You can go into apostasy to the point where
you don’t serve the Lord Jesus Christ anymore.
We will look at some verses in which Paul talks about preachers and
teachers who do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t get any further away than
that. They were placed into the body of
Christ to be preachers and teachers.
That is their part. God tempered the body – put it together – as
he saw fit.
1 Corinthians 12:24
For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body
together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
There are people in the body of Christ who
have specific duties.
Colossians 4:17
And say to Archippus [who is mentioned in Philemon, perhaps his son], Take heed to the ministry which
thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.
Here is a brother in the Lord who was given by
God the ministry of grace under the Apostle Paul.
Paul says, ‘take heed,’ which is a warning. Paul is warning Archippus that this is his
job; do it well – fulfill it; be faithful to it. Paul tells Timothy in this famous verse:
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth.
He is going to be held accountable. Second Timothy is a pastoral epistle. It is written to pulpit ministries. There had been some subverting of hearers
through words to no profit.
2 Timothy 2:14, 16-18
Of these
things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive
not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. But shun
profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
They were going against God’s word. Watch this:
And their
word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
So, there is God’s word and the word of
preachers.
Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is
past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
These men were saved men; they were in the
body of Christ. They were
preachers. They just did not preach the
rightly divided word. They did not
recognize/acknowledge Paul’s authority and his office of apostleship; therefore
they did not preach the message of the grace of God given to Paul. They, concerning
the truth have erred. It became their word of ungodliness that subverted
the hearers.
So how can a truly saved individual go into
apostasy? As far as you can go. You can get to the point where your conduct
is as if you are not saved. When we talk
about apostasy we think of the doctrine of heretics.
Titus 1:5
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order
the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had
appointed thee:
Titus is going to ordain elders, the
leadership of the local assemblies.
Titus 1:11-13, 16
Whose [Cretians] mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses,
teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's [money] sake.
There were some teachers and preachers in the body of Christ who
were teaching for filthy lucre’s sake (lucrative business).
One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are
alway liars, evil beasts [they tear up the saints/flock], slow bellies [like ‘slugs’ that only consume Phil. 3:19]. This
witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound
in the faith;
Titus, an elder who Paul ordained, has to go
and rebuke these people sharply. Paul
never rebukes lost people; he only rebukes those who are saved (whether in the
body of Christ or the Little Flock (see Galatians)) who are preachers and
teachers. Watch what he says:
They
profess that they know God [They
were professing Christians/believers. The
book of Titus is about the good works of grace—the ministry.]; but in works [ministry] they deny him [Christ], being abominable, and disobedient,
and unto every good work reprobate.
These men were saved, but just like Hymenaeus and Philetus,
their word did eat as doth a canker (a cancer) that was destroying the body of Christ, and they had to
be rebuked.
2
Timothy 2:11-13
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live
with him [That
is our identification; our spiritual baptism in Christ. Romans 6:2-4]: If we suffer [Romans 8:17], we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also
will deny us:
Unlike
what most people think, that is not saying you can lose your salvation. They will go back to the gospels of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John where the Lord says under the prophetic program’s
short-accounts system, a performance-based acceptance system under the law for
Israel, and equate what Paul says with what the Lord said under the law.
Matthew 10:33
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny
before my Father which is in heaven.
But
that is not for the church the body of Christ.
If you rightly divide God’s word you will know that is for Israel. That is their
program. We are in a different dispensation – the
dispensation of pure grace.
Ephesians 3:2
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given me to you-ward:
God
deals with us based upon our faith in Christ; but most importantly, based on
the faith of Christ—his faithfulness.
Galatians 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of
the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
2 Timothy 2:12
…if we deny him, he also
will deny us:
This
denial is explained in Titus 1:16:
They
profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient,
and unto every good work reprobate.
But in works they deny him. Their so-called ministries deny the Lord
Jesus Christ’s word through Paul; and in doing that, they deny Christ.
…if we deny him, he also
will deny us:
That refers
to our reigning with him.
2 Timothy 2:12-13
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he
also will deny us:
He will deny us what? The reign, that equal share. But look at
verse 13. Paul makes it clear that it is
not denial of our salvation.
If we
believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
To be continued…
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