Apostasy
By Ron Boatwright

     Apostasy means "falling away".  Apostasy is caused by those who "want to pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7).  The church in the first century was warned "there will be false teachers among you who secretly bring in destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1).  This apostasy is happening in the Lord’s church even today.  It was predicted in 1 Timothy 4:1-2, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron."  The end result of apostasy is that many people will lose their souls.

     Many departures have occurred during the past 2000 years, which have resulted in hundreds of different kinds of denominational churches.  2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."  What should be our religious relationship with someone from a denominational church?  2 John 10-11 says, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."  We must never give a person encouragement in their false doctrine but if we do we also become guilty and we will lose our own souls.

     We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion; that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth."  It is such a shame that millions of good people have chosen to believe a lie of Satan, they will have to spend forever and ever in the burning fires of Hell.  This does not have to happen if people will only study, believe and obey the truth of God’s word and be faithful to it all the days of our life.