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NASB | Luke 8:13 "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 8:13 "Those on the rocky soil are the people who, when they hear, receive and welcome the word with joy; but these have no firmly grounded root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation they fall away [from Me and abandon their faith]. |
Subject: What does it mean to "fall away"? |
Bible Note: Dear budderfligh, You wrote, "If I'm following your line of reasoning correctly you're saying the person wasn't saved in the first place." Regeneration is not something that is visible. We can't see it directly, nor can we see it being done (John 3:8) -- not even in ourselves. What we can say is that a saved person can't help but manifest their salvation in visible ways. Just like lost people can't help but manifest their worldly lives. Think of it this way: Regeneration changes the "DNA" of who we are. Every plant has DNA that dictates explicitly what kind of plant it will be. We understand this, because we don't go try to find apples growing from from a pine tree, or peaches growing from a cotton wood tree. Instead, every tree bears the kind of fruit dictated by its DNA. That's what Jesus is saying: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:15-20 ESV) There will always be fruit of some kind. You'll know about the DNA from the fruit. For example, people come along and assert all kinds of things. They say, "I am a born again, Bible believer. I am not like those people who merely make religious professions." Okay. We smile and take that at face value. After all, there will always be visible fruit. If the Holy Spirit is really resident in their lives, they will love the truth, and recognize it when they hear it from others (John 8:42-47). They grow in holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Hebrews 12:11). They hunger for the Word and are being transformed by the Word (Matthew 5:6). They are humble and teachable (1 Peter 5:5). They love to apply the truth of Scripture to themselves (2 Thessalonians 2:10). They focus on God and His glory. On the other hand, if they are just professing like those they declaim, they will manifest themselves more like an unbeliever. They refuse instruction (Jeremiah 17:23), and reject the wisdom of other believers (Zechariah 7:11). Instead of reflecting the character of Christ in their words, there is only pride, error, and contention (Proverbs 14:3; 18:6). They try to correct everyone around them, while refusing to apply correction to themselves (Proverbs 26:7; Luke 11:46). They focus on themselves and their own glory. This is one of the reasons that the Scriptures go to such trouble to characterize the true disciple (see post #153858). So that we shall know them. But the real value isn't in citing the genuine fruit of repentance in others. The real value is being able to do it in ourselves. Paul wrote, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV) The more we really know the Lord, the more astounded we will be by His holiness, and the more we will recognize our own utter inadequacies. But His presence and work will always yield observable evidence as we are transformed more and more into the image of the Son. In Him, Doc |