Falling Backward or Falling Forward?
We've all taken a fall sometime in our lives, but there's a wrong way and a right way to fall, so it's important to know how to do it right.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
The wrong way to fall is to fall backward: "For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6).
Here the author, most likely St. Paul, is telling about those who fall backward into denying Christ, which was not only a very real problem in the first century, but also today as conservative Christians face ridicule, banning, and "cancel culture" even from relatives and close friends. However, Paul shines a ray of hope: "But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things for you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak like this" (v. 9).
There are some Christians who believe that they could never fall away. They quote 1 Corinthians 10:13 – "No temptation has taken you but such as man can bear. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." But they fail to notice the preceding verse – "Therefore let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn't fall.
If this weren't enough, there are several other Scripture texts warning us not to fall backward, among them 1 Timothy 4:1 – "But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons." I could continue with such texts, but now let's consider the right way to fall. We certainly don't like the experience, but we can and should learn from it. In Isaiah 44:18-22 we read –
"They don't know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can't see; and their hearts, that they can't understand. None calls to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yes, also I have baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it: and shall I make the residue of it an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can't deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Remember these things, Jacob, and Israel; for you are my servant: I have formed you; you are my servant: Israel, you shall not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return to Me; for I have redeemed you."
Isaiah is describing how people slip and fall into worshipping a false god, something made by our own hands, in this case made out of wood. The nation of Israel often fell into idolatry, worshipping wooden or metal or stone images. Isaiah shows how foolish it is to fall into idolatry: you can use wood to heat, bake, and cook with, but to worship a chunk of wood, metal, or stone is foolish: these materials were created for us to use in our daily lives, not to worship them.
You might think, "Yes, that was back then, thousands of years ago: we're more civilized today!" Are we really? Many people worship their houses – a bunch of wooden boards fancied up with nails and paint. Other people worship their cars, TVs, or computers (how much time and money do they spend on them?), and still others worship the stone statue they imagine of themselves – how they will become rich or famous and make a mark in world history.
But in the last two sentences of the above quote, Isaiah says there is a solution to falling into such foolishness: the Lord formed us to serve Him, not wood or metal or stone. He is ready and willing to blot out our foolish transgressions and sins if we will simply return to Him. This is falling forward into the merciful and loving arms of the Lord.
The Lord Jesus also talked about stumbling and falling. He said it's impossible to avoid because we're human, prone to slip up and stumble –
"He said to the disciples, 'It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, "I repent," you shall forgive him'" (Luke 17:1-4).
We must realize that when we stumble and slip, it has repurcussions on others, especially our children and those who are weak in the faith. Our getting angry, being greedy, falling into sexual sin, etc. sets an example for them. Even if we do something that for us is innocent, like eating meat offered to idols or drinking wine (Romans 14:20-22), it can cause others to fall into sin if their conscience is weak.
The second point in the above quote is if we're on the receiving end of someone's sin: speak gently but firmly to that person about it and be ready to forgive, don't harbor anger, resentment, or hurt in your heart – that will hurt you more than it hurts him!
Remember what Christ taught us in the Lord's Prayer – "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." God is ready and willing to forgive, but only if we also are ready to forgive.
Like the Apostle Paul, we haven't arrived yet but we must keep pressing forward – "Brothers, I don't regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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A basic premise of Islam, modern communism, and today's secular humanism is that Jesus was a myth, or merely a good man, a great moral teacher, or perhaps even a prophet, but not God Incarnate. Islam teaches that He was a prophet, even born of a virgin, but a fundamental confession of Islam is "Allah is one, and he has no son," thus denying the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ.