THE HEART & APOSTASY

APOS'TASY, n. Gr. a defection, to depart.

1. An abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one's faith or religion.

2. The desertion from a party to which one has adhered.

3. Among physicians, the throwing off of exfoliated or fractured bone, or the various solution of disease.

4. An abscess.

apostasy always begins or starts in the heart (inwardly), long before it manifest itself in the flesh (outwardly).

apostasy begins whenever certain things are true about a believer:

· The believer looses sight of Who his Head is and substitutes a man in his place.

· The believer recognizes another “authority” [or “authorities”] as being ‘equal’ with

or ‘superior’ to the final authority in all matters of faith and practice - the bible.

· The believer is unable or unwilling to discern between the leading of the Holy Spirit and his own carnal or selfish will and desires.

· The believer can no longer distinguish between the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh.

· The believer is unable or unwilling to discern between good and evil!

· The believer is no longer willing to stand up for the truth and suffer reproach.

A thorough study of church history demonstrates that once error is embraced, apostasy is irreversible! The end result of every Christian church or institution ever established has been apostasy! Once the human heart starts down the path to apostasy it will not turn back – it becomes reprobate! (2Timothy 3:8)

REPROBATE, a. L. reprobatus, reprobo, to disallow; re and probo, to prove.

1. Not enduring proof or trial; not of standard purity or fineness; disallowed; rejected.

Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. (Jeremiah 6:30)

2. Abandoned in sin; lost to virtue or grace.

They profess that they know God, but in works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. (Titus 1:16)

3. Abandoned to error, or in apostasy. (2Timothy Chapter 3)

OBSERVATIONS ON GOD’S RULE IN A BELIEVER

God is NOT like a FOREMAN in a sweat shop pushing us to PRODUCE more clothes, (etcetera), FASTER!

God is NOT like a SUPERINTENDENT on a building project; demanding that we WORK HARDER.

GOD is the OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. He wants FRUIT. He is always checking for FRUIT. If you will, HE IS MORE LIKE A FRUIT INSPECTOR!

God is NOT like a HIRELING, whose main concern is his OWN welfare; who will abandon the Sheep in time of trouble.

God is NOT like an UNDER-SHEPHERD, who ‘thinks’ that the sheep are his; to do with as he will. Who will shear them, fleece them, beat them, and even slaughter them for his own benefit.

God is NOT like a SHEEP HERDER, who herds the sheep, riding on his high horse, sicing his dogs on the sheep, scattering and frightening them.

Our GOD is the GREAT SHEPHERD, WHO OWNS the sheep. HE is the GOOD SHEPHERD WHO LOVES the sheep and WHO LAID DOWN HIS LIFE for the sheep. HE IS THE CHIEF SHEPHERD WHO KNOWS HIS sheep and they FOLLOW HIM!

He doesn’t care that much about our works – how many souls we’ve won; how many missionaries we support; how much money we tithe; how many baptisms we’ve performed; the size of our: congregations, Sunday schools, bus ministries, or how many families we’ve straightened out, etc, etcetera.

ANY CULT can PRODUCE WORKS! AND THEY ALL DO! (Check out the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholics, etc., etcetera.

Genuine FRUIT, ‘GOOD FRUIT’, now that’s another matter all together.

The lost are not impressed with our works, they look for FRUIT in our lives and often times condemn us for our LACK of FRUIT. In this way they are often “wiser than the children of light”! (Luke 16:8)