Personal Apostasy
“Take heed, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the Living
God.”
Hebrews 3:12
Apostasy (Greek ~ apostasia) appears twice in the New
Testament as a noun (Acts 21:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) and here in Hebrews 3:12
as a verb (aphist—mi, translated “depart”). The Greek term is defined as a
falling away, defection, withdrawal, or turning from what one has formerly
turned to. Therefore in this study we will seek to prove that an apostate is not
an unbeliever but someone who once believed, and through personal choice has
chosen to follow the Lord no longer. In doing so, we will clearly see that the
teaching of eternal security as promoted by Calvinists is false and dangerous to
one’s eternal life.
[1] To apostatise means to sever one’s saving relationship
with Jesus Christ or to withdraw from vital union with and true faith in Him. In
other words, personal apostasy is possible only for those who have first
experienced salvation, regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. “They on
the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; and these
have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.”
(Luke 8:13.) Also notice what the writer of Hebrews 6:4-6 has to say upon this
subject; “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and having
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.” It is
apparent that it is not a mere denial of New Testament doctrine by the unsaved
spoken of here, but the rejection of Christ and the things of God by a one time
believer. Apostasy may involve two separate, though related, aspects: (a)
theological apostasy, i.e., rejection of all or some of the original teachings
of Christ and the apostles and replacing them with liberal theology, false
religion, or even atheism. Paul warns us that “the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1.) He later gives
the reason for this apostasy in his second letter to Timothy; “For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts
shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy
4:3-4), and (b) moral apostasy, i.e., the former believer ceases to abide in
Christ and instead becomes enslaved again to sin and immorality ~ “What then?
shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye
are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then
made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the
manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded
your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now
yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the
servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in
those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans
6:15-23.) Please remember that these verses were written to believers not to the
unsaved. There same truth is taught in Romans 8:6-13 ~ “ For to be carnally
minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the
dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we
are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the
flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live.” Again, notice that Paul is referring to believers not
the unsaved. We see from the above Scriptures just how important it is to
maintain our walk in Jesus Christ and not allow ourselves to be overcome by
worldliness and sin.
[2] The Bible issues urgent warnings concerning the
possibility of apostasy, designed both to alert us to the deadly peril of
abandoning our union with Christ and to motivate us to persevere in faith and
obedience. The divine purpose of these warning passages must not be weakened by
the view that states that the warnings are real, but that in reality there is no
possibility of apostasy or losing salvation. In fact we should regard them as a
sincere alarm if we want to attain final salvation. The Bible is full of such
warnings but the following verses should be enough to convince the child of God
of the need to endure to the end. Acts 14:22 informs us that Paul exhorted the
Church in Derbe to “continue in the faith, and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” It is the Lord’s desire to
present us, His Church, pure and holy, but this can only be achieved if we live
according to His Word. Paul tells us that this is possible “if ye continue in
the faith, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” (Colossians
1:23.) As mentioned above, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that in the latter days
people will fall away from the Lord and give themselves over to false doctrines.
These doctrines damn the soul. This is why it is good to take the advice given
to Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them:
for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1
Timothy 4:16.) If there was no possibility of turning away from Christ why would
Paul further charge Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on
eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:12)? It is this keeping a tight grip upon
salvation that is so essential and it’s the very place that so many fail and
fall. Because of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine many live ungodly
lives. I have personally known Christians who lived like the world with no real
desire to live for God, simply because they believed if they are saved and
cannot lose salvation, then why worry! These are doing exactly what the Bible
warns the early Church not to do; “How shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs
and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to
His own will?” (Hebrews 2:3-4.) If the truth be told, what is really happening
here is the hardening of the heart. Jehovah destroyed His own people in the
wilderness because of their refusal to accept and follow His Word. Hebrews 3:8
cautions us, “Harden not your hearts, as in the day of provocation, in the day
of temptation in the wilderness.” If we do we also will find that God will say
unto us, “They shall not enter into my rest.” (:11.) This is the reason the
very next verse warns us to “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the Living God” (:12.) Calvinists
fail to see that a Christian who backslides is a sinner and needs to be
converted or else he will go to a lost eternity in Hell. This is what James
points out so effectively in 5:19-20; “Brethren, if any of you do err from the
truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner
from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a
multitude of sins.” Very sound advice when we consider that this was James’
last statement to his readers. To sum up this section: We need to pay attention
to what the Lord has given to us if we are going to reach the goal. If we give
up and turn away from the Lord, it is not that we have lost salvation but that
we have thrown it away, we will not inherit eternal life. What the Lord has
given to us needs to remain and we need to continue in Him. “Let that
therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye
have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the
Son, and in the Father.” (1 John 2:24.)
[3] At this point let us turn to some examples of apostasy
in the New Testament. All will admit that it is by God’s grace that we are
saved through faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ. To live contrary to the Word of
God would make us fall from this grace, just as Paul pointed out to the Galatian
Church ~ “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are
justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4.) This was his
response to the Gentile Church in Galatia as they were becoming confused by the
teachings of those who said that they must follow Jewish customs to be saved.
Calvinists have told me that such passages of Scripture (including those in
Hebrews) were written to Jewish converts and do not apply to Gentile believers.
Firstly, despite the fact that Hebrews was written to Jewish converts to
Christianity they were Christians, therefore the Hebrews was written to
Christians; Secondly, though Paul mentions the Jewish legalists, he was writing
to the Gentile Church in Galatia; Lastly, the New Testament letters were written
to Churches or at least individuals in Churches, and these Churches were made up
of Christian believers regardless if they came from a Jewish or Gentile
background ~ “There is neither Jew nor Greek [Gentile], their is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28.)
The possibility of losing salvation sounds blasphemous to
some, yet this is exactly what the Word of God teaches. If we were to reject
Christ we would be making shipwreck of our faith. “Holding faith, and a good
conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: of
whom is Hymenæus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may
learn not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:19-20.) Once you have made shipwreck
your faith in Christ there are no other salvation vessels provided by the Lord.
The only way you can have full assurance of salvation is by maintaining a
continual trust in Christ, or to put it another way, by staying in His
fellowSHIP.
God makes us aware that there will be false prophets in the
Church. It may be argued that these people are not real Christians, but it is
obvious that they are in the Church to deceive those who are saved and to lead
them astray. The apostle Peter writes, “There were false prophets also among
the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways.” (1 Peter 2:1.) Yet, to say that the false teachers\prophets and their
followers were not once true believers flies in the face of Truth. In verses
20-22 Peter makes it abundantly clear that this is the case ~ “For if after
they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the
latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it,
to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto
them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again;
and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
If you are still unconvinced that a person can fall away,
put away and reject the salvation he has received, then what do you think about
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)? What do you think of Demas who forsook Paul
“having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10)? In fact the Bible
predicts that during the last days, the antichrist age, there will be a falling
away from the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:3.)
[4] The steps that lead to apostasy are as follows:
(a) " Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without
which no man shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14.) The lack of personal
holiness is the major factor in backsliding and falling away from the Lord.
Almost everyone who stops following God’s way has been enticed by this world.
There is a general lack of seriousness in the Church today regarding the call to
commitment and holiness. It has become outdated and legalistic to some, yet it
is a must if we are going to see the Lord. This desire to serve God must
continue regardless of what temptations or tribulations we may face in the
Christian life. The sad but true fact is there is very little substance to the
gospel being presented today. Because of this there is a corresponding lack of
dedication amongst believers. They fall away from Christ because they are not
rooted in Him ~ “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the
Word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of
temptation fall away.” (Luke 8:13.) This is why preachers of the Gospel need
to get back to preaching the Bible and to tell their listeners that they should
be “rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith.” (Colossians
2:7.) Today there is too much concern about what other people think. Unless we
are bold in our faith it is easy to become embarrassed about being rejected for
being a Christian and to seek man’s approval. “How can ye believe, which
receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God
only?” (John 5:44.)
(b) As worldliness gets its claws into a believer’s life
the joy of serving Jesus departs. There is no longer a drawing near to God and
His Word. The things of God begin to take second place until they become the
last thing on our mind. Listen to these instructions that were originally
written to the Hebrews: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. . . .
Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. . . . But without
faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh unto God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
(Hebrews 4:16; &:25; 11:6.)
(c) Is it not amazing that what Christians once called sin
is now tolerated as acceptable behaviour. Christians, like the world, are no
longer ashamed of their sin but openly flaunt it in the guise of so-called
Christian Liberty. What really happens in this case is that righteousness is no
longer loved. Listen, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abuses of themselves with mankind, nor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10.) If you happen to see your own sin in
that list then you need to get right with God now before it is too late! Do you
want to see a confirmation of what Paul wrote? Well let’s look at Ephesians
5:5 ~ “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous
man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God.” My aim here is not to condemn you but to make you alert to the true
facts of our responsibility in serving Jesus Christ. In fact Hebrews 3:13 gives
us each such a command ~ “Exhort one another daily, while it is called Today;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
(d) Through hardening of the heart the ways of God are
rejected. Soon the still small voice of God’s Holy Spirit is drowned out with
the world’s multitudes of voices offering a more enlightened, liberal way. It
is then that the Holy Spirit of God is grieved and quenched in our lives. The
temple He came to inhabit has been violated by sin ~ “Know ye not that ye are
the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” But don’t
stop there! “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for
the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17.)
[5] If apostasy continues its course unchecked, an
individual may eventually reach the point when no second beginning is possible.
Continuing to wilfully sin is so dangerous yet pastors and teachers do not warn
their flock. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful
looking for of judgement and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27.) Through false teaching Christians do not
believe that there is a limit to God’s patience. Hebrews 10:31 reminds us that
“it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.” To
safeguard against the danger of ultimate apostasy all we have to do is love God
enough to obey all His Word. It is that easy, yet why do so many fool around and
play religion? In fact they have doomed themselves to a lost eternity, and at
the same time deceived themselves with the thought, “Well, at least I said the
sinners prayer.” If you find yourself in this position at this moment then do
something about it. “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts.” (Hebrews 3:7-8, :15; 4:7.)
[6] It must be made clear that while apostasy is a danger
for all who drift from the faith and fall away, it is not made complete without
constant and wilful sinning against the voice of the Holy Spirit.
[7] Those who by an unbelieving heart depart from God may
think they are Christians, but their indifference to the demands of Christ and
the Holy Spirit and to the warnings of Scripture points otherwise. Because of
the very real possibility of self-deception, Paul exhorts all those claiming
salvation to “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own
selves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5.)
[8] Finally, any person who becomes sincerely concerned
about his spiritual condition and finds in his heart the desire to return to God
in repentance, has sure evidence he has not committed unpardonable apostasy. God
wants you to live under the power of His saving faith. If Jesus did so much for
you in dying on the cross to bring you to eternal life, then is it too much to
ask that you live for Him the way He requires?
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2.)
Used with permission (Full Life Study Bible).