In terms of religion, apostasy is the abandonment of, or a willful falling away from, the faith. It can be defined as the departure of religious practices, a rejection of beliefs once agreed upon, or even mockery of the religion. Apostasy is considered illegal in over a dozen countries dominated by the Muslim faith, some of which even bring about the death penalty. In America, this may not be a term we see very often considering we have the freedom to practice any religion we choose.
Is this something that still goes on today in Christianity or even behind church doors? In Christianity, apostasy is the rejection of the faith by someone who formerly was a Christian. Oropeza, an author and assistant professor of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific University, says that there are three dangers that could lead a Christian to commit apostasy: temptations, deceptions, and persecutions.
Below we will look at scriptures that support each of these, and scriptures you can use to encourage those at risk of leaving the faith. Further definition of apostasy can be found in this BibleStudyTools.
It elaborates on the ways that apostasy manifests. These are important to be aware of as they help us define it, see what it looks like, and more importantly, how to avoid it. Some examples of biblical characters that committed apostasy include Saul 1 Samuel , Amaziah 2 Chronicles 25 : 14,27 and many disciples John The first example of temptations leading to apostasy is found in the story of Adam and Eve.
For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
What could be? What more can I become? Apostasy on the other hand is permanent impossible to renew them to repentance. In 1 Tim Paul tells us that he obtained mercy for his pre-Christian sins because he acted in ignorance.
Does this mean if we sin deliberately, God will not forgive us? Paul was referring specifically to his persecuting the church. He was an enemy of God, but was not considered an apostate because he did not have the knowledge of the gospel. If he was enlightened and still continued to make himself an enemy of God, then that may have been considered apostasy and he would not have obtained mercy.
Hebrews says if we sin willfully there is no more sacrifice for sin, but it refers to a specific sin — apostasy vs. There are some who would like to believe that it refers to just about any sin, but if it did, then what that means is once we commit one deliberate act of sin, we can NEVER be forgiven.
Most of the sins we supposedly commit in weakness are in fact deliberate. We had the conviction, yet we sinned. Besides, 2 Thess. Read it. He would receive due chastisement but as a son. Let us consider various scriptures that talks about apostasy. Note you would need to read the scriptures to follow my points below. The examples of Jannes and Jambres the magicians in Egypt who opposed Moses suggest that it was unsaved people Paul had in mind.
Titus again refers to unsaved Jews. So in these scriptures the apostates are unsaved people, not Christians. Whether they were genuine believers or just temporary churchgoers is a matter of dispute. Verse 20 says they escaped the pollution of the world. Verse 21 says they knew the way of righteousness. Sure it can be said that some unsaved people know the way of righteousness academically rather than personally and still choose not to believe. But are there unsaved people who have actually escaped the pollution of the world?
And if so, how exactly? Some may argue that in verse 22 he calls them dogs and not sheep, thus they were never christians. But this is not a satisfactory argument. Peter also referred to Pastors as shepherds. If a pastor is a shepherd, does that mean he is no longer a sheep? Figurative expressions could only be interpreted within their particular contexts. The sad truth is they were never real. They were a tare among the wheat.
Tares look like the real thing. They look like wheat, but they are not. They were never a believer. There are apostate churches—churches that are no longer true to the faith. In Revelation , the church of Laodicea was filled with apostates. In verse 20 we are told that Jesus was knocking on the door. He was not in the church. There were no Christians in the church.
Today there are many churches and denominations that have committed apostasy. They no longer hold to the faith. The faith has been distorted to please the sensibilities of people. As one politician stated some years ago, churches need to change what they teach to agree with the modern age.
Many churches have done exactly that. Salvation is no longer by grace through faith in Christ alone Acts ; Ephesians There are individuals who have said a prayer and thought they were saved and going to heaven. No one comes to the Father except through me. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die.
Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. But you who forsake the Lord , who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.
You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods.
When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife. Shall I not punish them for these things? And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord , more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord , the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.
And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. And by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God. Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord , the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done. And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.
For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come.
Therefore we know that it is the last hour. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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