Apostasy (“defection, revolt”) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. -Wikipedia
Pretty cut and dry right? This is how the world defines what apostasy is. Someone who belongs to a faith or group and then decides, by their own free will, to turn away and remove themselves from being affiliated with the aforementioned faith or group. In my view, I see the world stating a person can genuinely belong, and then genuinely remove themself…permanently. Is this how the word of God defines “apostasy”? Let’s dissect a verse for example to take a look and see for ourselves. I won’t comment on other verses in The Bible that seem to appear as apostasy as defined by the world, because then I would be writing a book rather than a blog, but I do promise to unpack more verses in the future.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20-22)
From outward appearances it may seem that a genuine believer can decide they’ve had their fill of the faith, and then go back to their prior ways, or life they lead, even after understanding the truth of Jesus Christ. In other words, forfeit their salvation. What is 2 Peter all about? It’s yet another warning like many other warnings all throughout God’s word. The book of 2 Peter, in summary, is a warning not to fall prey to false teachers.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter:17-18)
Peter warns potential new believers not to be deceived by false teachers. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. I say “potential” because ultimately man does not have the ability to determine who is genuinely saved or not. God did not give us the ability to see what is in the heart of others. What we can do is see the signs or “fruit” one bares in his or her life. God tells us this is how we will “know”. We’ll witness other brothers and sisters be loving, kind, encouraging, compassionate, understanding, self sacrificing, graciously accepting unconditional free gifts of love from others (something Peter had to learn the hard way by getting his feet washed)… etc. This list can continue on and on, but most of all we will see others display the greatest attribute given to us which is the boundless grace of our Lord and Savior. Does this mean we will always be this way? Not at all. Just like the unbelieving crowd we are all subject to this fallen world, and the “old man” can rear his ugly head from time to time. We can be overly judgmental of others or overly critical. We can feel competitive with others, or do or say whatever we can to appear superior. We can be very boastful and puff our chests out. We can stereotype others quickly just based on what they look like or the clothing they choose to wear. We can constantly be thinking of only ourselves or our family and hide ourselves away from the world, and not make meaningful relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are not members of our earthly immediate family… etc. This list also can go on and on. In other words, we are no better than anyone else. The only difference? We’ve passed Heaven’s strict immigration criteria, and now carry guaranteed citizenship. We are no longer bound and chained by sin. Praise Jesus. So since we can still fall prey to the sin of this world daily and often this begs the question…can a genuine believer be deceived?
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24)
The Bible indicates yes, we can be deceived, but not in the vein of losing salvation, but rather meaning to be led astray “for a time”. This is why Matthew states… “if it were possible”. So what does Peter mean when he says… “fall from your secure position”? Well, for me, it definitely does not mean to lose salvation. Why? Look at where Peter says “secure position”, but before he states… “fall away”. If something is secure can it be genuinely destroyed? When we look to the world for the answer to this question it’s definitely a resounding…yes! We witness seemingly secure positions be destroyed constantly. Marriages, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters…etc. However, Peter is stating “secure position” referring to eternal salvation. Is eternal salvation something of this world? I’ll let you answer that for yourself. Here is where we might disagree Christian, just as many in the body of Christ have disagreed for a very long time, but if losing salvation is what Peter meant then he must have been confused, because this would be a terrible contradiction. To lose your secure position/eternal salvation like a set of car keys? To lose eternal salvation by acts of deceit and deception? No one can snatch us out of our Fathers’ hand. The doctrine of the assurance and the security of eternal salvation is as real as real gets for me. Instead what Peter means is to backslide for a season, not to lose salvation at all.
I think one can view eternal salvation as something to lose simply based on their upbringing or possibly it could be cultural influence. Basically their view was born and bred from the environment they grew up in or are currently living in. Instilling works based fear in order to sustain membership. Especially the fear that you may walk away on your own free will so they can tell you what to do and what not to do because you have no idea what to do since you have been brainwashed into believing you can’t think for yourself. They wrap this tactic up with a beautiful bow and call it “God”. This “fear” strategy was, and I say this with no disrespect, very prevalent in the Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions that ruled over much of Europe, Eastern Europe, and various other sections of the world for a massive amount of time. Look back at history and you will see this. This is not my opinion by any means. This is historical fact without any other commentary. I have many European and Eastern European friends that struggle with this fear of walking away from the faith or believe that one can forfeit their salvation. My wife is of Eastern European descent, and she struggles with this as a result of her upbringing. I see how much it hurts her and how much she struggles with the concept of eternal security by the tears in her eyes whenever we have long conversations about this very subject. She knows she is saved and will always be saved, but sometimes there is a struggle to reconcile this knowing with the fear of permanently denying Jesus due to residual “anxiety” left behind as a result of her childhood. I pray that God gives her peace and rest.
This is the very reason why God lifted up Martin Luther to aide people in breaking free from this works based fear system of tyranny. Luther yearned for a deeper relationship with God so he did something wild and unheard of at the time. He did something very much frowned upon by the overruling church…he began to read the Bible. Actually get in deep and really READ the Bible. Yet, the evil one knows in order to torment children of God that he must strike exactly where it will hurt the most, and that is our mental association in regard to our eternal salvation. He knows he cannot touch our new hearts so he goes straight for our mind. He also made sure even though there were those that would eventually “break free” from religious captivity that they would still take with them scars from days past…memories of old.
Now, am I saying that those who believe a genuine born again Christian can choose to walk away from the faith forever are wrong? No, not one bit. Even when we look back at early church writings we can see, let me rephrase that, I see that even the early church was conflicted regarding the assurance and security of eternal salvation. There’s always been “tension” between faith vs. works and works vs. faith. Who elicits a response to galvanize action? God or man? How does this response to obediently act correlate to an individual’s intimate and intrinsic salvation? It’s clear the doctrine of eternal security did not “come about” in the 1500’s, and it certainly did not originate with John Calvin. Don’t let Wikipedia or Google fool you. Go and dig for yourself. It has been here since the beginning. The best source, however, will always be the Bible itself, and I’m certain the promise of eternal security sublimely comes to life within the pages of God’s word. No early church father’s writings were divinely inspired. They are simply the works of mere men doing their best to interpret portions of scripture that do not have definitive answers. In the end, it really comes down to what YOU see.
In my personal experience, I used to think I could genuinely forfeit my salvation due to my own upbringing. I grew up in a very broken home. My mother and father had a loveless marriage. My father was a raging alcoholic. He was mentally and physically abusive towards my mother and myself. So I knew nothing of “security”, and I too wandered in this world aimlessly. Doing all I could to hide my scars.
I know in my heart my salvation is not mine to keep, because I used to subscribe to this camp of “giving back” the free gift of eternal salvation by choosing to do so and walk away. I perceived my free will in relation to my salvation as somehow just as powerful and equal to the will of God. It was only until I stopped looking at salvation through my temporal eyes and began seeing salvation through an infinite, spiritual focus that I no longer lived in fear that I might someday be tempted and overcome to permanently “wallow back into the mire”. I ask you my friend, is it God’s nature to scare you into following Him? Is it His nature to hover over your head like a guillotine? No my friend, this is a product of man’s temporal existence and fallen nature. However, He is allowing you to see it this way for a reason, and whatever reason that is only He knows. It’s a portion of His plan for you. I cannot and will not tell you that you are wrong in your understanding, because as a child of God I accept that I may be wrong too. You and I will only know everything when we are face to face with our Creator. Until that day we see in fragments. We live life enigmatically.
Let’s return to the original passage at the beginning of this post to contemplate whether or not Peter is describing a true born again Christian or a counterfeit Christian. We have to start with asking ourselves does the Bible say someone can accept the truth about Jesus Christ, believe in God, and still not be saved? YES!
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James 2:19)
God tells us there are those who can “believe”, but yet not be regenerated. So then what is the difference between a person who simply turns to the truth because of inward selfish reasons other than trusting Jesus in the forgiveness of their sins with a heart of repentance? Turning to the faith because it gives them “feel good” feelings, and “happy vibes”? Professing Jesus is good because they fall in love with the pageantry or “religion” of it all rather than a “relationship”?
There are two of the twelve disciples that turn their backs on Jesus. Well, eventually they all do for a moment, but which two stand out to you the most when you read through the gospel accounts? Who were they? One was Judas and the other was Peter. Is this a coincidence that God gave us two examples of the twelve? Not at all, He did that to give us contrast. Was Judas ever saved? Meaning did Judas have eternal salvation? I’ll leave that to you to answer for yourself. God gives us these two to show us different versions of faith. One that is simply skin deep and only resides on the surface and then one that is deeply buried within one’s heart through repentance. A profession of faith vs. a saving faith. Peter denies Jesus and immediately feels guilt and shame. So he turns back to Christ for redemption. Judas denies Christ, feels guilt and shame, but immediately attempts to fix it himself. In conjunction scripture also indicates that we are “pre-selected” by God for eternal salvation before creation.
For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29)
He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will. (Ephesians 1:5)
By no means does this indicate that Judas did not have a chance for redemption or that he had no other choice but to betray Jesus. This is the very reason why He places Judas closest to Him at the last supper. He reaches out to Judas for the last time. A beautiful, sorrow filled, contradiction. An eternal moment. God’s sovereignty in accordance with mankind’s free will. So I ask again. Was Judas saved? Did he forfeit his salvation? This is whom Peter is referring to in his warning when he says…
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome…
Peter is speaking of professed “Christians” who by all means appear to be genuinely saved. They walk the walk, they talk the talk. They sit and participate in group bible studies with us. They are the pastors of the church we attend. They lead us in amazing worship. Yet something is missing inside all of them. The difficult part here, however, is the only ones who know what is missing are themselves (the apostate) and God.
I’ll end with this. Billy Graham had a friend named Charles. Charles professed to be a Christian, and led many people to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Sadly though he walked away from the faith, and then spent the rest of his days in proclaimed agnosticism. Here were his last recorded words before his death in 2001 that he said with tears in his eyes while speaking of Jesus…
“In my view, He is the most important human being who has ever existed. And if I may put it this way… I miss him!
– Charles Templeton