Falling Away

We have heard of the apostasy, or the falling away, in the last days. But what is the nature of this falling away, and how do we prevent it from happening to ourselves, our loved ones, and our church?

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 10:6-7
Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.

Falling away from God, or apostasy, is more than renouncing Christ, as renouncing Christ is just one of the outcomes of falling away. Rather, falling away from God begins when Christians do what is right in their own eyes rather than what is right in God’s eyes. In other words, falling away begins when Christians follow after their own lusts – lusts of the eyes, lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life – and do what is evil in the sight of God.

When Christians forsake God and do not serve Him, but rather serve cultural idols and ideologies which they deem as gods in their own eyes, their hearts will grow cold towards God (Matthew 24:10-12), and they will begin to fall away from God, consciously or sub-consciously. This falling away is complete when they renounce their faith in Christ; when God gives them over to their lusts (Romans 1:26); or when God hands them over to Satan, the father of their lusts and enemy of their souls (c.f. 1 Corinthians 5:5).

2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy [Gr “apostasía”] *[Or falling away from the faith] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

1 Timothy 4:1
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away [Gr “aphístÄ“mi”] from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

While “apostasía” speaks of “an active, self-determined leaving or departing from a previous standing”, “aphístÄ“mi” speaks of “being led away to depart from a certain standing”. Whichever is the agency, the outcome of both “apostasía” and “aphístÄ“mi” is falling away from God. Hence, we will use them interchangeably here.

To be specific, the apostasy of the last days is a falling away from God’s kind of faith, or a departure from the way, the truth, and the life of Christ. It is a departing from the holy requirements of God, a deviation from the laws of faith in Christ, and a leading away from the ways of the Spirit of truth. It is leaving the truths of God and entering into the falsehoods of the ideologies of the world.

Luke 8:13
Those on the 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 [Gr “aphístÄ“mi”].

Since all that God is, all the God has, and all that God wills are embodied in the Word and revealed through the Word, this apostasy happens when there is a falling away from the Word of God because of the shallow rooting of the Word, the spirit of error, or the spirit of deception. By the same token, this apostasy happens also when there is a departure from being led by the truths of the Spirit of truth to being led by carnal minds, unrenewed souls, deceptive spirits, or misleading signs and wonders.

Luke 16:27-31
“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

To prevent this apostasy, the primary witness or agency is not supernatural visitations or “spirit” inspirations, but the accurate handling of scriptural truths that are embodied in the written Word of God vis-à-vis theology.

Exodus 32:1-10
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

In essence, apostasy is a theological vision problem.

This theological vision problem is akin to how Aaron fashioned or represented God as a golden calf before the people, and how he formulated self-indulgent doctrines around the golden calf, that led to the people falling away from true faith in God. It is also akin to the people’s inability to comprehend a transcendent God, and thus their yearning to carve out a material image which actualised their own worldviews and value systems, that caused them to fall away from the true God. All these happened despite God’s supernatural manifestations in their midst.

If people, whether priests or members of a congregation, do not know the true image of God according to “Moses and the Prophets”, that is, scriptures breathed by God, then all supernatural manifestations will simply reinforce their own false image and knowledge of God. In other words, spiritual experiences will simply confirm the theology of the “golden calf” in the hearts and minds of the people if they are not measured by the absolute truth of scriptures. It is these “golden calf” theologies that will cause the people to fall away from the true God. In fact, what is truly alarming is that people will think in their minds and feel in their hearts that they are worshipping and serving the true God when they are actually deceived and guided by their “golden calf” without the true God.

As we can also see, both priests and people can mutually inspire wrong behaviours in each other that will cause the whole congregation to fall away from God. It is ‘like priests, like people; and like people, like priests’ in the congregation.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

As a result, both priests and people are destroyed because of the lack of the knowledge of the truth, for only knowledge of the truth can build true faith that pleases God. Hence, since accurate theology presents accurate knowledge of the truth concerning God, we must not underestimate the eternal value of proper theological education in the church.

2 Chronicles 15:3
For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law.

Even for God’s elect, without teachers who can teach the true knowledge of God, the people will not be able to abide in the true God, for God only seeks and abide by those who worship Him in the truth of His Word and in His Spirit of truth (John 4:23-24). Thus, a true and unadulterated theological vision of God is very important to abiding in the true God without falling away.

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

1 Timothy 4:16
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

So, if we can correct the theological vision of the “Aarons” – the lead pastors – of the congregation, we can teach the knowledge of the truth accurately amongst the people, and thus get rid of the “golden calves” that causes both the lead pastors and people to fall away from true faith in God.

Revelation 6:1-2
Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

This is all the more critical now, when the first seal – the false Christ who misrepresents “The Word of God” (Revelation 19:11-13) and who introduces “another Jesus”, carries a “different spirit”, and preaches a “different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4) – has been broken. These are times that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:10-12, 23-24.

Therefore, let us pay close attention to our theological vision of God, for only then can we ensure salvation both for ourselves and for those who hear us.

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