel’s rebellion and unbelief as a caution.21 Similarly, Paul warns against falling away as Hymenaeus and Alexander did.22 He warns the Galatians who were trying to be justified by the law after having believed the Gospel preached to them had fallen from grace and were cut off from Christ.23 Peter describes false teachers who lead others astray and who are destined for destruction.24 Peter affirms that both the false teachers and those led astray have fallen from the faith;25 he does not say that they did not have genuine faith to begin with.

Paul and Peter probably learned this from Jesus Himself. Peter’s epistle echoes what Jesus teaches in the parable of the sower. In Matthew 13:18-23, Jesus explains the meaning of the parable, which depicts different types of soil representing the condition of people’s hearts in receiving the Word of God. The seed that falls on rocky ground and among thorns symbolizes those who initially receive the Word with joy but later fall away due to persecution or the cares of the world. This parable illustrates that genuine believers can face obstacles or temptations that lead them astray from their faith. Paul’s language of being cut off from Christ reminds us of Jesus’ teaching that He is the vine and we Christians are the branches.26 He urges the disciples to remain in Him, lest they become like branches that have been cut off from the vine which are gathered up and thrown into the fire.

Cooper points out that the reception of the Word and the participation in the sacraments are the means by which God works in us, nurturing and sustaining our faith (Cooper, 2018). This makes sense, particularly in light of John 15. Jesus calls His disciples to remain in Him. He repeats the admonition several times. How are we to remain in Jesus? By eating His body and blood, which is real food and real drink:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.27”

Through means of grace, and particularly the Sacrament of the Altar, Jesus “perseveres” His Christians, guards them against falling away, and empowers them to remain steadfast.

The Solid Declaration reflects the paradoxical nature of the biblical teaching on election and does not speculate beyond what scripture says (FCSD XI 53, 64). It acknowledges that the doctrine of election is both mysterious and profound, encompassing the tension of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. It confesses God’s choice of individuals for salvation in Christ is an act of His pure grace, independent of any merit on our part. It affirms the nature of salvation, emphasizing that God alone is responsible for granting eternal life to believers, and that this teaching about election should be a comfort to Christians (FCSD XI 45-49). At the same time, the Solid Declaration recognizes the reality of human accountability, as individuals bear responsibility for their own rejection of God’s saving grace and their resulting damnation (FCSD, XI). This understanding aligns with the paradoxical nature of election presented throughout Scripture, affirming both the sovereignty of God and the human response to His grace. From the Solid Declaration, we learn that matters such as how election works from God’s perspective should not be investigated beyond what scripture tells us, and that the teaching about election should not be considered apart from Christ:

“We neither can nor should investigate and fathom everything in this article, the great apostle Paul declares. After having argued much about this article from God’s revealed word, as soon as he comes to the point where he shows what God has reserved for His hidden wisdom about this mystery, he suppresses and cuts it off with the following words, ‘Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord?’28 In other words, we cannot know about matters outside of and beyond what God has revealed in His word. This eternal election of God is to be considered in Christ, and not outside of or without Christ29 (FCSD XI 64-65).”

In conclusion, the doctrine of justification by God’s grace through faith is foundational to Christianity. Christians, though justified and regarded as righteous through Christ, continue to wrestle with their sinful flesh. The admonitions against falling away serve as sober reminders of the significance of perseverance and the perils of unrepentant sin. It is essential to embrace these paradoxical truths, recognizing the danger of apostasy while concurrently relying on God’s ongoing work of preservation through His means of grace, His Word and sacraments. The Holy Spirit works through His means of grace to strengthen and sustain the Christian in the faith. Through God’s Word by the working of the Holy Spirit, believers find assurance and steadfastness in Christ. ###

End Notes

1. Romans 3:24

2. Ephesians 2:1-10

3. Galatians 3:27

4. Galatians 5:16-17

5. Romans 6:5-10

6. Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6

7. Galatians 3:7-9

8. Romans 7:17-25

9. Romans 6:11

10. Galatians 5:16

11. Romans 3:10-12

12. Psalm 19:12

13. Job 19:26-27; 1 Corinthians 15:53

14. Ephesians 2:3-5

15. Ephesians 1:4-5; John 10:28

16. Matthew 22:3-6

17. Matthew 23:37

18. Acts 7:51

19. 1 John 1:8-10; 3:7-10

20. Hebrews 3:12-14

21. Hebrews 6:4-6

22. 1 Timothy 1:19-20

23. Galatians 5:4

24. 2 Peter 2

25. 2 Peter 2:18, 20-22

26. John 15:1-8

27. John 6:56-57

28. Romans 11:33-34

29 Matthew 11:28; 17:5; John 10:9; 14:6; 16:14; Ephesians 1:4-6

Works Cited

McCain, P. T. (Ed.). (2005). Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord (Pocket Edition). Formula of Concord - Solid Declaration, XI (Election). Concordia Publishing House. https://bookofconcord.org/solid-declaration/election/

Cooper. (2018, January 31). Can a True Christian Fall Away From the Faith? Just and Sinner. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://youtu.be/qbty10eg0y

Rocky Places: Thoughts on Election, and Falling Away

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one,” (John 10:27-30).

In John 10, Jesus explains to the people that He is the Christ. He says,

“...but you did not believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

We can, however, walk away. We can follow false teachers. We can reject the truth and make shipwreck of our faith. God’s word tells us plainly that we can fall away from the faith.

Jesus gives us the most compelling reason to believe that believers can fall away from the faith. He says it in two very important places: His explanation of His parable of the sower, and just before He goes off to the garden of Gethsemane to be arrested.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root...Listen then to what the parable of the sower means...The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away (Matthew 13:5-6; 18, 20-21).

In His parable of the sower, Jesus describes the different places where the farmer scattered his seed. The farmer scatters seed all over the place: on the path, on the rocky places, among the thorns, and on good soil. The first instance of the seed on the path cannot refer to believers. Indeed, Jesus says that this is a picture of what happens when a person hears the word but does not understand it. The devil snatches away what was sown in that person’s heart. The seed sown among the rocky places, however, grows. It produces fruit. Jesus says this is the man who hears the word and receives it with joy. This person has faith. As soon as the going gets a bit rough, he abandons it. Jesus says that he falls away. It is indeed possible to receive the message of the Gospel at first with joy, but to then later fall away from that faith. You can’t fall out of something you are not in.

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered,” (Matthew 26:31).

Just before Jesus was arrested, He told His disciples that they would all fall away. Peter and the others deny this, of course. They are, after all, His disciples, the ones who believe in Him. They are the ones who confessed Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God. After all the others abandoned Jesus because of what He said about eating His body and drinking His blood, they are the ones who remained. They are the ones who said that Jesus has the words of eternal life and believed that He was the Holy One of God (see John 6). In Matthew 36:31-35, we have two choices: either the disciples weren’t really believers at that time, contrary to what scripture presents, and Jesus said something He didn’t really mean; or Jesus’ statement about His closest followers falling away should be understood according to its plain meaning.

But what about baptism? Baptism seals us in the faith and sets us apart (Ephesians 5:26; 2:3). The Bible says baptism connects us to Christ, and to His death, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). In our baptism God washes away all our sins and saves us (Acts 2:38-40; Titus 3:5-8; 1 Peter 3:18-21). The food of our Lord’s body and blood feeds and sustains our faith as we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Surely if God does this work in a man through these means of water, bread, and wine connected to His promise of life and forgiveness, it must be effective. It is certainly effective. Baptism, however, is always presented alongside teaching, and that is important to remember.

At the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus sends out His disciples saying:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20a).

When the Bible presents the stories of Jesus’ disciples carrying out His great commission, baptizing and teaching always go together. The newly baptized are not left to find their own way after being baptized; those who are taught first, like the Ethiopian eunuch, desire to be baptized after they are taught, because of the working of the Holy Spirit on their hearts. The point is that there is no static position in Christianity. There is either a progressing forward, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus, or a gradual hardening of the heart. A man who is baptized into Christ but is neither taught to love Him nor fed by His word will eventually starve and die. He will fall away.

Both Sts. Peter and Paul use the picture of an infant growing and maturing to describe a Christian growing and maturing in the faith. The implication is that if one stops growing, he may be in danger of falling away entirely. Peter compares us to newborn babies “who crave pure spiritual milk to sustain them and help them grow” (1 Peter 2:2). If we don’t get that pure spiritual milk by gathering around God’s word and sacraments, and gladly hearing and learning His word, we will starve. We certainly will not grow into more mature Christians who can eat and digest the solid food of more sophisticated theology.

St. Paul scolds the Corinthians for being worldly, but he counts them as Christians. They are concerned with divisions, and with quarrelling with one another over which teacher is the best to follow. Paul says he had to give them milk rather than solid food because they were infants (1 Corinthians 3:2). He means that he has to once again teach them elementary truths of the faith. They are infants in that they still need this remedial lesson. They are still drinking milk. He wants to give them meat. He wants them to progress in the faith so that they can distinguish good and evil for themselves. The point is that, though the Corinthians are infants indeed, they were still a part of the body of Christ. They were believers, even if they were immature. If, however, they continue along their present path, Paul implies, they will spiritually die and fall away from the faith.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace (Hebrews 6:1-6).

The author of the letter to the Hebrews explains that someone who believes and falls away won’t be brought back to repentance. He is describing a Christian in danger of becoming apostate. He is describing a man who wilfully rejects the faith. It is the equivalent of not acknowledging one’s sin. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Someone who won’t acknowledge their sin and repent continues to reject God’s gift. Moreover, that man hasn’t been snatched out of Jesus’ hand. He crawled out of Jesus’ hand willingly. He left under his own steam.

If, when we read these texts, we are concerned about where we stand it would be good to consider some other words that Jesus said: But unless you repent, you too will perish (Luke 13:1-9). Then, we should remember that while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of Jesus (Romans 5:10); when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, Jesus made us alive in Him by our baptism (Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 6: 3-5).

The question, however remains: If God is working in us to will and to do, as Paul says, how is it possible that anyone in whom God does such work could either resist it, or fall away? If God does a thing, how could He not be successful? This is just another variation of a thing called the theologian’s cross (or Crux Theologorum). Why are some saved, but not others? The short answer is: We don’t know because God hasn’t told us. That may seem like a cop-out, but it really isn’t. We can only safely confess what God has revealed to us, and no more. Everything we come up with regarding “why some and not others” is speculation into God’s hidden will. That’s a dangerous no-no.

One of the themes of the Lutheran Confessions is saying only what God has revealed to us in His word. We are to speak where scripture speaks. We are to remain silent where scripture is silent. There is no use or benefit in investigating God’s “secret counsels”, particularly in these matters of election or predestination. God’s word teaches us that all men, in our natural state, are fallen and lost. We are by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). We have been consigned to disobedience, so that God could have mercy on us all in Christ (Romans 11:32). God the Father calls all sinners to Him in Christ (John 12:32). He wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-3). He doesn’t want men to despise preaching and His word. The fact is that some men do despise it. They plug their ears and refuse to take it seriously. They reject God’s gift in Christ. How this works on the cosmic scale, God does not explain to us. It remains a mystery.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves (Ephesians 1:3-6).

Again, the key to all this is the phrase, in Christ. Those who are in Christ are secure. The idea of eternal election in Christ should be a comfort tot he Christian, not something that causes confusion or worse yet, fear or despair. Jesus promises that no one can snatch those who are His out of His hand. As long as we remain in Him, He will not abandon us. And, when we abandon Him by our sin, He calls us to repentance and will restore us, just like He did with Peter. Because, if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness.

The wondrous thing isn’t that believers can fall away from the faith. The wondrous thing is that Jesus comes to us and restores us to life and faith when we fall, just as Peter and the other disciples were restored.

The bottom line of all this is that, ultimately, we must trust in the mercy of Jesus. We are beggars relying on the mercy of God. We can do nothing to earn the gift we seek, nor are we worthy of it. We must rely on the goodness and faithfulness of the giver. ###