1 — Apostasy

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1,2).

THE ROOT IDEA OF “APOSTASY” IS A “LEAVING” OR “DEPARTURE.” In the New Testament, it is a departure from Christ. The prospect of Christians becoming unfaithful to the Lord is painful to ponder, but I cannot in good conscience write a book on “walking in Christ” and not discuss, to the best of my ability, something the New Testament warns the Christian about so clearly: the danger of apostasy.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:1,2 are a good place to start. The gospel, he said, was that which they had “received,” it was that “in which you stand,” and it was the message “by which also you are saved.” But they were saved only “if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.” With his fatherly love, Paul hoped they would indeed hold fast, but he was under no delusion as to what the outcome would be if they drifted away.

In the New Testament, we see that apostasy was a threat not only to individuals but also to congregations. If the church in Laodicea, for example, did not repent of its waywardness, Christ said, “I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:14–22).

Some limit their definition of “apostasy” to the explicit repudiation or disavowal of the gospel (perhaps under the threat of persecution). In the New Testament, however, individuals and congregations sometimes left the Lord, or were on the verge of doing so, without conceding that there had been any change in their faithfulness to Christ. (Consider Sardis in Revelation 3:1–3.) In fact, we get the impression that some of those whom the apostles were gravely concerned about saw themselves as not only still faithful to Christ but now practicing an advanced or more enlightened version of the gospel (1 Timothy 6:20). Apostasy, then, is not limited to those who openly admit the distance they’ve put between themselves and Christ.

So we need to study about apostasy. We need to confess our own vulnerability to it. And we need to warn each other about it — as kindly and carefully as we can, but also very frankly and clearly.

“As far as we know, every local church established by the apostles which was permitted to continue for very many years went into apostasy. If the Lord delays His coming, this will likely be the future of every church existing today. Our task is to delay that apostasy as long as possible” (Sewell Hall).

Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com