Apostasy in Church: Recognising the Signs of Apostasy

You might have heard this word before: Apostasy. It’s basic meaning is to fall away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection even though someone knows the truth. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God. In this part we are going to see whether we can recognise some of the signs of a developing apostasy in church.

Watch Closely

Do you remember the text in which Paul warns us that before the anti-Christ comes, we will see people falling away from the faith? 2 Thessalonians 2:3 states: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." We mostly say that we are awaiting the second coming of Christ, and therefore we watch closely for signs of the anti-Christ. However, before the anti-Christ can even come, we will have to deal with apostasy in our church.

Key Signs of a Developing Apostasy

1. The Obvious: Denial of Primary Teachings

Firstly, the most obvious sign is the denial or misinterpretation of the primary teachings. These essential basics include:

  • The Trinity
  • The deity of Christ
  • The deity of the Holy Spirit
  • Salvation by grace
  • Moral absolutes as found in the Bible

God’s word, the Bible, cannot lie. So, to part from these basics can, without much room for discussion, be seen as apostasy.

2. No Gospel in the Preaching

I have heard sermons in which the name of Jesus couldn’t be heard even once. The Gospel, the heart of our faith, is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you... how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…" When the preacher can’t be bothered with this message, and when this repeats itself time and again, we can surely see it as a sign, or development of apostasy.

3. Absence of Teaching on Damnation

Did you know that most of our teachings on hell come from Jesus Himself? On top of that, mostly He only talked about damnation towards His own disciples. So, what to think of Pastors who don’t preach or teach about damnation? It might be scary to teach about hell; yes, I would say that it might even offend many. But the bible never told us that the Gospel should be soothing to the ears of those who hear it. The Gospel, and Christians in particular, can be a smell of death for those who don’t want to listen, and the smell of life for those who love God’s word! (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).