Falling isn’t fun. You can get injured falling. Falling spiritually is even worse. Christians are able to fall, but Jesus is able to keep you from falling.
The Christian walk is fraught with obstacles, temptations, and attacks. It’s no wonder, since the ‘god if this age’ is the devil himself. Without giving him too much credit, the devil is against God and all God stands for. That includes God’s people. It’s God’s people that the devil wants to harm. He’s constructed entire systems of deception to entrap, enslave and confuse people, especially those who seek after God.
The good news is that in Christ, the Christian is above all of these things. There are may scriptures which state this, of which I will present a few here.
I John 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father.
“The wicked one” is, of course, the devil.
I John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
The “them” in I John 4:4 refers to the “spirit of the Antichrist” which I John 4:3 says is, “already in the world.”
Now watch this correlation between Jesus and believers (Christians). Jesus says we have peace because he himself has overcome the world.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Because we are Christ’s through the new birth (being born again), we also have overcome the world:
I John 5: 4 For whoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
Did you catch that? Through faith, which is God-given, we overcome the world as well. That’s because Jesus has already overcome the world.
But can Christians “fall?” What does the Bible say about that? Jesus said that one way believers can fall is to follow the erroneous teachings of religions leaders.
Matthew 15:4 Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Surely wrong doctrine can cause a Christian to fall. We can protect ourselves from that by studying God’s Word for ourselves, letting the scriptures interpret themselves to us.
I Timothy 2:14 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Knowing, understanding and believing “the Word of truth” is the only way to keep ourselves from falling in this way. When we believe lies, we open ourselves up to even more deception and when we are deceived we cannot stand. If you aren’t standing, you’ve fallen. The word “show” in I Timothy 2:14 means, “exhibit.” Exhibit yourself approved by learning God’s Word and accurately applying it in your life.
Another way we can fall is in our day-to-day life. “Falling” indicates some kind of failure because didn’t make man “to fall.” When we fail to walk as Christ walked, with the love of God in our hearts and minds, we sin. Sin is failing to live according to God’s standard, thus we ‘fall’ in terms of our walk with him.
Paul warns born again Christians to take heed in their walks that they don’t fall.
I Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Let me make it perfectly clear that all of us will, many times in our lives, fall. We will fail either to adhere to God’s written Word or we will fail to listen to him in our daily lives and do what he wants us to do. It’s inevitable because we have not yet been perfected.
But in no way will you who are Christian ever be able to fall so far that you are separated from God. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.
Romans 8;31-36
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Who is ‘the accuser of the brethren?” That would be the devil. But God assures us that nobody can bring any charge against us because he’s forgiven us already in Christ. Nobody, including God or Jesus, will ever condemn us once we are in the family of God.
Notice the phrase, “more than conquerors” in Romans 8 above. That phrase in the Greek is, “hupernikeo.” Let’s see what that word means. I’ll use the two most widely (and credible) Bible dictionaries to get the definition.
Strong’s #5245: hupernikao (pronounced hoop-er-nik-ah’-o)
from 5228 and 3528; to vanquish beyond, i.e. gain a decisive victory:–more than conquer.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: hupernikaō
To be more than a conqueror, to gain a surpassing victory
We are “super conquerors” in Christ!
And learn this: The word “nikeo” is the same word used in those verses in I John we looked at earlier, that is translated “overcome.” Can you see the perfection of how God uses words in his Word?
Standing and State
Many Christians are worried about falling because they fear separation from God either now or eternally. All those teachings are contrary to God’s Word and are very destructive. To help you understand these things clearly, I will use the terms “standing” and “state.”
When you confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, you receive God’s gift of holy spirit. This is called the ‘new birth’ or being ‘born again.’ That is what makes you a child of the living God. This is your ‘standing’ with God. You are God’s child and his seed will remain in you until the day you die or the Lord returns for Christians. Your “standing” is son-ship — you are a spiritual child of God by birth (the new birth of holy spirit). Your standing with God will never change once you’ve been born again.
Your “state” however can and will fluctuate. When you sin, however inadvertently, your “state” is affected. The word the Bible uses to describe a “good state” is, “fellowship.” When you do what God wants you to do, you walk in fellowship with him and with his son Jesus Christ. When you sin, that fellowship is affected. Consistent sin results in not walking in fellowship with God.
When we confess those sins, God forgives us yet again through Christ and God restores that state of fellowship to what it should be.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I John is God’s love letter to us. Read it and see how often the word “love” is used! It’s also our “fellowship manual” because it describes how we are able to stay in fellowship with God and our Lord Jesus. It’s one of my favorite books in the Bible.
What To Do When You Fall
So what do you do when you fall? Do you drown in misery and self-condemnation? Do you stay on the ground licking your wounds? Do you give up thinking you’ll never stand again?
I hope not.
Even a toddler, when he or she falls, gets right back up again and starts over. Are you wiser than a toddler? Then what will you do if and when you fall?
Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Falling 7 times indicates a just man is a perfect failure! But he rises up again, just like that toddler.
If you think you’re a perfect failure as a Christian, don’t worry. When you fall, just get up again and start over. There’s a better way though.
Jesus said he is able to keep us from falling in the first place:
Jude 1:24,25 Now unto him that is powerful to keep you without sin and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, now and in all the ages. Amen.
How does he do that?
As a born again believer, you have the gift of holy spirit within. Holy spirit is your “power base” to keep you on track and to equip you to do whatever it is God wants you to do. There is no temptation known to man that you cannot overcome by relying on God’s spirit within you. There’s no outside attack that can cause you to fall when you trust God to hold you up. If you are killed, God will raise you up again when Christ returns; he doesn’t consider that a ‘fall’ in the terms we are speaking of. You are safe in Christ for all of eternity.
The message I’m presenting here is that you don’t have to fear the world or anything or anyone in the world once you are Christ’s. He overcame the world and the devil, the Antichrist spirit and more. You too, in Christ, have overcome those same things. All you need to do is 1) learn God’s Word accurately and 2) apply it diligently.
Applying God’s Word means to walk in fellowship with him. Six times we are told in the book of I John, God’s ‘love letter’ to us about fellowship, that we have overcome the devil, the world, the spirits in the world and the spirit of Antichrist. That this is significant there is no doubt. Walking in fellowship is the very key to manifesting this victory we have in Christ that “overcomes” all.
God is able to keep you from falling, just look to him. Do your part and he definitely will do his! Learn God’s Word and walk in fellowship with your Father and your Lord Jesus Christ.