1. Once a sinner has been brought to the faith and leads a godly walk of life, what additional step is essential?

 "Ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." - Saint Matthew 10, 22.

 A most important question relating to the Christian life is that which concerns the believer's preservation in faith unto the end.

2. Is it possible for a believer to fall away from the faith and finally be lost?

 Yes it is.  We know this because the Bible first of all warns against this very danger in such passages as: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!" - 1 Corinthians 10, 12.

 "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unblief, in departing from the living God." - Hebrews 3, 12.

 In the second place, Scripture gives us the example of believers who fell away: Saul and Demas.

3. Is it possible for one who has fallen away to be restored to faith in Christ?

 It most assuredly is, for Romans 10, 17, states without any exception: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

4. Who preserves the believer in faith unto his end?

 "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1, 6.

 "Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." - 1 Saint Peter 1, 5.

 "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pl.uck them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one." - Saint John 10, 28-30.

 All who endure in faith to the end do so alone by God's grace.

5. How can I be sure that I will persevere in faith until the end?

 "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life!" - Revelation 2, 10.

 By simply trusting God's grace, rather than personal merit or works.  In the hands of almighty God, your salvation is absolutely secure.  Scripture takes your salvation out of your own weak and helpless hands and places it into God's almighty and faithful hands.  "The Lord is faithful, who shall establish your, and keep you from evil." = 2 Thessalonians 3, 3.

6. What aids does Holy Scripture give to keep you in the true faith?

 "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." - Romans 1, 16.

 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." - Romans 10, 17.

 The believer will persevere in faith if he faithfully uses God's means of grace, the Word and the Sacraments.  In these God offers and imparts constant grace and strength for abiding with Christ in true faith.

 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." - Saint Matthew 26, 41.

 To the diligent and conscientious use of God's Word must be joined also zealous and ardent prayer, since God has promised to bestow His blessings to those who continue in prayer.

7. If God preserves the believer in true faith, how is it that not all are faithful unto death?

 Here, once again, we stand before a question which human reason cannot answer.  The Bible simply stresses two vital facts:

 1. Those who endure to faith to the end do so alone by divine grace.

 2. Those who fall from faith do so through their own fault, because they wilfully reject God's will and the operation of the Holy Spirit.

 Human reason cannot comprehend that both of these clear Bible doctrines can be true.  Scripture itself does not answer the perplexing question.  We must simply follow the Bible in child-like faith and declare with Saint Paul, "O man, who art thou that repliest against God?  Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus?" - Romans 9, 20.
 
 

Test Paper - Lesson 17

1. Complete the following Bible passage: "He that ........................................................................
................................................................. shall be saved." (Saint Matthew 24, 13)

2. Is it possible for a believer to fall away from the faith and finally be lost? ...................................

3. Can a person who has once fallen away be restored to faith in Christ? .......................................

4. Memorize the following Bible passage: "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life." (Revelation 2, 10)

5. Give two means which Holy Scripture grants us to keep believers in the true faith.
a. ..................................................................................................................................................

b. ..................................................................................................................................................

6. Is the following statement true or false: The fact that not all believers are faithful unto death involves a mystery of our faith which human reason cannot comprehend. ......................................

7. Which two facts, seemingly inconsistent, does Holy Scripture stress regarding our preservation in the faith?
a. ..................................................................................................................................................

b. ..................................................................................................................................................

8. Complete the following Bible passage: "................................... and ..........................................
That ye enter not into..................................................................................................................."
(Saint Matthew 26, 41)

9. Give any two reasons why you believe it is possible that a believer fall away from the faith.
a. ..................................................................................................................................................

b. ..................................................................................................................................................

10. Complete the following Bible passage: "I am not ashamed of the ............................................

......................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................. (Romans 1, 16)

Make every effort to fill in the answers from memory.  If you are not sure of certain answers, you may look them up in the lesson.  Your paper will be graded according to the following standard: 10 correct: perfect; 9 correct: excellent; 8 correct: very good; 7 correct: good.