5.02 - APOSTASY

APOSTASY

It has been a pleasure to me to speak to you who have chanced to come to our noonday services, and also to others, who, perhaps, have been listening to what I have had to say. In Romans 8:1-4 I read: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." There is, therefore, now no condemnation unto a certain class, which fulfills the following—viz., those who are in Christ Jesus, and who walk after the law of the Lord. Unto such an one, there is no condemnation whatsoever. It is impossible for a child of God, who walks after the law of the Spirit in Christ, to be lost. A question that has been argued since the days of Eve and the serpent is, "Can a child of God apostatize so as to be finally lost?" It is a question as to whether or not one who believes the truth can, at any time, lose that faith and, therefore, subject himself to damnation. In 2 Timothy 2:17-18, we read that two young preachers who were wrong regarding the resurrection overthrew the faith of some. What do you think, therefore, of the possibility of a person’s being saved with his faith overthrown? Then we are told of others that, concerning their faith, they had made shipwreck of it. Can a man be saved with a destroyed faith? Can an unbeliever reach heaven? Again, the Spirit expressly said that "some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." Those who teach the impossibility of apostasy would force eternal salvation upon that man who once was in the faith, but who had departed from it, and is now giving heed to the doctrines of devils. I am reading to you a statement from Psalms 106:9-12 regarding the children of Israel to show what transition may take place. "He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.... The waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left." Now note: "Then believed they his words." The Israelites, after they saw God’s great demonstration in leading the people across the Red Sea, believed His word. Now, can that faith ever be lost? I read right on in verses 1624: "They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram." The story goes on, and finally, Psalms 106:24, "Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word." If you will note carefully, you will find that the time was when the Israelites believed the word of the Lord. But with the passing of the years, their faith was lost, and the record states that "they believed not his word." Therefore, a man can change from a believer to an unbeliever and he can reach that state where it is impossible for him to be saved. But again, in Romans 8:12-13 : "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die." Here I stop and ask: What kind of death did Paul have in mind? A sensible man certainly cannot think that he meant physical death because that will be our lot whether we live after the flesh or not. A man can live any way he wishes and physical death will certainly follow. Therefore, if a man lives after the flesh, he shall die a spiritual death. This is the only sensible answer that can be made to such a plain statement. "But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Does that mean that you can live on and on and on in the flesh until Methuselah would look like a baby in comparisonwith your length of days? That would be a foolish interpretation. Just anybody that is no akin to Solomon ought to recognize that a man may do whatever he wishes, and yet he cannot perpetuate this physical life. "But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Live how? This is the exact antithesis of the statement, "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die." That can mean nothing but spiritual death. So, if you "mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" can only mean spiritual life. And, hence, the promise of everlasting life is contingent upon whether or not a man mortifies the deeds of the body. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand." Many people read that and think they have found certain proof that it is impossible for one to fall and be lost. But let me read you another from 2 Thessalonians 2:3 : "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." It will pay any man well to get the distinction between two terms "fall" and "fall away." I have been on board a steamboat; I have walked around the promenade; I have seen folks fall over some article, but they were not lost. But if one falls away, he is cut loose from the ship, and the depth of the sea is the final landing place. Now, it is possible for a man to go along and stumble in his way and fall. It is possible for him to rise again. But if that man fall away, it is impossible for him to be saved. So said Paul in Hebrews 6:4-6. I pass next to a brief study of eternal life. "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Some preachers can shout "hash everlasting life" so they can be heard from a long distance. They fail to recognize some fundamental lessons. As a matter of fact, the verb "hash" and others in the present tense are frequently used with a future significance. Illustrative of this, read Isaiah 9:2 : "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." Again, in Isaiah 9:6, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." The believer does have everlasting life. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Such expressions occur a number of times. Have you ever stopped to consider just how a man has it? Does the Bible say anywhere that the believer hath everlasting life everlastingly? No, he hath everlasting life. Everlasting is an adjective, and thus it describes the kind of life. I insist that the time of his having it is not mentioned. I might have an everlasting watch, but I could lose it. Those who believe the doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy need a passage which says he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life everlastingly. They must find an adverb of time. But no such passage is in the Bible. Note John 10:27-28 : (1) "My sheep hear my voice"; (2) “I know them"; (3) "They follow me"; (4) “I give unto them eternal life." Now when? At the judgment. "The righteous shall go into eternal life." Titus 1:2 : Paul was "in hope of eternal life." But Paul says in Romans 8:24, Romans 8:26 : "We are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: but what a man seeth, why cloth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." A man doesn’t hope for a thing that he already has. I do not hope to have a brown coat. I have it. I hope sometime to be able to buy another. Paul declares that the thing which we have does not come within the realm of hope. For what a man has, that he does not hope for, and yet in writing to Titus, Paul said that he himself was in hope of everlasting life. If Paul had it, then he would not be in hope of it. But, "This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." (1 John 2:26) How does the Christian have everlasting life? In promise. When will he have it in actuality? "My sheep hear my voice, I know them; they follow me; I give unto them eternal life." When, Lord? At the great judgment, when the separation comes, and these shall go away into everlasting life. They had it in promise. Now, they have it in absolute perfection. But again, "Who shall separate us from the love of God?" There is absolutely nothing that can so do. If eternal salvation depended solely on the love of God, all men would be saved, for God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son. I believe that as strongly as any man living. But that is a false issue. The question is: "Who can separate us, or what can separate us from God?" "Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2) What can separate us from God? Sin. Are we guilty of sin? The man who says he has not sinned makes God a liar, and the truth is not in him. Hence, sin will damn any soul. If there is a sinner present, won’t you come and obey the gospel of Christ while you may?