We hear about Christians who ‘backslide’ from the faith. Some say they have lost salvation. Others say that this is what an Apostate person is. However, when we look at Scripture in context these two things are not the same. A believer who backslides is not an apostate.
A Back Slid Believer
A person that has believed on Christ for salvation, apart from their works, is a born again person in the Spirit and is saved eternally from the moment of belief on Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-4, Eph. 2 :8-9, Eph 1:13-14, John 3:14-18). Some after they are saved fall into a sin, or sins, that leads to a loss of fellowship with God. That is not to say that God has left them, nor that the Holy Spirit has left them. It could be a guilt of such a believer that keeps them from confessing their sin to God. They feel God no longer will want fellowship after committing such a sin. They may turn from God because they fear and are ashamed. Instead, we should run to God and confess the sin and ask God to help us overcome the specific sin. God knows EVERYTHING and He also foreknew what sins you and I would commit before and after our moment of salvation. We cannot hide sin from God. Run to him for help. God will help us. God already forgave all our sins on that cross of Christ (1 John 2:2). Yet, we need to improve and live right for God. We will not doing this perfectly as we still need our minds renewed (Romans 12) and our mind will not be perfectly renewed until our bodily resurrection. But in gratitude, we should be striving to avoid sinning. We will fail at times and we should not deny that fact (1 John 1:10) but we should confess our sins to God, thank Him that He forgave us through the cross of Christ and ask God to help us do better. That is a healthy prayer of truth and faith.
Backsliding can also be a result of a person who, because of life circumstances, has turned from God in their life, after salvation. Does this mean the person has lost salvation? No. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us that from the moment a person believes on Christ, they are sealed with the indwelling Holy Spirit until the day of our bodily resurrection. At that time, we will be in Heaven already and so this means for eternity. The Holy Spirit works to restore a believer who has back slid from the truth, for them to confess their sin and come back to fellowship with God. We see this in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The son made the decision to leave the father. The father did not kick him out of the house. While in the world, away from fellow shipping with his father, it brought the son to a place of being with the pigs and finally coming to his senses. He went back home to ask to be a servant in the father’s house, as he felt unworthy to be treated like his son. He came to an end of his self in sinful living, out of fellowship with his father. He confessed to his father. But what did the father do? He seen his son coming from a distance and he ran toward him and embraced him. And then he had a celebration because his son has come back to fellowship. This is our God!
All this to state that a back slid believer is not a person who has lost salvation. For whatever reason, they lost a solid fellowship with God, they lost that close relationship for living with God. They did not lose their salvation.
An Apostate
An Apostate is not a back slid believer. The English translated word ‘APOSTATE’ in Greek is the word ‘apostasia‘. It is defined as a ‘falling away, to forsake’. When we read this Scripture, the English translated word FORSAKE is this very same word ‘apostasia’.
“And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to G575 forsake G646 Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.” (Acts 21:21 KJV)
To forsake Moses is to not believe Moses. Apostates are not believers. It is a person who has learned the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel of Salvation, yet when he came right down to it, they decided to NOT BELIEVE. An Apostate is a person that may seem to others as if they are actually a born again believer, yet do not believe the Gospel of salvation without works required. There are some who know the Gospel so clearly that they can teach it, yet they themselves never came to true belief on Christ for their righteousness.
Judas Iscariot is a person that comes to mind in Scripture. Judas lived and travelled with Jesus during His earthly ministry. He was in the inner circle of the disciples who would become known as the Apostles. He was one of the men sent out to the house of Israel, to p reach the good news. So, he could obviously teach the Gospel and knew the Gospel. Yet, in the end he never really believed Jesus was the Son of God. In the end, he was more interested in Jesus becoming leader and tossing out the Romans. He betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
Eventually an Apostate is a person that looks and acts like a believer but the true colours will show them to not be a believer. In 1 John 2, John wrote this,
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” (1 John 2:18-25 KJV)
They went out from us. These are not believers who lost salvation and left. They are those who, in the end, never believed even though they were among the believers and talked like them and may have even acted like them. But ACTED is the key word. They were not born again believers.
In 1 John, John is refuting the false teachings of the Gnostics, an enormous heresy in the early church. John tells believers to have NOTHING TO DO WITH APOSTATES and to stay away from them. Why? Because, THEY ARE ANTICHRIST. That means, they look like believers but they are AGAINST CHRIST. They deny that Jesus is the Son of God. They deny Jesus’ deity. We see the same Apostate teachings and religions today. People who use the name of Christ but deny His deity. People who call themselves CHRISTIANS but who deny being born again in the Spirit through belief and trust in Christ and HIS finished work on the cross alone and His rising from the dead (John 3). To them, being a Christian is all about living a Godly life, doing good deeds and being a good person. This is not the Gospel. The Gospel is not by our own efforts, nor our good works before salvation (Eph. 2:8-9), nor our good works after our moment of salvation (Eph 1:13-14, Galatians 3, 5:4-5). Salvation and a born again Spirit is only by BELIEF ON CHRIST and HIS FINISHED work on the cross and His rising from the dead.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, 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:” (1 Cor. 15:1-4 KJV)
Believing that our works has anything to do with how we are born again in the Spirit is called BOASTING in pride by Apostle Paul,
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV)
Having good works in love of others is a good thing, but it will never make a person righteous before God. Only AFTER a person trusts on Christ’s blood atonement sacrifice on the cross , having paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), and His rising from the dead, will our good works count FROM our new Spiritual state of righteousness that God MADE US (2 Cor,. 5:17-21). This is what Paul is stating here. Works do not save us. God’s grace through faith in the FREE GIFT Of GOD by belief on Christ saves us. As a GIFT, it is unmerited. It is unearned. We do not earn gifts, we accept or reject a gift. By believing on Christ we have accepted the free gift of salvation as Paul had just stated earlier in Eph 1:13-14. Verse 10 then explains that good works will flow from our new born again Spirit. We are HIS workmanship, CREATED in Christ, UNTO good works. But the works are not what saves us, nor makes us a righteous person. So, as believers we should have good works because we had a heart transplant. We have a new Spirit which is fully redeemed and as righteous to the Father as Christ is. Good works after salvation do not keep us saved though (Gal. 3, 5:4-5).
An enormous truth that many Christians have not known nor believe but that Apostle Paul stated,
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
(2 Cor. 5:21 KJV)
Notice BE MADE. Who is doing the making? Us by our works? Paul says no in Ephesians 2:8-9 and so the answer is a resounding no! GOD MADE US! All our sins have been paid in full. Our Spirit is now the righteousness of God, because we are in Christ and Christ is in us. A perfect union which Jesus prayed for us in John 17 and that Paul explains in detail in Colossians 2. Two passages, that if you have not read, go read; SUCH A BLESSING TRUTH!
Jesus taught the same in Matthew 7 and gave a great warning to those who are not born again, but are using Jesus’ name in their false teaching. They are FALSE PROPHETS among true believers. They look like believers. Their works are good looking. They talk the talk but do not believe the Gospel. They are Apostates who are actually not believers, though they may think they are. Jesus warns them that on their judgment day, they will find themselves not at the Bema Judgment Seat of believers in Heaven, but instead they will find themselves at the Great White Throne judgment of Unbelievers to be condemned. They will have trusted in their own works and own perceived goodness by their works and rejected salvation by God’s grace through Christ Jesus on the cross. As such, they are not born again in the Spirit and they will have to pay the wages of sin (Romans 6:23) themselves. It was their choice and they chose wrong in boastful pride. Jesus stern warning,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23 KJV)
What is the ‘will of the Father’ Jesus spoke of here? I will let Jesusu answer that question for you because in John 6 Jeus was asked and He answered what the will of the Father is.
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40 KJV)
The will of the Father is to believe on Christ for salvation.
The apostates in Matthew 7 had an iniquity and it was not sins they committed. Their iniquity was their unbelief and boasting in their own works tio save themselves. They think they are good enough without belief on Christ alone! God states that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isahiah 64:6 KJV). These are Apostates. They are UNBELIEVERS who DENY Christ as Messiah, the Son of God who paid for all the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and rose again. Yet, they are among the believer community and may look like they are believers by their works.
We see many religions today that are Apostate. Religions teaching our works are what matter for salvation and righteousness. So many, so called ‘Christian’ Religions rising and growing stronger, while true born again believers are leaving them.
Jack Kelly (RIP) wrote something to take notice about in Revelation. It is so right on the bullseye of truth and so relevant to us living today, here in the End Times generation just before the Church Age ends. Jack wrote:
“For the Lord’s prophecy to the churches of of our times, compare the Church of Philadelphia with the Church of Laodicea in Rev. 3 About Philadelphia, a model of the evangelical Church, He said, “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name.” (Rev. 3:8) But when it comes to Laodicea, a model of the apostate church, it’s a different story. Here Jesus said, “You say, ‘I am rich. I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:17)
– Jack Kelley from https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-declining-church/
Does that ever describe the declining state of Christianity today. Apostasy, a great falling away has occurred, and is still occurring increasingly, in many churches that were once teaching being born again in the Spirit by belief on Christ and not by works. And some apostates left true teaching Churches and started their own which completely deny Christ’s deity but who are still using Jesus’ name! Religions such as:
- The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints
- Jehovah’s Witness
- Christian Science
- and the list goes on.
The Church is NOT a building. The Church consists of members who believe salvation is a free gift of God, not of works, through belief in Christ and His once for all payment (Hebrews 10:10) for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and His rising from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
