When Someone Walks Away: Understanding True Faith
September 1, 2025
A Plowman’s Academy student wrote a note questioning if a person who walked away from their faith had truly been a Christian. Someone she greatly admired departed from their faith and it shook her. Here is our response:
It is a serious bump in the road when someone you have admired, trusted, and looked to for spiritual guidance has seemingly walked away from their faith and left you scrambling to be certain your faith is real and doesn’t fade away. By your words of admiration for your friend, it sounds like he has made a lasting impact on your life.
As always, God’s Word has the answer. Jeremiah 17:9 is familiar:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
We can readily agree that our own heart is deceitful and wicked, but struggle to believe that people we admire also have deceitful and wicked hearts. In fact, Matthew 7:22-23 tells us that many will deceive themselves into thinking they have eternal life, but will be rejected.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
The apostle Paul faced a similar situation. Demas was a fellow laborer with Paul (Phil 1:24) and was in Rome during Paul’s first imprisonment (Col 4:14). Yet in 2 Timothy 4:10, we read:
“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…”
To be associated with Paul during the first century was no small thing. Demas stood with Paul…until he didn’t.
At the last supper, the disciples reclined around the table. Jesus told them that one of them would betray Him.
“And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’ And He answered and said, ‘He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray Me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of Him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born.’ Then Judas, which betrayed Him, answered and said, ‘Master, is it I?’ He said unto him, ‘Thou hast said’” (Matthew 26: 22-25).
None of the twelve knew which one of them would betray Jesus. They didn’t whisper to each other that Jesus was likely talking about Judas Iscariot. Instead, each of them doubted themselves and began to ask Jesus if they would be the betrayer.
Two avenues of thought exist regarding those who, like Demas, Judas, or your friend, give evidence of commitment to Christ and later openly reject Him.
1. Some think these people had the appearance of life but were not truly born again – like the seeds in the parable which sprouted but did not bear fruit, and then died off.
2. Others believe that people can truly be saved and then reject their salvation.
In your search for answers, set aside the things that you believe to be true about your friend and consider the following verses:
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” (John 15:16).
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:11-14).
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19).
“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).
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
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