Apostasy

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But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
Preach any other gospel to you
Than What we have preached to you,
Let him be accursed.
(Gal 1:8)

Paul warned his young protege Timothy that at the end of the Church Age, the professing church would be characterized by apostasy. Webster defines apostasy as renunciation of a religious faith or defection. In a theological sense, apostasy is turning away from tenets of the faith that were previously held, to some other doctrine that is contradictory. It is interesting to note that when Paul first wrote to the church at Corinth he was careful to let them know that, in spite of the sinful carnality that characterized that church, he still thanked God for them, and for their adherence to the doctrines of grace. Conversely, when he wrote to the churches of Galatia, he offered no such word of thanks or encouragement. Rather, he scolded them sharply, saying,

Thus, we see that Paul valued sound doctrine over moral rectitude, though it is certain that he also valued the latter very highly as well. But Paul was not thankful for these Galatian Christians who were renowned for their fickleness regarding their beliefs. Many students of the Scriptures view First Corinthians as Paul's harshest letter, but it was not. His harshest was reserved for those churches in Galatia who were becoming persuaded to mix a bit of law in with the grace of God, either for their salvation or for their sanctification, or for their security.

Those unstable souls in Galatia were known for transferring their allegiance from one traveling philosopher to another whenever a persuasive speaker passed through their cities. Paul was astounded that they would set aside the wonderful grace of God in favor of a system of works whereby they had no hope of ever being pleasing to God. And if Paul reserved his sharpest criticism for those who diluted sound doctrine with worldly wisdom, then it behooves every Christian to understand what constitutes apostasy, and to avoid it altogether assiduously. Let us hear his words to Timothy:

Paul and Timothy had been serving together in Ephesus when Paul decided to leave there and travel through Macedonia with the gospel of grace. Having been gone for some time, he wrote this touching and personal letter to Timothy, whom he had probably led to the Lord himself, and with whom he had an especially close relationship. Paul considered Timothy his "son in the faith," and was writing him a letter of instruction for the governance of the church at Ephesus.

After the salutation, the very first thing that Paul said to Timothy was to be watchful against those who would pervert the gospel, teaching the Law of Moses rather than the grace of God. The Law of Moses demanded love; the Law of Christ is love. It is more like a natural law (a supernatural law), whereby the love of God is instilled in the human heart, and flows out in the energy of the Holy Spirit toward the objects of God's love. The Jews, under the Law, did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Therefore, their actions were strictly governed to conform to the law of love for God and for one another. Christians today have the indwelling Holy Spirit, who leads them and loves others through them. Paul warns Timothy that those who teach the Law of Moses do not understand the Law of Christ. Neither do they know what they are talking about.

Then Paul changes direction. He shows that it is not the Law that is bad, but that it is the Jews' understanding of it that is bad. The Law was not given as a way to get to heaven, but as a means of revealing the sin that is in man. It was given to convict, not to save. Paul wrote:

According to the glorious gospel. What makes the gospel glorious? An understanding of that would clarify the meaning of this passage. The Law was made for man. It was made for every man who ever sinned. If the Bible ended with the giving of the Law, it was be the very worst news that we could ever dread to hear, for no one could ever be saved. But it does not end at Sinai.

Man could not save himself. There is none good; no, not one (See Rom 3:10-19). If any man were to be saved, then his salvation would have to come without depending upon him to earn that salvation through any good works. If God were to be just, then He must judge every single sin. He could not "wink" at sin and simply overlook it. Else He would not be just. No, God must judge every sin, and he must exact it's full penalty. And so He did.

Here is the glory of the glory of the gospel of the blessed God: That He is able to be both just and the Justifer of him who believes in Jesus Christ. God is able to save every man who will accept the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary as sufficient to pay the penalty for his sins. That Blood that was shed on the cross was the price that God's righteousness demanded as payment for the sins of all of mankind. For without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins. God loves man so much that He paid for our sins Himself. There is the glory of the gospel of the blessed God. The glory of the Gospel of the blessed God is the miracle of His justice and His mercy. How wise is our God? He is smarter than we are.

The Bible was not given except to reveal the glory of God. It knows of no glory for man in this earthly life. We are not good, but very bad indeed. Condemned, no matter how good we try to be. God is able to save us in spite of our sin, by paying its penalty on our behalf. The Bible reveals our salvation, but more, it reveals the glory of God. The Bible is not written about us; it is about God. An apostate church will always speak more about its members than about God, telling them how they must live in order to get to heaven.

Here, at the end of the Age, we find that the apostasy that Paul predicted has come to pass. The professing church in the world today is largely composed of lost souls, gathering for the purpose of glorifying themselves while telling themselves that they are serving God. Seldom is the truth of God's grace every heard any more. Rare is the preacher who teaches doctrine rather than social platitudes that are irrelevant to the Scriptures. There are a few scattered here and there, but they are the exception to the rule.

The many cautionary passages in the Bible concerning false doctrine bring home to us clearly the necessity of understanding sound doctrine and guarding it jealously (See 1 Tim 6:20). Any teacher or preacher can and will make mistakes from time to time, and those mistakes ought to be noted and forgotten. But the teacher or preacher who consistently teaches things that contradict the glorious gospel of God's grace ought to be dismissed. In churches where the leaven of unsound words is published, every Christian has a responsibility to flee. Grace is the test of the gospel, and where works are taught instead, we are to escape as with our very lives. Physical adultery is far more to be desired than spiritual adultery, being a sin against the flesh and not the spirit. Another test of apostasy is whether the doctrines taught glorify man or God.

One hates to split hairs generally, but it is far better to err on the side of conservative doctrine than on the side of liberalism in theology. We ought not believe every word that comes out of the preacher's mouth, but we are responsible to know the Bible well enough ourselves to be able to judge whether a man is teaching soundly or not. Paul also said, "Study, to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).