My dear readers,

1.  Is it possible for a true Christian to lose the good fight of faith and not lay hold on eternal life if he is a bad testimony?

The good fight of faith is possible only for born-again believers who have a genuine faith given to them by God, enabling them to believe in Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Unbelievers have no faith to speak of to “fight the good fight of faith.” Christians can lose, and will lose at times because they are not perfect. They can lose their holy witness for Christ that they have been building since their salvation. When that happens, they have to make sure that they continue to fight the good fight of faith through repentance. Repentance is part of the process of fighting the good fight of faith. In 1556, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was martyred for the faith he had earlier denied but later recanted. Before he was burned to death, he placed his right hand into the fire that signed the documents of his denial of his faith. Fighting the good fight of faith is a constant battle against the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The war for every Christian against the devil has been won by Christ at Calvary’s cross when he destroyed the devil on their behalf. Hebrews 2:14-15 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” 

From the day of salvation to the last day on earth, the believer will fight many battles to hold on to his holy testimony for Christ by faith. He will win some battles with God's help, as Peter did when he faced his persecutors who threatened him to stop preaching about Jesus Christ. His courageous reply was “. . . Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” [Acts 4:19-20] He will also lose some battles because of weak faith and he fails to trust in the Lord, like Peter, who denied the Lord three times because he was fearful for his life.

Repentance is clear evidence of one who is born again in Christ.

2a.  Regarding the description of the young man in Question 1 for Tuesday’s group discussion:

{Question 1 – “A young man came to know Christ as Lord and Saviour at the age of 17. He prayed the prayer of salvation. He became very involved in the church's Youth ministry. He was musically talented and composed songs. He played the piano during the worship service and played the guitar during Youth Fellowship. He also had leadership qualities. The younger ones looked up to him as they grew up. He was marked for future leadership in the church. But after he started work at age 26, having obtained his Master's degree, the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches gripped his heart. He turned his back on the church and loved the world. He stopped everything Christian. He smokes, gambles and drinks. Would you say that he fought the good fight of faith and lost? Explain your answer.”}

Note that the sins committed by the young man are not sins that would indicate he has no salvation. These sins are also committed by God’s children. Yes, if he is a believer, he fought a good fight of faith in his younger days, but he lost that fight as an adult by succumbing to the deceitfulness of riches, believing they would solve his life’s problems. God will discipline as He promises in Hebrews 12:5-6 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” If he is God’s child and does not repent, God will chastise him. God's chastisement will stop his carnal life of sin.

If no chastisement comes, then he is not a child of God. God makes that very clear in  Hebrews 12:8-10 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” Therefore, he cannot be fighting the good fight of faith, for this battle is for believers only.

2b.  Would Hebrews 6:4–8 apply to him, in the sense that he has “fallen away”?

Hebrews 6:4-8 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”

This passage speaks of professing believers who attend church and have experienced the life of a Christian outwardly, but are not truly born-again. They have experienced water baptism and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper like born-again believers, received teaching on the inward examination of their faith, heard many sermons on God’s Word, served in the church in many ways, and may even be pastors with theological training. Then they fall away, i.e. reject all these truths and Christian experiences; they can't repent and believe in Christ again. The reason is that they have done all the Christian experiences before, confessed and accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour and lived like a Christian, but all in hypocrisy and superficially, with no heart. They deceived themselves and others by their lives in the church; they have tasted the life of a Christian outwardly, and rejected it, and there is not going to be another Christ who would come and die again. The two illustrations used in Hebrews 6:7-8 support this understanding. When rainwater falls, it naturally brings forth herbs, it is a blessing from God; whereas when it brings forth thorns and briers, it is destroyed.

A sinner who has heard the gospel and experienced all that a truly born-again believer experiences in a biblical church is like rainwater that falls from heaven; he is also born-again and has received God's blessing. But if he remains a sinner in heart and pretends to be a Christian, he hurts himself and his heart becomes numbed to his own pretentious deception, just like a liar who cannot get out of lying since he has been lying all his life. He thinks that lying is normal, at least for him. This is the grave danger of attending church for a long time without truly becoming a Christian.

2c.  Is it also right to understand Hebrews 6 as a warning and reminder for believers to examine ourselves, rather than primarily as a basis for judging others?

God’s Word is never meant to be used to judge and condemn others but oneself first and foremost. Hebrews 6:4-8 is a warning from God to all professing believers about the danger of having tasted all that God has given you in the church, only to turn your back and love the world. Beware the serious nature of such a sin! After applying God’s Word to our hearts, the Word of God becomes the lamp unto our feet and light unto our paths to evaluate circumstances and people in our lives using God’s Word. The whole Book of Proverbs is meant to accomplish this in the believer’s life. For example, stay away from angry people so you will not become angry. To accomplish that, one has to judge who the angry people are. Proverbs 22:24-25 “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: 25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor