Trending Towards Apostasy

You'll recall that the term apostasy means a falling away. So the Apostasy can be defined as "the Great Falling Away"--the worst event in the history of the Church because it will be a period of time when many Christians turn away from Christ. Furthermore, they will betray their friends with whom they once shared fellowship.

But besides the Apostasy, there is also a general trend in the long history of God's Church of increasing apostasy. Look at it this way: That big event (the Apostasy) is the culmination of the general trend, a trend in churches you can witness right now. Look anywhere in any congregation on the planet and you'll find it, a falling away from the Faith--a turning away from sound doctrine.

The next verse describes the culmination of error in the Church--that is, the crowning event the Scriptures call the Apostasy. It will be the maximum degree of failure for the Church.

… the Spirit expressly says that in Latter Times some will depart from the Faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons… (1 Timothy 4:1; NKJV)

But the next passage describes something slightly different--the process which will lead to the Apostasy.

… the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the Truth… (2 Timothy 4:3-4; NASB)

We're in the process of apostasy right now. But the Apostasy (with a capital A) will be the end result of this trend of apostasy (with a lower-case a). Mathematically, you would define this process and it's final result like this:

apostasy + apostasy + apostasy + apostasy = the Apostasy

A Form of Godliness

Paul warned us that people who identify as Christians would eventually have nothing more than an appearance of religion. A time will come when Christianity will be but a shell of what it once was. Paul warned us of this frightening future reality of the Church—the time when the Church enters the Apostasy.

… realize this, that in the Last Days difficult times will come. For people will be… holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. For among them are those who… captivate weak women… always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the Truth, men of depraved mind, worthless [literally, unfit] in regard to the Faith.

But… their foolishness will be obvious to all… (2 Timothy 3:1, 5-6, 8-9; NASB)

This is the passage we'll be focusing on. We'll focus particularly on how it uses the expression the Faith, and how teachers who are unfit regarding the Faith are the principal cause of the Church's fall into the Apostasy.

Lessons from History

The fact that Apostasy is coming is not just a prediction of the future. The history of Israel predicts the future of the Church. Have you ever asked yourself the question: "Why did the Jews turn their backs on God so many times?"

And what of this question: "How could they have turned towards idolatry, sexual immorality, child sacrifice, grumbling, and injustice so often having experienced so many mercies and miracles from the God who chose them?" Have you wondered about these things?

Read Exodus and Numbers and you’ll witness the countless occasions when the Jewish people failed God. Read those stories--the story of the Golden Calf, of the quail that they devoured even when God's mana fell from Heaven, their being seduced by women sent from Balaam.

Read those stories, but not to gloat over their failure as an excuse to boast of your strength. The stories of the failure of the Jews are in the Scriptures as a warning to the Church. Take heed lest we also fall and God cut us off as well!

… they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and they all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness.

Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they indeed craved them.

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.’

Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.

Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and were killed by the snakes.

Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the Ends of the Ages have come. Therefore, let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall (1 Corinthians 10:2-12; NASB).

An insensitive and immature believer might say, “But God cut off the Jews and now the Church is God’s chosen people. God loves us and has guaranteed us salvation.” How foolish! Do you imagine that you are so special that God would never judge the Church?

Do you imagine that the failure of Israel is the success of the Church? There may be some truth to that, but will there also be a failure of the Church? And, if so, will the failure of the Church lead to the salvation of Israel? Can you recognize that possibility?

But if some of the branches [the Jews] were broken off, and you [Gentiles], being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in his kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off (Romans 11:17-22; NASB).

False Teachers

But will the Christian Church really end up in Apostasy? How will the Church get to such a pathetic state? It will become apostate because it will tolerate people who ‘hold to a form of godliness’ but who ‘deny its power.’ How will today’s Church eventually become a group of people which allows people to deny the power of godliness? 

The root cause of apostasy is the false teachers in the Church. The passage we’re focusing on demonstrates that. Let's read it again:

… realize this, that in the Last Days difficult times will come. For people will be… holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. For among them are those who… captivate weak women… always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the Truth, men of depraved mind, unfit in regard to the Faith (2 Timothy 3:1, 5-6; NASB)

Let’s review what this Scripture says about the ways of the false teachers. It points out three things they do:

1.   They hold to a form of godliness while they deny the power of godliness.

2.   They captivate weak women (unable to come to a knowledge of the Truth).

3.   They oppose the Truth.

Welcome to the Women’s Ministry

Notice the last two things these men do. They have no commitment to the Truth nor do they aim at bringing people to a knowledge of the Truth. Instead, they “minister” to gullible women who they can manipulate. Specifically, these teachers:

… slip into households and captivate idle women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth (2 Timothy 3:6-7; NASB).

The false teachers who will plunge the Church into Apostasy start by plugging gullible women into constant church programs. They commit them to prayer meetings, worship services, and Bible studies. If they pastor in a country with a reading culture, they feed these women a constant stream of reading material.

These women are always learning, but due to the burden of sin that weighs on their conscience, they cannot hear the Spirit of God. They only hear the voice of their false prophets. These false prophets mislead these women by manipulating their feelings of guilt.

These women are committed to a social group—a local church—but they are not part of the Church. They have never been born of the Spirit to become part of the Body of Christ. They are committed to a man--their pastor--but not to the One Lord Jesus Christ.

These are women who have never even taken step one: repentance from sin. They’re completely engaged in a social group, but they never entered legitimately within the Fold. They never walked through the Door, Jesus Christ.

Unfit Regarding the Faith

Paul says that the pastors who lead these women's ministries are unfit in regard to the Faith. That is, they are incapable of teaching the foundational truths of Christianity. These false teachers oppose the Truth and therefore are utterly disqualified to teach doctrine at all.

Did you know that a fundamental requirement for someone to qualify as a deacon (and, by extension, for a man to qualify as a pastor) is that they be committed to sound doctrine? Yes. If anyone will become a deacon or a pastor, they must hold fast to the mystery of the Faith.

In addition, those who wish to be deacons must first be tested to see if there is anything against them--any accusations of sin or misconduct. The testing must occur before they start serving as deacons.

So, a man or woman can be set apart for ministry only if they are free from sin. Did you know that? No verifiable accusations against a candidate for the deaconate or the pastorate can be found. The candidate must have proven themselves to be firm in the Faith.

See this truth here:

… deacons are to be worthy of respect… They must keep hold of the mystery of the Faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-10).

Worthless and Disqualified

Have you ever visited a congregation where the members are always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth? Have you been in a church where they do lots of Bible study but have no real foundations? It's a sad scenario: churches with lots of theology but no Truths that transform.

If you sit down and explain the Foundations (Hebrews 6:1-2) or the unity of the spirit (Ephesians 4:3-6) to the pastors of most Evangelical congregations, you’ll quickly discover how much they oppose the Truth. They’ll push back hard against monotheism, baptism, repentance, the resurrection of the Dead, and the Kingdom. They will quickly prove that they don’t know who God is--and that's simply not acceptable in a man who pretends to lead people spiritually.

In the passage we’re examining (2 Timothy 3), Paul said that certain teachers in the Church are worthless. Here's what we read:

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the Truth, men of depraved mind, worthless [literally, unfit] in regard to the Faith (2 Timothy 3: 5-6; NASB)

Worthless? The word worthless means that the Church would be better off without these men. If someone wanting to become a pastor or deacon cannot pass the test of blamelessness—that is, if they are not found to be above reproach (as required by the two passages listed below) then they disqualify for Church leadership.

They disqualify. It’s that simple. They cannot be deacons. Or, at least, nobody should let them become deacons! (These are the men who assist the pastors, so the same requirement must apply to pastors, mind you).

In addition, if these men who express a desire to be deacons, but do not keep hold of the Faith, they also disqualify. Those are the simple requirements for being a pastor, but how many churches today subject the men they choose to these requirements?

… appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless… (Titus 1:5-6)

Now the overseer is to be above reproach… (1 Timothy 3:2)

Blameless and above reproach mean that nobody can blame these potential pastors for anything wrong and nobody can cast a reproach against them. These men, presenting themselves as candidates for the pastorate, are irreproachable. They've done nothing wrong as far as other people can judge.

Holding on with a Clear Conscience

So, we're on the topic of blamelessness. That gives us an oppourtunity to talk about a truth 1 Timothy 3 addresses: that deacons must hold to the Faith in a particular way. The way is with a clear conscience. Observe what the Holy Spirit tells us through Paul:

… deacons are to be worthy of respect… They must keep hold of the mystery of the Faith with a clear conscience (1 Timothy 3:8-9).

This passage demands that a deacon’s commitment to sound doctrine must be demonstrated through a holy life.

The manner in which we hold to the Faith is not the intellectual way. It’s not quoting theologians or citing the history of synods, councils, and confessions of faith. You don't hold to the Faith by showing off knowledge.

We don’t hold to the Faith mentally. We hold to it practically. If we really have the Faith, it's written on our hearts. The Faith will produce genuine results in our lives if the Faith is accompanied by self-examination and confession.

The Faith has this characteristic: It is a set of truths which truly sanctify a person. It truly frees us from the power of sin. It gives us the power to live with a clear conscience.

Look at what Paul told Timothy about the importance of keeping the Faith and a good conscience. These two go hand in hand!

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping [the] Faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to the Faith (1 Timothy 1:18-19; NASB).

So, the Faith works. It’s operable. It’s functionable. That’s why some ex-Christians and ex-pastors, by neglecting their conscience, have lost the Faith. They have run their lives aground like a ship that has run up on a beach. They have ruined what was once a beautiful life--and now it's beyond repair.

The Faith needs to operate to be maintained. Like a combustion chamber, it requires a constant flow of oil to remain operable. If you’re not using the Faith to keep a clear conscience, to free yourself from sin, and to be holy for God, then you will experience the equivalent of a shipwreck.

Think of the tragedy of car crashes. Think of the horror of a train derailment. If you can't keep a clear conscience, your life will be just as disastrous. And if you refuse to keep a clear conscience, and your life crashes, that crash may destroy your eternal salvation. At the very least, it will disqualify you from serving as a pastor.

Here's the alternative: Guard the Faith and your life will never be a shipwreck. You won’t end up like Jannes and Jambres.

Those two turned their staffs into snakes after Aaron threw down his rod in front of Pharaoh and it had become a snake. They were spiritual men and they had authentic power. They could do miracles on par with Moses--but they were worthless in regard to the Faith.