During our Study the word on Wednesday( 8/4), while explaining *Heb 10:38* which reads:
_”Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”_
Actually quoted from *Hab 2:4:*
_“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.”_
I explained that _”the just shall live by his faith”_ could very much be translated as _”the righteous shall live by My faithfulness”._
I then explained the two sides of the coin, divine preservation and the believer’s perseverance. I stated that God will ensure you did not fall and that you make it to heaven, but you must also be willing to persevere and allow God to lead you. I further reiterated that God’s faithfulness and believer’s faith in God are distinguishable but inseparable, they are joined in the heap. Based on contributions in the discussion, I gave a scenario that we tried to resolve, but the Lord spoke more to me on it.
I said, suppose there is a “child” of God, who has served God faithfully for 40 years, and then one day, he was seduced and fell into the lap of Delilah, and then sinned against God. On his way home, he had an accident and died instantly. My question was, will he go to heaven or hell?
Someone said only God knows where he will go. Another said maybe he asked for forgiveness before the accident etc.
I said my answer before would have been that he is going to hell, but that based on knowledge, and the understanding of divine preservation, I will not answer the question so simply.
The point here is that the believer has served God faithfully for 40 years, so we believed. Such conclusion is very subjective from human point of view. We have no objective way of measuring such conclusion. Was is that he was a pastor, a worker in the church? Was it that he gives his tithes, gives to the poor, worships with emotion in the church, prays for hours a day, he speaks in tongue, he knows the Scriptures very well, or he does good works, or once upon a time came out for an altar call and repeated the sinners prayer? No objective measurement exists for such from human perspective. We might think we know but we really don’t. If you consider Scriptures like *Jer. 17:9-10*, and *1Sam 16:7b* _(For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”)._ It becomes clear that our physical eyes are not designed to see what only God can see, except we are given the grace, and for a purpose. Therefore, be careful of jumping into judgement.
The point here is that we are limited as human, and don’t really know what is going on in the heart of anyone, only God knows. In the case of the man that fell, perhaps he never really belonged to God for 40years when everyone thinks he belonged to God. The Bible says in *1Cor 10:13* _”No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”_ God will always make a way of escape for his elect and true sons and daughters of the kingdom.
Believers are assured a guaranteed mercy *(Is55:3&Acts13:34c)*, so no matter what we experience, we can always come back to God for forgiveness, and He will forgive us. Notwithstanding, based on *Heb 10:38* that we read, those who are faking their relationship with Christ, who don’t really belong to Him, will know in their hearts, whether or not they belong to Him. So, such promise of divine preservation does not apply to them, they are excluded from that promise. Consequently, someone who has been resisting God all along, might appear to belong to God, but God never knew the person. Sons and Daughters of God don’t resist God’s correction, reprove, instruction and rebuke, they yield, they submit to God and His word. The parable of the 10 virgins shows that five have always been wise and five have always been foolish. They just did not suddenly become wise or suddenly become foolish. It has been their “ways” all along, but people could not differentiate, only God knows. This was also compared with the parable of the Sower.
So, ask yourself this question, why would Jesus say of the five foolish virgins in *Matt 25:12*, _”But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”?_ Wouldn’t that be mean and harsh for those who only made an unintentional mistake? It only shows that they were never part of the number, although it appears as such. He never knew them, they have been a grief to Him all along, they were the tare among the wheat, they were “almost Christians”.
To sum it up, looking back at the scenario, indeed, it is impossible for human to determine where the man ends up. If of a truth the man in the instance belongs to God, God will ensure he repents minutes before he dies, but if not, it is only a reflection of the man’s deception (so he thinks) to God and a recompense. Remember that God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, he will reap *(Gal 6:7-8)*. Therefore, workout your own salvation with fear and trembling *(Phil 2:12)* be sure you belong God through the witnessing of His Holy Spirit. For *Rom 8:9b* witnesses that: _”….Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”_
God bless you and remain faithful!
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