“The most dangerous sin of all is the presumption of righteousness.”
– Martin Luther

“Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!”
– Psalm 19:13

You know the heartbreaking story all too well.

It has been told a hundred different ways, concerning a hundred different people. It asks one simple question that Jesus followers forever wonder:

“Is it possible for a person to have once professed the Christian faith, enjoyed Christian fellowship, and even engaged in Christian witness but over time they have chosen to rebel against the light they have known and behaved as both hypocrites and enemies of Christ to such a degree they are cut off forever from the eternal life found in Christ?” 

In other words, is there a red line you can cross with God? In ordination councils this topic is often explored through this familiar stream of questioning:

• What is the “unforgivable sin” in Matthew 12:31-32?
• What does Jesus mean when he says, “I never knew you” in Matthew 7:21-23?
• In Hebrews 6:4-6, how can you share in the Holy Spirit and then be lost?

I will say, from my theological perspective, only God knows who are his elect. There are some things we will never be privy to, and I believe it is impossible to ever “fully” know beyond the shadow of a doubt who is really his? That is why the individual believer is exhorted to continue to “examine yourself” to see if you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). There is also some sense in which you can, through consistent obedience that is born of faith, make your calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).

But apostasy (falling away) happens – –  and we must never minimize it!

One writer commenting on the book of Hebrews 6:4-6 says, “The danger of apostasy, it must be emphasized, is real, not imaginary; otherwise this epistle with its high-sounding admonitions must be dismissed as trifling, worthless, and ridiculous. Certainly, the situation of apostasy is one of extreme gravity.”

It will be a terrible day for those who thought they were “in” finding they are actually “out”.

But face it, it is not your job to judge who this will be. Oh sure we can test fruit, “Is there love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. . . ?“ But God has never given us the job of deciding exactly who deserves to be “blotted out” from the book of life. We never know what God is doing behind the curtains of his mysterious sovereignty. That is why Paul asks,  “Why do you pass judgment on your brother?” (Romans 14:10)

So instead of acting as if we have special access to God’s secret wedding list, all we can do is warn obvious acts and attitudes that smell like rebellion. And I think our warning needs to be very simple by quoting another verse in Hebrews 4:7 –

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Simple thought, yet troubling. If you hear him, and you choose not to respond to him – – hardening will happen. Like bacon grease, if you don’t keep the heat on it, a layer of crust naturally forms. A hard heart is a stubborn heart: Not willing to budge or take advice, refusing to mourn and grieve over personal sin. If you have a hard heart you probably are known by others as “indifferent.” Living with that perpetual “Who cares?” attitude.

Well, God does.

In the book of Samuel, God was furious at Saul’s indifference and said to him, “Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, presumption as idolatry.” That means Saul in his arrogance stopped seeking God’s advice, and like the pagan idolaters around him, invented a god of his own making. In Saul’s case, the idol he erected was himself. In 1 Samuel 14:12 it says he even built a monument to his own greatness.

This action grieved the heart of God, which means it made him sick to his stomach. So he rejected Saul as his king. The God of grace actually reached a point where he was done with him “once and for all.” Do you think it is possible for God to reach that point with a professing believer? Can a person’s heart grow so hard that God is done with them?

In Romans 9:16-18, Paul says that God allowed Pharaoh’s heart to grow hard for a purpose. If you were to go back to his story found in Exodus 7 there seems to be a hardening progression:

• 7:2 “God says he will harden Pharaoh’s heart through giving him evidence of his existence and rule over the world.”
• 7:13 “His personal hardening began when he refused to listen.”
• 8:8 “Pharaoh was sensitive toward God when he was in trouble.”
• 8:15 “His heart hardened again when the trouble was over and there was respite.”
• 8:27 “He allowed worship of God only when it was convenient for him.”
• 8:23, 9:7, 9:12 “The cycle of trouble and respite continued, but it only made the hardening worse.”
• 12:31 “Pharaoh finally reached his limit and no longer wanted any trace of God around.”
• 14:5 “The hardening process ended at hatred of God.”

In real time, Pharaoh’s hardening was a process of human choices and responses. Even though God knew it would happen in Exodus 4:21, it took years to fully flesh itself out. 

This process of hardening is still happening; it includes God’s sovereign will working upon man’s daily choices. On man’s side, hardening begins when a person refuses to listen to God’s word. God will then use trouble and hardship to wake someone up to their need, but if they are quick to leave God when things are good, look out!

There is also something very troubling in scripture about a hard heart: It will lead a person to sin presumptuously. That means outright sin no longer even bothers them. It is as if they can indulge in gulping down straight shots of evil and iniquity while shaking their fist at God shouting, “So what are you going to do about it, huh?” In Numbers 15:29-30 Moses says:

“One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you. But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel.”

In other words, in the Old Testament, there were some sins that would not be forgiven. God had enough! Wow, think about that?  A person’s heart could grow so hard it was forever lost to God. Does that still apply? If it does, doesn’t that trouble you?

Do I believe a person’s heart could grow so hard that they would be unreachable to the forgiveness and grace of God?

Honestly, I don’t know? I take comfort in one verse on this point, Acts 13:39 says, “And by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” Jesus is so much better than the law, that those sins which cast you out and cut you off are covered by his blood. Maybe that is why Hebrews 2:3 is so forceful,

“How shall we escape retribution if we neglect SUCH A GREAT SALVATION?”

If your heart is hard and today you hear his voice, don’t let it get any harder. Don’t ignore such a great Savior, such a great Salvation, which is the only Solution. But if your heart is hard,

“Who cares?”

God still does.