This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:1-5
The subject today is a person I know who fell away, or walked away.
Some will tell you she was never saved.
Maybe not, but saved people can and do fall or walk away.
An example of this is where Paul recommended
this for a person who was heavily into sin and had taken his father’s wife:
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 5:5
His soul was in danger though he was saved.
The friend that I am speaking of has chosen lies over truth.
She spurned the gospel and turned away from Christ.
We plant the seeds.
We do not determine if those seeds sprout and bear fruit for the Lord.
And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying,
Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth:
and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit,
some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:3-9
I believe we will see many people walk away from the Lord.
The argument that they were not saved is a crafty lie from the enemy.
If we believe that, we lose a very important part of the fear of God.
If we do not fear God, we lack wisdom
since without the fear of God, there is no godly wisdom.
Jesus wants us to fear Him.
We have not yet finished the race.
We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Jesus told us “…fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul…” See Matthew 10:28
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear:
Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell;
yea, I say unto you, Fear Him. Luke 12:5
Scriptural References:
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee,
but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him,
and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
Deuteronomy 10:12
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
a good understanding have all they that do His commandments:
His praise endureth for ever. Psalm 111:10