Recently, I received an email from someone challenging the notion that it is impossible for a true born-again believer to fall away. This person said that Yahweh says that He keeps us, but He also said that it is possible for us to fall away. This person said that both statements can be true, even if we do not understand how they could both be true, much like Yeshua being fully God, and fully man at he same time, or the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being one.
Over the next few days, I will post my response to this man.
In John 3, Nicodemus came to Yeshua (Jesus), and Yeshua told Nicodemus that if he wanted to see the kingdom of God, he had to be born-again. Essentially, Yeshua told Nicodemus that he had to undergo a fundamental transformation in order to see God’s kingdom, because what is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Yeshua took Nicodemus back to the writings of Moses, and reminded him of the disobedience of his ancestors, and their encounter with the fiery serpents. Nicodemus’ ancestors did not trust Yah, and complained about His provisions. So Yah, sent fiery serpents to kill those, who did not trust Him to save, and provide.
After many Hebrews and gentiles had been bitten, and died, the people realized the hopeless situation that they were in, and called upon Yahweh. In response, Yahweh told Moses to make a symbol of the people’s sin (a bronze serpent on a pole), and tell them that if they were bitten, if they would look at the symbol, He would save them from death.
In the Scriptures, bronze is a symbol for judgment. Consequently, what Yahweh was saying was that if the people would look upon the thing that manifested their sin, which He had judged, they would not suffer the consequences of their sin (they would not experience death).
It is within this context that Yeshua said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. (John 3:16)
Clearly, Yeshua was telling Nicodemus what he had to do to enter into the Kingdom of Yahweh, and be saved from the consequences of his sin, which would be eternal separation from Yahweh (eternal death).
Remember, Yeshua told Nicodemus that he needed to undergo a fundamental transformation in order to enter into the kingdom of God. So clearly, when Nicodemus believed in Yeshua, Yeshua’s Spirit entered into him, and transformed him into a new creature. Yeshua’s Spirit transformed him from a fleshly creature into a spiritual creature, so he could enter into His Kingdom where he would be united with Yahweh.
This was the only thing that Yeshua told Nicodemus, and Nicodemus could not read the Gospels, Acts, or the writings of the Apostles because they did not exist at that time. So, did Yeshua preach an incomplete Gospel to Nicodemus? Did Yeshua fail to tell Nicodemus what he really needed to do in order to be saved? Did Yeshua neglect to tell Nicodemus that he had to do good works, act right, and endure (believe) to the end?
God forbid that we would think such things!
Yeshua is the Gospel. Do we really want to think that Yeshua would have given Nicodemus an incomplete Gospel, and a false hope? Do we really want to think that Yeshua did not give Nicodemus a full discloser of the terms and conditions of salvation from eternal death?
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