Dear friends and readers,
This is one of those articles that I must be very careful in writing so as not to shake anyones confidence in their salvation.
But we must face Biblical facts; 1 Timothy 4:1 gives us a stark warning, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron----"!
As I was coming up through the ranks of the church, one of the most prolific comments heard was "once saved always saved". And after all who can doubt that? Romans chapter 10 verse 9 gives the ONLY requirement for salvation, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you WILL (SHALL) be saved". Couple that with sincere repentance (John the Baptist, Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand), and your salvation is assured. Well, lets stipulate that SINCERE repentance is required!
And yes water baptism is also mentioned; Peter speaking in Acts 3:2 "Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins----"! And yes for those who understand the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 it does call for being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit". So now that we have covered the bases, lets talk about those who might depart from the faith.
First, I believe in quoting scripture in context to the entire message in the word. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1-2 is then followed by admonitions which lead us to believe that these particular folks might become tied up in legalism, forbidding marriage, food issues and "old wives fables" and so forth. This theme is also echoed in Colossians chapter 2 verses 18-23 which is also all about legalism within the church.
Legalism kills! Love and Grace and Mercy give life!
I had my first lesson as a young pastor in legalism on the day of my marriage to my sweet wife. During our reception we DARED to dance a waltz together. Oh my goodness you would have thought that we stole the church treasury, spit on the pulpit and denied Christ! I have fought legalism within the church with every breath of my being ever since. It is one of the main reasons that so many people have dropped out of church fellowship. But dropping out of church fellowship (not a good idea by the way) is vastly different than departing from the faith (in Christ).
But the fact remains that for whatever reason, some people will depart from the faith. How is that possible once having had a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ? Allow me right here and now to register a disclaimer. It is not up to me to judge anyone. I just write the articles so lets stick to scripture and then you decide for yourselves.
First I must tell you that in many churches, the message regarding the fruits of the spirit and love, grace and mercy are center stage. As they should be by the way. But there is also another side to that particular coin. Few if any want to hear anything that even remotely touches on the subject of anyone actually loosing their salvation. And how could that be anyway? After all Jesus Himself said in John 17:12 "---Those whom You gave Me I have kept, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that scripture might be fulfilled". (Son of perdition in this context was Judas the betrayer of Christ).
Oh, Oh, did I Leave something out? Actually John 17:12 begins by saying "WHILE I WAS WITH THEM IN THE WORLD". Jesus did keep them and none was lost but how about now that He is no longer in the world with His followers?
Wait, don't hit the delete button just yet.
The very same Jesus is speaking in Matthew chapter 7: 21-23. By the way, from the context it is plain that He is speaking to people who really believe they are His followers. "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many (NOTE---did you register the word MANY?) will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name? Cast of demons in Your Name? And done many wonders in Your Name?
These folks have obviously been in church and are asking Jesus a very serious question based on their belief that they are saved. But Jesus answers them and says "And then I will declare to them, I NEVER KNEW YOU; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness"! While this article is not specifically about Matthew 7, please do note that Jesus is qualifying His remarks and is identifying folks who believe that they are Christians but who are NOT actually doing the will of the Heavenly Father. Instead, while apparently attending church, they are still practicing evil.
And it is very obvious that simply being a church participant is not the qualifying factor for very real eternal salvation. The Apostle Paul warns the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:29) "For I know this, that after my departure, SAVAGE WOLVES will come among you, not sparing the flock". Remember that the church of Ephesus is named by Jesus in Revelation chapter 2 as being among the churches at the end of the church age. For those who have been taught that the Apostolic age ended with the death of the last original Apostle, we must remember that we are told in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11-12 "And He Himself (Jesus) gave some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers" and then goes on to tell us why He did so "for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ".
When I was a young pastor the world seemed a much simpler place. I looked at scriptures like 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 (the falling away comes first) and honestly thought the day would come when folks would stream out of churches everywhere and flatly deny Christ. I thought that would signal the great falling away. After nearly 34 years of ministry I have long since realized the fallacy of my early thinking. With few exceptions, the falling away will not be people openly denying Christ. No, No!
It will be people (believers) streaming INTO program based churches who have forsaken teaching the pure Word of God. It will be a casual slow walking descent into political correctness (P.C.), false doctrine, feel good Christianity with little or no emphasis on living a Holy lifestyle. It will be like the old proverbial frog in the pot of slowly boiling water. At first the warm water soothes and becomes so comfortable that the frog becomes drowsy and looses track of what is going on around (and in) the pot. The water continues to heat and the frog falls fast asleep. By the time the comfortable temperature rises to a killing point of boiling, the frog is so weakened that he gives up even trying to escape---and death comes.
This is what is happening in some churches today. THE PROGRAM(s), THE PROFESSIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, THE CONCERTS, GRAPHICS, SMOKE AND MIRRORS becomes a hypnotic replacement for the pure word of God.
But first a disclaimer and full disclosure on my part; As a church pastor for many years, we had baby sitting, children's church, good praise and worship, church dinners, outings and things that did make church fun. No problem with any of that. BUT, teaching the word of God---exactly as written, in context was ALWAYS the first priority. Nothing and I mean nothing supplanted teaching the word.
Also to be honesty here, out there in the highways and byways of the western world are very many great churches and dedicated pastors who keep the word of God foremost in each and every service. These churches range from small community fellowships to huge big city congregations. And by the way, when you hear someone saying that we live in a POST CHRISTIAN ERA, don't you believe it because that statement in itself downsizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the modern church today. No, the church is alive and well. The problem is that we live in such a fast paced world and one in which recreation and the need for escapism is so prevalent that many people are openly searching for the next great revival---of ENTERTAINMENT!
Then there is the fear of P.C. You know, the fear that one must tow the line of acceptable speech no matter the Biblical consequences. This approach rapidly becomes a pervasive cocoon of regulated speech very much like the slowly warming water in the frogs pot. That leads to accepting social behavior that is strictly forbidden in the Bible, evil speaking about other believers, gossip, envies and so forth that soon become the fruits of the flesh spoken about in Galatians chapter 5. Now the cocoon has become so large that it envelops entire congregations and gives rise to even more false teachers. And then satellite churches begin to spring up from these evil pits and soon entire communities fall prey to the great god of the program.
Is there any protection from becoming entrapted in these kinds of churches and falling prey to false teachers and doctrine? YES indeed there is. But it involves actually reading and knowing the Bible for oneself! Being armed with the pure word of God is akin to accomplishing a very basic Biblical tenet. It is found in Ephesians 6:11-17. Back in roughly 60 A.D. the Apostle Paul was writing to the church of Ephesus who's members DAILY saw examples of how the Roman soldiers were dressed for battle. Paul used that manner of dress to demonstrate a spiritual point. Those scriptures begin with the words "PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil".
Allow me to boil that down for you; Putting on the armor of God simply means to know the word of God sufficiently so you can recognize true doctrine from false. So please allow me to be blunt. If you are attending a church in which the pure word of God is being taught, STAY THERE. If you are attending a church that teaches P.C., denominational doctrine, heavy emphasis on programs rather than the word of God---GET OUT!!! Get out quickly and find a church that teaches the word of God exactly as written.
Knowing what the Bible actually says is your protection from becoming sucked into the black hole of false doctrine taught by false teachers. It is your assurance that you will not be among those in the end times who fall away. Knowing the word of God, true and sincere repentance and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the pathway to an eventual eternal home in the New City of Jerusalem with Christ as your King.
Remember that this life is short but it is also a "one shot deal". We need to get it right the first time around because there will be no second time.
God bless,
Pastor Rance.
