OVERVIEW OF APOSTASY

By Dennis Schmidt 8/2011

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This paper discusses apostasy. Apostasy is the person's act of forsaking, abandoning, rebelling against, & falling away from their belief in Jesus as savior. The Elect Christian, by God, will not fall away & will always be saved. All scriptures are from the King James' version Bible.

INDUCTIVE COMMENTS:

THEME: Reasons to fall into apostasy and ways to not fall into apostasy.

Hebrews 3:7-14  The Elect Christian will hold on to the end.

Holy Spirit speaks to the Christian -> they refused to hear God's voice -> harden their hearts as in past -> tempted God to prove Him to show His works -> God was grieved by not knowing His ways -> God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest -> Warning evil heart of unbelief departing from God -> Exhort one another, lest you be hardened through deceitfulness of sin -> You are partakers of Christ if you are steadfast to the end

PURPOSE: Paul, as Elect Christian, remained faithful to Jesus to the end of his life:

Galatians 5:4  To lose, be cast, fall away of off, take of none effect

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Revelation 2:4-5  The Elect will keep their focus on Jesus.

KEY VERSE: If a man falls into apostasy, he may not be able to repent out of it.

2 Thessalonians 2:3  

2 Peter 3:17

Hebrews 6:6

WHO: God mainly by Bible authors Luke, John, Peter, and Paul

TO WHOM: Elected Christians

WHAT: The world system may be a main cause of people falling into apostasy.

Galatians 5:4  To lose, be cast, fall away of off, take of none effect

2 Peter 2:20-21  People knew God but went back into world.

1 John 2:15-17  

WHY:  Demas - forsakes God for the present fleshly carnal worldly cares, riches, & pleasures:

Luke 8:14

2 Timothy 4:10  Demas did not stay to end.

Philemon 1:24  Paul counted Demas as a believer considering him on an equal bases to Luke and Mark as gospel fellowlabourers.

2 Peter 2:20-21  People knew God but went back into world.

1 John 2:15-17

WAY: Sin and carnal flesh may be a cause to fall into apostasy.

Romans 1:29-32  All unrighteousness of sexual sins, all evil sins, & hating God -> that God's judgment including -> death will be their punishment not only do they evil but enjoy others doing the same evil

Romans 8:5-8  Carnal worldly believers in their weak faith fall away when the world pleasures choke them.

WHEREAS:

Hebrews 6:4-6  The wording is past tense since this scripture had already occurred.

Impossible to those -> enlighten -> tasted heaven gift -> partakers of Holy Spirit -> tasted word of God -> power of world to come -> fall away (to deny the faith experience) -> to renew to repentance -> seeing to crucify themselves the Son of God afresh -> to put Him to an open shame.

WHERE: Earth

WHEN: All time periods

WHILE: God gave them up to a reprobate mind

Romans 1:21-23  Did not glorify God -> unthankful to God -> vain in their imaginations -> heart foolish & dark -> professing to be wise became fools -> changing God's glory to earthly forms ->

Romans 1:24-26  God gave them up to uncleanness of their heart lust -> to dishonour their bodies with others -> changed God's truth to a lie -> worshipped earthly creature not God -> to their vile affections ->

Romans 1:27-28  Woman to woman - lesbians -> Men to men - sodomy -> God gave them a reprobate mind ->

Romans 1:29-32  All unrighteousness of sexual sins, all evil sins, & hating God -> that God's judgment including -> death will be their punishment not only do they evil but enjoy others doing the same evil

WANT:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3  Believers will fall

Hebrews 10:2-29  These people were sanctified but despised God's grace.

2 Peter 3:17-18   God worked with these Elect to grow in grace.

PAPER OUTLINE:

I) FALL AWAY:

II) TYPES OF APOSTASY:

III) MORAL APOSTASY:

A) CARNAL WORLDLY BELIEVER:

B) SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLE:

IV) THEOLOGY APOSTASY:

A) SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLES:

V) SCRIPTURE EXAMPLES OF SEQUENCE STEPS TO FULL APOSTASY:

A) ROMANS 1:21-32 STEPS TO FULL APOSTASY:

B) HEBREWS 3:7-14: STEPS TO FULL APOSTASY:

C) HEBREWS 6:4-6 IF THEY FALL AWAY TO FULL APOSTASY:

D) GOD WILL LET THE APOSTASY ONLY GO SO FAR BEFORE GIVEN THEM UP:

VI) GOD PLAN WILL BE COMPLETED WITH THE ELECT & APOSTASY PERSON FOR HIS PURPOSE:

VII) CONCLUSIONS:

I) FALL AWAY:

H2186. zanach, zaw-nakh'; a prim. root mean. to push aside, i.e. reject, forsake, fail:--cast away (off), remove far away (off).

H5800. 'azab, aw-zab'; a prim. root; to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.:--commit self, fail, forsake, fortify, help, leave (destitute, off), refuse, X surely.

1 Chronicles 28:9  cast = H2186 reject & forsake; forsake = H5800 forsake & leave

G646. apostasia, ap-os-tas-ee'-ah; fem. of the same as G647; defection from truth (prop. the state) ["apostasy"]:--falling away, forsake. G646 is only found in two scriptures

Acts 21:21  G646 defection from truth, falling away, forsake

2 Thessalonians 2:3  G646

G1601. ekpipto, ek-pip'-to; from G1537 and G4098; to drop away; spec. be driven out of one's course; fig. to lose, become inefficient:--be cast, fail, fall (away, off), take none effect.

Galatians 5:4  G1601 to lose, be cast, fall away of off, take of none effect

2 Peter 3:17  G1601

G3895. parapipto, par-ap-ip'-to; from G3844 and G4098; to fall aside, i.e. (fig.) to apostatize:--fall away. This Greek word is only found in Hebrews 6:6

Hebrews 6:6  G3895 apostate

II) TYPES OF APOSTASY:

III) MORAL APOSTASY: Enslaved to sins of worldly cares, riches, & pleasures of this life in the flesh.

A) CARNAL WORLDLY BELIEVER:

Romans 8:5-8  Carnal worldly believers in their weak faith fall away when the world pleasures choke them.

B) SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLE:

Demas - forsakes God for the present fleshly carnal worldly cares, riches, & pleasures:

Luke 8:14  

2 Timothy 4:10  Demas did not stay to end.

Philemon 1:24  Paul counted Demas as a believer considering him on an equal bases to Luke and Mark as gospel fellowlabourers.

2 Peter 2:20-21  People knew God but went back into world.

1 John 2:15-17

IV) THEOLOGY APOSTASY: Reject teachings of Jesus.

1 Timothy 4:1

2 Timothy 4:3-4

A) SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLES:

Hymenaeus - Shipwreck faith blaspheme & error of resurrection being in the past:

1 Timothy 1:19-20

2 Timothy 2:16-19

V) SCRIPTURE EXAMPLES OF SEQUENCE STEPS TO FULL APOSTASY:

A) ROMANS 1:21-32 STEPS TO FULL APOSTASY: God gave them up to a reprobate mind

Romans 1:21-23  Did not glorify God -> unthankful to God -> vain in their imaginations -> heart foolish & dark -> professing to be wise became fools -> changing God's glory to earthly forms ->

Romans 1:24-26  God gave them up to uncleanness of their heart lust -> to dishonour their bodies with others -> changed God's truth to a lie -> worshipped earthly creature not God -> to their vile affections ->

Romans 1:27-28  Woman to woman - lesbians -> Men to men - sodomy -> God gave them a reprobate mind ->

Romans 1:29-32  All unrighteousness of sexual sins, all evil sins, & hating God -> that God's judgment including -> death will be their punishment not only do they evil but enjoy others doing the same evil

B) HEBREWS 3:7-14: STEPS TO FULL APOSTASY:

Hebrews 3:7-14  The Elect Christian will hold on to the end.

Holy Spirit speaks to the Christian -> they refused to hear God's voice -> harden their hearts as in past -> tempted God to prove Him to show His works -> God was grieved by not knowing His ways -> God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest -> Warning evil heart of unbelief departing from God -> Exhort one another, lest you be hardened through deceitfulness of sin -> You are partakers of Christ if you are steadfast to the end

C) HEBREWS 6:4-6 IF THEY FALL AWAY TO FULL APOSTASY:

Hebrews 6:4-6  The wording is past tense since this scripture had already occurred.

Impossible to those -> enlighten -> tasted heaven gift -> partakers of Holy Spirit -> tasted word of God -> power of world to come -> fall away (to deny the faith experience) -> to renew to repentance -> seeing to crucify themselves the Son of God afresh -> to put Him to an open shame.

D) GOD WILL LET THE APOSTASY ONLY GO SO FAR BEFORE GIVEN THEM UP:

Luke 13:6-9  These people were given a second chance, but that is God's limit.

VI) GOD PLAN WILL BE COMPLETED WITH THE ELECT & APOSTASY PERSON FOR HIS PURPOSE:

John 15:2, 6  They are both initially in Christ, but some of them are not God's Elect.

Galatians 1:6  These people removed themselves from God's grace.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3  Believers will fall

Hebrews 10:2-29  These people were sanctified but despised God's grace.

2 Peter 3:17-18   God worked with these Elect to grow in grace.

VII) CONCLUSIONS: Elect Christians will remain faithful & will not become an apostasy.

Paul, as Elect Christian, remained faithful to Jesus to the end of his life:

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Revelation 2:4-5  The Elect will keep their focus on Jesus.


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This page is maintained by Dennis Schmidt. Please send your questions or comments to (dennisaschmidt1@gmail.com)