Category: Apostasy

The former sorcerer named Simon (Acts 8) is an example of a Christian guilty of backsliding (returning to his worldly ways). The Bible clearly shows that it is possible to backslide, as well as informing why Christians do so, how to avoid it, then end result of it, and how to cure it.

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The term “endure” normally intimates a negative, such as eduring temptation or trial. However, in 2 Timothy 4:3, the apostle refers to those who are unwilling to “endure” sound doctrine. The truth of God is a positive thing, and it is a rather peculiar statement that it is something that must be endured. The concept is examined in this sermon.

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There is a movement among Episcopalian leadership to evict congregations from Episcopal church buildings if the congregations have “abandoned Episcopalians”. If one were not aware of the liberal bent of the Episcopal church, it might be surmised that those accused of abandoning the Episcopalian Church would be those who are seeking to change long held doctrines and dogma. In fact, the opposite is true. Note the following quotes:

“In mid-January, Episcopal leaders in Virginia declared 11 congregations there, including some historic churches, to have abandoned Episcopalians. The congregations were instructed to surrender their assets. Similar actions are underway in numerous other states, and in some cases legal battles over church property have begun.

“As part of their rejection of new Episcopal teachings [emph. mine, SC], the traditionalists in Attleboro changed the name on the sign in front of their church from All Saints Episcopal to All Saints Anglican and, in September, they voted to join the Anglican Mission in America and place themselves under the supervision of Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of the Anglican Province of Rwanda.” (Grant Swank, The Conservative Voice, 2/6/07)

What are some of these “new” Episcopal teachings?

Continue reading “In The News: Upside Down Episcopalians” →

Two thousand years ago the Son of God was delivered up to be crucified on a cross. Not long after, some in Jerusalem expressed amazement at Peter and John as they healed a lame man at the gate of the temple. Peter took the opportunity to address the gathering, and said:

“Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (Acts 3:12-15).

Peter later acknowledged the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice, saying, “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (vs. 18). He then called on those present to “repent therefore, and be converted” (vs. 19).

Continue reading “The Rejected Savior” →

On Saturday, February 10, 2007, the Richland Hills church of Christ will begin holding a weekly Saturday evening worship service that will include the use of musical instruments in worship, and an observance of the Lord’s Supper. Jon Jones, (the former “pulpit minister” and one of the elders), said that the elders “fully and completely” endorsed the decision. At an adult Bible study, he said, “There is unity in our eldership, and we are so thankful for that.”

However, two of the 17 elders serving resigned when the decision was made. Though there seems to be some “politicking” going on, and the two remain members of the congregation, Roger Dean, one of the remaining 15 elders acknowledged that the decision had prompted the two elders to resign.

Continue reading “In The News: North Richland Hills church of Christ to Begin Using Instruments in Worship” →

Podcast Number 28

The Text of Acts 8, which details the sin of the former Sorcerer Simon, argues that it is possible for a Christian to forfeit his soul through sin. This contradicts the Calvinistic tentant, commonly described as “Once saved, always saved.”

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Billy Norris writes of a tragic event that resulted from “drifting”:

“Two young men were fishing above a low dam on a river near their hometown. As they were concentrating on catching fish, they were unaware that they had drifted until they were not far from the water flowing over the dam. When they realized their situation, the current near the dam had become too powerful for them to keep their boat from going over. Below the dam the water was dashing with strong force over great boulders and through crevices in the rocks. Caught by the swirling waters under the rocks, they never came to the surface. After days of relentless searching, the divers finally found one body, and then, two or three days later, the other.”

(Gospel Guide)

The illustration above is a sad one, but serves to establish our premise that it is dangerous to drift along in life, unaware or uncaring of the consequences.

Continue reading “The Danger of Drifting” →

Podcast Number 26

One way to express love for our brethren, as revealed by James in James 5:19-20, is to turn back one who has fallen in sin to a life of righteousness.

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In my personal study, I recently came across a word with which I was not familiar. The term is “abnegation.” It is interesting that in consulting dictionaries about the word, one didn’t have it, several defined it simply as “self-denial”, and only two (both online dictionaries) gave the meaning that coincided with its usage in the example I had encountered. WordNet gives as the primary meaning of the term, “the denial and rejection of a doctrine or belief.”

Though the term might be a bit rare, the concept or phenomenon of denying and rejecting a doctrine or belief is commonly found in scripture.

Continue reading “Abnegation” →

Israel disobeyed God after the destruction of Jericho, as Achan took of the accursed things. Israel’s defeat at the hands of the small city of Ai teaches us that God’s acceptance is contingent upon our righteousness and obedience. There are lessons to be learned from this text (Joshua 7).

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The way Wade Hodges sees it, a cappella churches of Christ and instrumental Christian Churches share too much in common not to treat each other like family.

But in Truitt Adair’s view, any attempt at unity that does not include an “honest discussion of the things that divide us” risks creating more division than reconciliation.

Such are the disparate views among church leaders 100 years after a 1906 federal religious census first reported the a cappella and instrumental churches as separate bodies…

Continue reading ““Unity Events”” →

A few days ago our church received in the mail an invitation to a beach party for area college students, hosted by the Altamesa Church of Christ, College Ministry. The brochure read:

Activities include: 3 Beach Volleyball courts (bring your own team of 6 people), Tug-of-War, Frisbee Throw, Bocce Ball, and more! Come for fellowship, Devotional, Burgers and Roast Pig! Excellent opportunity to meet new friends for the summer!

The brochure went on to mention that the singing group “The Light” from ACU would be performing, asked for an R.S.V.P. to the Church office, and informed that the church would be charging $8 per person for the event.

Most of us are familiar with such examples of the “social gospel” being propagated by such liberal churches. Continue reading “A Disturbing Trend” →

Paul warned Timothy, In 2 Timothy 4:3-5, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Since that time the need for such warnings has been shown time and again. Judaizing teachers sought to destroy the faith of the Galatians and others (cf. Galatians 1). The apostle John fought the damnable error of the gnostics. Other examples could be given from scripture showing the danger of the chosen of God going astray. Continue reading “Brethren Beware!” →

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Here Paul warned of the possibility of drifting, or departing from the faith. May we ever be on guard against that possibility, as it ever lingers near. The Hebrew writer stated, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (2:1). J.D. Tant often concluded his articles in the old Gospel Guardian by writing, “Brethren, we are drifting.” Continue reading ““Lest We Drift Away”” →

One of the most interesting accounts of conversion during New Testament times is found in Acts, chapter 8. The account referred to is the conversion of the Samaritans by Philip, as recorded in verses 4-25 of the chapter. It is interesting as much for what it excludes from the conversion process as for what it includes.

As an example, one might note that Holy Spirit baptism is excluded from the conversion process. Verses 14-16 indicate that the Samaritans had been converted, and yet, “…He (the Holy Spirit) had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” In fact, it was not until the apostles sent Peter and John to lay hands on the new converts that they received the Holy Spirit. This obviously disproves any claim that “Holy Spirit Baptism” plays a part in the process of conversion.

The occasion of the apostles’ visit and their laying on of hands brings to our attention another example of what conversion does NOT include. It does not include the unconditional safety of the convert. In other words, Acts 8 teaches that it is possible for a child of God to apostatize, and as such be lost eternally.

In verse 13 of the text, a sorcerer named Simon is mentioned as being converted by the preaching of Philip. His conversion cannot be successfully denied. We are told that he believed, and he was baptized. This brings to mind the clear teaching of Jesus in Mark 16:16, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Notice the text is just as positive in stating his conversion as it is any of the others who were convinced by the preaching of Philip on that occasion.

Later on in the account we read of Simon committing a sin. He saw the apostles laying hands on the Christians there, and offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (verse 19). As Peter pointed out very clearly in verse twenty, it was sinful to try and purchase a gift from God with money! We must not lose sight of the scenario here in this context. Simply, we have a Christian, guilty of sin.

Now, notice carefully the statement of Peter in its entirety, recorded in verses 20-23. “But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.'” We have already determined by the passage that Simon was a Christian. He had believed, and he had been baptized. Therefore, he was saved. And yet just as clear is the import of the above verses. Simon had sinned. As such he was in danger of “perishing”. He was in need of prayer and repentance. He was bound by iniquity. The passage very clearly teaches that unless he repented and asked God’s forgiveness, he would be lost for an eternity. We are happy to note his repentance, and his request for the apostles’ prayer.

What we want to emphasize, however, is the possibility raised here of a child of God losing his soul. A very large contingent in Protestant denominations deny this possibility. The influence of John Calvin has so pervaded Protestantism that this issue presents itself quite often in Bible discussions. Calvin believed that salvation was in the realm of God, apart from any action of man. He reasoned that if God saved or condemned man according to His whim, then a man predestined to salvation could not endanger his safety by any activity, no matter how heinous it might be. In effect, “Once saved, always saved”, a doctrine more formally known as the “Impossibility of Apostasy”.

With due respect to Mr. Calvin, the text we have examined clearly teaches otherwise. And the example of disciple Simon does not stand unaccompanied by others. Many passages stating similar warnings can be cited.

For example, the book of Hebrews. In reality the entire epistle stands as a warning of the possibility of apostasy. The writer of that profound letter begins in chapter two by stating, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” In chapter five he chastises his readers for being so immature. He states in verse 12, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need {someone} to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” After this admonition, he encourages his readers to “go on to perfection” (6:1), in other words to continue to develop and mature. The operative question here is why? Why the need to grow and mature if at our conversion we are safe for eternity? His answer is found in verse 4 of chapter 6. “For {it is} impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put {Him} to an open shame.” God says that we must continue to go forward, and that to remain stagnant puts us in danger of being lost eternally. It is possible for one who was enlightened, having tasted the heavenly gift (obviously referring to a Christian) to fall away, and for it to be impossible for them to be renewed again to repentance (obviously referring to an eternally lost condition). The Hebrew writer penned his entire letter to warn his readers of the very possibility most of the religious world denies exists. A Christian who does not maintain his faithfulness and steadfastness CAN LOSE HIS SOUL!

Other passages could be cited which clearly warn of the possibility of a child of God losing his soul. The reader is encouraged to examine Romans 8:12-13; Revelation 3:1-5; 2 Peter 2:18-22; Hebrews 10:26-31; and Galatians 6:7-9.

It must be understood that the process of conversion is properly viewed as a beginning. When a person is baptized, his sins are washed away. He is a new creature. As long as he maintains his faithfulness to God he is promised an eternity in heaven. He is, however, obligated to that faithfulness. As our Lord wrote to the saints in Smyrna in Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw {some} of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”