by Jacob Ninan
All of us know that it is not enough to begin a race well, even though that is very necessary, but the ultimate goal is to complete it well. But when it comes to the Christian life, some people assume that once we begin it, that is all there is to it, and everything is going to be fine. They think their seat in heaven is assured, and they need not be concerned too much about how they live.
Some of these people argue that when one is born again through faith in Jesus Christ, he or she cannot be 'unborn'! It sounds right except that it points to a physical birth and not to the spiritual birth which is quite different. In the case of the spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit brings life into our heart through God's unmerited favour (grace) towards us, and we receive it 'by faith' (Eph.2:8). What will happen if we lose this faith? God warns the Gentile believers who were imagining that they were safe after God had rejected Israel because of their unbelief, saying, "Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either" (Rom.11:20,21). God sometimes has to erase some people's names from His book of life, doesn't He (Rev.3:5)?
The Letter to the Hebrews is addressed to 'holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling' (Heb.3:1). These are obviously born again believers in God. Such people receive this warning from God that they should be careful not to fall away from the living God because of an evil heart of unbelief (v.12)! Only those who are with God can fall away from Him! God is not talking here of unbelievers who are anyway far from Him.
In the New Testament, we are warned to take a lesson from the people of Israel who were delivered from slavery in Egypt and who were on their way to the promised land. From this we are expected to learn not to assume we will be fine just because we have started out on our journey to our promised land (1Cor.10:11,12). The people of Israel saw the ten plagues God brought upon the Egyptians while protecting them and making a distinction between the people of God and the Egyptians. They were saved miraculously through the Red Sea while God drowned the army of Egypt in it. They had a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire through the night to lead them. They received food falling down from the sky and water coming out of a rock. None of them became sick and their shoes did not wear out as they walked through the desert. God helped them to miraculously overcome enemies who attacked them on the way. In spite of experiencing all these miracles of God in their life one after another, what was their response to God? Grumbling, complaining and wanting to return to Egypt!
Finally, when they reached the borders of the promised land, they sent out twelve spies to search out the land in advance. These spies returned and reported that the land was just as God had promised, 'flowing with milk and honey'. Yet, ten of the spies discouraged the people saying that the enemies were too strong for them. Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, tried to reassure the people saying that God was able to overcome the enemies (Num.14:8,9). But the people did not agree, and even wanted to select a new leader and go back to Egypt.
At this point, God told them that all the while when they were provoking them, He was patient with them, but not any more (v.22-24). He made the judgment that every one of those people who had come off from Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb, would die in the desert and would not be able to enter the promised land (v.29). They had imagined that they could continue to behave as they were used to, and that God would still be there to take care of them!
No, God works according to His laws. When this final test came, these people chose to rely on their own perception of the situation, and based on their own strength they decided that the enemy was too strong for them. They did not trust in the One who had promised to take them to the promised land, and His strength to fulfil that promise. By this choice they lost out, and all the fact of having left Egypt did not take them to the promised land!
How does this apply to us? Do we think that God is longsuffering, kind and merciful and He will keep on forgiving us no matter how we exercised our faith or how we lived? God told Israel that He gave up on them after 'ten times' of provocations. This is only a figure of speech, and we do not have to think that God will give us ten chances. We don't know when our provocations will become one too many for God. This is why God tells us to work out our salvation with 'fear and trembling' (Php.2:12).
God is not pleased with the death of even wicked people and He wants everyone to come to salvation (Ezek.33:11). But it would be presumptuous of us to take God's mercy and patience for granted and live carelessly. Those who endure to the end will be saved. We can fall away from the living God if we give in to an evil heart of unbelief. But God is able to give us grace if we humble ourselves before Him (Jas.4:6).