"Let
no one in any way deceive you, for it [Jesus' return] will not come
unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is
revealed, the son of destruction,"(2
Thess. 2:3, ).
Apostasy
means to fall away from the truth. Therefore, an apostate is
someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God.
Apostasy is a rebellion against God because it is a rebellion
against truth. In the Old Testament God warned the Jewish
people about their idolatry and their lack of trust in Him. In
the New Testament the epistles warn us about not falling away from
the truth. Apostasy is a very real and dangerous threat.
The
verse at the top of the page tells us that there will be an apostasy
that is associated with the appearance of the Antichrist. Most
Christians are looking for the arrival of the Antichrist, but very
few are looking for "the apostasy" that must come first.
The arrival of the Antichrist cannot occur until sufficient apostasy
has happened in the world. The Antichrist, who is the ultimate
of liars, cannot abide in a world where the truth of God's word is
taught. This is why the Bible says that the apostasy will come
first and then the Antichrist will be revealed. Although the true
Church of the Living God will NOT see the coming of the Anti-Christ,
the purveyance of apostacy forwarns of the arrival the AC, and the
removal of the Church prior to his revealing.
Therefore,
we must, as Christians, ask this question, "Is there an
apostasy occurring in the Christian church today?" Some
would say no and others yes. But, as we look for the events
that point to the coming of the Antichrist, should we not also be
looking for the arrival of apostasy? And where else should we
first look but in our own house for the Bible tells us that judgment
will begin in the house of the Lord (1
Peter 4:17).
If
there is indeed an apostasy occurring in the Christian Church, we
would not know it unless we first examined the Bible closely and
then compared the Church to the Word of God. It is only after truth
is established that we would then have a measuring rod by which
apostasy can be detected. Therefore, I propose the following
list of biblical truths as a sample of essential Christian and
non-essential doctrines by which we might compare other teachings
and phenomena. Note this is not absolute and the nuances of
several can be debated as not all will agree with the categorization
of all points.
Of
course, the non-essentials are debatable (which unfortunately leads
to denominational fragmentation). But by way of explanation,
the Primary Essentials, are those doctrines that the Bible states if
they are denied, damnation follows. For brevity, the Bible states
that if
b.
that if you deny Jesus' physical resurrection, your faith is in vain
(1
Cor. 15:14,
cf John
2:19- 21);
d.
and that if you preach a gospel contrary to what the apostles
preached, you are accursed (Gal.
1:8-9,
cf., 1
Cor. 15:1-4).
The
Secondary Essentials are essentials that further clarify orthodoxy,
but there is no explicitly scriptural statement regarding each (that
I am aware of) which states that denying them results in damnation
the way the Primary Essentials do. The Secondary Essentials
deal with the nature of God, primarily. The fact that there is
one God who is Triune or three manifestations of the same God,
is clearly essential to Christian orthodoxy, but there is no
scriptural statement stating that to believe in the Trinity is
necessary for salvation.
However,
that does not mean that denial of the Trinity is acceptable. A
person can be saved without knowing about the Trinity. But,
since the Trinity is a biblical truth, and the believer is indwelt
by the Holy Spirit who bears witness of truth, a true Christian
will not openly denounce the Trinity once he has been taught it from
scripture. So, it could be said that the Secondary Essentials
are essentials to the faith as well as the Primary Essentials are.
The
Primary Non-Essentials are biblical teachings that if denied do not
affect one's salvation. But, because the Bible teaches them,
denying them is a sign of apostasy. The Secondary
Non-Essentials do not affect ones position with God nor do they
affirm or deny biblical teaching since they are debatable.
Having differing beliefs in these is not a sign of apostasy, just
differences of opinion.
Again,
I am aware that the categorization of the non-essentials is
debatable, but I must draw the line somewhere. Sadly, it is in
Secondary non-essential doctrines that most denominational
fragmentation occurs. This is a sad display that most division
occurs over that which is least important. Furthermore, I
believe that it is in the area of the Non-Essentials that apostasy
can first be detected.
2 Thessalonians 2
"Let
no one in any way deceive you, for it [Jesus' return] will not come
unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is
revealed, the son of destruction,"(2
Thess. 2:3,).
Have
you been looking for the coming of the anti-Christ? Are you
waiting for him to pop up on the world scene? Then you are looking
in the wrong place. If you are, you must also be looking
for the related apostasy first. Most Christians are looking
for signs of the anti-Christ but are not looking for signs of
apostasy.
The
Bible is God's word and it tells us what is right and wrong.
To the degree that anyone disagrees with the truths of God's word,
to that same degree they are falling away from it. What, then,
might be some of the signs of apostasy? I've compiled a
representative list of issues. You may or may not agree with
all of these, but I provide them as food for thought.
b.
Of course, there are bound to be divisions in the body of Christ and
differences of opinions are permitted (Rom.
14:1-12).
But, the amount of divisions in the Church is ridiculous and
contrary to Col.
3:14.
Homosexuality
is clearly condemned in God'sword (Lev.
18:22; 1
Cor. 6:9).
To ordain Homosexuals into ministry is clearly
a.Whether
people like it or not in this politically correct environment, the
Bible does not support woman as elders or pastors (1
Tim. 2:12-14; 3:2;Titus
1:5-7).
Men are called to be leaders in the church. The fact that
women elders and pastors exist is a sign that men are not doing
their God-given job.
4. Not preaching the gospel per 1 Cor. 15:1-4.
a.The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. It is not a message of convenience or embarrassment. Do not be ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16).
6. Not
sending out or failing to support missionaries (or cutting back
unnecessarily) in violation of Matt
28:18-20.
a.Those
in ministry should make a living from their labor. Churches
should seek to spread the gospel best they can and selling things to
do it is acceptable. But, how many trinkets and bobbles are
offered in the name of Christ that do not honor God but are merely
for the purpose of financial gain? Is the duty of the church
business or the gospel? Remember how Jesus cleansed the
temple?
a. Pastors
are called to equip the Christian for the work of the ministry in
all aspects of life (Eph.
4:11):
apologetics, evangelism, missionary work, prayer, service, love,
etc. Far too many congregations are not being equipped with
even the basics
of Christianity and
are instead being taught political correctness.
1. Is
comfort or truth the primary objective for the Christians? Are
we divine in nature or sinners saved by grace? Do we deserve
to be saved or are we saved by God's free choice? Christians
who want merely to be entertained and comforted from the pulpit are
still children. They should be challenged to grow and take
risks.
Apostasy
is all around us in varying degrees. As Christians, we need to
be very sure that we are clinging to the truth of God's word and
resisting the inclusion of liberalism, moral relativism, and the
oncoming secularism that is all around us. We need to stand on
the word of God and never be ashamed of the truth of the Gospel:
"For
I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek," (Rom.
1:16).
TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET.
No comments:
Post a Comment