My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)
Our mission is not just to reach people who have never experienced the message of Jesus. Yes, there are still hundreds of people groups around the world who have never heard of Jesus who need to hear. And even in American society there are some who are completely unfamiliar with the person of Christ. Some identify themselves as atheists, pagans, even Satanists. But the truth is that many of the people in our spheres of influence have heard the gospel and may have even responded positively. We can’t forget that they are part of our mission too!
Parable of the Sower
Christ’s Parable of the Sower (Matt 13) tells of four different hearers of the gospel message. The first one hears the message, but just doesn’t understand it, and so, the evil one (Satan) snatches away the Word sown into his heart. The second hearer immediately receives the Word with joy and endures for a while but never gets deeply rooted. As a result, when he realizes that identifying with Jesus means social marginalization or persecution, he falls away. The third hearer is also unfruitful because the Word is choked by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. In other words, he sets out to be Christian but ends up letting the world squeeze him into its ways. The fourth and last hearer is the one we want to be. He hears the Word and understands it. He puts it into practice and bears much fruit.
Many people around us could be described as one of the first three hearers. They may have grown up in the church and heard the gospel many times. They may have even experienced the power of the Spirit at a youth retreat. Others have attended a wedding or funeral and felt their hearts burning during the preaching. They heard God calling them and they received it with joy. Some have gone to Christmas productions, have read Christian books, have watched Christian movies, have been prayed for, and so on, and tasted the gospel of Jesus in a way that positively moved them. Many stepped into the path of faith and started growing.
Abandoned towers
What happens to many people (3 out of 4 according to Jesus) is that they hear the life-giving gospel message and begin to build a faith tower. But, when trials come, they abandon it. This falling away isn’t always back into a lifestyle of drugs and crime. Oftentimes, a person of faith wanders into nominalism. They drift into mild disobedience. They are good folks who deep down do not do the will of God. Some who start out believing in Jesus wander so far away that they don’t even identify as Christians anymore. Some have wandered from the faith into a false gospel. It happens all the time. I have baptized hundreds of excited-about-Jesus people over the years, and many of them have, sadly, wandered away from the Truth. Part of our mission is to restore them. As James says in the verse above, we are called to bring the wandering person back and so save his soul from death.
Rabbit trail
I think it’s necessary to go down a theological rabbit trail at this point because of how deeply our theology impacts our mission efforts. What are we to make of the first three hearers that Jesus describes? It’s clear enough that these fruitless short term followers will not inherit eternal life in the end. Most theologians would agree on that. The real question is whether the experience of faith they had was genuine. Were they saved? Regenerated? In Christ? Born of the Spirit? Theologians split over this question. Some say that these hearers were never truly saved. Others say they were saved and fell away to destruction.
Many theologians believe that once you are saved you are always saved. It’s impossible to lose your salvation. Others believe you can be saved and then forfeit your salvation by disobedience and unbelief. The reason why the first group strongly opposes the ideas of the second group is that they argue salvation is a free gift. In other words, if perseverance is necessary for salvation then they would argue that our salvation would be dependent on something we do, namely, our perseverance.
The thinking of the first group deeply resonates with me, however, I believe that unless a person finishes the tower, perseveres and overcomes—he will not be saved in the end. The ability to persevere I believe is part of the gift of salvation. That’s why Scripture says we “were saved” and “are being saved” and “will be saved.” Salvation isn’t just a one-time prayer experience at an altar at youth camp. We receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith and we hold onto the gift of salvation by grace through faith.
Real danger?
These theological realities will determine how we think of people who wander from the faith. I’ve noticed that because the wanderer loved Jesus as a kid, or because they experienced Christ in church, or because they served Christ vibrantly for a season, or because they believe in God but just aren’t really bearing fruit right now—we think they are okay. I mean, we are sad that they are not enjoying the fullness of Christ, but we don’t consider them in danger of hell. Even those who fall back into drugs and sexual promiscuity and crime, we think are saved because, after all, “they love Jesus deep down.”
But do they?
Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. Jesus taught that only the one who hears and obeys His words will be like a house built on a rock. Will people who hear the message of Jesus and wander back into sin be warmly welcomed into glory on the day of judgment? Will people who were raised in the faith but slowly cast off the way of Jesus for a pop culture worldview be saved in the end because they said prayers as a child? Will pastors who served the church twenty years but then commit adultery and refuse to repent be saved? Will the young lady who was a seeming pillar in the church but drifts away into nominalism and hypocrisy be one of the saints that go marching into glory?
No simple answers
These are hard questions to answer. We know the thief on the cross squeaked into paradise at the last minute. We know God’s mercy is boundless. We know that the Lord never leaves and never forsakes us. But Scripture does not offer hope to the person who hears the Word and does not obey it. Christ does not promise that it will go well for the person who is lavished with grace but then stubbornly follows his own heart. Even those who escape the corruption of the world and are then entangled again into it, God says it would be better for that person if he never knew the way of righteousness (2 Peter 2:20-22).
I’ve been studying the Word seriously for over 32 years at this point and have thought much about these things. There’s a reason why good theologians disagree—it’s not crystal clear. There’s a tension and mystery to these matters. We have to be careful not to be too simplistic about our theology. We have to be careful not to be so black and white with our theology that we dismantle the fear of the Lord. I don’t claim to understand how all these biblical paradoxes work. I’m not God. But one thing I know is that a person who has wandered from the faith into nominalism, hypocrisy, heresy, disobedience, or unbelief, is in great danger of losing their soul. That’s why James is urging us to bring back the wanderer and save his soul from death. That’s why Hebrews warns,
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
It’s easy for me to interpret these verses in such a way that I just conclude that if someone deliberately keeps on sinning then it shows they were never truly saved in the first place. That may be true for some. But I believe that others are truly regenerated but are wandering down a path leading to destruction. And God wants to use me to wake them up and bring them back. God wants to use us to save these wandering souls from death.
Look around
Think about people in your life. Those of you receiving these letters each week about mission I imagine are pretty serious about the kingdom of God. Likely, you are very involved in the life and mission of your local church. You’ve watched people receive the Word with joy and then you’ve watched them fall away. You’ve seen sweet church kids fall away hard when they hit the young adult years. You’ve witnessed nice Christian girls attending Christian college fall away and no longer identify as Christian. You’ve watched Jesus set people free from addictions only to watch them get entangled again.
As a pastor, I’ve seen so many wander away. Almost always, their wandering is accompanied by a powerful delusion into thinking they are enlightened. They usually think that they have grown into a more mature and less narrow understanding of things. They feel like they have left toxic religion and now adhere to a new and improved more inclusive worldview. I’ve seen people fall back into a lifestyle of drugs and stealing but think that they are still tight with Jesus. I’ve seen “believers” reject half of what’s in the Bible (sin, hell, judgment) but think they are heaven bound. I’ve heard hypocrites without the Holy Spirit talk as if the favor of God is upon them.
Bring them back!
May God put wisdom in each of you to fight for those who have wandered from the Truth. Don’t for a minute think they are okay if they are not living a victorious overcoming life of faith. They are in danger. May God use your prayers, your words, your love, and your life, to reach them. May God flow through you as His instrument of restoration. May God speak through you to call them home. Oh that we would bring them back and save their souls from death. May the Lord fill us with compassion to save those staggering toward death. Some who have wandered away could die before the end of the year. May we be urgent in this great mission!!! God has powerfully equipped us to bring back wandering souls. Let’s do it.