Apostasy (Part 1)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth and it is what�s the time frame these days? The time frame is I think it�s the last day of April, is it not?

Coming up to May. May snow showers bring June� I don�t know what it brings. Anyway, we�re glad you�re listening. We do, once in a while, go on Facebook Live, so today�s Facebook Live. I think the only way you can see it is if you sign up for the NoCo group.

It�s a special Gnostic group, special insider thing that I have to approve, and so you know if you�re in this group, I have personally given my approval for you to be a part of the group. So if you want to write me, it�s Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

I recorded two shows earlier today, one with Luke Abendroth, my son, and we were just talking about redemptive historical sweep of the Bible and the divine author and the organic unity that you see in Scripture, and then Luke�s friend, and my friend now too, Rene Esguerra.

He was on the show, two separate shows, so today�s actually show number three, and I guess when it�s yucky out, we just keep doing show after show after show. The topic today is apostasy, and it�s really a scary word.

Apostasy as Falling Away from Christ

I don�t think people really like to know the ramifications of the word apostasy. Some words, I guess, are scary just in and of themselves, but there�s no reality behind those words. Apostasy is not like that, though, because it�s true.

Listen to what Jesus said, �The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy, but these have no root. They believe for a while, and in a time of testing, fall away. That�s really a good definition of apostasy.

People that are close to Christianity, make professions of being a Christian, say they believe, are in the church, and more, and they fall away. Paul said, 1 Timothy 4, �But the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.

And so apostasy could be termed �falling away. The writer of Hebrews said it this way, �Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Apostasy is something that we have to deal with, because it�s in Scripture, it�s a defection, it�s going AWOL spiritually. You might say it�s a revolt against what Christianity is, it�s a rejection of, rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Savior.

As bad as treason might be, people getting arrested for treason and crimes against your country, let�s say you�re an American, and you get shot for treason, lots of times, this is not against a country, this is against the risen Savior, the only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Definitions of Apostasy and Deconversion

Let me give you a few definitions from theologians, what apostasy is, I�ll give you a few Bible verses, one from Jesus, one from Paul, and one from the writer of Hebrews, could have been Paul. These are some definitions of apostasy, and when I say the word �Christian I want you to think air quotes, professing Christian.

We know that you can�t lose your salvation because you didn�t earn your salvation, and God keeps you, and we�ll talk a lot about this topic of the effectual call, perseverance of the saint, preservation of the saints by God in due time, but right now, let�s just look at a few apostasy definitions.

Richard Mueller says, �Apostasy is the rejection of Christ by one who has been a �Christian air quotes, is what I�m going to put in there. I don�t see air quotes there, but that, of course, is what�s implied.

�Apostasy he goes on to say, �is generally defined as the determined, willful rejection of Christ and his teachings by a �Christian believer. So, someone that was close to Christianity, and he was part of the flock externally, the visual gatherings, right, and he had Christianese, or she had Bible studies, or whatever she said she was, and then they turn their back, they fall away.

�Apostasy is a theological category one author said, �describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith interestingly, �in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ.

Apostasy is when you turn your back on Jesus. I could say it maybe different ways. You spit in Jesus� face, and you say, �He�s a liar. That you say, �You know what? You�re not the only Savior. Your claims are invalid or, �He was really a mythical figure.

There�s lots of ways that it could manifest itself, but right now we�re just looking at some definitions of apostasy. One person called it �apostasy is the antonym of conversion. It is �deconversion.

And it�s fascinating to me because it seems like there is a long parade, a long litany of people put before us in the media, on purpose, I think, by the media. They can�t wait to find someone who said, �I used to be a Christian, and God did me wrong.

The people of God did me wrong, and therefore I don�t want to follow anymore. Now, big picture, dear NOCO listeners, this is really something that you�ve got to work through in your mind. And here�s how I want you to frame it mentally.

Apostasy, Common Grace, and the Danger of Deception

You are going to have people that you love in your life. And if you�re not careful to think in biblical categories, you might give them a pass because you love them, and you can�t get your mind wrapped around the fact that a loved one, a husband, a wife, children, parents, aunts, uncles, dear friends, teammates, people at work, you can�t get your mind wrapped around the fact that they�re not going to be going to heaven if they were to die instantaneously.

I guess everybody dies instantaneously. They would die suddenly. And you�ve got to get your mind wrapped around that. That�s why in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 it says, �Do not be deceived. Fornicators, adulterers, etc. will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Why does he say, �Do not be deceived Because it�s easy to be deceived. And the passage we�re going to look at here shortly is going to be warning Christians to look out for other people who are on the road to apostasy.

You love your neighbor in lots of different ways, including helping them not just fall away as much as is up to you. You could have theological categories of sovereignty and election and all that. That�s not what I�m talking about right now.

Apostasy is real, and people do turn away. And you need to set your mind in such a way that you�ll say, �I submit to the text. Not, �Well, they�re nice people and everything else, just between us girls.

If you have a good doctrine of common grace, you will be able to understand this topic a lot more. And common grace should tell you that unregenerate people can do good things, and they can be kind to people, and they�re not always as bad as they could be, right?

Because of common grace. And just because people are nice or kind, and you say, �Well, this person�s an adulterer and they�re nice, this person�s homosexual and they�re kind the list goes on and on and on, you can�t do that.

So common grace will help you. Let me give you a few more definitions of apostasy. And it�s something that I think is� Here�s why I�m bringing it up. A, it�s in Hebrews 12, and B, trials and temptations and hardships are the devil�s devices to get people to apostatize.

That is to say, you will see Christians during this crisis grow and learn. And I�ve had stories of people here at Bethlehem Bible Church, and they�re listening to R .C. Sproul videos, watching them, listening to the audio portion at home, and they�re reading Pilgrim�s Progress, and they�re studying such and such, and they�re going out to serve their loved ones and other folks at church.

Trials can be used by God, Romans 5, and�somebody�s texting me�Romans 5 and James 1, trials mature Christians. Right? Hebrews 12, they train you, they discipline you so you can run the race. But, they�re also used to weed out people.

Temptations, trials, and difficulties cause people to say, �You know what? This isn�t worth it. God has robbed me. God has jobbed me. God has not kept his end of the bargain, and if this is God, I don�t want to worship him.

So, trials and troubles and temptations expose this. Right? They�ve been around, but now we can see them more as they�re getting exposed in the media, and maybe even some of your friends. A few more definitions of apostasy.

Tyndale Bible Dictionary, �Turning against God as evidenced by abandonment and repudiation of former beliefs. The term generally refers to a deliberate renouncing of the faith by a once-sincere believer.

I�m going to give air quotes again. Now, what�s going to happen, probably not this show, but the next show, I want to talk to Christians as well who sin, because, dear Christian, sinning is an apostasy.

All apostasy is sin, but not all sin is apostasy. Christians sin. I wish I didn�t sin, but just because I commit a sin, that doesn�t mean I�m apostate. No, Christians sin. Christians are tempted. Christians go through trials and troubles and hardships, and sometimes we don�t respond well, and we respond with pride or arrogance or self-righteousness or anxiousness or rebelliousness Christians sin, simul justus et peccator, simultaneously just in God�s eyes, yet still sinful, still sinners.

But I�m talking about those people that turn their back on Christianity and they don�t look back. That�s what I�m talking about when it comes to apostasy. Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words, �People who commit apostasy abandon their faith and repudiate their former beliefs.

Now, I�m not exactly sure, because I don�t have the notes in front of me, but did not Josh Harris recently say, �I don�t believe this anymore. How do we work that into our theological system? I know it was Rob Bell not that long ago.

I don�t think he repudiated God, but I think he repudiated a God who would damn people. So in essence, that is repudiating the God of the Bible, is it not? Dictionary of Christian Theology says, �Apostasy means the deliberate disavowal of belief in Christ made by a formerly believing Christian.

Now, with all these believing Christians, of course, there�s a faith that doesn�t save, right? There�s a faith that�s less than knowledge, assent, and trust. There�s a false faith, a spurious faith, a faith that doesn�t work, right, to use the language of James.

And when it comes to apostasy, we, as Christians, need to have our eyes open. So today, if you have your Bibles, we�re going to look at Hebrews chapter 12, where we have kind of like a little portrait of apostasy.

And I think it�s going to be surprising to you that the response is, of course, if you�re watching or listening, don�t be an apostate. But you, Christian, have a responsibility to look out for other people who are running the Christian race and who are tempted to apostatize.

You say, �Well, how does that all work with sovereign election Well, we�re going to have to get to that another time. Here�s what I do know for the moment. The language of Hebrews 12 is plural. Now, you can think about a pastor preaching to a bunch of people, and he would use a lot of plurals, would he not?

�Ye� or �Y�all� or �You Y�all� �Y�all Y�all. How do we say that? �You� plural. And that�s what you�re going to see in Hebrews 12. For instance, Hebrews 12 .12, �Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight� that�s a plural �paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Jesus ran this great race, Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Verse 3, �Consider Him. You need to run this race and endure to the end. At the end of chapter 10, endure to the end so you�ll be saved. Chapter 11, �Basically, the just shall live by faith.

Look at these people in chapter 11 who did endure, who were trusting, who were looking to Jesus. And then he says in chapter 12, verses 5 through 11, there�s this discipline, i .e. training from God to help you run.

You just don�t go run an ultramarathon, you train for it. And part of God�s training program is discipline, it�s not all necessarily spanking from God figuratively, but it�s training, it�s correction, it�s teaching, right?

And so now he uses this language of plural. Here�s another one in Hebrews 12 .14, �Strive for peace with everyone that�s plural, �and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. He�s using plurals because he�s exhorting the congregation.

He�s exhorting the congregation, this is a corporate entity, and here the body of Christ needs to be careful when it comes to, now, apostasy. Take a look at this, I don�t know if you�ve ever looked at this verse, Hebrews 12 .15, �See to it that�s plural by the way, �that no one fails to obtain the grace of God that�s apostasy, �that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

That�s fascinating. So remember, we�ve got this race-running motif, running the Christian race, and it�s a marathon, it�s not some sprint. And how do you endure? How do you endure to the end? How do you finish well following, of course, the great pioneer, the trailblazer, the one that�s chopping down the vines with a machete in front of you in the Vietnam War?

That person is the author of your faith, Hebrews 12, the great Lord Jesus. And you need to finish as well. Jesus doesn�t finish the work for you, right? You have to keep believing. Jesus doesn�t believe for you.

There�s a response to who you are in Christ, and you, Christian, need to finish. Right? That�s the exhortation. And you finish by helping other people, verse 13. Make sure the lame are helped, so you want to run well, and they�re going to be encouraged by that, and you help them run.

When it comes to chapter 12, verse 14, you want to be at peace with people and not fighting all the time. And holy living certainly flows from justification. And now he says, �See to it. Now, here�s a cool thing for those five people that are watching now.

I don�t know who you are. You can tell me if you�d like. But here�s what the word is. It�s where we get the word �episcopalian. Now, you�ve heard that little slogan, �Every member a ministry. And by the way, if you research every member of ministry, you�re going to find out that maybe the idea was good, but the origin is maybe not so good.

�Be that as it may. I wasn�t going to say �irregardless. �Regardless� I was going to say. �Be that as it may. The text here is where we get the word �episcopalian, episcopos. Now think about that.

�See, see to it, episcope, microscope, telescope, artichoke. By the way, when Luke was here and we were doing some shows and we were all laughing, I said, �See, now I at least get to laugh. There�s nobody here in the building.

The secretary�s gone. Steve�s gone. I�m the only one here, and I just get to laugh at my own jokes. But I feel like you�re here. I feel your presence. It means to see, to look, to gaze. And if you put an epi at the front of it, you�ve got your dermis and you�ve got your epidermis, right?

And so it�s on top of, right? And so you�re looking out for, you�re looking out over. That�s the idea. That�s where we get the word �episcopalian because you have a bishop that runs everything. Not a board of elders, not deacons, not just a pastor, although some Baptist churches function like their pastor is the bishop.

Here you have an overseer. Actually, that�s not a bad New Testament word, because elders are either called elders, they�re called overseers, or they�re called elders, overseers, shepherds. That�s not the one I wanted.

Overseer just means bishop, right? So you look out for people. Did you know, Christian? We�re going to have the new slogan now. Instead of every member of ministry, it�s going to be every member a bishop.

I think that�s going to sell. I�m going to get a special black band here. I had to take this off for a long time because I had knee surgery and didn�t run. This is my little road ID, so in case I ever fall, now you know my address, I guess, if you look at it closely enough.

I guess I didn�t have the exact address. You need to watch out for other Christians who might not obtain the grace of God. This is human responsibility. This is, I�m running my race, I�m following Jesus, He�s the one leading, and He�s the author and the finisher, and He, the great captain of my salvation, the great risen Savior who�s seated at the right hand, who finished well.

He became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. There is an after, and it�s exaltation, and seated at the right hand, and while, oh, there�s Wren. Hi, Wren, good to see you. I wish I was in Omaha right now having a La Casa pizza.

My son, Luke, stopped at Uncle Pat�s house for about an hour and a half, two weeks ago, and Pat went and got them Runzes, so I was thankful for Uncle Pat going to feed my son and his buddies. I don�t know if he�ll come there on the way back, but if I only had a La Casa pizza right now, I would be very happy.

First time I took Kim to La Casa pizza in Omaha, they had a couple places at the time, maybe more now, but one was on 44th and Leavenworth, and kind of downtown, old school, and so I take Kim, and I say, �Well, you know, it�s not like it�s a fancy place, but I just like the pizza, family memories, et cetera and so a cockroach ran up the wall, and since then my wife has been no big fan on La Casa pizza, although sometimes they cook them halfway, and then they ship them overseas, I think, to the military, so that�s kind of cool.

Anyway, back to the point. Every person, Hebrews chapter 12, talks about being a bishop, to look out for other people, so you�ve got your eyes on Jesus, you�re running, you�re responsible, right? You want to make sure you keep believing, and even though there�s trials and temptations and other issues, you keep believing because the just shall live by faith, faith in this risen Savior, this high priest, who was the offering and the prayer, right?

Offering prayers. That�s what priests do. They make offerings for sacrifice and sacrifice for sin. Jesus was that. He wasn�t only the priest, he was also the sacrifice, and priests pray, Hebrews chapter 7.

Well, you�ve got to look out for other people, right? If Jesus loves other people, you want to love them too, and as you run the race, and there�s difficulties, you�re to look out for other people, and you say to me, maybe not just Ren, but other people, �Am I my brother�s keeper

What�s the answer? Look at the text. Plural. Episcopos. �You all be Episcopalian bishops, that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. Look out for other people, right? There�s a positive thing. Oh, be at peace, right?

Don�t get mad at each other as you�re running this race. Make sure there�s holiness, right? You want to strive to be holy. You are holy. You�re sanctified. You�re set apart. Hebrews chapter 2, Hebrews chapter 10, Hebrews chapter 9, and therefore, live out who you are.

It�s not a matter of how much holiness you have to have in order to become a Christian, because you need to have perfect holiness that was given to you when God sanctified you initially or positionally.

And here we have �episcopos. It�s a present plural verb. Keep on. Keep looking. You are responsible for other people. You�re not responsible for them to go to heaven or hell, right? You can�t elect them.

You can�t regenerate them. Just like with your children, your only responsibility is to teach and to train and to discipline. But you can�t save them. But you can be the means that God uses for the ends.

And here, you�re to see to it. You ought to be watching out for other Christians. So, I�ll stop right now and just ask you the question. Do you know somebody that�s struggling spiritually? What should you do?

Call the pastor? Oh, you could, but you ought to call that person. How are you doing? Let me talk to you about who Jesus is. And you�re like, �Well, I don�t know what to say to the person. Well, just start rehearsing who Jesus is in the book of Hebrews.

That�s all. Almost every counseling scenario can be solved with Christology, who Jesus is. I�m not saying it�s only as simple as that, but you don�t need to have an ABCD, ABBC, CBAD, NANC, NANC, CCEF.

I have probably a couple shows in my gizzard that I could give on euthetic counseling and its perils. It�s not all bad, but it�s not all what it�s cracked up to be. You don�t need to know how to do all kinds of euthetic counseling.

If you know who Jesus is, and if you�re a Christian, you do, because it�s not that you know him, but he�s made himself known to you, Galatians 4. You ought to watch out for people. That�s your responsibility.

Give attention. Contemplate. Think. Go through the directory and say, �Oh, I haven�t seen so-and-so for a while. I should probably call them Matter of fact, when I have done that myself as a pastor, �Oh, I haven�t seen Wren at church lately and I call, do you know what?

99 of the time when I call, and I�ll say, �Just checking in on you, seeing how you�re doing. They don�t say, �How could you? You think you�ve got the gift of rebuke, and you�re a heavy-handed leader

There are heavy-handed leaders, and usually the people that I know who are heavy-handed leaders have a bad view of sola fide. That�s another story. But they�re happy, and what if they said I�ve called people before and checked in on them, and they said, �Well, other people have been checking in on me, but thanks, Pastor.

That�s the idea. That�s episkopos. You�re supposed to be exercising oversight of other people, not in a mean way, not in a self-righteous way, but a way of caring. I care for them, and I want them to run well.

Apostasy is real. I don�t want them going down apostasy lane. There�s no way. You want other people in the church, professing believers. Don�t you want them to go to heaven? Don�t you want them to experience the glories of eternity in the presence of Jesus Christ, worthy as the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing?

Don�t you want them to be a part of that? Of course you do. Every Christian does. If you don�t want them to be, then maybe you�re the apostate. You�re the one. If you�re listening today, I want you going there.

I want you to be there, not just with me, but for your sake, for, more importantly, the Lord�s sake. And so, the congregation has this message, and here�s the message. Look out for, be concerned for, look to other people.

And that can be summarized simply by, you run the Christian race, you want to honor God, that�s the first great commandment, and you want to honor your neighbor by love, loving your neighbor as yourself.

You don�t want graceless people not finishing the race. Thomas Manton, the Puritan, said, �There must be a constant watch, kept not only over our own hearts, but also over the congregations to which we belong.

Members must take care of one another. This is the communion between the saints. So dear Christian, you ought to be an episkopos, an episcopalian. I don�t mean leave your church and go there, but you get the idea.

Watching for Apostasy in the Church

So, here�s what we�re going to do. I�m going to take a three-minute break, we�re going to come back for another FaceTime Live. Bethlehem Bible Church and Omaha Bible Church, speaking of Omaha, going to Israel, coming up February 24th.

You can email me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com. Hopefully we�re going to have some prizes soon. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God�s Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text. Please come and join us.

Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We�re right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.