Josh Harris is a former pastor best known for his book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye.” Through that book the lesser-known idea of courtship, and the importance of purity, was reintroduced to the world. Yet in recent years Josh has shown a steady departure from his book, finally announcing that he has abandoned the Christian faith. The topic of his salvation has been a big point of discussion, so let’s look at the 3 possibilities.
#1 He lost his salvation
“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:39)
I won’t labor on this one too long, but I think God has revealed too much about His sovereignty and the effectiveness of Christ’s saving power to entertain the idea that someone can cease to be a child of God. Many faithful and well-studied scholars believe differently, but I don’t see this as an option for anyone who once appeared to walk with Christ, then abandons the faith.
#2 He was never saved in the first place
They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:19)
This is one that most Christians are claiming. God has made it clear that there are many who will appear to be part of His people, but eventually reveal otherwise. Sometimes these are wolves who mean to use Christ for their own gain, while others simply fall away because their faith isn’t genuine.
This is what we often see of people who grow up in church, then later in life simply walk away. They may grow up in a world where they aren’t exposed to other possibilities, thus only know how to live like a Christian until they are free to choose otherwise. Likewise, they live the Christian life because their family, community, or other circles of influence make it advantageous to wave the Christian flag.
Whatever the reason for pretending, it’s difficult to live a lie for too long. As our culture continues to shift away from prizing morality and virtue, it becomes easier for false converts to safely live how they want, knowing they will have support from those who appear more enlightened.
This may well be true of Josh Harris. From what is being reported, he’s been edging closer and closer to adopting the worldview of our culture. He’s posted selfies at a pride parade, changed his views on what is appropriate for unmarried people, and seems to find the idea of purity to be too restricting. All of this matches the culture’s embrace of people doing whatever feels good, following their emotions at the expense of morality and virtue.
#3 He’s struggling with his genuine faith
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4)
If point 2 is the default stance of conservative Christians, this is arguably the default of the liberal side. Though many would say he can still embrace Christianity and the culture, I’d like to examine it from a different angle.
Over the years, I’ve seen several respectable pastors lose their biblical focus and teach everything from strange biblical interpretations to outright heresy. Through a lot of personal frustration and disappointment, I’ve started noticing a potential trend: none of them had someone they respected tell them “no” with a solid, biblical backing to their argument.
I say this out of my own experience. I’ve had some strange ideas in the past, and it was easy to become entrenched in them as people either sat silently, or I found others who would congratulate me for going against the grain. Yet when I was confronted with the biblical and logical inconsistencies of my belief, I had to struggle with whether I was going to let God change my mind, or let my own desires change His word.
As I see the Josh Harris situation, I have to wonder if he’s in a similar situation. It’s certainly possible he’s abandoned Christ altogether. However, I hope he’s finally being confronted with the inconsistency of what he wants to believe versus what he sees in God’s word.
We are more than our current situation
We must remember that our eternal destiny, and the health of our soul, isn’t determined by a snapshot. Many of us must have a moment in our lives where we are confronted with the reality of who God is, and after great difficulty we reach a point where we see that we can’t serve our own desires alongside His. After those moments where we question our salvation, we can look back and see how God used that pain and doubt to fully bring us to Himself.
As the Josh Harris story comes to a close, we will see the truth of his salvation. If he continues adopting the beliefs of a world that hates Christ, completely unimpeded by the anguish of the Holy Spirit, then there’s little reason to assume he was ever redeemed in the first place. Yet I’m sure many of us hope they Josh’s story isn’t over, and that God will bring him back, fully convinced of his faith and ready to serve Christ.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
