Introduction
Apostasy is a subject you don’t hear about very often but as I hope to show, it is a subject that is very relevant today.
The word ‘apostasy’ is translated from the Greek word ‘apostasia’ and it means to fall away, defect or forsake. The Greek word ‘apostasia’ only occurs twice in the New Testament. It is found in Acts 21:21 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
The Two Verses Containing Apostasia
Let’s take a closer look at the two verses mentioned above.
Acts 21:21
And they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
In this verse, the word ‘apostasia’ is translated as ‘forsake’.
This verse occurs in a text which describes a meeting between Paul, James and the elders of the church in Jerusalem. Paul is told about what the Jews in Jerusalem have heard about him concerning circumcision. They have been told that he has forsaken the laws of Moses. In other words, they believe that Paul has abandoned or renounced the Law of Moses. Therefore, Paul is being accused of apostasy.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
In this verse the word ‘apostasia’ is translated as ‘apostasy. This verse occurs in a passage of scripture where Paul is dealing with a misunderstanding about the sequence of events in the last days. Some Christians thought that the Tribulation was already upon them, which it wasn’t. He is reassuring the Thessalonians that the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Jesus will not occur before the apostasy happens. Note the definite article. Paul is talking about a specific time when ‘the apostasy’ will occur.
Other Apostasy Scriptures
There are other scriptures which talk about apostasy without using the Greek word ‘apostasia’. Let’s take a look at them.
1 Timothy 4:1
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.
In this verse, Paul is talking about the same event that he spoke about in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. This time he does not use the Greek word ‘apostasia’. Instead he uses the word, ‘aphistemi’ which is translated as ‘fall away’ in the above NASB translation. ‘Aphistemi’ means to remove, to revolt, to depart, draw away or refrain.
Notice that the falling away is from the faith. The faith that Paul is talking about is biblical truth or doctrine; it’s those things that Christians are meant to believe; the central truths of Christianity. It includes such things as the virgin birth, the incarnation, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, salvation by faith, justification, sanctification, glorification and the resurrection of believers to name but a few.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
In this text, Paul is warning Timothy that a time will come when there will be Christians who will reject sound doctrine and turn to heretical doctrines or myths. Note how he is talking about this happening in the future. This kind of behaviour has occurred many times throughout the history of the church but there is a time in the latter days when this happens on a large scale as we have seen in Paul’s first letter to Timothy.
Although Paul is not calling this apostasy directly, he is describing what happens when Christians apostasise.
Luke 8:11-13
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so they will not believe and be saved. Those on rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”
This parable is about the word of God bearing fruit. In verse 13 Jesus tells us about Christians who believe the word of God for a while but in a time of temptation ‘fall away’. The words, ‘fall away’ are translated from the Greek word, ‘aphistemi’.
Jesus is describing Christians who believe a particular doctrine or biblical truth for a while but later on they are tempted to abandon that doctrine. Often, they will replace it with a heresy; what Paul calls a doctrine of demons. On this occasion temptation leads to apostasy.
Hebrews 3:12-14
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today”, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harder your hearts, as when they provoked me.”
In this passage the writer is giving the Hebrew Christians a warning taken from the history of Israel when the Jews were disobedient in the wilderness. Because of sin many of them did not make it to the Promised Land, the place of rest. With this in mind the writer warns the Hebrew Christians not to make the same mistake.
The words, ‘falls away’ are translated from the Greek word, ‘aphistemi’.
This passage is about the danger of Christians getting out of fellowship with God by getting into unbelief as a result of deceitful sin. There is no suggestion here of these Christians losing their salvation. But there is a danger of their hearts being hardened towards God. To counter this risk, the writer encourages them not to neglect fellowship and to encourage one another. This is particularly relevant in the last days. In this instance it is sin that leads to apostasy.
Hebrews 6:4-6
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
When looking at a passage like this we must first consider the context and to do this we need to go back to Chapter 5, Verse 11. We see at the end of Chapter 5 that the writer is talking about a lack of maturity which has resulted from backtracking (falling away) from what they have been taught and practiced. This is carried on into Chapter 6 where the writer is making a plea for growth into maturity. In Verse 1 the writer tells us what has been going on with these Christians; they have gone back to practicing ‘dead works’.
Again, using the principle of context, when the writer talks about ‘repentance’ in Verse 6 he is still talking about the kind of repentance he mentioned earlier in Verse 1: ‘repentance from dead works’. So, the writer is urging these Christians to repent of their dead works. Their dead works were putting them out of fellowship with God.
In Verse 6 the writer says that these Christians have ‘fallen away’. What does fallen away mean? It is translated from the Greek verb ‘parapipto’ which means to turn aside or fall into error. It means to fall away from the true faith. These Christians have not stopped believing in Jesus. But they have gone into error about a particular part of Christian belief or practice. As the writer tells us in Verse 1, they have turned back to dead works. Given that these are Jewish Christians, it is likely that they had turned back to the rituals of Judaism, including animal sacrifices, hence the reference to crucifying Jesus in Verse 6.
Therefore, this passage of scripture is not talking about salvation but about these Christians falling back into error and getting out of fellowship with God. In this instance dead works leads to apostasy.
Matthew 24:10
“At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another."
This verse is found in what is known as the Olivet Discourse in which Jesus explains what must happen before His Second Coming. Verse 10 describes one of the things that will happen at a certain time. The words ‘fall away’ are translated from the Greek word ‘skandalizo’ which means to offend, entice to sin or stumble.
So, Jesus is saying that there will come a time when many Christians will fall into sin and will apostasise. He is talking about the same event that we read about in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and 1 Timothy 4:1.
Jesus is also saying that this time of apostasy will take place shortly before the end of the Church Age.
What Is Apostasy?
What have the scriptures about apostasy taught us?
All of the scriptures have shown us that apostasy is about falling away, rebelling or departing; but from what? The answer is ‘the faith’. And ‘the faith’ is the truth or the doctrines that Christians are supposed to believe. The truths or doctrines that Christians believe are found in the Bible and the Bible alone. Anything from any where else is not ‘the faith’.
The scriptures that we have examined above also show us that the falling away is something Christians do. When a Christian apostasises they are departing from the true doctrines that they once believed either by rejecting them or by replacing them with false doctrines. For instance, a Christian might initially believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the truth, but later decide that Jesus didn’t rise bodily from the dead. This is apostasy because they have departed from the truth.
Some Christian teachers say that apostasy is not just about rejecting the truth. They say that it can also include the total rejection of Jesus or the abandonment of Christianity all together. This suggests that some Christians who apostasise lose their salvation but there is nothing in the apostasy scriptures to support this. Furthermore, this idea is at odds with the doctrine of Eternal Security. Christians can depart a long way from the truth to the point where they believe in a false Jesus but if they were born again in the first place, they cannot lose their salvation. Instead, what they will do is get out of fellowship with God and lose their eternal rewards. Furthermore, they will lead other Christians astray with their false doctrines.
What can lead a Christian into apostasy? There are a number of causes. Persistent sin can cause it. For instance, a Christian might commit adultery and want to go on doing so. In order to justify themselves they might reject the biblical teaching on marital fidelity. Worldliness can also lead to apostasy and so can immaturity or idolatry. Christians can also be misled into it by listening to false teachers or reading books containing false doctrine. Laziness can lead to apsotasy, and so can neglect of prayer or bible study. But the biggest cause is the adoption of secular ideas or views. To find out more about this I recommend a book called The Seduction of Christianity by Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon. Many Christian leaders and pastors are responsible for causing apostasy by introducing false teaching into their churches. They can lead many others astray when they do this.
Some of the apostasy scriptures also point to a particular event in time called ‘the apostasy’. This is a period of time when there is widespread apostasy in the church and it occurs just before the Church Age comes to an end. That time us upon us now. Right now, apostasy has infected most of the church worldwide. We are witnesses to the fulfilment of prophecies by Jesus and Paul about ‘the apostasy’. All we have left is a remnant of faithful Christians and churches that hold fast to ‘the faith’.
So, apostasy can occur in the lives of individual Christians, whole congregations or denominations and on a global scale as is the case today.