One of my lifelong favorite hymns is “Moment by Moment,” the chorus of which reads:
Moment by moment I’m kept in His love
Moment by moment I’ve life from above
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine
Moment by moment, O Lord I am Thine [1].
Without question, this hymn encapsulates the secret of Christian victory, not to mention the explanation for the defeat so often experienced by those seeking the upward path to holiness. The basis for this hymn in Biblical theology is most profound, and worthy of careful consideration.
Biblical Salvation
Contrary to what many in the Christian world believe, salvation according to Scripture is not a once-for-all transaction. The doctrine of “once saved, always saved” is not taught in the Bible, and is truly one of the most dangerous teachings ever devised in the history of the Christian church. The following passage from Ezekiel explains how both righteousness and sin, together with their ultimate consequences, are subject to the free will of the human agent:
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
All his transgressions which he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. . . .
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die (Eze. 18:21-22,24; see also Eze. 33:18-19).
The New Testament agrees. Both Jesus and Paul are clear that obedience made possible through conversion and sanctification is the condition for being saved (Matt. 7:21; 19:16-16; Luke 10:25-28; Rom. 2:6-10; 8:13; Heb. 5:9). And Jesus underscored the moment-by-moment nature of humanity’s saving relationship with God when He declared: “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13).
The apostle Paul likewise affirmed the possibility of falling away from the Lord through a lapse in self-denial, when he wrote: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Cor. 9:27). And when writing to the Hebrew Christians, he offered an even more ominous warning:
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame (Heb. 6:4-6).
Finally, Jesus declared to the church of Sardis in the book of Revelation:
Behold I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Rev. 3:11).
This one verse perhaps strikes the hardest blow against once-saved-always-saved theology. If it isn’t possible to lose one’s crown in the first place, why would it be necessary to “hold fast” one’s faith so that one’s crown isn’t lost?
Peter’s Experience
The experience of Peter in walking on the waves of Galilee is truly one of the most remarkable in the earthly life of Jesus. We know the story well. Jesus had just fed the five thousand (Matt. 14:17-21), and the multitude was so excited they wanted to make Jesus king then and there. Jesus perceived where the movement was leading, and thus sent His disciples to the other side of Galilee (John 6:15).
While on the sea, a violent storm broke, and Jesus went to meet the disciples, walking on the water (Matt. 14:25-26). Fearful at first of what they saw (verse 26), the disciples rejoiced when Jesus said, “It is I; be not afraid” (verse 27).
Ever the impetuous one, Peter then asked, “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water” (verse 28). Jesus bade him come, and he stepped out of the boat, walking on the water toward his Master (verse 29), doing what apart from heaven’s power would have been utterly impossible.
Ellen White, in The Desire of Ages, describes what happened next:
Looking unto Jesus, Peter walks securely; but as in self-satisfaction he glances back toward his companions in the boat, his eyes are turned from the Saviour. The wind is boisterous. The waves roll high, and come directly between him and his Master, and he is afraid. For a moment Christ is hidden from his view, and his faith gives way. He begins to sink. But while the billows talk with death, Peter lifts his eyes from the angry waters, and fixing them upon Jesus, cries, “Lord, save me.” Immediately Jesus grasps the outstretched hand, saying, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” [2].
Ellen White continues by explaining just how important this lesson should have been in Peter’s experience, and how, had he persevered, it would have kept him from denying his Lord later on:
Jesus read the character of His disciples. He knew how sorely their faith was to be tried. In this incident on the sea He desired to reveal to Peter his own weakness,--to show that his safety was in constant dependence upon divine power. Amid the storms of temptation he could walk safely only as in utter self-distrust he should rely upon the Saviour. It was on the point where he thought himself strong that Peter was weak; and not until he discerned his weakness could he realize his need of dependence upon Christ. Had he learned the lesson that Jesus sought to teach him in that experience on the sea, he would not have failed when the great test came upon him [3].
Noah
Like Peter’s walking on the water, the sanctification promised in Scripture enables us to do what is otherwise impossible. But as is demonstrated by Peter’s experience, it is only possible through moment-by-moment reliance on the power of God to keep from falling (Jude 24).
The case of Noah offers another example as to how this is true. Opponents of perfection theology often claim Noah’s experience proves Biblical perfection to be something other than sinlessness, basing their claim on the fact that while Noah is declared in the Bible to be “a just man, and perfect in his generations” (Gen. 6:9), we later find him lying drunk in his tent (Gen. 9:21).
But what these objectors fail to consider is that Biblical perfection, like salvation in general, is a moment-by-moment affair. Noah isn’t described as “perfect in his generations” while he was lying naked and drunk. “Once perfect, always perfect” is no more a Biblical teaching than “once saved, always saved.” Free will remains fully operative. Biblical salvation, which is all about being saved from sin (Matt. 1:21), includes the perfecting process of sanctification (II Thess. 2:13) as much as it includes the forgiveness of our sins (Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7). And it is all a matter of moment-by-moment trust in the grace and power of God. Like Peter, Noah failed to do this. Whatever it was that caused him to lose his hold on the God who had done so much through him and for him, we are not told. But as with Peter, and with all of us, there was no excuse for his fall. In the modern prophet’s words: “However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act” [4]. Elsewhere she writes, in one of her most powerful statements on this subject:
The tempter’s agency is not to be accounted an excuse for one wrong act. Satan is jubilant when he hears the professed followers of Christ making excuses for their deformity of character. It is these excuses that lead to sin. There is no excuse for sinning. A holy temper, a Christlike life, is accessible to every repenting, believing child of God [5].
Conclusion
The imperative of moment-by-moment reliance on the strength of our Lord is further articulated in the following inspired statement:
When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan, but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end [6].
Like Peter on the waves of Galilee, we can do the impossible so long as our eyes are fixed on Jesus. But our focus can never waver. The Word of the living God, whose fleshly incarnation Jesus became (John 1:14), must become and remain the continual lodestar of our spiritual journey. Moment by moment we must follow its lead, thus ascending the steeps of light to eternal bliss and fellowship with our loving Lord.
REFERENCES
1. “Moment by Moment,” Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, no. 507.
2. Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 381.
3. Ibid, p. 382.
4. ----Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 421.
5. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 311.
6. Ibid, p. 324.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan