The Danger and Reality of Apostasy Lesson 21: The Danger and Reality of Apostasy

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy God Makes Wonderfully Reassuring Promises to Those Who Are Saved. God’s greatest desire for man is that he might be saved (John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). When one is saved from his sins, he enters into a new and special relationship with God, which God longs might persist until the end of time (John 14:1-6; Rev. 21-22). To those who have been saved, God makes numerous precious promises. There is nothing that God wants more than for His children to spend eternity with Him. But, are these promises that God gives to His children conditional?

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy A Person Is Saved Only By the Grace of God, But God’s Grace Is Conditional. The Bible clearly teaches that man is saved from his sins by the grace of God (Eph. 2:1-9; Rom. 3:23-24; 5:15; Tit. 2:11; 3:4-5). The Bible clearly teaches that man, once saved, continues to be saved by the grace of God. Consider this: If an alien sinner fails to meet God’s conditions for salvation, he cannot be saved from his sins. Likewise: Would it not make sense that if a Christian, once saved, fails to continue to meet God’s conditions for continued salvation, such a Christian cannot continue to be saved from his sins? That is the question to be considered and answered in this lesson. Many Protestant denominations have been influenced by Calvinism and teach the doctrine of “Perseverance of the Saints.” The Scriptural evidence concludes quite clearly: Apostasy is possible!

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Emphatically Teaches That One Can Fall Away from God and Lose His Salvation! Perhaps the most vivid passage on falling away is in 2 Peter 2. The book of Galatians, as a whole, teaches that one can fall away, especially 5:1-4. The book of Hebrews, as a whole, teaches that one can fall away, especially 6:4-6. The book of James, a very practical book about Christian living, ends with a very clear teaching about the possibility of apostasy in 5:19-20. Jesus’ Parable of the Soils teaches that those who are saved can be lost (Luke 8:4-15). Jesus’ teaching about the vine and the branches shows the saved can be lost (Jn. 15:1-8).

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Repeatedly Warns That One Can Fall Away from God and Lose His Salvation! It is obvious from the preceding point that the teachings of the Bible about apostasy are warnings in themselves. Paul warns, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Hebrews warns, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12). Peter warns, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (2 Pet. 1:10). Warning after warning is issued to God’s people to alert them to the danger of apostasy!

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Gives Numerous Examples of Those Who Did Fall Away and Lose Their Salvation! Those things written in Scripture are for “our learning” (Rom. 15:4). The example of apostasy used repeatedly in the Bible is that of the Israelite nation itself. Judas, one of the apostles… A Christian in Corinth… Hymenaeus and Alexander… Hymenaeus and Philetus… Ananias and Sapphira… Simon the sorcerer… The congregation in Ephesus… The congregation in Pergamos… The congregation in Sardis… The congregation in Laodicea… The apostle Paul himself…

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Vividly Predicted That Some Would Fall Away and Lose Their Salvation! God not only said that one could fall away, He expressly said that some would fall away. In writing about the assurance of the return of Christ, the inspired apostle affirmed that Christ’s return would not happen “unless the falling away comes first” (2 Thess. 2:3). When speaking with the elders from Ephesus, Paul warned them that, after his departure, “…savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). He then predicted, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (20:30). In Paul’s letters to his fellow evangelist, Timothy, he foretold of future apostasy.

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Offers Various Causes of Christians Falling Away and Losing Their Salvation! The devil is ever busy, looking for ways and opportunities to turn Christians away from their faith and back to a life of sinful, worldly living. Some Christians fall away because of: a lack of faith. the deceitfulness of sin. lusts and pride. persecution. cares, riches & pleasures of life. the love of money. the hardships of life. the deceitfulness of riches. false teachers/teaching. they fail to love the truth. they fail to grow as they should. they are mistreated by their brethren. they do not develop relationships in the church. they do not count the cost. they do not prioritize the assembly. they underestimate the devil. they conform themselves to the world. they love the praise of men. they revert back to their old ways. they revert back to an old religion. they revert back to old friends.

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Clearly Depicts the Condition and Future of Those Who Have Fallen Away! The Bible portrays the condition of one who has fallen away in a very dreadful way. The Bible portrays the future of one who has fallen away in a very dreadful way. Why would God describe the condition and future of an apostate in such detail and with such reiteration?

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Lovingly Details How One Who Has Fallen Away Can Return and Be Saved! One who has fallen away has wandered from God, rejected God’s ways, turned to his own way and is subject to the eternal punishment of God’s justice. Yet, God’s love still longs for His wayward child to return to Him and be saved. What an amazing love! As God has conditions (a law of pardon) for alien sinner’s to be saved, God has conditions (a second law of pardon) for those who have fallen away to be saved. God wants to pardon His lost children, but there are conditions (Acts 8:22)! First, a wayward Christian must REPENT! Second, a wayward Christian must PRAY! Third, a wayward Christian must CONFESS!

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy The Bible Unmistakably Portrays Falling Away As a Danger for Every Christian to Avoid! God wants us to make sure that we “take heed lest [we] fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). God wants us to “be even more diligent to make [our] call and election sure” (2 Pet. 1:10). God wants us to make sure our names are in the Book of Life (Luke 10:20).

The Danger and Reality of Apostasy Conclusion God makes numerous precious promises to His children, such as: Christians have been given great assurance by God. Apostasy is not necessary or inevitable. But, Scripture plainly teaches that God’s promises are conditional. God’s Word repeatedly teaches and warns that a child of God can fall away and be lost. Scripture makes it very clear that there are eternal consequences for Christians who turn from the truth and are again entangled in the affairs of the world. If a saved person could not fall away, then thousands of verses would be meaningless. Although a Christian may wander from the truth, God longs for him to return to Him and provides a path of pardon for His lost child to come home. God’s Word provides clear instructions for remaining faithful and avoiding apostasy.