The Description of Apostates

JUDE 3‑4
 

Take your Bible, if you will, and turn to the book of Jude with me please. And tonight for our study, we're going to continue in this marvelous little book. We did two verses last week and we're going to do two verses this week. They are a lot longer, however, verses 3 and 4. This is what they say: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now these two verses fit at the beginning of this wonderful little epistle of Jude that we began studying last week. For these two verses define for us the reason for which the letter is written. And in that statement as to why the letter is written, there is also a statement regarding a definition of apostasy which, of course, is the subject of the letter. Apostasy needs to be understood. Apostasy is a reality that has been around since the very beginning of time; it's still here. Simply defined, and we'll start here and go from here tonight, apostasy is the abandoning of the truth. Apostasy basically is defined as abandoning the truth.

Now one of the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ casts light on the difficult doctrine of apostasy. Take your Bible and you can keep your place in Jude there, but turn for a minute to Luke chapter 8 and verse 12. And this is a rather familiar parable, one that we have discussed in other connections many times. It says in verse 12...well, verse 11: "The parable is this; the seed is the Word of God." And you remember there was a man who scattered seed and there were different kinds of soil and different things happened. Here comes the definition of what that meant. The seed is the Word of God. "Those by the wayside are they that hear, then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they who when they hear receive the word with joy and these have no root who for a while believe and in time of testing fall away." There is apostasy. They receive the word with joy but they have no root. For a while they believe but in the time of real testing they fall away.

He goes on to explain, "That which fell among thorns are they who when they have heard go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. But on the good ground are they who in an honest and good heart have heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. Now you have four kinds of soil, and we're not going to get into all of them, but just this, verse 13 says that at the end of verse 13, in time of testing these fall away. Now that is the verb form for the word apostasy. It means to fall away, to hear the truth, to receive the truth and then to fall away from it. An apostate is somebody who receives the word of the gospel who believes it in his mind for a time and then falls away. It's head knowledge, accepting the fact intellectually without ever making it personal. It's knowing it without ever applying it. Like Hebrews 6, having all the revelation, believing all of that revelation in your mind like those in Hebrews to whom Hebrews is addressed from time to time, who knew everything but never came over the line to make the commitment. Eventually they fall away.

Now an interesting note that helps us to interpret this parable that well is in verse 13, the word "receive." They receive the word with joy. The Greek word here is dechomai, it means to receive. But in the Mark account of the same parable, when it talks about the good ground, the fourth kind of soil, and it says that ground received, it uses a much more intense word paradechomai and again it intensifies the word, a much stronger term. These people received it superficially, but the ones who believed and brought forth fruit, paradechomai, received it intensely, it went down into their lives, it went down into their hearts. The very distinction in those two verbs is heavy evidence to indicate the difference between those who never did get saved, who only received it intellectually, and those who really received it deeply in their hearts. So those who apostatized are said not to really understand the word, never to bring forth genuine fruit, which is the evidence of true salvation. They don't have any roots. Jude says in verse 12, as we shall see there, "Without fruit twice dead, plucked up by the roots," apostasy.

Now let me add this. Apostasy is not to be confused with mere indifference to the Word. It is not to be confused with indifference. In fact, it isn't indifference at all. Apostasy is an apparent involvement with the Word. It isn't being indifferent to it, it's accepting it intellectually. I would also add that apostasy is not to be confused necessarily with error. It is not necessarily to believe false doctrine. You can believe true doctrine but not just really believe it in your heart, not just accept Christ but keep it in your head only. A true Christian could fall into doctrinal error, that's something different. Apostates‑‑maybe this will help‑‑have received light but not life. They've received light but not life. Apostates have known and accepted the written word but never met the living word. And you know people like that, don't you? We probably have some in the church who come all the time and they know intellectually that all this is true, but they have never made it their own. It is a deliberate rejection after the truth is known. This is the most damnable sin of all, of how much sorer punishment, the writer of Hebrews said, shall he be thought worthy who has trodden underfoot the blood, the blood of the covenant and counted it an unholy or an unworthy thing? Somebody who knows and stomps right across it is indeed of sorer punishment, a hotter hell, a more serious judgment, than others who did not know as much.

The distinction, I think, is maybe made in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, don't look it up,, let me just quote it. It says this: "They received," now listen to this, "They received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." Now listen to that. They received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. They received the truth, you see, but they never received what, the love of it. They fell away. An illustration that might help us is in Acts 8, and I would invite you to look at this one. Acts chapter 8, verse 13 introduces us to a rather strange character by the name of Simon. It says Simon, now this is very interesting, it says in 8:13 of Acts, "Simon himself believed." Now that sounds great, doesn't it? I mean, what else could you ask for. He believed. Simon the sorcerer, this is, he was a magician, dealing with mediums, demons. "Simon himself believed and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip." That sounds good, he even got baptized and he even hung around. "He was amazed, beholding the miracle signs which were done. And when the Apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John.' And the story goes on to say that when they came, in verse 15, of course there was a marvelous occasion for the bringing of the Holy Spirit, they laid their hands on them, verse 17, they received the Holy Spirit.

Well, Simon took a look at this and said, "This is fabulous, this is better than any trick I ever did and I couldn't do this." And Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostles' hands, the Holy Spirit was given and he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit." Man alive, this is fantastic, can I buy this? What do you want for the trick? He thought he was in sort of a magic shop and he could just plunk down the right money and they'd sell it.

Peter said unto him, "Your money perish with you," which is a fairly strong rebuke, "because you have thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money, you have neither part nor lot in this matter. Your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the chains of iniquity." You know what Peter says? "You're no Christian at all, you aren't even a believer, doing this indicates you have no part in this matter," verse 21, "your heart is not right, you better repent, you better pray for forgiveness." Well, forgiveness is something every Christian has, he wasn't a Christian. "I look at you and I see you're in the gall of bitterness and you're still in the chains of iniquity." Simon believed, Simon was baptized, but Simon never made it personal, he never got it down into his life, he never really accepted Christ, it was an intellectual assent. Now that is apostasy. And apostasy is a very common subject in the Bible. There are plenty of apostates.

Now, let me just talk about the Old Testament for a minute, we could do a lot about this, but just a thought. The Old Testament uses the Greek word, and there's a Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint, and in the Septuagint many times the word "apostasy" in the Greek is used apostasia, many times and its verb forms as well. And it's used to translate all different kinds of Old Testament words that are obviously references to apostasy. For example, the warning to Israel at Kadesh‑barnea in Numbers chapter 14 verse 9 says: "Do not apostatize against the Lord." In other words, don't depart from what you know is true. Don't abandon the thing you know is true. Don't turn your back on what you know to be the truth of God.

In Joshua chapter 22 you have the same thing. Apostasy again is in view. Joshua 22:16, "Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, what trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord in that you have builded you an altar that you might rebel this day against the Lord?" Here was Israel turning against the Lord; that is apostasy, turning their backs on God to a false religion. Verse 19 says the same thing, "Not withstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean and pass you over into the land of the possession of the Lord in which the Lord's tabernacle dwells and take possession among us, but rebel not against the Lord." In verse 22, "The Lord God of gods, He knows, and Israel He shall know if it be in rebellion or if in transgression against the Lord."

So, three times it discusses apostasy which is to rebel against the Lord you claim to know and claim to love.

The prophets had much to say about it as well and I'm not going to belabor the point but I would draw you to some familiar text in the book of Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah 2:19 says: "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and thy backslidings shall reprove thee." Now any of you who are Baptists know, you heard a lot of sermons about backsliding. Well, I'm not too sure it's fair to define backsliding as a Christian just kind of fallen back a little bit in his discipleship, I'm fairly convinced that the term "backsliding" has to do with apostasy all together; somebody who never was really committed to God in the beginning but turned his back and walked away after he knew the truth. In Jeremiah chapter 5 you have it again in verse 6, it says at the end of verse 6: "Their backslidings are increased." The next verse, "Thy children have forsaken Me and they have started to worship those who are no gods at all." In other words, they've gone after idols. They've committed adultery. They've assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were like horses in the morning, that's really vivid. Fed horses in the morning, everyone neighed after his neighbor's wife, pretty vivid. These people had just turned their back totally on God.

It goes on like that, Isaiah 30 verse 1, Hosea in about three or four places it uses the same term apostasia in its Greek form. And it's in the Septuagint version and apparently has reference to the people of God, supposedly, quote/unquote, turning their backs on God and Israel did it again and again and again, didn't they? This is apostasy.

Now in the New Testament, the word "apostasy" is only used two times, two places apostasia appears, once is in Acts 21:21 and it says this: "And they are informed of thee that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to apostatize from Moses." And of course, here was an accusation that the Apostles, the Christians were teaching the Jews to apostatize and forsake Moses, that's the meaning of the word. The other time it's used in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 3: "For that day shall not come," the day that Jackie sang about, the day the Lord comes, "shall not come except there first come the apostasy." It means a falling away. Now though that is the only two times the actual noun is used in the New Testament, the same idea is seen in many, many, many New Testament passages without necessarily using the word that means to fall away. For example, in John chapter 6 and verse 66, "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him." There you have a forsaking of Christ. Many of His disciples, turning their back and walking away saying, "That's all, that's enough for us,, we don't want to hear anymore, we're bailing out."

The same thing occurs again in I John without using the word "apostasy" you remember we studied I John in chapter 2 verse 22, "Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist that denies the Father and the Son, whosoever denies the Son the same has not the Father, he who confesses the Son hath the Father also." In other words, here are these people in the church claiming to be Christians and denying Jesus Christ, turning their back, that's apostasy.

In 2 Peter, you have it again. Chapter 2 and verse 20, "If after they have escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," in other words, these people have come out of the system, they have a head knowledge of Christ. "If they become entangled back into the system again and overcome, the latter end is worse with then than the beginning, for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they had known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." Why? Better they never should have known then to know and turn from it because that's apostasy and that's the most severe sin there is. And he uses a proverb, it's like a dog turning again to his own vomit, and like a sow that is washed and goes back to wallow in the mire.

In I Timothy you find again this whole theme of apostasy in chapter 4 and verse 1: "The Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith." That is precisely what apostasy is, it is departing from the faith. It is turning your back on the truth; it is walking away from that which you know to be the truth intellectually.

In 2 Timothy 4:3, "The time wi11 come when they wi11 not endure sound doctrine but after their own lust they'll heap to themselves false teachers," is the meaning of it, turning away.

Now what happens here? We are going to have apostasy, Paul said to Timothy, in the last days. We have always had it in the past. Apostasy from the pulpit, that's 1 Timothy 4, some shall turn from the faith and follow the seduction of demons and they'll propagate this, we're going to have false preachers. And, people, we've got them everywhere all over the place and they've always been there. There have been false prophets and there will be false prophets in the end and there are false prophets right now and there will be false prophets again in the Tribulation period. There will always