Can one fall from grace?

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

Pay attention! I,Paul, am saying that if you accept circumcision then Christ will no longer be of value to you. I’ll say it again, that every man that accepts circumcision must keep the whole law. As a result, you who seek to be justified by the law would be separated from Christ. In other words, fallen away from grace.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians encouraging them to not be led away by a “different gospel” (1:6). He shares his personal testimony (1:10-2:10) and other events including his rebuke of Peter and Barnabas who had been swayed by Jewish Christians holding Mosaic traditions above the command of Christ (2:11-14).

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

So, together with him [God, the Father], we implore that you don’t receive the gift of God in vain. God through Isaiah said, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Listen! Right now is the favorable time, and now is the day of salvation.

Paul is literally imploring some at the church of Corinth to “be reconciled to God” (5:20) after reminding them that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (5:10)He quotes here from Isaiah 49:8, which goes on to speak about God giving His people “a covenant…to establish the land” and that “springs of water will guide them” (vs 10).

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Brethern, take great care in case any of you might have an evil, unbelieving heart/mind that leads you to fall away from the living God. Avoid being hardened by sins deceit by encouraging each other every day, as long as you draw breath.

Letter to Jewish Christians that is calling on them to “hold fast” in spite of persecution. The main argument is the “better” things that exist for them through Christ Jesus. Chapter three deals specifically with Jesus’ superiority to Moses himself (vss 1-6) and goes on to compare the followers of Moses to those of Jesus. The writer quotes from Psalms 95:7-11 (vss 7-11) where the writer there uses an even more ancient example from Numbers 14:22 and the wilderness wanderings. He goes on to explain (interpret) those who rebelled (vss 16-19) as those that followed Moses from Egypt but “provoked” God and “sinned”, thereby dying in the wilderness (vss 16-17). As a result, they did not “enter his rest” since they were “disobedient” (vs 18), which is the same as “unbelief” (vs 19).

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

Make sure that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. Take care not to let bitterness grows to make you defiled, or that you become sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who was shortsighted in selling his birthright for a meal, since later, when he was sorrowful when realized his mistake, he was rejected and found no more opportunity to repent.

The writer’s summation (chapters 12-13) of a letter dedicated to encouraging Christians to “hold fast” to their faith and “run with endurance the race” that is before them (vs 1). He implores them to strive for holiness since “without which no one will see the Lord” (vs 14) and concludes with two examples from the Old Testament. The first reference is the “root of bitterness” which comes from Deut 29:18-19 where the children of Israel are being warned about hearing God’s word but pridefully saying to themselves, “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.” The second example is Esau and him selling his birthright to his brother Jacob for a pot of stew (Gen 25) and later regretting it when his blessing from Issac was irredeemable (Gen 27).

Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.

When God tells a righteous person that he will live, if he trusts in his own “righteousness” and does injustice, he will surely die and none of his righteousness will be remembered.

God is speaking to the people of Judah through His prophet Ezekiel and making it clear through this section that their individual life or death will be the result of how they live (either unrighteously or righteously). The issue, God says, is “they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain” (vs 31).

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

So I [Paul] don’t run without purpose or box like one beating air. Rather, I work to keep my body under control so that after all my preaching to others, I do not end up disqualified.

Paul is admonishing the Corinthians throughout 8:1-11:1 to temper their “rights” and freedoms in Christ for the sake of others’ conscience. His main point through these chapters is that they should “endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (vs 12). He wants that they all finish the “race” and win the “imperishable wreath” (vs 25).