Questions to Ponder
At the end of the sermon “Cross Road” from Mark 8:22-38, Pastor Dave posed four questions that arose from the text for us to ponder. The questions are:
- Is it possible to be a believer and not follow the discipleship road? Is that even an option?
- Does every believer need a second touch?
- Can I lose my soul if I’m a believer?
- Will Jesus be ashamed of me?
He suggested that we do some biblical digging to find the answers to these questions. To that end, this post is written to give you and your group some biblical direction in seeking answers.
- Is it possible to be a believer and not follow the discipleship road? Is that even an option?
First we need to be clear what we mean by “believer.” James 2:19 reminds us that even the demons believe that God is one – and shudder! That is not the description of a “believer” in this sense, which is exactly the point James is making. The context tells us:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
James’ point is that true faith is demonstrated by a person’s actions. Jesus makes a similar point through three parables at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:15-27). First, He warns his hearers to recognize true teachers by their fruit (i.e. actions). Then, He warns them that not everyone who called Him Lord would actually enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the ones who “do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Finally, He warns that failure to act on His teachings is like building a house in the sand – its fall will be great! – while acting upon His teaching is like digging into the bedrock for a firm and lasting foundation.
“Belief” in the Bible is not just about head knowledge, but a full acceptance that translates into action. See also 1 John 2:3-6; 4:13; 5:13.
What about people who say they believe but their lives show no fruit? First, it is not our place to make a final judgment (Matt 7:1). Only God can see the heart (1 Sam 16:7). Second, they may be walking in sin for a time and come to repentance (like this man in the church at Corinth: 1 Cor 5:1-2; 2 Cor 2:6-8; 7:9). Third, we can cling to the promise that “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 1:6). So if someone is truly a believer, God will bring them onto the discipleship road (Ezek 36:26-27; 2 Cor 5:21) and keep them walking it (Jude 1:24).
What about passages like John 8:31-33, 48, 59, where Jesus speaks to the “Jews who believed in Him,” but they argue with Him, blaspheme Him, and even try to kill Him? Later in John, Jesus says that His sheep believe Him, know His voice and follow Him (John 10:3, 26-27) and that no one can take them away (John 10:28), and He has not lost any of them (John 17:12). So I think we can conclude that the “belief” of those Jews was proven to be false by their subsequent actions.
- Does every believer need a second touch?
The answer to this will depend on what is meant by ‘needing a second touch.’ Scripture tells us how to receive salvation:
Mark 16:16
Acts 16:31
Rom 10:9-13
Eph 2:8-9
The message is clear: believe and be saved. That’s it.
Yet, there is a sense in which we need continual “touches” from Jesus. These are not for our salvation, but to draw us into a deeper knowledge of Jesus and into a deeper experience of His grace (2 Pet 3:18, see also 2Pet 1:5, Eph 4:15, Col 1:10, Col 2:19, 1Pet 2:2). 2 Corinthians 3:18 describes this process as we behold Jesus and are transformed into His likeness bit by bit.
- Can I lose my soul if I’m a believer?
We already looked at John 10:28; 17:12, where Jesus makes it clear that He will not lose one of His sheep. 1 Thessalonians 5:13 spells this out even more clearly regarding our souls:
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God is working to sanctify you.
We also looked at how to be saved. The Bible clearly tells us how we can be saved:
Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Rom 10) This includes intellectual assent, but it is deeper than that. It is faith that steps out and takes hold of Christ, embracing him as the master of your life.
By grace through faith, not by works (Eph 2:8-9). This faith is the kind that works, but it is not faith in our works. Our faith is in the character and the work of God who saved us. It is in Jesus, not Jesus and ___________. Not Jesus and baptism, not Jesus and praying “the prayer,” not Jesus and reading the One Year Bible. We do those things because we trust in Christ, but we do not trust in those things to bring us to God.
The assurance of our salvation is based on:
The trustworthiness of God; 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us. In Phil 1:6, Paul expresses his confidence in the faithfulness of God to finish the work that started in us to bring us to Himself when Christ returns. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 highlights the faithfulness of God, even when we are not faithful. The Bible is clear: we can trust God to fulfil his promises to us. He will not fail to give salvation to all who believe.
The confirmation of the Holy Spirit; Rom 8:16 says The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. When we are saved, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit confirming to our own spirits that it is true. But remember last week when we talked about grieving the Holy Spirit. You may feel more or less of the presence of the Holy Spirit depending on how you are living. So if you are sure you have faith in the promises of God, but you aren’t feeling the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, check your life to see if there is something you need to clean up. 1 Thess 1:5)
The evidence of a changed life. (1 Thes 1:5-8; Col 1:6; 1 John 2:3-6) The truth of the gospel can be seen in its effectiveness. Is your life changing? Are you obeying God? Are you becoming more like Jesus? This is evidence of salvation. Keep in mind that this is mentioned last for a reason. Bearing fruit doesn’t happen overnight. A young Christian may not have much to show yet. Every Christian goes through periods of dryness where there isn’t a whole lot of fruit. But if you have been a Christian for a while and haven’t been growing and becoming more Christ-like, that should give you some pause. Evaluate where you are at spiritually. Are there specific sins that you need to repent of? Have you ever truly submitted to Christ as Lord and Savior?
Instead of asking, “Can I lose my salvation?” we should ask, “Can God lose me?” Salvation is from God and belongs to God. He absolutely will not lose you. Jesus promised he would not lose any of the sheep God gave him (John 6:39; 10:28; 17:12) He said that we are safe in his hand. You can rest assured of your salvation with absolute confidence from God. A missionary to China used to say, “God is inside you and God is outside you, and those are the only two sides you have!” (John 14:20). Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom 8:35-39). There is nothing we can do or anyone else can do to steal us away from God’s salvation.
- Will Jesus be ashamed of me?
When God looks at you, he doesn’t see your failures or your successes. He sees that Jesus’ blood cleansed your sin and that Jesus’ righteousness clothes you as if it were your own (2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 1:9; Phil 3:9). He sees you as a beloved child (Rom 8:15-16; Gal 4:4-7). If you are in Jesus, there is no way He can be ashamed of you: you are one with Him and are glorified in Him (John 17:20-23).
God has promised to glorify those He has saved. In fact, it is so certain to happen that Paul speaks of it as already done (Rom 8:18, 28-30). No one, not even God, can bring a charge against us or condemn us (Rom 8:33-34).
So why does Jesus warn that for those who are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of them at His coming? The following passages flesh out this idea more fully: Rom. 1:16; 2 Tim 1:8; 2 Tim. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:16; Heb. 11:16; 1 John 2:28; Matt 10:33. The final verse in that list is the clincher, stating even more strongly the warning: “but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
The question to ask ourselves is, “Am I ashamed of Jesus?” Do we take Jesus at His Word and accept His view of reality? Or do we reject some or all of what He says? If we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us (Mark 8:38). If we deny Him, He will deny us (Matt 10:33).
This brings us back to the first concept about the Jews who “believed” in Jesus, but in their rejection of Him showed that their belief was false (John 8). The warning Jesus gives in Mark 8:34-38 is to check that we are true believers: do we actually believe in Jesus? If so, we have a new heart that wants to follow Him (Ez 36:26-27), the Holy Spirit empowering us (Rom 8:9-11), and will show our faith by walking in His ways (James 2:18-22). We will deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. We will not lose our souls, and Jesus will not be ashamed of us.