apostasy
The renunciation of a profession of the Christian faith.
- From scripture:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons… (1 Timothy 4:1 ESV).
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19 ESV).
- From Why Some Leave Christ by Charles Spurgeon:
In all our churches, among the many who enlist, there are some who desert. They continue awhile, and then they go back to the world. The radical reason why they retract is an obvious incongruity. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us” (1 Jo 2:19). The unconverted adherents to our fellowship are no loss to the Church when they depart. They are not a real loss, any more than the scattering of the chaff from the threshing-floor is a detriment5 to the wheat. Christ keeps the winnowing fan always going. His own preaching constantly sifted His hearers. Some were blown away because they were chaff. They did not really believe. By the ministry of the Gospel, by the order of Providence, by all the arrangements of divine government, the precious are separated from the vile, the dross is purged away from the silver [so] that the good seed and the pure metal may remain and be preserved. The process is always painful. It causes great searching of heart amongst those who abide faithful and occasions deep anxiety to gentle spirits of tender, sympathetic mold…I put it to myself. I put it to those who are the officers of the church. I put it to every member without exception: Will ye also go away?
Learn more:
- Got Questions: What is apostasy and how can I recognize it?
- Eric Raymond: The Path to Apostasy
- Michael Kruger: Women’s Bible Study (Hebrews), Episode 25 and Episode 26
- Sinclair Ferguson: Apostasy and How It Happens
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