Am I at Risk of Losing My Salvation?

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Am I at Risk of Losing My Salvation?

April 3, 2023

Question about whether a person is at risk of losing her salvation if she repents daily from various eating disorders but still sins daily.

* Am I at risk of losing my salvation if I repent daily from my various eating disorders but still sin daily?

Transcript

[Music] Welcome to Stanford Reasons #STRSQ podcast. I'm Amy Hall, and I'm here with Greg Cokel, and we're here to answer the questions that you send us on Twitter. with the #STRSQ.

Or do our best to do so. Yes, we attempt to answer. We get such good questions on the exterior.

We get them on the regular show too, the one I do, but it just seems to me that this particular group asks questions that I've never confronted before. We get some repeats, of course, but it's always a challenge to sit here with you and wonder, "Okay, what's coming next?" And we'll see how we do. All right, let's start with a question from CM.

"I am a Christian, but I have long suffered from various eating disorders. I repent daily, but find myself in sin daily. Am I at risk of losing my salvation? I feel that many Christians suffer from overeating, but I never hear anyone from the pulpit address it." Well, here we go.

This is one I've never had before. And what troubles me here, what the concern that I have, is not that CN has an eating disorder, but how she understands the spiritual ramifications of that disorder. She said, "I repent daily, and I sin daily with regards to this." By the way, the fact is, so do I. Repent daily because I sin daily, and I sin a whole lot more than I repent from.

All right, that's just the reality of being a fallen person. And to put this all in perspective, Jesus gave the two greatest commandments. Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Well, I have never ever in my life fulfilled for a split second in the first commandment. And the second commandment may be rarely, but the fact is that we all sin daily. And I like the citation from Martin Luther.

At least this is where I understand it came from him. Something to the effect of trust God had sin on boldly. And his point wasn't to encourage sin.

His point was, I think, to, or this would be the point that I'm making with that citation, is to understand that we are sinful people, and our sanctification is a process. But we don't have to worry about the fact that we're sinful people when we're saved by grace. That doesn't have to be a burden to us.

Oh, no, am I going to lose my salvation? Oh, I better confess this, or if I don't confess that it's not going to be cleansed. No, Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. He's a high priest that is always there.

And this is one of the points of Hebrews chapter 10 as this whole discussion about Jesus being the high priest and the final sacrifice come to a conclusion there in the writers. And the development of his argument, he says, let us draw near with a sincere heart, having our hearts mind sprinkled free of an evil conscience in our body washed with pure water. He who promises faithful.

The point of understanding the finished sacrifice is that we're safe. And so we don't have to strain it every single time. Was I sinning just then? I better say, no, we don't have to do that.

We pursue godliness. We pursue sanctification, holiness. And we deal with those things that are obvious that we need to deal with at any given time.

But even when we're dealing with all the things that are obvious, there's a bunch of things that are not obvious that we're doing that are right. Our general attitudes are going to be influenced by the fall. And this is one of the reasons that it's, and I think it's the reason Jesus offered the two great commandments and the way he did is to demonstrate that the way he did.

Is to demonstrate the impossibility of keeping the law, the way he put it in Matthew, Matthew five, you are to be perfect as my heavenly father is perfect. Well, no doing that. This is why we need him.

So I wanted to just put that little foundation of grace in place. So that because that is a really important part of this, of responding to this issue. You look eager there, like, did you want to jump in on that? No, no, go ahead.

Okay. I'm keeping my eye on Amy here. Straining at the bed.

No, I guess not. Okay. So if you are in your aware of a sinful pattern that you're doing, then you pursue repentance.

And in the power of the Holy Spirit, of course, I say that, but I'm not exactly sure exactly how that operates. This is like, oh, I'm going to repent in the part of the spirit and all of a sudden the spirit starts doing. No, we seek to live holy lives and we always have the spirit helping us to do that.

Okay. That's all I'm saying here. I'm not saying we find this little Holy Spirit switch and once we find it, then we're not going to struggle.

We're going to struggle. This is the fact of life. Okay.

We struggle with sin and we, we address it on a regular basis as it's obvious to us that this is a very important thing. We address that this is something to address. And when it's obvious, it's because the Holy Spirit is doing something in us.

Now, here's the next issue. Is an eating disorder a sin that you need to repent from? Maybe, but it's not clear to me. And I don't know the eating disorder that's in question.

No, maybe the, maybe the, I don't know. Eating disorders, characteristically are considered mental, emotional problems, challenges that people have. They're disorders of the, of the mind, of the, of the soul that compel certain behavior and they're not easy to deal with.

And I don't think there's any range of disorders is not just a little prayer. You pray or a little way you trust and it just goes away. Some people have big problems that the Holy Spirit bang deals with immediately.

They become Christians and it's over with no alcohol, not even an interest in it. Other people, they struggle with a temptation to access in a number of areas all their life. It is a day by day challenge, you know.

I don't know why God does it that way. He's got his own reasons. I'm just saying this is the way it is.

All right. And it doesn't mean that daily Christian living is a struggle in different areas. But even so, it shouldn't be, in my view at least, that it's a struggle, a kind of a, a creative sense of defeat in us.

And this is the feeling I get from C.N.'s question. There's this, "Oh, I haven't, I've been a Christian for a long time and I still have this problem." And there seems like there's defeat in her voice. Friends, there are going to C.N. You're going to have spiritual struggles with sin all your life of some sort, all your life.

And it will not end until the resurrection. This is a reality. Now, that doesn't mean you aren't going to be victorious in certain things, but sometimes you're victorious day by day.

Some things you may overcome, and it's just a thing of the past. And there are other things you have to always be vigilant of, trusting in God, understanding there is safety in our relationship with Him because of the cross. Okay? So in that case of an eating disorder, I'm not sure even if it's a sin.

Now, I know people are going to say, "Oh, wait a minute, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. So why are you making it into a pizza hut?" Okay, right. Very funny, but it misses the point of the passage.

If you go back to 1 Corinthians, what chapter 2, or thereabouts, that Paul talks about, your body is a temple, he is not talking about the fitness of your temple based on your physical state. He is talking like, "Are you overweight? Are you eating junk food?" Or whatever. He has no concern with that at all, because if we're eating junk food and we get sick, and that makes us an unfit temple, then people who are amputees, people who have cancer, people who have diabetes, for whatever reason, are unfit temples.

No, God is not concerned about the physical status of our body. Paul puts it this way, "physical exercise profits little." There's some profit, but compared to something else, it's not very significant. Godliness, by contrast, is a means of great gain because it holds a promise not just for this life, but also for the life to come.

So Paul's putting things in perspective there. 1 Corinthians 2, where he talks about the body being a temple of the spirit, Paul is not talking about our body's physical status, it's talking about our body's moral status. Is our physical body, which is the temple of the spirit, participating in immoral activity? In particular, they're sexual immorality.

So being overweight or underweight does not make your body an unfit temple. That is not what Paul has in mind. Now, are there considerations regarding things like that? Yes.

To me, it's more of a stewardship consideration. So I want to stay healthy and fit, okay, for my own benefit, I think I feel better, but I want to live longer to live longer. To be a good father to my children, my husband to my wife, and do the things that I enjoy that are satisfying and make my contribution to the body of Christ.

Paul talks about that concept in Philippians, you know, am I going to die now and be martyred? Or will I stay out if I stay honest, better for you? If I die, it's better for me. I guess I'll stay for a while longer. This is kind of what he talks about there in Philippians so that I can serve you.

So that's part of my own motivation and being fit relates to that. I don't want to get sick. Okay.

If I don't need to, if I can avoid it, but has nothing to do with whether my body is an appropriate temple. So I'm wondering if some of these things are going on here, Amy, with C.N. Also, can I lose my salvation? Well, the answer to that is no. I mean, notice the implication.

If I sin here, that means I lose my salvation. Why did Jesus come? The body, Jesus blood is there to cancel out sin. Hebrews 10.

Go back there. If Jesus blood is there to cancel out sin, how can sin cancel out Jesus blood? It makes no sense. Okay, so I don't think in general sinning is going to imperil a person with regards to their salvation.

If it does, we're all in trouble. Okay. What is this Psalm 130? I quote frequently, Lord, if you would mark iniquity, oh Lord, who could stand? If you're keeping track of us as a way of a standard of acceptance, we're all lost.

But there is forgiveness in you, the Psalmist says, so that you might be praised. That's going on my tombstone. The point is we're safe in the grace of God.

We're secure in the grace of God. We're secure enough that we don't have to worry about the grace of God when we struggle against sin in our life. One things we struggle against aren't actually sins, and I think this is probably in this category.

They don't know the nature of seeing struggle. So there's a number of reasons, CN, why I think you're making life a lot more difficult on yourself emotionally than it has to be. Struggling with a dating disorder is hard enough.

I mean, that's enough of emotional struggle, but it seems like you've added a lot of baggage to this that is not necessary because it's not part of the spiritual package that we have in Christ, the forgiveness and all those other things. And also the nature of your struggle, it seems to me to be a different kind of thing, an emotional challenge for whatever reason that should be addressed because it's causing difficulty for you and maybe health concerns, but certainly not causing kind of a spiritual debt load that you think may nullify your salvation. All of those things, let go of those things because they're not a concern.

Amy. Well, I don't know a whole lot about eating disorders, so there's not really much I can say about that specifically. So you're, you're goomy fixation.

That is not a concern. No, that's Kyle. Kyle's the one who loves the guy.

Oh, Kyle's the goomy guy. Okay. Just joking.

So I mean, obviously we're not supposed to be mastered by anything that God doesn't want us to be in slavery of anything. The food is for stomach, stomach is for food, but it's not to be the master of you. So you're right to work to end this.

I mean, that's you're doing the right thing, but I want to address the idea. I just want to say a little bit more about the am I at risk of losing my salvation? Because that applies to everyone because everyone's struggling against something. So I wanted to talk a little bit about Romans 7 and 8 because I think we see a truth here about what position we're in right now on this earth.

Paul talks about how, first of all, knowing the law cannot, it was not able to change anybody's heart. It was not able to empower anybody to do what was right. All it could do was condemn you and even stir up more sin.

That's what the law did. So the amazing thing now is that now we have been released from the law and joined to Christ and we have the spirit. And this is the big thing in Romans 8 when he's talking about how we kill our sin.

Now we have the power to kill our sin through the Holy Spirit. But that doesn't mean that we have killed our sin. It's actually a present thing that he talks about in chapter 8 and he talks about the whole earth groaning in sin, that the whole creation was subjected to futility.

And it says in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit.

Okay. So he's talking about how right now the Holy Spirit is giving us the power to put our sins to death, not all at once, but bit by bit. So we have the first fruits of the spirit.

Even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption of sons, the redemption of our body. So he's looking forward to the day when we don't have this love sin in our bodies that keeps us trapped in certain sins that we have to work to kill. But we're looking ahead to this.

He says, for in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen as not hope for who hopes for what he already sees. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it. So he is waiting for the day when he will be, when his body will be completely redeemed and will no longer be under the power of sin in any way.

He says in Philippians three that he has not yet become perfect. He hasn't laid hold of it yet, but forgetting what's behind and looking forward to what's ahead, he presses on as he tries, he follows the upward call of God in Christ. So what we get here is a picture of Paul.

Okay. Paul's in this position. You're a pretty good company if you're in the same position.

He's not ever saying, he's worried about his salvation. What he's saying is because he's saved, now he has the hope of the Holy Spirit giving him power to put his sin to death. And it's a process that goes on until our bodies are redeemed and is completed.

I just want to draw attention to the material just above the section of Romans 8 that you are citing. And Romans 8 begins with comparing life according to the flesh and life according to the spirit. And the point he's making here is there are unregenerate people who are living according to the flesh.

And then there are regenerate born again people who are living according to the spirit. Now those according to the spirit are not people who never sinned. And sometimes we talk about it this well, I was in the flesh yesterday, but I'm in the spirit today, you know, kind of thing.

Today was Saturday, today's Sunday, right? But that isn't what Paul means by those terms. He means those who are in the spirit are regenerate people. Okay.

And he says, you know, that all who have the spirit of God are regenerate. If you don't have the spirit of God, then you're known of his, he says in this passage. Okay.

But then he goes on to say, and this goes to the point that you made following it that if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. That's unregenerate people given the flow of thinking here that came before. If you are living according, if by the spirit, but if by the spirit, you are putting to death, the deeds of the flesh, you will live.

Okay. Point being here is people in the world, people who are unregenerate are on a course, according to the flesh. And Paul says earlier, it's not even possible for them to please God.

Okay. But you are not in the flesh if indeed the spirit of God dwells within you. So you're in the spirit.

If you're regenerate and what is the practice of the regenerate person, the practice of the regenerate person is to be progressively putting to death the deeds of the flesh. Okay. And that's the struggle that you described that follows.

Now one last footnote to this. That is what Paul is referring to when he uses the term led by the spirit. It's the next verse.

If by the spirit, you're putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live for all who are being led by the spirit are sons of God. These are sons of God. In other words, being led by the spirit in Paul's language, and he's the only one who uses the phrase, he uses it twice once here and once in Galatians five.

And it means the same thing in both places being led by the spirit means by the spirit's power you are putting to death the deeds of the flesh. You're overcoming the Godlessness in your life and you're increasing the Godliness in your life. And that is what's characterized of people who have the spirit.

That's why I've said before, if you're living like hell, you're probably going there. This is indicative. You have people that claim to be Christians, but they look just like the world in their moral behavior.

That means they are on a different trajectory. They probably don't have the spirit at all. Those with the spirit are living in a way that addresses the moral issues in their life, little by little, struggling little by little, that by the spirit, putting to death the deeds of the flesh.

You can't even struggle as you pointed out in the rest of the chapter that goes on for the rest of our lives until the resurrection when our bodies are redeemed completely and the flesh is left behind. And then one last note from me, Greg, on this, this whole section starting back in chapter six about why we don't sin. It all culminates here because he's talking about how just because we're under grace, that doesn't mean we don't sin.

Why? because God created us to bear fruit for him. And we couldn't do that just with the law telling us what to do. We needed the Holy Spirit.

And then he talks about right at this last part that I was reading here, he's talking about how we are suffering during this present time. And I think part of that is the sufferings we go through to kill our sin, but part of that is the sufferings we go through in life that also helps to kill our sin because at the very end of this whole section, he says, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son. In other words, all of this is guaranteed.

We are going to become like the son. That's what God is doing. He's working in us to change who we are through our sufferings as we try to kill our sin, as we go through the sufferings in this life.

All of this has a purpose and that purpose is to make us like Jesus and that purpose is guaranteed. So as you're struggling, that's not an indication that you're not saved. It's an indication that God is changing you to make you more like Christ.

If you weren't possessing the Holy Spirit in virtue of your regeneration, you wouldn't care about all of this stuff. You would just be on a different trajectory. You'd be on a trajectory according to the flesh.

I remember a copaster I had, Kirk Dallin, when I was at Hope Chapel and interviewed him once, he had a great testimony. I interviewed him once in the air and he said, "You know, before I became a Christian, I never struggled with sin. I never struggled with temptation." In other words, he didn't struggle with it.

He just did it. He just gave in to it. It's after you become a Christian that the struggle really begins and the struggle lasts your entire life.

This is captured so powerfully in this chapter in Romans 8. Well, thank you so much for your question. If you have a question for us, send it on Twitter with the hashtag #STRS. Or go through our website, just go to our hashtag #STRS podcast page and you'll find a link there for where you can send a question.

And we can't promise we'll give you an entire show for your question, but sometimes it works out that way. Sometimes it does work. This was important in a lot of different levels.

All right. Thanks a lot. We appreciate your listening to the show.

This is Amy Hall and Greg Cockel for Stand to Reason.

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