Is Christ Enough for You?

Colossians 2:6-10 and the Call to Walk in Christ

I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to Colossians Chapter 2. And we are going to be looking today at verses 6 through 10. Before we read, I just want to make a couple of preliminary comments.

In fact, I want to begin with a question actually. What is it that causes a person to turn away from Christ? What is it that motivates someone who has confessed, made an outward showing of belief and repentance, and maybe even throughout a period of time, seem to have bore fruit in that faith and repentance?

What is it that causes a person to turn? Well, perhaps it is because they think that they have found something better. Maybe it is the fleeting pleasure of sin that has certainly caused many men to turn from Christ for a season of pleasure and some forbidden activity.

Maybe it is the promises of a false religion. There are many people who have turned from Christ to worship other gods or to worship the God of Scripture in a way not commanded or not been to worship the God of Scripture as it were.

Sometimes people turn from Christ for the comfort of self-justification. They don't need Christ because somehow they feel like they find salvation in themselves. Whatever it is, a person allows Christ to be overshadowed and ultimately his belief is his beauty to be hidden.

Well, today as we continue our study of Colossians, what we are going to see is Paul is going to remind us that if we are truly to know salvation, if we are truly to be in Christ, what we must come to terms with is this.

Christ must be enough. Christ must be our all in all. He must be our everything. And if we are not satisfied in Him, we are then setting ourselves up to be tempted to be led astray. With that in mind, let's stand together and read verses 6 -10.

Now my intention is to get verses 6 -10 preached through today, but I also have an escape route if I get caught in verse 7 to simply end there. So my hope is to get through verse 10 because I do have a complete thought, but sometimes completed thoughts end up in two sermons.

Verse 6 begins like this. It says, Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him who is the head of all rule and authority.

Father in heaven, I thank you for your word, and now as we seek to understand your word, I pray first and foremost as always that you would keep me from error. For Lord, I am a fallible man and I am capable of preaching error, and for the sake of your name, for the sake of my conscience, and for the sake of these people who will hear this sermon, I pray that you would protect me from error.

I pray, Lord, that you would also open the hearts of your people to understand the truth. And Lord, for those who are here who do not yet know Christ, and in a group this big there must be those, I pray, Lord, that they would see Christ today as wonderful, beautiful, winsome, and desirable.

And Lord, that they would turn from their sin, and in repentance and faith, that they would turn to Christ as Savior and Lord. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. I feel like I have a little bit of a hot mic today, so if I get too loud, I'm going to end up blowing your ears out, so I'm going to be careful.

The Therefore Moment in Colossians and Romans

We've come to a very important moment in our study of Colossians. We have actually come to what is sometimes referred to as the therefore moment. Now, if you're familiar with Paul's letters, what you will find often in his letters is that he will begin by expressing great theological truths, and then at a certain point in the letter there will be a therefore moment where he takes all that he has taught up until that point, and he says, and now do this, therefore this.

And we see this like in Romans chapter 12. When you get to Romans 12, 1, we see that therefore moment, and we know that that doesn't just refer to the last few verses of chapter 11, or even to chapters 9, 10, and 11, which are all one unit in Romans, but it actually refers to everything Paul has said up until that point in Romans, because in chapter 12, verse 1, he is beginning there the application of doctrine.

He's given us 11 verses of doctrine, and now, therefore, here is the application. Well, we have a similar moment here in the book of Colossians. In the verses preceding this, Paul has addressed all kinds of different things, chapter 1 included.

He's addressed his love for the Colossians, his prayer for the Colossians. He has given them one of the most robust Christologies in all of sacred Scripture. In verses 15 to 20, he has expressed to them his desires for them, and the things that he sees in them, and even expressed because of them a sense of rejoicing because they are standing firm in the faith.

He has said many, many good things about them. And then he comes to verse 6 of chapter 2, and we see this word, therefore. Based on all that we have heard, therefore, now we come to this passage. And some have even conjectured that chapter 2, verse 6 and 7 is the thesis of the entire book.

And I'm inclined to agree at least to the idea. I'm not sure that Paul thought of it in that term, and sometimes I think we overanalyze things at times and sort of maybe force ideas in. But to say if there's one thing in the letter that he really wanted to get across, that's what the thesis is.

I think there are several things he wants to get across, but this certainly is the point in the book that summarizes what Paul is after. In fact, that's what Douglas Moo in his commentary on this passage says.

He says Paul succinctly summarizes the basic response that he wants from his readers. That's what verse 6 and 7 is. It's what Paul wants from the Colossians. And Brian Finlayson said this, he says, quote, Paul has argued for the lordship of Christ and of a believer's union with Christ through his indwelling presence.

That's the argument. Now we are getting the application that goes along with that. We come to the transitional moment where Paul is now going to say, now do this. In fact, we need to understand, and most of you, I think, know this, but there is the difference between the indicative and the imperative.

The indicative and the imperative. When we talk about that, what we're saying is what something is versus what something should be. And what we come to here, and I think I spelled imperative wrong, didn't I?

I'm looking here. E-R-A-T. Yeah, I don't want that on the line. Somebody's looking and saying, look at that guy. He can't even spell. Okay, so we have an indicative and an imperative. What that means is an indicative is something that is.

And an imperative is something that must be or something that should be. It's the difference between indicating something that exists and commanding something that should exist. And what we find is we're actually coming to the first imperative of the entire letter.

We've already gone through a chapter and a portion of the second chapter, and this is the first time where Paul is going to use a verb which has the imperative mood. It's in the idea of the imperative command.

So I do think in that sense, this does lend weight to the idea that this is the thesis. This is the idea. This is what this is about. And so we see that in verse 6. So let's look together at verse 6. It says, therefore, as you received Christ, Jesus the Lord, that's the whole sentence there.

Therefore, as you received Christ, Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. The word received is the indicative. That word is a verb, and it is in that form. It is in the present active imperative. I'm sorry, excuse me, the aorist active indicative.

And what the aorist is in the Greek is the simple past tense. It means it happened and it's done. And so he says, you have received Christ. That happened. And he's saying just as you have received Christ.

Now what does he mean when he says you received Christ? Well, he's talking about conversion. He's talking about when you went from being Christ-less to Christ-filled. When you went from being outside of Christ to being in Christ, by virtue of having been adopted into the family of God.

He's talking about the moment where your life changed. And let me say this about that. If you believe that you are in Christ and your life hasn't changed, then there should be a giant question mark in your heart.

If there's no life change, then why would you think that Christ has been received by you? If there has been no change in your direction from when you didn't have Christ to when you supposedly now do have Christ, how can you think that you have Christ?

Now I want you to consider this. Why would I say when it says, therefore as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, that this is referring to our conversion? Well, this is the language that Scripture uses.

The language that Scripture uses of conversion is receiving Christ. One of the things we do is we use the word accept. And I've never been a fan of that. People say, I accepted Jesus. Like they accepted the fact that they had a diagnosis of some disease or something.

It's like I accepted it. That is not the language of Scripture. In fact, that's become the vernacular of the modern evangelist. I've got to get people to accept Jesus because we've treated Jesus somehow like He was a commodity to be sold.

And we're going to stand up before a group of people and sell Jesus like we sell any other ware. And our goal is to get you to accept Jesus like you would accept some other sales pitch. Well, that's not what Scripture tells us about Christ.

The word that's used is the word received. And you say, well, what's the difference between the word accept and the word received? Well, one difference is one's biblical. So, there. But the other reason is Jesus is a person.

And we receive Him as a person. Not as an idea or as a doctrine, but as a person. And here's the verse that goes with this that's been on my mind as I was preparing for this. It's in John chapter 1. In John chapter 1, verse 11, it says, speaking of Jesus, He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.

Have you ever been in a place where you weren't received? Have you ever gone to a place that didn't want you to be there? I have many, many times walked in and felt very unwelcome. And not well received.

Well, that is what Jesus experienced among the Jewish people. While many people wanted Him to heal them. While many people wanted Him to feed them. While many people wanted Him to bring them blessings.

When Jesus began to preach the truths of the kingdom, the crowds scattered. John chapter 6, Jesus starts out with thousands of people listening to Him. By the time He finishes His sermon, He's only left with the twelve.

And He looks at them and He says, are you going to leave too? And they said, to who shall we go? You are the one who has the words of eternal life. Right? So we have Jesus being rejected. When He preaches the truth, He is rejected.

But, praise God, John 1 doesn't end with verse 11. Because verse 11 says, He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But, and praise God for the but. Because when buts come into the scripture, things change.

And that's what we see. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But, to as many as received Him, who believed in His name, He gave them the power to become the children of God. By the way, if you read that again, what it says, To as many as received Him, who believed in His name.

That's what it means to receive Him. That's the parallel. To receive Him is to believe in His name. If you have believed in His name, you have received Him. If you have not believed in His name, you have not received Him.

And so that's what it means when we go back to Colossians chapter 2, And it says, Just as you received Jesus. He's saying, Just as you believed in His name. Now I want to add one more thought before we move to the imperative.

Because we're still on the indicative. We're still on the, what happened. Remember, this is Aristante, this is past, this happened. And he says, Just as you received Jesus Christ, the Lord. Now, I have to be careful with this.

Because right now, within Reformed circles, there's a big debate going on. And it has re-emerged out of the ether over the concept of lordship salvation. There are some who are saying that's wrong. We shouldn't believe in it.

And I don't want to get into the debate today over that. But I know that it's out there. Because I have to deal with it. But here's the thing. The reason why the whole lordship debate started. Was because back in the middle part of the last century.

There arose a doctrine. Called the doctrine of the carnal Christian. And the doctrine of the carnal Christian was the idea. That you could receive Jesus as Savior. And not as Lord. And therefore, He could be your Savior.

And you continue to live your life in whatever sinful way you want. As long as you say, I believe in Jesus, you're saved. And then at some point after that. You may have a moment where you recognize your need for Him as Lord.

And He becomes your Lord. And that was the doctrine of the carnal Christian. And they based it upon what I would say is a misreading of 1 Corinthians 3. And it was the idea that you could have sort of a two class Christian structure.

You could have those who are in Christ but not submitted. And those who are in Christ who are submitted. And then you end up with this sort of carnal Christian and super Christian. It's baloney. I didn't even get the Greek word.

It's just baloney. But out of that. The response was the doctrine called Lordship Salvation. Some writers took to write about it. Like Dr. John MacArthur wrote the book, The Gospel According to Jesus.

And the point was to say this. When we come to Christ. When Christ enters into us and we receive Him by faith. That He in fact does become in that moment the pursuit of our life. He becomes the commander of our ship.

He becomes the Lord of everything. And we are called to submit to Him. Though we do so imperfectly. As Mike pointed out in our confession today. Our very confession indicated that we submit in an imperfect way.

Because we are imperfect people. And this is why Christ continues to be the mediator. Because we continue to need a mediator. Amen. But he says just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord. Or more specifically just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord.

That's how we received Him. When we came to Christ we didn't come to Christ just as Savior. We came to Christ as Lord of all. And this becomes important for the next part of the statement. Because in the very next part of the statement.

He is going to give the as and so part of this sentence. And I'm always talking about the way language works. And this is one of those times where the very first word in this sentence. Is actually not translated in the ESV.

The ESV translates the first word therefore. But the very first word in this Greek sentence is the word hos. And the word hos is the word just as. Just as. So the actual Greek says just as therefore you have received Christ Jesus the Lord.

And the point is in this way that you received Christ. In what way did you receive Christ? As Lord. That's how you received Him. Just as you received Christ. In this way you received Christ as Lord. So walk in Him.

Just as you received Him. Now walk in Him. You see how that works. Just as you received Him. How? You received Him as Lord. So now how do you walk in Him? As Lord. Just as you received Him. Now walk in Him.

The imperative holds on to the indicative. Because He's Lord. Now you walk as one serving that Lord. And the word walk here is what we call the main verb. And again it is the first imperative verb. It is in the present active imperative.

Which means it's you are continuing to walk. It's present. You're walking in Him. But then that verb has four participles. And I don't mean to nerd out on this stuff. But I spent all week learning it.

So you're going to hear about it. No, it's important. Language is important. God chose to give us His revelation written down. Which means we have to learn it by learning to read. And I will say this.

If you want to grow in your faith. One of the ways you do so is by becoming a better reader. You say, I don't like to read. Get books on tape. Do what you got to do. We live in a golden age of information.

And it's so available in every possible context. That nobody has any reason not to learn. Nobody has a reason not to grow. But understanding language helps us to translate and understand what's being said.

So if the imperative is walk in Him. You ask the natural question. What does it mean to walk in Him? Well Paul doesn't leave us with just some ambiguous command. Walk in Him. But he provides four participles.

Participles are those words that typically end in ing in English. And it is attached to a verb. And he gives us four participles that go with that word walk. Walk in Him. Four words. The first word. Having been rooted and being built up in Him.

And being strengthened in the faith. Just as you were taught. Abounding in thanksgiving. So four participles. Having been rooted, being built up, being strengthened and abounding in thanksgiving. That's the four ways that we walk in Him.

That's the four things that mean walking in Him. That's what it looks like to walk in Him. Now, I want to talk about each of those. Because each of those has something important for us. They're all metaphors by the way.

Each one of these participles is a metaphoric picture. He says, just as you received Christ so walk in Him. Number one, he gives an agricultural metaphor. Having been rooted. Now what is he talking about?

He's talking about the roots that are on a vine or a plant or a tree. That go down into the ground and hold that thing and give it life. And what's interesting about these four participles. Is that all four of these participles are slightly different.

But the first one is in the present passive participle. I'm sorry, perfect passive participle. And perfect means it's something that happened in the past but has ongoing effects in the future. So when he says having been rooted.

He's saying you were rooted and you're being rooted. Because that root has to continue. What does Jesus say happens if we're removed from the vine? We die, right? He says any man in me is in the vine.

And if he gets cut off he dies, right? The root is what gives life. So you don't just get rooted once. You have to stay rooted forever. And that's important when I go back to my initial question. Because what was my initial question?

Was why do people leave? Why do people pull up their roots and go elsewhere? Because they think they're going to find life somewhere else. They think they're going to find happiness somewhere else. They think they're going to find their joy somewhere else.

They think they're going to get their kicks somewhere else. So they pull up their roots and they go. Now from a theological perspective we could argue yes that person was never saved. We could talk about eternal security.

But let's just not even worry about that for now. Let's just keep the metaphor in the mind. The metaphor is this. If you're rooted you stay rooted. That's what it means to live. Turn to Psalm chapter 1.

Psalms chapter 1. Now most of you are probably familiar with Psalm 1. We read it just a few weeks ago as our call to worship. But in the first Psalm it gives this same agricultural metaphor. Look with me at Psalm 1.

Verse 1 it says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. So that's the blessed man. The blessed man doesn't position himself in a situation where he's going to be tempted to sin.

He's not walking, sitting, or standing with sinners. But rather verse 2, His delight is in the what? The law of the Lord. And on it he meditates all the day. That's where his life and love are. So he's not sitting, standing, or walking with sinners.

He is delighting in the law. But look at verse 3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and all that he does he prospers. You see the picture here in the Psalm is the same picture that Paul is getting to in Colossians 2 when he says rooted in him.

The tree here has its root by the streams of water. What's the water? It's Christ. The root is in him. But look at verse 4. It says the wicked are not so. They're like chaff that the wind drives away.

That's what the wicked are. The wicked are not rooted in Christ. The wicked are driven by every wind. Doesn't Paul tell us elsewhere that we have to be careful not to be driven by every wind of doctrine?

But we have to have our root in Christ. So he says, having been rooted, perfect passive participle. And by the way, passive is also an important thing because there's three different voices. There is the active voice, which means I do something.

There's the middle voice, which means I do something to myself, which is an awkward one. But like the difference would be like if I throw a ball, that's active. If I throw myself on the floor, that's middle.

That's weird. But it do come up. But then the passive voice is something done to me. Mike Ward threw me on the floor. You'd be amazed what that little man can do. Compared to me, every one of you are little mans.

But passive is something done to you. Something done to you. Notice that the first three participles here are all in the passive. You walk in Christ having been rooted, having been built up, having been established.

All of those are things that were done to you because they're all in the passive. You understand all of those things are things that God does. God roots you in Christ. Now, do we have any participation in that?

Well, we could argue that we do have a responsibility to continue in the faith because we're called to continue in the faith. We're called to continue believing. We're called to make our calling and election sure.

Yes, of course. But we have to understand that we are saved not because of what we did. We are saved because of what God did for us. By the way, if you think different, if you think your salvation is based upon something you have done for yourself, then you have found yourself in a place where you can congratulate yourself.

But Paul tells us that's not the case. Paul tells us that he can boast in nothing except Christ and Him crucified. He doesn't boast in himself at all. He trusts in what Christ has done. Christ rooted him in himself.

He is the vine. We are the branches. And He is the vine dresser. He is the one who grafted us in. This is all the beautiful work of God. So how do we walk in Him? First, we walk in Him knowing we've been rooted in Christ and we keep on with that root.

We keep attached to Christ as our root. The second metaphor that he gives, and I'm pretty determined I'm not going to get past 7. I just realized because there's no way. So I can just slow down. Because the next metaphor he gives is an architectural metaphor.

The first metaphor he gave was an agricultural metaphor. He says, having been rooted. Now he gives an architectural metaphor. He says being built up. Being built up. Now this picture is given to us often in Scripture.

That we not only have our root in Christ, but we're also built in Christ. We are built up as spiritual houses. We're built up as the body. We're built up like a house is built up. And if you've ever watched a house being built, you'll know they'll come and they'll lay the foundation.

And that foundation is the first part. And the foundation is Christ. And then we are built up upon that foundation like those wooden studs that you see when the house starts to go up. And those wooden studs begin to be lifted up and tapcon down to the concrete.

And then the Tyvek is put around. And then the siding is put around. And the roof is put on. And all of those things are being built up into a house. Well that's the picture that we have here. In fact, I want to show you another passage that goes along with this.

If you want to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 3. In 1 Corinthians 3, go to verse 11. He says, For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. What's the foundation of our life?

Jesus Christ. And that's the foundation. And when Paul went about, he laid that foundation. And he built men up on that foundation. Christ has to be the all in all. Christ has to be the foundation. You can't have any other foundation.

You can't have Christ and something else. You can't mix it up. It's Christ. Now, verse 12. If anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, each one's work will become manifest for the day.

We'll disclose it because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. Now you say, wait a minute. What is that? Well, in there, Paul is talking about the different works that we do.

Some works have eternal value. Some do not. He goes on to say that some will be burned up and some will go on into eternity. And while I'm not ready today to give an exegesis of all that means, the point that I want to show in this text is that Paul is saying, We are being built up in Christ.

We are being built up in Him. He's the foundation. And we are being built up like a house. And this is referring, in a sense, to our growth as believers. So when he says, So just as you received Him, so walk in Him.

One of the ways we walk in Him is we are rooted in Him. But another way that we walk in Him is that we, and this, by the way, is in the present tense, is that we are being built up. Just like a house is being built up, we too are being built up.

I want to ask you this question. I want you to be honest with yourself. You don't have to answer to me. But I do want you to be honest with yourself. Do you truly believe that you're being built up in Him?

Amen. I'm glad to hear that. And I'm thankful to hear that. And that is a question we should always be asking ourselves. Because, again, remember, this is in the present tense. The idea is that this should be happening always.

I don't care if you're 16 or 60 or anywhere in between. You should be being built up in Him. And, by the way, the whole point of this whole section is Paul keeps pointing back to Christ because our being built up is always in Him.

Our being rooted is being rooted in Him. Our walk is walking in Him. Everything is in Him. And what happens, what takes us away is when we start to see other things as better than Him. Other things as more valuable than Him.

Other things as more worthy than Him. Other things as more desirable. That's why we walk away. That's why we turn. It's because He isn't what He once was. And that is beautiful and winsome and desirable and precious.

You remember the parables Jesus talks about? If a man found a precious stone, he'd sell everything to buy that stone. The pearl of great price. You understand Jesus is talking about Himself. He is the pearl of great price.

He is the treasure beyond measure. There's nothing greater than Him. All of Colossians can be boiled down to one idea. There's nothing better than Christ. And if you think there is, you are just flat out wrong.

Simple. But true. So the third participle we have is the word strengthened. Back to Colossians now. We come to the word strengthened. He says having been rooted. And that was an agricultural metaphor.

Then He says being built up. That's an architectural metaphor. Then He gives us the phrase being strengthened, which I'm going to throw a curveball at you. Because this metaphor isn't what you think. The word here for being strengthened actually could be translated established.

Is that the King James? American Standard 2 established? It is, isn't it? In case you're wondering why I don't know, I'm literally looking at the Greek right here. And so it can be either. But this is a legal metaphor.

So we've had an agricultural metaphor, being rooted. We've had an architectural metaphor, which is being built up. But being established is the idea of like a law that goes into something that gets established as a law.

Something that gets set down. Something gets firmed up. We send bills to Congress, but only when it's enacted as a bill does it become a law. And then it's established as law. And the idea here is the idea of being solid.

Being confirmed. Being established. Being strengthened. It's like concrete. Isn't concrete amazing? I just went on a side note. You pour concrete and it's wet, but only for a little while. And then it becomes hard forever.

It never goes back to being wet. It never goes back to being soup. Once it hardens, it's hard forever. You can't re-soup it and reform it. Once it's hard, it's hard. It's firmed. It's established. It's set.

So remember what I said about these participles, right? The participles are, first one was in the perfect tense. We're being rooted. We're continually rooted. But these are in the present tense. We're being built and we're being established because we are being firmed up like concrete that firms up into strong foundations.

We are being firmed up. We are being established by God. That's what it is to walk in Him. It means to gain an ever increasingly firm conviction. I'm going to tell you this. I ain't always right. No matter what men may say of me, I don't even think I'm always right.

But I will say this. God is firming my convictions as I go. And He's correcting me in my errors as I go. And that helps firm my convictions. And that's the idea here. We're rooted. We're built. And we're firmed up in Him.

And notice what He says. In the faith, just as you were taught. You see, you are going to be firmed up in the faith as you were taught. Because that all is one idea. Some of you are fresh. And by that I mean you've come to Christ relatively recently.

And you're learning things for the first time. Hearing things for the first time. And you're starting to grow, like the Bible says, like a newborn baby. Some of you have been in Christ for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years.

And you're now being firmed up in those things that you have been taught. You see, that's the metaphor here. To walk in Christ is a lifelong marathon of faith. It's a lifelong struggle. But it's God working in us.

Moving us forward to that firm conviction. Moving us forward to that maturity. Moving us forward in that being built up. All the while rooted in Christ. Unmoved because we're in Him. That's walking in Christ.

That's walking in Christ. Now there's a fourth one. And the fourth one is where we're going to end. The word is abounding. This is in the present. This is a present participle. But I want to show you something.

This is the only one of these four that's in the active voice. Rooted was in the passive voice. Built up, passive voice. Strengthened, passive voice. God is doing those things. Thanksgiving abounds. Active, that's what I do.

My participation is the participation of Thanksgiving. My life is a life lived out every single moment in Thanksgiving to God. You rooted me. You established me. You build me up. And therefore I thank you.

And I don't give Thanksgiving once a year. I don't give Thanksgiving once a week. By the way, what's the other word for this table? Eucharist. What does Eucharist mean? It's the same word here. It's the exact same word here.

Abounding in Eucharistia. Thanksgiving. We gather around the table because we give thanks for what the Christ has done on the cross. The Christ Jesus went to the cross and died for us. And we give thanks when we gather around this table.

So we have Thanksgiving once a year, yay. We have Thanksgiving every week. But no, we abound every day with Thanksgiving. That's how you walk in Christ. I heard one commentator say it like this. He said, Thanksgiving is our shield.

What did I ask? First thing I asked today. Why do people fall away? And what did we say? People fall away because they desire sin. People fall away because something looks better than Christ. People fall away because they want to justify themselves.

People fall away for a lot of reasons. I will tell you this is the simplest answer to the question. The reason why people fall away is they stop being thankful for what Christ has done. They stop realizing that every breath they take and every day they live is a gift from God that has been given to them by Christ.

And they stop being thankful. Thanksgiving is our shield. Thanksgiving is our protection. Thanksgiving saves us from the temptation to turn. Because as long as we are thankful, He will remain beautiful.