Why Does Depression Keep Increasing?

Some years ago, a young (mid-20s) woman I know had treatment for clinical depression. This surprised me because she was well-adjusted and had a job she enjoyed. She was also a strong Christian, not simply a churchgoer.

A while after that, my wife told me about a conversation she had with a good friend (mid-50s). This friend reported that she was unhappy about the fact that another friend usually got more “likes” on her Facebook posts than she did. My wife encouraged her not to focus on the number of likes and instead on the content of the posts, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.

Over the last few years, I’ve seen more and more headlines about the rise in depression in the U.S., particularly among millennials and Zoomers (Gen Z). For a while, there were a lot of references to the COVID lockdowns as a culprit, and I have no doubt that they contributed a great deal. However, broadly speaking, the lockdowns had ended by the summer of 2021, and here we are five years later. I decided to do some digging to see what I could find.

Regarding demographics, I was primarily interested in age, and secondarily with gender. Even though the most recent CDC stats are from August 2021-August 2023, I think they provide a good picture. You can take a look at a rather illuminating graph here, if you’re interested: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/images/databriefs/501-550/db527-fig1.png One thing immediately obvious is that overall, depression was highest for the 12-19 age group (19.2%) and lowest for 60 and older (8.7%); furthermore, there was a very steady decline in depression with age, overall. One interesting difference in this trend was that for males, there was an uptick from 12.2% in the 12-19 age group to 14.3% in the 20-39 age group. However, in every age group, the percentage of females with depression was much higher than that of males.

It is well-known that girls and women are more likely to report depression than boys and men. However, I suspect that even if males reported it more, we would still find that females experience depression more than males do. Regarding age: I think there is definitely a reporting bias since people in the 60 and older age bracket were–and probably still are–significantly less likely to report depression than people who are younger. Nevertheless, I find this age difference interesting given that older people generally have significantly fewer years left to live than younger people. Regardless, since depression has become destigmatized in American society over the last 40 years or so, we shouldn’t be surprised that people are reporting it more than they used to, especially among younger generations.

In addition to the CDC report, I noticed a Gallup poll from 2023 that reported depression rates were at an all-time high. For adults (18 and older), the percentage of those with depression skyrocketed from 10.5% to 17.8% in a mere eight years, since 2015.

While I find these stats very interesting, the question I posed in the title of this post is why depression keeps increasing. First of all, there is the already-mentioned reporting bias. Second, I’ve noticed an increasing tendency among parents to say, “I just want my kids to be happy.” When parents communicate this to their kids, whether directly or indirectly, they are setting them up for disappointment because happiness becomes what their kids are likely to expect. When it doesn’t happen, we shouldn’t be surprised that eventually, depression is going to be a likely outcome. Third, as I thought about the two women I mentioned at the outset, one thing they have in common is that they both spend time on social media; this was especially noticeable with my wife’s friend, who complained about the comparative number of likes she received on her FB posts. Thus, I was not surprised, when I did some further digging into reasons for depression, that social media and comparison were frequently mentioned. Along with this, young adults, especially, reported being lonely. I suppose some might think that with the constancy of social media in the lives of so many, one might feel “connected.” However, it should be obvious that just because someone has hundreds of FB friends, for example, it says nothing about the depth of relationship. When a person doesn’t have truly close friends, some degree of loneliness is almost inevitable. And it’s impossible to overestimate the importance of even one or two close friends who live nearby.

I should mention that there are other causes of depression, including economic pressure and the pressure to achieve, whether it be in school or at work: no surprise there. The unrelenting negative 24/7 news cycle certainly doesn’t help, either. However, the large amount of time that the average person (certainly including kids) spends on social media is a relatively recent development. Facebook, for example, has been around for only 20 years. Reddit’s huge surge in popularity began in 2010, the same year that Instagram launched.

I’m not saying that social media is bad, only that its influence has very significantly changed the ways that people tend to interact. My primary social media account is right here, with WordPress, although I also have a Nextdoor account that I use a bit; that’s enough for me. I have very much enjoyed getting to know some of you online over the past six years; however, you are a very welcome addition to the people I know in person, not a replacement for them.

Jesus called us to love our neighbors. May all of us bless one another in good friendships, both in person and online–and in some cases, both!

Does It Matter How Old the Universe Is?

In terms of subjects, astronomy was my first love and is still way up there. (OK, bad joke.) When I was a teen in the mid-1970s, I began to study it in earnest through some books I had bought. In the process, one thing that began to trouble me was the age of the universe. Even though I wasn’t a Christian yet, I was very familiar with the Genesis 1 account of God’s creating the world in six days. I wondered if the six days were literal 24-hour days or not. (I also struggled with the transition from Day Three to Day Four, but eventually I discovered a scientific explanation for what happened, which I have written about elsewhere.)

Eventually, I talked to my dad (a pastor) about this, and he said there were a lot of things that happened on Day Six, including Adam’s naming the animals. He humorously illustrated this by saying, “I picture Adam sitting on a rock, with the animals parading by. He says, ‘Ah, let’s call this one with the big trunk an elephant, and here’s one with antlers; let’s call it a deer. And…’ Whoosh! An animal runs by super-fast. ‘Come back here!’ Adam calls out and then says, ‘That must have been the cheetah.'” I laughed and laughed at my dad’s imagination because of his humor, but also because I was relieved that he was open to the idea of an ancient Earth (and universe). And for decades, this is what I believed very strongly.

Fast-forward to the early 1990s, when my wife and I came back to the U.S. after spending a few years teaching English in a Third World country. I began to notice that there were plenty of Christians, including some church leaders, who not only believed that the Earth was only about 6000 years old; they even codified it in their churches’ statements of faith! This was certainly not a new idea; in 1650, Archbishop James Ussher published his calculations of the Earth’s (and universe’s) beginning in 4004 B.C. In fact, he wrote that God began creating on Saturday, October 22nd of that year at exactly 6:00 P.M.! I thought–and still think–that whatever you may believe about the age of the Earth, trying to nail down the exact date and time was great hubris on Ussher’s part.

Jumping ahead another two decades, to the 2010s, I began to read some attempts by “young-Earthers” to scientifically explain how the Earth and universe could be only a few thousand years old rather than billions of years old. A brief background: the reason that I believed so strongly that the universe (and Earth) are ancient has to do with the speed of light as it relates to distance. Regardless of your scientific background, you have probably heard of light-years. (Hello, Buzz Lightyear!) When we say that the most distant galaxy we have observed is about 13.5 billion light-years from us, that means it has taken 13.5 billion years for its light to reach us–which means that the universe is at least that old. The most recent calculations put the age of the universe at about 13.8 billion years. (The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.) Although light is super-fast, it cannot travel any faster than about 186,000 miles per second, which limits how fast it can reach us.

One intriguing way to explain how the universe (and therefore Earth) could be only a few thousand years old has to do with time dilation. Imagine that there’s a clock traveling so fast that it’s approaching the speed of light; that clock would “tick” more and more slowly the faster it goes. If it actually reached the speed of light, it would stop “ticking.” In fact, light itself does not experience the passage of time. Applying this to creation: light from stars created on Day 4 would take billions of years to reach us as measured by clocks in deep space, but could theoretically reach us in a few thousand years as measured by clocks on Earth. In truth, it’s more complicated than what I have very briefly laid out here, but by now I’ve probably “bent” your mind enough!

I mentioned earlier that in the 1990s, I noticed that some churches (not including mine, thankfully) even included a young Earth as part of their statements of faith. I also met other people, especially a couple of teens, who had questions about the age of the Earth. One of them was the son of a close friend of mine; the son was also a close friend of my son. His father was a scientist but was rather adamant that the Earth was only a few thousand years old; a church youth-group leader said the same. When my friend’s son asked me about it, I told him that I thought the universe and Earth were billions of years old; he is now in his mid-30s and is not a Christian, at least not yet. My son (a Christian) also had questions related to the age of the Earth as well as evolution; my wife and I answered those questions as they came. To be clear: I’m not saying that my son is a Christian because we at least allowed for the possibility of an ancient universe and Earth; neither am I saying that my friend’s son is a non-Christian because of what his father said about the same topic. I’m saying that if Christians and the churches they are a part of are not so adamant about a young Earth and universe, it helps keep the door open for more conversations about that topic as well as many other important conversations, including about evolution. I should add that as a lifelong friend of mine would say, what you believe about the age of the universe and Earth is not a salvation issue.

Regarding evolution: it seems that there are many Christians who believe that if the universe and Earth are ancient, that automatically implies macroevolution (the change from one species to another). Not so! I have written several posts related to evolution, which I think hardly deserves to even be called a theory anymore, let alone a fact as it’s presented in our schools. Some scientists have written that even 4.5 billion years is not enough time for evolution to have produced the amazing diversity of life that we see. And in fact, more and more scientists are coming around to the idea of intelligent design, which I have also written about. In other words, it’s possible to believe that the universe and Earth are ancient–and at the same time, it’s possible to believe that evolution is not true.

So, where do I stand now regarding the age of the universe (and the Earth)? I am an agnostic, meaning I don’t know if the universe and Earth are a few thousand years old or billions of years old. However, I lean somewhat in the direction of ancient rather than young. I believe that God created everything, regardless of the time frame in which it happened. When I get to heaven, I look forward to finding out the answer to this important question, and I am content with waiting until then. Much more importantly, I look forward to being in the presence of the Lord and all of His people for all eternity!

Can We Still Enjoy the Music of “Fallen” Christian Artists?

I suppose that for most of us who are Christians, music has played a role at least to some degree in our faith. For me, that was true when I came to saving faith at age 20. I had heard some of Amy Grant’s music at college through a friend of mine. By that time, she already had three albums, and her third one, Never Alone, came out the same year I became a Christian (1980). Her song “So Glad,” where she sings about having built her life on a “kingdom made of sand,” but then how the Lord had “torn it all away,” was foundational to my own faith. Then there was “If I Have to Die,” where she concludes that we have to die for Jesus–“That’s the struggle, don’t you see?”–meaning that we have to die to ourselves so that we can live for Jesus. Five years later, on her Unguarded album, she sings “Sharayah,” about a friend she loves who doesn’t know the Lord yet. “I care about you, I don’t wanna push you,” but “You can have life that’s everlasting.” I mention these three songs by Amy specifically because they were formative in my own faith, but I enjoyed many others as well.

In 1999, Amy received a great deal of backlash after she divorced Gary Chapman, her husband of 17 years, even moreso because Chapman had wanted to stay married. The criticism intensified when she married Vince Gill a mere 8 months after the divorce; later, she said that there had been no adultery during her marriage to Chapman. Regardless, some churches that had previously incorporated some of her music dropped it; in addition, some radio stations stopped playing it, and some Christian retailers stopped selling it. Over time, some churches, stations, and retailers brought it back. Much more recently, in 2023, Amy received backlash for hosting her lesbian niece’s wedding. Her response: “Honestly, from a faith perspective, I do always say, ‘Jesus, you just narrowed it down to two things: love God and love each other.’ I mean, hey — that’s pretty simple.”

Sandi Patty is another Christian artist whose music I started listening to a few years later. I especially loved “Hosanna” and “Unshakeable Kingdom” on her Morning Like This (1986) album. In 1993, she initiated a divorce from John Helvering; two years later, she married Don Peslis, her backup singer. She admitted to having had an affair with Peslis during her marriage to Helvering. To her credit, she confessed her sin to her church congregation, but that didn’t stop her from remarrying. As would happen with Amy Grant a few years later, some churches and radio stations pulled her music, and some Christian retailers stopped selling her albums. I noticed that Sandi is coming out with a new album this year; I might listen to a track or two out of curiosity.

Ray Boltz is a name that is probably less well-known, but the year I got married (1988), he came out with his Thank You album; the title track “Thank You” instantly became one of my favorites. 20 years later, he came out in a different way, as gay. Once again, some churches, retailers, and Christian radio stations dropped him like a hot potato. He had four kids in 33 years with his wife before divorcing her in 2008, and last year, he married a man.

A few years ago, I heard a few songs by Hillsong, including the remarkable “Man of Sorrows” (2013). The song begins with Jesus’ suffering on Good Friday and takes the listener through His glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. Particularly since 2020, Hillsong Church has been experiencing fallout from various scandals. Without going into detail, there has been sexual immorality, most notably by former NYC pastor Carl Lentz and former “global” senior pastor Brian Houston; financial mismanagement and misuse of funds; and a toxic work environment. As a result, the number of Hillsong church “campuses” has shrunk dramatically worldwide, including dropping from 16 to 5 in the U.S.

So, what are we to make of all of this? I know that different Christians will respond differently, but here are my responses. Regarding Amy Grant, I was sad that she divorced her first husband, but I’m glad she has remained married to her second husband. I’m disappointed with her response to the criticism regarding hosting her lesbian niece’s wedding; as I’ve written elsewhere, I don’t celebrate sin and will never attend a same-sex wedding, let alone host one. Regarding Sandi Patty, I feel the same as I do about Amy regarding her divorce and second marriage. Regarding Ray Boltz, I have prayed for his salvation because the Bible is very clear about the sin of homosexuality, despite how some try to justify it. Hillsong is a more complex matter because there are so many different people involved in sin of several different kinds; I have prayed for the repentance of those involved.

In the title of this post, I posed the question of whether we can still enjoy the music of “fallen” Christian artists. I trust it’s clear by this point that when I say “fallen,” I’m referring to the Christian public’s reaction to the sin of some Christian artists; I am not saying that Amy Grant and Sandi Patty, for example, are unbelievers. For myself, I can and most certainly do still enjoy some of the music of the four artists I’ve written about, particularly the specific songs mentioned. When I listen, I don’t find the songs “tainted;” to the contrary, I still worship the Lord through them. Perhaps your experience of such music is different than mine. As always, I’d be interested in reading any comments you may have.

Acknowledging, “Including,” or Celebrating Mothers and Fathers?

My earliest memories of Mother’s Day (in the 1960s) are of my mother and the other mothers at my church wearing a corsage; similarly, my father and other fathers wore a boutonniere at church on Father’s Day. That tradition faded in the 1970s (at least where I went to church), but mothers and fathers were always acknowledged on their respective special days, usually by the pastor at least asking them to stand up while the rest of the congregation clapped. This acknowledgment was, in fact, one of many things that made me look forward to getting married and being a father someday.

Fast-forward to the 1990s, when my church (a different one) gave my wife and other mothers chocolate and/or a rose on their special day. On Father’s Day, I and the other fathers more than once received a giant cookie; one year, each of us received a can of Dad’s Root Beer! I enjoyed the creativity! However, several years into the new millennium, things began to change, most notably on Mother’s Day. Mothers were no longer given chocolate or a rose (my wife didn’t mind), but more importantly, the acknowledgment of mothers went something like this: “Today we want to celebrate all of the mothers and grandmothers here. We also want to acknowledge those women who want to be mothers, but who until now have not been blessed in that way; we acknowledge their pain. We also acknowledge those women who have suffered the devastating pain of losing children, as well as those who are unable to bear children. We acknowledge those who will become mothers in the future, as well as those women who are mother figures to others, including as mentors. We acknowledge and celebrate all women!” Later, when my wife and I discussed this, we agreed that by the end of all the acknowledgments, motherhood had been diluted to the point of being nearly meaningless. This is not to say that we ignore the kinds of pain mentioned above; neither do we dismiss the reality of those girls and women who will become mothers in the future. It doesn’t mean that we don’t value mentorship, either; we do! In fact, our daughter has been the beneficiary of mentorship by a couple of women in that church. We just think that Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate mothers; being one is hard work, day after day!

I was not surprised last month to see that there is a movement toward making Mother’s Day more “inclusive.” I noticed the phrases “diversity of family structures” and “chosen families” on more than one website, which would include kids with “two moms,” for example. I also noticed, even on a couple of denominational church websites, the inclusion of trans women on Mother’s Day; I suppose this could “include” those who fathered a child before transitioning, or those who adopted a child. I have had some concerns that the church I wrote about in the previous paragraph could move in this direction; however, they just confirmed their new lead pastor (who will be taking over next month), and I’m encouraged by some of the things he’s said in response to questions from that congregation.

At my current church, we celebrate mothers and fathers in a big way on their special day. On Mother’s Day last month, all women were given a rose and a homemade cupcake; there were photos galore following the service; and then the men and teens served everyone a potluck meal that we had prepared. I should add that our social hall was specially decorated as well. (I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the cupcakes and some of the decorations were prepared by a couple of mothers!) One of our bulletin announcements (which was also read from the pulpit) read in part as follows: “Today is Mother’s Day; may God bestow His special blessings upon every mother! Let us also take this opportunity to express our love and gratitude to our mothers!” I don’t know everything that is being planned for Father’s Day this month, but I know that many of the elements of Mother’s Day last month will be part of it–minus the roses, I trust! In truth, my wife and I wouldn’t mind somewhat scaled-down versions of these special days at our church; however, we are willing to go along with what the vast majority want to do.

I hope this can be a time for you to remember and honor your mother and father. I did not have a close relationship with my father, but one thing he modeled for me was love for my mother. I know that some people have been abused by their father and/or mother; if this describes you, maybe this can be a time for you to start working through forgiveness, if you never have. Even though my father was not abusive, I eventually learned to forgive him for what he was not able to give me. If your parents are still alive and you are still in contact, I pray that you will bless them by affirming your love for them.

Does It Matter What We Believe about Choosing or Being Chosen?

I grew up in the Reformed Calvinist tradition which, among other things, teaches that God chooses some people to be saved; this is known as predestination. Even as a child, I had some understanding of what it meant, and I believed it even before I ever read a Bible. Maybe it’s because I had at least some understanding of my own tainted heart. Since I started blogging six years ago, I have noticed that this teaching is not very popular online, to say the least. What’s interesting is that the common underlying reason I have noticed for this is that people say it’s “not fair.” More on that later.

I think a good place to start with understanding predestination is Genesis 12:1, where we read, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.'” The Lord goes on to say that He will make Abram (later changed to “Abraham”) into a great nation and will bless him. Many years later, as the nation of Israel is getting ready to enter the Promised Land, God tells them in Deuteronomy 7:6-8: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Lest they think they are somehow better than the nations around them, two chapters later, the Lord says (Chapter 9 verse 6), “Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Notice two things here: 1) God chose the Israelites out of all the nations on the Earth. 2) God did not choose them because they were inherently better than the other nations; He tells them it’s because of His promise to their forefathers (starting with Abraham).

In the New Testament, in John 6:44, Jesus says this: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” I’m not a Greek scholar, but I do know that the word translated as “draws” means “drags.” A straightforward interpretation of this verse is that God initiates, thus choosing those who He will save. Some have said that this means God the Father draws, or drags, everyone before they believe, and that people then choose whether to believe or not; you can decide for yourself which interpretation makes more sense.

Let’s take a look at a portion of Romans 9, verses 10-18: “Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:  not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!  For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.”

Notice first of all this clause in the above passage: “before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad.” Then in verse 13: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Given the context, this means that God chose Jacob, not Esau–again: even before they were born or had done anything good or bad. Wow. If you know the story of Jacob, you know that he was a deceiver, but he had faith. In contrast, here’s what Hebrews 12:16-17 says about Esau: “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” What kind of man did Esau become? Godless, a man without faith, and his descendants, the Edomites, followed in his footsteps. Second, notice the word “mercy,” used three times in this passage, including in verse 18: “God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy.” And again, verse 16:  “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” Who is saved is God’s sovereign choice.

I recently read a brief discussion on another blog about Pharaoh, and since this Romans 9 passage mentions him, I want to point out that when you carefully read the account of the ten plagues in Exodus Chapters 7-11: after plagues 2 (the frogs) and 4 (the flies) we are told explicitly that “Pharaoh hardened his heart.” After plagues 6 (the boils) and 8 (the locusts), we are told explicitly, “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” Here’s how R.C. Sproul, that great theological giant, explains it in his book Chosen by God: “All that God has to do to harden people’s hearts is to remove the restraints.” About Pharaoh, he writes this: “In the act of passive hardening, God makes a decision to remove the restraints; the wicked part of the process is done by Pharaoh himself. God does no violence to Pharaoh’s will. As we said, He merely gives Pharaoh more freedom.” First, Pharaoh hardened his own heart; later, God removed the restraints, which is what “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” means. This is reminiscent of “God gave them over” in Romans 1 verses 24 and 26.

By now, it should be obvious what I believe regarding God’s choosing or ours: God chooses, and those whom He has chosen respond in faith–some at a very young age, some at a very old age, and I suppose most somewhere in between. I should add that I am aware that those who tend toward the “free-will” end of the spectrum interpret these passages (and others I haven’t mentioned) differently, but when you look at the totality of the Bible, I think the answer is clear. I should add that on the most fundamental level, the reason God chooses us is that left to ourselves, we would be completely incapable of choosing Him, as R.C. Sproul and others have said. And as Romans 3:10 says, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” At the same time, I admit that from our perspective, it appears that we do the choosing!

One question–and I admit it’s an excellent one–that those who tend toward the other end of the spectrum ask is this: If God chooses, why bother with evangelizing? I can think of three answers. First, before Jesus ascended to heaven following His resurrection, He said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Thanks to seekingdivineperspective, a fellow blogger, for this addition from her blog: in Luke 5:4-5, Jesus tells Peter to let down the nets in deep water. In his response, Peter includes these words: “Because you say so.” Yes, I tell others about Jesus because He says so! Second, I tell others about Jesus because I don’t know who He has chosen and who He hasn’t. Third, I do it because I want to experience the incredible blessing of having a part in seeing someone come to faith in Christ! And I have!

Another thing I have heard is something like this: But doesn’t God’s choosing you give you a sense of pride? My answer: Far from it. Like the OT Israelites, I was not better than anyone else. God chose me for His own reasons, and I want to live a life of thankfulness and obedience in return. And in fact, there’s a danger in pride from the free-will end of the spectrum; after all, from that point of view, you did the choosing, not God.

It’s time to return to the first part of the question in the title of this post: Does it matter? Yes, it does. Let me illustrate: several years ago, a good friend of my wife was in tears because a friend had died; not only that, but she was an unbeliever, and my wife’s friend said a few days prior, she had felt compelled to share the Gospel with her–but hadn’t done it. She added it was because of her failure that her friend was now in hell. While we were glad that she realized she should have shared the Gospel (which she would be more likely to do in the future), she was not responsible for her friend being in hell; in fact, she didn’t even know for sure, of course, if she was there. Maybe she had come to faith in Christ in some other way. From my perspective, if she was one of God’s chosen people, she had come to saving faith before death and is with Him now.

Perhaps the most fundamental reason I think it matters what we believe about who chooses is that it’s connected to the teaching of eternal security; in other words, those of us who believe that God chooses can be 100% sure that it is impossible to lose your salvation. I have met plenty of people, however (some in person, some online) who think that it is possible to lose it. That makes sense from a free-will perspective; if you choose to come to faith in Christ, it is also possible to walk away. It is true, of course, that there are people who leave the church and even very publicly renounce their faith; however, those people show that they were never really Christians in the first place. Even so, they still have the chance to repent as long as they are alive.

I mentioned near the outset that many people I have come across don’t think it’s “fair” that God chooses some and not others. My response is: what’s “fair” is that every person who has ever lived, including me, deserves to go to hell. The fact that I’m not going there is because of the Lord’s mercy, as Romans 9 tells us.

If you tend toward the free-will end of the spectrum, don’t worry; I’m not condemning you! You can believe that and still be my brother or sister in Christ. However, I would encourage you to continue searching the Scriptures for yourself. If you are not a Christian, my prayer is that you would investigate the claims of Christianity; you may find, as I did starting at age 20, that Jesus is the only One Who can give you the peace and joy that your heart longs for.