Category: Apostasy

I recently came across a sermon outline by Joe Price which stated four danger signs to recognize regarding a failure of faith. There are two basic components to fighting our adversary the devil. Our diligence as we seek to grow and mature as God’s children, and the protection and strength He supplies to us. Paul wrote of God’s protection in Ephesians 6, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (10-13). He has given us the armor we need to be fully protected against the devil and his wiles if we but implement it in our lives. Continue reading “Signs of Danger” →

In Galatians 4 the great apostle noted a change in his relationship with the churches in Galatia. It is generally agreed that the apostasy that threatened the churches had begun rather quickly, only a few short years after they were first established by Paul.  He went to Galatia and established churches there while on his first journey, recorded in Acts 13.

Consider how the apostle was treated by the Galatians when he came to them. There was an apparent physical infirmity from which Paul suffered while he was with them (13). They were very kind to him as he ministered among them. “And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus” (14). High praise indeed, bringing to our mind what Jesus said. In  response to the righteous who had cared diligently for the welfare of His “brethren” Christ said, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” Matthew 25:40. Paul went so far as to say, “For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me” (15). Continue reading “Paul’s Surprise” →

There are many passages which indicate the necessity of maintaining our faithfulness (and fruitfulness) until death. These exhortations and warnings clearly show  the error of that unfortunately popular view — if you at any point of your life give yourself to Jesus, you are set for eternity.

They way to heaven is a journey. We start the path when we accept Jesus, and end it at death. If we at anytime determine to veer away and never return to the path, our souls will be lost. It is that “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

The passage I have in mind here is a simple one. In 1 Timothy 5 Paul warned about adding a young widow to the “number” indicating those who were to be cared for by the church (cf. 9). The reason for this is the temptation that would befall them, “for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith” (cf. 11-2).

The passage? Verse 15, “For some have already turned aside after Satan.” This passage shows that some young widows who left. They had “turned aside”, and their life was characterized as “after Satan” rather than Christ. We should all beware lest the same happen to any of us!

In his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul spoke of the failure of Israel to repent at the appearance of the Christ. Even so, under that New Covenant, God promised salvation to a remnant. Paul wrote, “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5).

Later in the chapter, Paul turned his attention to the Gentiles. The salvation of the Gentiles was a primary concern of Paul. It was a component of his mission, given by the Lord at his conversion. The preacher Ananias was sent to Paul by the Lord, who told Ananias, “Go, for her is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Continue reading “The Grafted Branches” →

In 2 Timothy Paul predicted perilous times that would come in the last days. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

We need to recognize that these are the times to which Paul refers. Not exclusively this decade or generation, rather the intent of Paul’s reference to “the last days.” In both the Old and New Testaments the phrase is used to refer to the present dispensation, what we might refer to as the Gospel Age. Christ has come and His rule will continue until “He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). At the end of this era Jesus will come and the final judgment will be visited upon mankind. As Peter put it, “both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Truly these are the last days. Continue reading “Personally Perilous Times” →

There are many warnings in scripture regarding the consequence of departing from the straight path. It stands to reason that it is both possible and consequential to stray.  If not, the warnings are extraneous.

One example is the call to Christian growth found in Peter’s second epistle:

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,  to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,  to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-11).

A simple reading of this text reveals why it is important to live a righteous life. It is not something that you merely should do, but something God’s requires! Consider the bold sections of the text, and their significance:

1. If you add these characteristics you will not be barren nor unfruitful. If you don’t add them, you may . So what? Well, Jesus said that unfruitful branches are gathered and thrown “into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6).
2. You can forget you were cleansed from your sins. To be enlightened but lose what you have brings a need for renewal that is impossible (Hebrews 6:4-6).
3. If through adding these characteristics your call and election can be made sure; then not adding them can bring uncertainty. That is why Paul told the Philippians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
4. Adding these characteristics precludes stumbling, and provides an abundant entrance into heaven. But our names can be blotted out (obliterated, erased)  from “the Book of Life” (cf. Revelation 3:5), if we do not overcome.  If sins can be erased (Acts 3:19), then our written names can be erased from the Book of Life in the same way.

This is the reason for the warnings. Heed them and live! Ignore them to your own eternal peril!

A discussion of Matthew 12:43-45 explaining the main purpose of Jesus’ teaching here, and making several applications regarding the need to grow spiritually lest we fall from the faith!

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Jehovah God is knowable through His person and His actions. It is an honor to know Him. Question is, does He know you?

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There is a text in Galatians 6 that begins in verse two by saying, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”  Later in the same context, verse five, he said, “For each one shall bear his own load.”

Now it is obvious to anyone who accepts the inspiration of scripture that there must be a difference between a burden and a load. The Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself, and if the two are the same, the thought produced is nonsensical. There are two aspects of the writing that serve to give us the true sense of Paul’s teaching. The first is an understanding of the definitions of the two words. The second and most important is the context, both immediate and remote.  Let’s consider. Continue reading “Burdens and Loads” →

It is sad that a statement by Paul “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that race may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2), should need explanation and defense.  And yet, because of error and the current cultural climate, it certainly does.

Paul taught salvation by grace, which just about every religious person believes. He taught that sin precludes any individual being saved by perfect obedience, which just about every religious person accepts as a true statement. Here he taught that continuing to sin after being saved by grace was unacceptable. This truth, which is clearly stated, can’t be accepted by individuals who believe the Calvinistic precept of the Perseverance of the Saints, colloquially known as “Once saved always saved.” Continue reading “Continuing in Sin” →

Any surface reading of the New Testament gives plenty of evidence to refute the Calvinistic doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. The Calvinistic view ultimately excuses the unrepented failures in the lives of erring Christians. An example of such a refutation can be found in Paul’s writing to the Ephesians. In chapter 5 of the letter, Paul writes to Christians (the audience to which he writes) to be “imitators of God as dear children” (1). This is an admonition, an admonition with consequence as we will quickly see. Continue reading “Admonition to Imitation” →

The beginning of the book of Hosea sets the timeline.  He received words from God, “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). This reign of the second Jeroboam is related in 2 Kings 14:23-29. Jeroboam reigned over a nation that was fully steeped in idolatry, which was soon to fall to the mighty nation of Assyria.  The people were taken into captivity, and the northern nation was no more. The internal evidence seems to indicate that Hosea’s ministry of prophecy took place only a few decades before the end of the nation in 722 B.C.

It is important to note how God felt toward idolatry. The beginning of the 10 commandments given by God is, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:3-5a). Idolatry was considered a great unfaithfulness, a spiritual adultery to God. And yet, for its entire existence, the northern kingdom of Israel consistently practiced the sin. Continue reading “The Ministry of the Prophet Hosea” →

An interesting illustration is used by the writer of Hebrews to describe the danger of a Christian losing his standing with God. Yes, I know that many deny it is a possibility, but both the direct words (Hebrews 6:4-6), and the illustration that follows (6:7-8) clearly teaches it is true.

“For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is being burned.”

Ultimately, the illustration establishes that our continued standing with God is determined by how we respond to the redemptive blessing He has granted to us. We celebrate the fruitful land that brings us sustaining crops. But if the same rain brings only thorns and briers, it is not only not useful, but not accepted. Consider the phrase, “it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is being burned.”

There is hope for the unfaithful. The illustration shows, “near to being cursed,” that God’s judgment for Christians bearing thorns and briers instead of good fruit is not yet certain.  It is near, but there is time for repentance, at least until a day comes where the time is ended.  “…whose end is being burned.”

The Hebrew writer was hopeful that his warning would bring change and renewal (6:9-12). If so, diligence will bring reward. If not, rejection will be final.

Solomon was a wise man. God greatly blessed his reign over Israel. He wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. His advice to his son in the book of Proverbs serves as a guidebook to successfully navigating around the pitfalls of immorality and foolishness.

And yet, in the end, Solomon failed God. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The Lord had warned him not to intermarry with these foreign women, but he ignored God. The text of 1 Kings 11 records his mistake. “Solomon clung to these in love” (2). “…his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lords, as did his father David” (3b-6).

Continue reading “The Patternists: A Lifetime of Faithfulness” →