By Brandon Sutton
The writer to the Hebrews says, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). This statement refers to judgment. If you spurn God’s name, you do not want to fall into His hands.
On the other hand, you also don’t want to do fall out of the hands of God. In his letter to the Romans, three times Paul says, “God gave them up” to sinful desires and actions (1:24, 26, 28). He’s referring to those people who reject God and worship created things (1:18-23). The point being made is that when we reject God for our sin, God will turn us over to our sin. In other words, we fall out of the hands of God.
I’ve seen this lived out practically many times. When people choose to live in sin and want nothing to do with the Lord, God will grant them their request. He will give them over to their wickedness. The problem is, when we push God away, we begin to become the moral monsters we truly are. The good within us comes from God. Paul said nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh (Romans 7:18). The only good in Paul came from God. So, when we push God away to pursue our sin, we’re pushing out the only source of moral goodness in our lives. The only thing left, then, is our sinfulness, and it just gets worse and worse.
This is why drugs addicts start by smoking marijuana and end up on heroin. Those addicted to pornography begin with “soft porn” and progress to hardcore videos and even images of abuse and rape. We’re never neutral in our sin. Either we’re fighting against it or we’re falling deeper into it.
Thankfully, God is willing to restore the repentant. Jesus said, all who come to me, I will never cast out (John 6:37). And those who truly come to Christ will never fall away (John 6:39). They are forever safe in the arms of God.