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Apostasy in Church – 2Part 2 – The Signs of Apostasy
You might have heard this word before: Apostasy. It’s basic meaning is to fall away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection even though someone knows the truth. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God.
In the first part we’ve looked at the essential doctrines for a Christian. I argued that someone who says he or she is a Christian will have to belief these teachings. I also showed that there are lesser essentials. These lesser teachings are very important, but the Bible doesn’t directly says that you’ll be lost if you don’t believe them. Then, finally I talked about the ‘other’ important teachings which can be debated without losing salvation. Anyway, if you didn’t see part 1, I suggest doing that first before watching this part.
Anyway, as promised, in this part we are going to see whether we can recognise some of the signs of a developing apostasy in church.
Watch Closely
Do you remember the text in which Paul warns us that beforethe anti-Christ comes, we will see people falling away from the faith?
2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition
We mostly say that we are awaiting the second coming of Christ, and therefore we watch closely for signs of the anti-Christ. However, before the anti-Christ can even come, we will have to deal with apostasy in our church.
Many seem to know exactly how to recognise the anti-Christ. As a result we have already seen many anti-Christs come and go. But, how do we recognise apostasy? Or at least, how do we recognise the development of apostasy in church? Let’s look at some of these signs.
1. The obvious
Firstly, the most obvious sign is the denial or misinterpretation of the primary teachings as mention in part 1. The Trinity, the deity of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, salvation by grace, and moral absolutes as found in the Bible. I think I don’t have to explain this any further right? God’s word, the Bible, cannot lie. So, to part from these basics can, without much room for discussion, be seen as apostasy.
2. No Gospel in the Preaching
Let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…
I have heard sermons in which the name of Jesus couldn’t be heard even once. The Gospel, the heart of our faith, is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. When the preacher can’t be bothered with this message, and when this repeats itself time and again, we can surely see it as a sigh, or development of apostasy.
3. Damnation
Did you know that most of our teachings on hell come from Jesus Himself. On top of that, mostly He only talked about damnation towards His own disciples. So, what to think of Pastors who don’t preach or teach about damnation?
It might be scary to teach about hell. Yes, I would say that it might even offend many. But the bible never told us that the Gospel should be soothing to the ears of those who hear it. The Gospel, and Christians in particular, can be a smell of death for those who don’t want to listen, and the smell of life for those who love God’s word! 2 Corinthians 2:15-16.
One way or the other, damnation is part of the Christian message, and it should be part of Christian preaching as well.
4. Evolution
When a church accepts evolutionary principles or refuse to take a stand on evolution, are in great danger of sliding down on the path towards apostasy. Evolution, in its core, is part of the atheistic world-view. Jesus preached a real historical Adam and Eve. Even when people will mock us, we can’t pretend to know better than our Lord.
5. Itchy Ears
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears
When a church is aiming to be entertaining, and constantly wants to comfort everyone, we should be wary! Spiritual growth is not always fun and comfortable, but it is one of the big reasons we ought to come together.
6. LGBTI+
How about the ordination of homosexuals or transgenders? We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. However, as such we should leave our sinful behaviour behind and live according to God’s will. A practising homophile is living in a constant denial of God’s standard. Men who walk around as women and the other way around are also in violation of that same standard. To ordain homosexuals or transgenders into ministry is clearly contrary to biblical truth and clearly apostasy. And yes, that standard goes for all of us. If I live in an adulterous situation, I shouldn’t be ordained either.
7. Disrespect towards God’s Name
I know, most Christians do not curse. I think there must be something wrong with their faith if they do. But how about using the word ‘god’ or the name of Jesus when you are surprised or shocked? To be honest, I have heard this mostly among American Christians. So it might be something acceptable in their culture? Or it might be that I just didn’t meet that many people who have English as their first language. Either way, hearing this in church without correction is troublesome, to say at least.
8. Doing Business in Church
Some would say we should never permit any merchandising in church. Jesus wasn’t very amused when He saw all the selling and buying that was going on in the temple. I mean, I don’t believe it is wrong to sell some stuff in church if the money goes to the workers of the Gospel (like evangelists, pastors and missionaries). However, when pastors are openly doing business for the purpose of financial gain, we should be alert!
9. Not Answering the Great Commission
I have spoken to pastors who didn’t support any missionaries or evangelists. Their excuse was mostly money. They hardly had money to heat up the church, to have coffee afterwards, for a good sound system, etc. But, honestly? Not supporting mission work is directly akin towards disobedience of God’s word. Support starts with prayer, but also can entail sending letters or sending a nice gift box. It doesn’t always have to be big money. A church that doesn’t support mission, one way or the other, is not functioning in line with Matthew 28.
10. No Sound Studies
Way to many Christians are poorly equipped with even the basics of Christianity. Yes, part of that is due to their own laziness, but another part is due to the fact that many pastors can seem to be bothered with proper education. When there is no teaching on apologetics, evangelism, missionary work, prayer, giving, love, etc., a church is in danger of falling away from the truth.
11. Political Correctness
Do you remember the period in 2020, where many governments went berserk over a virus? Church leaders were standing in line to show the world around them how loving and correct they were. Many just completely went along with the narrative… Because they didn’t want to give a bad example.
Or how about sermons about Israel, creationism, raising children, the dangers of other religions? Quite often way to sensitive to preach about these topic… Better avoid them, right?
Let me remind you that none of our heroes of faith were typically political correct, and neither should we if it denies God’s morals and truths.
12. Women in the Role of Deacons and Pastors
This is a tricky one. I see many God fearing women in service of Christ on the mission field. They do a marvellous job! And honestly what would the mission field look like without them? Face it! Many men are just to occupied with career and status instead of really serving the Lord.
It is strange that when these ladies come back to their home church, they are not longer allowed to preach or lead. So, as far as I’m concerned, they take up a leading role within church. I am not debating that. However, the Bible is clear about the role of men. We should lead, we should take our responsibilities. However, just like on the mission field, we rather leave it to others. And then we end up with skewed situation.
Churches which are predominately run by women are unhealthy, and it seems to me that such churches have to many disobedient men, only there to warm the seats. I am not directly against women in leading roles. But church should not be a feminist place where men are not honoured for the role which was given to them by God in the first place.
13. Worried about Church Growth
Finally, I would be worried if a pastor or a leadership team are more concerned with the numbers of visitors than with preaching the uncomfortable truths. For many it is extremely important to be able to say that their church has more than 50, more than 500, or even more than 1000 members. Who cares! If that means that that church is a nice cosy place were nobody gets activated or triggered by the word of God, that church is on its way to become an attraction, and apostasy already lays at the door.
In the End
Okay, this was the second part of my video on apostasy. We have discussed several signs of a lurking deceitfulness. There are many more signs we need to be aware of, but I guess these signs are the most obvious and common among all.
Let me know in the comments if you know of some more signs. Or maybe you disagree on certain points? Just leave a comment. Remember! I am mostly active on my Odysee channel. You’ll find a link to that channel in the description of this video or on my website.
I very much appreciate your prayers and support! Please take a look in the description of this video to find out how you can help me. Also, I’ll place a link there to both the Dutch and English transcripts of this video.
God bless you, thank you for watching and we see each other in the next video!
