Apostasy
The abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.
2 Peter 2:20-22
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
When people ask if I am an Armenian or Calvinist my answer is yes. Armenians believe you can loose your salvation and Calvinists believe once saved always saved, and people are selected to go to heaven. Chuck Smith, Founder of Calvary Chapel always taught to to stay in the the middle of the road. I believe once saved always saved as long as the Christian abides in the vine, which is Christ.
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
Abiding means resting, staying some place. As long as you a abiding, you won’t fall into apostasy. We all have dark spiritual times, especially as a missionaries or pastors. Oswald Chambers said “when you are in dark spiritual times, shut your mouth”. Oswald only survived 3 years on the mission field. He died of malaria in Egypt. God hates murmurings. Murmuring is talking bad about your spouse. If you complain you are saying your spouse doesn’t provide for you. You are saying that ‘Jesus let you down’. When you say it, you believe it.
Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Profanity isn’t swearing. It is denying God’s power. Saying that God can’t do something. Or that God won’t do something. That is inferring that God is a bad spouse. The Bible says we are Jesus’ bride. We are the ‘Proverbs 31 spouse’. When we complain about sickness we are saying that God can’t heal. When we say we are poor but proud’ we sin twice. Not just that God can’t provide, but it’s also a sin to be proud. A spouse that complains about her husband is an unfaithful spouse. Treasonous. Without blemish.
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
We are Jesus’ bride. We are to honor Him, with our lives, no turning back. My greatest fear is apostasy. Paul even worried about it!
1 Cor 9:27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified
We don’t want to turn back!! We want to abide in the vine.
Abiding ! How do we do that? The Word
-Word. We need to stay in God’s Holy Word.
-Talk. Talk about God’s Holy Word.
-Tell. Go tell it on the mountain! Tell others!
-Pray. Praying according to God’s Word is great!
-Meditate. David meditated on God’s Word.
-Analyze. Analyze God’s Word, profoundly.
-Accept. Accept God’s Word to be inerrant.
-Believe. Know that the Word is God to you!
-Associate. Hang with only Word people
-Listen. Listen to the Word, praise and worship and sound teaching. My favorite for back ground 24/7 is Familyradio.OrgMOST IMPORTANTLY! DON’T QUIT!!
The best way to keep from falling into apostasy is from staying away from sin. If it’s questionable, or the people you are with try to make you doubt God’s Word, run
Guard you heart with you feet
Choose to believe in God’s Word and Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross, don’t stop!