Those Who Stop Believing

By Charles F. Stanley

Imagine for a moment that you are at the scene of a burning building. You notice a crowd of people shouting and pointing up at one side of the structure, so you run to see what all the commotion is about. When you arrive, a fireman explains that a woman is trapped on a ledge three floors up. Her only hope is to jump into the net his team is holding below her.

As you peer through the smoke, you finally catch a glimpse of the woman. She is obviously scared and confused. You see the net not too far from where you are standing. It certainly looks strong enough, and the firemen are confident that if she will simply jump, her life will be spared.

Without warning, the woman suddenly screams and leaps from the building. The firemen brace themselves to help absorb the impact as her body hits the safety net. When the net is lowered, you see that the woman has escaped with only minor injuries.

Now, think for a moment. What saved the woman’s life? The net, of course. No one would say she saved herself. Fortunately for the woman, trained firemen were on location. They formulated a plan, made preparations, and brought her to safety.

But what bridged the gap between her need and the provision waiting below? One desperate leap! Yet, leaping did not save her. Many people have jumped from burning buildings only to end up dead on the pavement below. So it is with faith.

Faith does not save a person. Most people have expressed faith of some kind at one time or another. Yet not everyone will spend eternity with God. His grace is what saves us, but our faith bridges the gap between our need and the Lord’s provision. Specifically, it is an expression of faith in Christ that brings God’s provision together with our need. Once the woman jumped, she was safe. Likewise, once we believe, we are saved.

I imagine that a woman who has gone through an experience like the one described above would always have faith in firemen and their nets. But even if she did not, the fact remains that she was saved from the fire. In the same way, in all probability, a Christian who has expressed faith in Christ and experienced forgiveness of sin will always believe that forgiveness is found through Him. But even if the believer does not, the fact remains that he is forgiven.

It is true that the same woman could find herself caught in a different fire. And it is equally true that a degeneration of her faith in firemen and their nets could be deadly. But a man or woman who has been rescued once from a state of separation from God need not worry. For once an individual has been forgiven for the totality of his or her sins, the potential for condemnation on judgment day has been eliminated. The risk factor is zero. There are no more fires from which the believer needs to be saved.

Adapted from “"http://store.intouch.org/p-2623-eternal-security-softcover.aspx" Eternal Security” by Charles F. Stanley.