What is Apostasy and Why Does it Matter

According to Webster, apostasy is, “an act of refusing to continue to follow, obey, or recognize a religious faith,” i.e. falling away from our Biblical Christian worldview. The process by which a Christian gravitates in this direction in his/her walk with Christ can be summarized under the popular term, “faith deconstruction.”

Deconstructionism has many definitions but, from a Christian context, is well-summarized by GotQuestions.org as, “a theory of textual criticism or interpretation that denies there is any single correct meaning or interpretation of a passage or text.”

More broadly, faith deconstruction is a process of applying human moral standards to those commands of God which we find offensive. Examples would be the right of a woman to choose what to do with her body (abortion), the right of same-sex couples to be seen without the stain of sin (homosexuality), the right of the poor to find a better life by illegally entering America (illegal immigration), the unacceptability of differing roles in marriage (complementarianism), liberal views on equity vs. equality, separation of church and state, freedom of speech, etc.

The issues of abortion, homosexuality, and some aspects of liberalism would seem on the surface to be leading examples of the greatest sources of apostasy within the Christian community. So many Christians have separated from their churches and broken fellowship with friends over these issues, some suggesting they continue to “follow Jesus” on their own, while others have turned away from Biblical Christian institutions entirely due to their dogmatic standing on these issues.

However, underlying all the moral outrage and bluster on human social issues, there is a large and growing crack in the foundation of America’s Biblical Christian worldview. And that is the true source of Christian apostasy, or falling away.

The True Watershed Issue is What to do About the Bible.

Is it to be:

• Rejected as authored by man,
• Rejected because it is unclear in expressing God’s commands, or,
• Is it truly God’s instruction manual for the Christian life?

Once you answer the question on how to view Biblical inerrancy, your view on human social issues begin to fall into place.

Authored by Man – If the Bible is authored by man, then we must rely on our own moral compass to decide how to view homosexuality and abortion, as just two examples. Our compassion, sense of justice, and desire for personal freedoms understandably apply as we bristle at those who see things differently.

Unclear – If we see the Bible as unclear, even contradictory in some areas, Christians use that as a lever to begin to question other points of theology which are clear but run counter to our personal moral code … or the current trend in society’s morality which we wish to conform to in order to fit in.

Inerrant – Finally, if we accept, on faith, that God both wrote and protected His instruction manual for the life of the Christian, and what the Lord made clear we need to follow (core doctrine), and what seems unclear we need to study in an attempt to better discern (non-core doctrine), then we see God’s Word as without error. We lean on the clear truths presented in His Word, regardless of our own opinions which are filtered through our sinful nature and a sin-cursed world. This inerrancy view is the position of our ministry at Biblical Christian Worldview, specifically as relates to the Bible we believe:

Bible — as originally written, is the inspired, infallible, authoritative, and inerrant Word of God and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. Further, God has protected His word down through the ages such that we hold today a trustworthy document that expresses the other core principles listed here.

The “other core principals listed here” referenced directly above can be found here:

Why Accept Biblical Inerrancy

To accept an inerrant view of Scripture is to submit to God in areas where our views differ from His. This is not an easy position to hold and the Lord has warned us that it will result in the loss of friends, family, and other more physical forms of persecution.

Luke 12:53 – They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

2 Timothy 3:12 – Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The greatest source of apostasy within the Christian community is an unwillingness to accept the clear truths of God’s inerrant Word. Once the Biblical foundation is broken [the rock], the house falls at the first sign of rain, floods, and wind of a human society.

Matthew 7:24-27 – Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words

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