Can a Christian lose his salvation? How should we respond to the news of yet another prominent Christian falling into public sin? What are we to make of the Bible’s many warning passages addressed to Christians? How can I make it to the end?
These are the perennial questions that Spurgeon addresses in his 1874 sermon, “Danger. Safety. Gratitude.” Here, Spurgeon warns his congregation of the reality that any Christian, no matter how mature they may seem in their faith, can fall into egregious sin if they rely on their own devices. Christ alone keeps His children from evil. “If we do not fall, it is not because [the wicked] have not tried to make us fall, but because God has upheld us by his grace. If we know ourselves at all, we must have come to the conclusion that, apart from the grace of God, we are a mass of sin and corruption, and capable of anything that is evil.” Every story of backsliding that we hear stands as a warning to us of the danger of our indwelling sin and this fallen world.
But even in that grave reality, there is reason for much hope. Spurgeon reminds his congregation that although sin is always lurking at the door, safety is found in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When we put our faith in Christ, He saves us, not just for a moment, but for all eternity. Our sin — past, present, and future — is nailed to the cross. And He fills us with His Spirit that He might keep us to the end. “You did not have him to be a Savior for a time, to cleanse you from sin, and then to leave you to fall back into sin,” Spurgeon reminds us. “When you took him to be your Savior, I hope you took him for all your life, and for eternity. That is how he took you[.]” When temptation and sin come knocking, run to Jesus. He will guide you safely through.
Excerpt:
Christ is your Savior from beginning to end, so always regard him in that light; and as your Savior let it be very comforting to you to reflect that he is divine: “The only wise God our Savior.” He who has undertaken to save you is no mere man, and no angel; he is nothing less than the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God. Your peril can be averted by his omnipotent might. The hidden dangers in your pathway all lie unveiled to his all-seeing eye. You are safe, not because you can see and avoid the dangers that beset you, nor yet because you are strong, and can conquer your adversaries, but because your Savior is God, and therefore you shall be saved, continuously saved, perfectly saved, and presented as a saved one at the last.
Read the rest of the sermon here.