Falling Away From God?

October 21st, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

The Bible is clear that once salvation is granted to a person, after trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he/she can never lose it. Yet it is also clear there are some who profess to know Christ who do in fact fall away from their faith. Did they lose their salvation? Or, perhaps they were never truly saved? An apostate is one who professes faith in Christ one day but who “falls away,” the meaning of the term “apostasy.” Truly, some in the Church today are in danger of falling away from the faith, of apostatizing, because their faith is not genuine. This is why the writer of Hebrews says in v. 12, “Take care brethren that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” Like the Israelites who came out of Egyptian slavery and who chose death instead of life, phony Christians are in danger of the same.

Although the writer addressed his audience as “brethren” in v. 12, a bit different than “holy brethren” in v. 1, there likely nothing to this. To try to distinguish from within the author’s audience a section of “holy brethren” from the simple “brethren” is neither necessary nor possible. The author warns both designations the same way. In 3:1-11, he informs the “holy brethren” that Moses is inferior to Jesus Christ, so to abandon their Christian faith and return to the Law of Moses would be absurd. The author thus encourages the “holy brethren” to “hold fast [their] confidence and the boast of their [their] hope [in Christ] firm until the end” (v. 6). Then he reminds the “holy brethren” that their forefathers, who seemingly believed God during the days of Moses after the exodus from Egypt, that they fell away from their faith. So, if the “holy brethren” in 3:1-11 are somehow distinguished from the “brethren” in v. 12, then why were the former warned not to fall away along with the latter? If they were truly saved, why the warning?

Both the author and his audience were Jewish, so they were all “brethren” in that sense but not necessarily in a spiritual sense. Some were saved by faith alone in Christ alone, some were not. Both were in the Church and had thus professed faith in Christ. But some were considering a departure back to Moses. The Apostle Paul, a Jew, also referred to his fellow Jews as “brethren” when he preached the gospel to them as unbelievers (Acts 13:38; 22:1; 28:17); they were physical “brethren,” not necessarily spiritual brethren since they were not followers of Christ.

The urgency in the author’s tone in v. 12 is seen in his address to his Jewish “brethren,” professing to love Christ, to “take care” (Gr. blepete), insisting they not fall short of submitting to Jesus as Lord after having seen and heard (cf. 2:3-4)—the same warning giving to the “holy brethren” in vv. 1-11. He apparently knew that some were flirting with the notion of going back to Judaism in favor of Moses over Jesus. Warning them not to “fall away” (Gr. apostanai)—“to rebel; abandon,” the author strongly exhorted them to remain firm in their Christian faith—Jesus over Moses. To abandon Christ would be to “fall away” from the “living God”—turning away from eternal life to eternal death which is found in the Law. This is due to the fact that when one turns from Jesus, they turn from the living God, for Jesus is God. This God is not dead but arose from the dead. How absurd it would be to turn away from life and choose death!

What might cause a person who professes faith in Christ one day only to turn from Him the next? The author says that this kind of apostasy stems “from an evil, unbelieving heart.” One who is “evil” (Gr. ponēros) is one who is morally wicked. And to be “unbelieving” (Gr. apistia) is to lack faith. What is amazing is that some within the Church of Jesus Christ can be both evil and unbelieving while at the same time being mistaken for Christians! But what was true then continues to be true in today’s Church. It is therefore expedient that pastors preach to their “brethren” warning them to abide in Christ (John 15:4) and so ensure their eternal salvation.