The Great Falling Away

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron...

1 Timothy 4:1-2 NASB

The Bible is clear, it is a prophetic certainty, that a great falling away from the faith will occur in the last days. This is something that every believer should take to heart. It deserves our utmost attention, yet I fear that the average Christian doesn't spend much time on a topic like this.

Consider the following verse taken from 2 Timothy 3:1-5,

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. 

When one reads these verses it's hard to imagine that people whose lives are marked by sins such as these would consider themselves Christians at all. However, we read that they hold to a form of godliness, but without the power. It's like Jesus said, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me." (Mark 7:6)

But look around you, we are seeing this coming to pass even now. A large segment of the professing church fits this description perfectly.

Again, the very fact that scripture foretells of a great departure from the faith occurring in the last days, should cause us to seriously consider our lives and faith in Jesus Christ. We dare not be careless about this. What if we fall away? It is a possibility that we must be diligent to avoid.

I believe that even now we are witnessing a falling away, that will only progress until it reaches its climax during the time of tribulation that will come upon the world prior to Christ's return.

Paul adresses this issue in his second letter to the Thessalonian Church. It seems that they had heard a report that the day of the Lord had already come. In his correction of this misunderstanding he says this,

Let no one in any way decieve you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASB

And it gets worse. As we read on we find that those who have no regard for truth will be easy prey for deception. In fact we find that God, in an act of His judgement, sends a delusion on those who reject truth.

Then that lawless one, will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

2Thessalonians 2:8-12 NASB

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.

2 Timothy 4:3 NASB

It matters how we receive truth. Do we accept it, and act upon it, even when it might be hard? Or do we take the easy things, and ignore the rest? 

We hear so much these days of popular Christian figures who are "deconstructing" their faith. What happened to them? Or what about what about "pop star Christianity", you know those famous people who claim to be born again, but their lives are always embroiled in the same sinful turmoil that they have always embraced?

The danger is real. A dumbed down Christianity where grace is proclaimed to the exclusion of commitment, repentance, the crucified life of following Jesus etc. Teachers are gathered to tickle our ears, but sadly provide us with no foundation to weather the storms of life.

It isn't just the popular people in the news who are prone to fall. We are all faced with the real possibility of apostasy. A Christian faces trials and temptations daily. We are constantly in danger of deception. Persecution is guaranteed for one who follows Jesus. All of these things work together to destroy our faith. We must be on guard, and by God's grace confront them diligently if we are to persevere to the end. It was Jesus who said that the love of many would grow cold in the last days. He also warned that endurance to the end is required.

"At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved 

Matthew 24:10-13 NASB

Rejecting Wisdom

The Bible is filled with warnings against deception and the rejection of truth. To be unknowingly decieved is one thing, and can indeed be fatal to our spiritual well being, however, to be "willfully ignorant" is quite another thing. This tragic condition opens us up to a judgement of the severest kind. Sadly, many fall into this category, and the Bible expressly warns us that many more will as this age comes to a close (2Thess 2:7-12).

This principle is set forth in the first chapter of Proverbs.

20. Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;

21. At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings:

22. "How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?

23. "Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you

24. "Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; 

25. And you neglected all my council, and did not want My reproof;

26. I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

27. When your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you,

28. "Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find Me, 

29. Because the hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30. "They would not accept My council, they spurned all My reproof.

31. "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satisfied with their own devices. 

33. "For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them.

34. "But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the dread of evil."

Proverbs 1:20-33 NASB

When we are given spiritual wisdom, the  demand upon us is great. We are faced with the choice to either recieve and act upon it, or to ignore it, refusing to act upon it, and therefore rejecting it. This is much like Pharaoh, who hardened his heart against the command of God, until God finally hardened his heart for him (See Exodus chapters 7-14).

God will only allow an individual to spurn wisdom so long, before He lets him go his own way, and bear the fruit of his own disobedience. This seems like a hard thing to hear, but God gives us this warning so that we would be careful with the wisdom He gives us.

Jesus likewise warned His disciples to be careful with how they received His teaching through the parables He told them. I will quote Luke 8:18 out of the Amplified Bible as it really clarifies what I'm trying to say here.

     Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.

Again, when confronted with truth, what will we do with it? To act upon it is life, to refuse it leads to a spiritual deafness and ultimately destruction. 

This is much more than not understanding something we come across in the word of God, or not being quite sure of how to proceed in obedience to a particular thing God may be dealing with us about. This is a careless disregard for spiritual truth/ godly wisdom. To continue on with this willfull ignorance will cause a hardening of the heart over time, until the day comes when you find yourself past a point of no return with a heart turned over to every kind of deception.