There’s No Such Thing As an Ex-Christian
Or Is There?
For the past several months, I’ve noticed a lot of articles about people leaving Christianity or are in the process of deconstructing it. Many labeled themselves as “ex-Christian.”
What do all these mean?
Deconstructing Christianity is:
where Christians rethink their faith and jettison previously held beliefs, sometimes to the point of no longer identifying as Christians. (Wikipedia)
To put this in simpler terms, to deconstruct means you’re questioning whether your faith has been based on something true or false.
Even though this movement seems to be based on a “new idea,” though really, it’s something that man has struggled with since the beginning.
After all, to be a Christian requires us to put our faith in something, someone that we can not see.
Life can get downright difficult at times. And for many, it’s during these times we begin to question the validity of what we believe in; hence sending us on the journey of deconstructing everything we believed in to discover the truth.
A journey that has led many to walk away from their faith.
But — is there such a thing as an ex-Christian?
Let’s look at God’s Word as He holds the final say on this matter.
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. (Hebrews 6:4–6 NIV)
According to the above passage, once you’ve confessed that Jesus is Lord and accepted Him as your Savior the Holy Spirit will have entered in you, and you are then sealed as His own forever.
This passage also warns true believers that yes, they can turn their backs on Jesus and not lose their salvation — but at some point, perhaps when you continually ignore the urges of the Holy Spirit by the hardening of your heart, the door to repentance and the opportunity to rekindle your relationship to Him, will close for good. This does not mean you’ve lost your salvation; it means you’ve become a “lost cause” in that your choices has dishonored Jesus and forever ruined your fellowship with Him. Woe to this Christian who one day comes face to face with Jesus!
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And 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 pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27–29 KJV)
Those who are believers in Christ will always be a child of God — even if you choose to walk away from Him.
In the end, you will face Him and will give an account of your life as His child. What say you then?
Awkward moment? That would be an understatement.
A genuine ex-Christian is one who claimed that they’re a Christian in name only (meaning they never truly accepted Jesus to be the Savior who died for his or her sins, they never repented of their sins to Him, never acknowledged that He’d risen from the dead, hence never received the gift and seal of the Holy Spirit) but lived a life that outwardly portrayed them as a Christian (by religiously attending services, performing good works, etc) — who then decided to leave Christianity.
You too will meet Him face to face in the end, but it will be a sad day for you:
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me!’ (Matthew 7:21–23 ESV)
To answer the question: Is there such a thing as an ex-Christian?
Sadly, yes there is.
