95. Warned against falling away.

Though it is improbable ( not likely to be true or to happen) for a believer to fall away from faith, it is not impossible! Jesus himself warned his disciples of the possibility, especially in these last days. "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other ..." (Matthew 24:10) "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) An Apostasy ( the abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief ) is already happening and many Christian leaders have fallen away. 'If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the begining. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit" and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."' (2 Peter 2:20-22) Since this can happen to anyone, we too should pay heed to Paul's warning: 'If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you you don't fall !" (1 Corinthians 10:12) Believers tend to fall away from grace than from faith, because of the things that choke their faith. "They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures and they do not mature." (Luke 8:13-14) They may not renounce their faith in Christ all together but are barely hanging on! Their faith is too weak to stand firmly in the grace apportioned to them by Christ but instead wallow (roll about or lie in ) in self-pity and depression. If the enemy gets a foothold in our lives, he will then try to gain more ground, if our defense is weak. Let's shore up our defence against him. 'It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace...' (Hebrews 13:9) 'May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.'(1 Thessalonians 3:13) "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Matthew 11:6) Amen.