Answer
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease that affects 2–4 percent of the population over age 65. It is the most common form of dementia, resulting in progressive memory loss, impaired thinking, disorientation, changes in mood and personality, and decreased functioning of social, occupational, language, problem-solving and motor skills. On average, the disease lasts seven or more years from diagnosis and eventually ends in death. In the late stages of Alzheimer’s, a person might become completely bedridden and uncommunicative.
Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease can be a heavy burden, fraught with confusing spiritual questions. A frequent concern involves a Bible verse in which Jesus tells His followers, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32–33, NLT).
Sometimes, a steadfast believer in Jesus Christ will deny knowing the Lord after getting Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia such as Huntington’s disease, Lewy body dementia, or vascular dementia. A caregiving Christian may wonder if the verse in Matthew applies to believers who previously made a confession of faith and lived authentically but then later deny Jesus while suffering from dementia.
Let’s first consider Matthew 10:32–33 in the context of Christ’s teaching. Jesus was preparing to send His disciples out to minister on their own for the first time. Fear of persecution was heavy on their minds. The Lord encouraged them not to fear what people might do to them and not hesitate to confess their faith in Jesus (Matthew 10:26–28). God, who knew them and valued their lives, would be with them to care for them (Matthew 10:29–31). Jesus would be advocating on their behalf before the Father. Therefore, they need not be afraid of what might happen to them. They should boldly go and confess Jesus Christ as Lord before others.
When Jesus spoke of denial, He was talking about a type of denial that happens when a person gives in to faithless fear. Someone who has Alzheimer’s disease is not giving in to faithless fear; he is experiencing a cognitive impairment or memory loss.
The apostle Paul affirmed, “This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Timothy 2:11–13, NLT). Jesus is a willing representative before the Father in heaven for all believers. Those who deny Him under duress may lose some of their reward in reigning with Him, but they will not lose their place in heaven. Thus, in the case of an Alzheimer’s patient denying or disowning Christ, Matthew 10:32–33 does not apply.
As the brain neurons degenerate, a person with Alzheimer’s disease progressively forgets. Forgetting is not the same as rejecting or denying. The psalmist declares, “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever” (Psalm 73:26, NLT). In the process of dying, we may lose physical health, mental capacity, decision-making skills, personality traits, and memory, but God will never abandon us. Our value to the Lord as His children depends not on our remembering God but on His remembering us. Our heavenly Father knows our hearts (1 John 3:20; Romans 8:27; Proverbs 15:11). He remembers our confession of faith and our devotion to Him throughout our lives. He will never let us go.
Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand” (John 10:27–29, NLT). If a person is saved by God through faith in Jesus Christ, nothing—not even Alzheimer’s disease—can remove him or her from His loving grip (Romans 8:31–39). First Peter 1:5 states that we are “shielded by God’s power” for salvation. God will not let His children go, ever.
We can rest assured that, if a person believed the gospel and was truly born again through faith in Jesus Christ, he is eternally safe in the arms of God. It does not matter what Alzheimer’s or any other disease may cause a person to say or do.
