The recent reports of Christian leaders abandoning their faith came as a surprise and shock to everyone, ministers, and fellow believers alike. There have been several reactions shared but ministers impart the same advice to Christians and that’s to remain steadfast in their faith in the wake of these defections.
Pastor Jon Piper, founder and leader of desiringgod.org and author of several Christian books including “Don’t Waste Your Life,” shares the same sentiment. In his interview at the Sing! Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, he shares what he believes is the reason believers are walking away from their faith. He says it boils down to the mindset of “self-stability” instead of having a sense of “God-stability.”
Piper believes that these prominent Christian leaders seem to “call into question the doctrine of eternal security” that made them abandon their faith. He reiterates that believers are “secure in Christ” but their “security is totally in the hands of God.”
“Nobody falls out. That’s why I believe in eternal security. Between foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification, nobody will be missing. None. That’s rock-solid security in assurance,” Piper explained when asked about these renunciations of faith during the “Ask Pastor John” segment of his interview.
In the past weeks, John Harris, author of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” surprised the public when he announced his divorce and thereafter his transition to atheism. Hillsong singer and writer Marty Sampson followed up this shocking news with a revelation of his own. He wrote on Instagram that it doesn’t bother him at all that he is losing his faith.
Despite these disheartening events, Piper urges believers to press on and continually uphold the Scripture and pray for God’s guidance and his security. He encourages Christians to remain faithful when faced with challenges that threaten to break their resolve. He reminds believers to keep God in their lives as a sovereign God and to remember that God “will keep us” no matter what happens.