Fundamental Foundations of Faith: Understanding the Apostasy
INTRO.
A. Last week we began a series of lessons on the fundamental foundations of faith. We began by looking
at the church.
1. We are the “called out.” The meaning of the term “church” or Ekklesia.”
2. We also saw that the Lord only promised to build one church. Jesus is the head of the church,
which is His body, and there is only one body Eph. 4:4.
B. Now, since the Lord only built one church, how did we get to where we are today with literally hundreds
of various churches, who all claim to follow Jesus Christ?
C. One group teaches one thing, and another group teaches exactly the opposite.? How does that happen?
remember a story that brother Cecil May Jr. once told. He was studying with a woman and mentioned
that the Bible taught a certain point. She spoke up and said, “My Bible doesn’t teach that!” Brother May
said, “Yes it does.” She said, “No! It doesn’t!” Then she showed him the verse he had mentioned. She
had taken a knife and had literally cut the verse out of her Bible.
D. I think that story gives us the answer as to how we have gotten to where we are today. Not only that but
there are also numerous warnings in the Bible that speak of a falling away or an apostasy.
E. This morning, I want us to try and understand that apostasy- how it happened and how it can be
corrected.
I. WE WERE WARNED THAT AN APOSTASY WOULD OCCUR.
A. At the first, there was great unity in the early church.
1. Acts 2:40-47
“40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse
generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three
thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine
and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and
many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together,
and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among
all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being
saved.”
2. This is exactly the way the Lord wanted it to be Jn. 17:20-23
“20 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that
they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the
world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them,
that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect
in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved
Me.”
B. But as with all things, mankind has a way of ruining what God has made.
1. We did that with the garden of Eden.
2. And we did that with the Lord’s church as well.
3. Jesus warns us- Mt. 15:8-9
“8 These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far
from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
4. Paul warns us- Acts 20:28-30
“28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made
you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I
know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away
the disciples after themselves.”
5. 2 Tim. 4:1-4
“1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the
dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they
will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be
turned aside to fables.”
6. Gal. 1:6-9
“6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a
different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the
gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than
what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if
anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”
7. 1 Tim. 4:1-3
“1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to
deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience
seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
8. Peter warns us- 2 Pet. 2:1-2
“1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among
you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and
bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of
whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”
9. John warns us- I Jn. 2:18-19
“18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now
many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but
they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they
went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
10. Jude warns us- Jude 4
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation,
ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
11. Here we have the Lord Himself and four of His inspired writers all
warning us that an apostasy would occur in the church.
II. WE SEE THAT THE APOSTASY DID OCCUR IN THE CHURCH.
A. Over time, the Lord’s church was corrupted, just as Jesus and the apostles warned us that it would.
1. Men rose up in the church who were not content to believe things as they had been taught by the
apostles and in the holy scriptures.
2. As these men spread their false doctrines, they gained followers who gave their allegiance to them
instead of to God.
3. As this happened, division was caused in the church. It did not take long for this to happen
a. 1 Cor. 1:10-11
“10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the
same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together
in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you,
my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.”
b. 3 Jn. 9-10
“9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does
not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating
against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive
the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.”
B. While the apostles were still alive, the divisions began to occur. Once the apostles were no longer alive,
and not able to correct those changes, the apostasy began to spread.
1. Eventually, the church was unrecognizable from what Christ had established. These changes lead to
the rise of Catholicism. The Catholic Church grew out of these apostasies.
2. Granted, it took hundreds of years to finally get to that point, but it did happen.
3. Eventually, men rose up who saw this, and they tried to reform the Catholic Church. This occurred in
the 14 and 15 hundred’s. Men like Martin Luther, John Westley, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys.
All of these men recognized that the church of their day did not resemble the church they read of in
the Bible.
4. As these men began to call people to reform the church, people rallied to their cause. This became
known as the Reformation Movement.
a. Martin Luther’s followers adopted his name and became known as Lutherans.
b. John Westley’s followers became known as Methodists because he believed that holiness
could be achieved by being methodical in your study and practice.
c. John Smyth and Thomas Helwys’ followers became known as Baptists because they rejected
infant baptism and had their members re-baptized as believers.
5. All of these men caused things to begin moving in the right direction. It was a move back toward
the Bible, which was a good thing.
6. Then, in the 17 and 18 hundred’s, several men began to think that those early reformers did not go
far enough. Instead of reforming the church of that day, what was needed was to restore the church
of the New Testament. In modern technical terms, we would say the church needed a total system
reboot.
7. Men like Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone began to call people to set aside all
man-made creed books and man-made doctrines and to simply go back to the Bible. This became
known as the Restoration Movement.
8. They encouraged people to “speak where the Bible speaks, and to be silent where the Bible is silent,
to call Bible things by Bible names and to do Bible things in Bible ways.”
9. They argued that if you plant simple New Testament seed, that you would get simple New
Testament Christians.
10. Those who accepted that call, adopted the Biblical designation for the people of God that is found in
Rom. 16:16
“Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”
III. THE APOSTASY OF THE CHURCH CAN BE FIXED.
It can be fixed by following the principles of RESTORATION.
A. Accept what the Bible says as the word of God- 1 Thes. 2:13
“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which
you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which
also effectively works in you who believe.”
B. Realize that because the Bible is the word of God, we have no right to change it- Rev. 22:18-19
“18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these
things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this book.” If our lives are inconsistent with the word of God,
we don’t change the word of God, we change our lives.
C. If we change anything to suit ourselves and our wishes, that becomes a doctrine of men and not the
doctrine of God- Mk. 7:6-7
“6 He answered and said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people
honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as
doctrines the commandments of men.’”
D. We need to follow the example of Josiah in the Old Testament
1. 2 Kings 22:8-11
“Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the
house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 So Shaphan the scribe
went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was
found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the
house of the Lord.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has
given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 11 Now it happened, when the king heard
the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.” He tore his clothes because he realized
just how far removed they were from God.
2. In chapter 23:1-25 Josiah sets out to RESTORE the worship of God.
a. He has all of the idols removed and destroyed from the temple.
b. He has all of the high places destroyed.
c. He has all of the idolatrous priests removed.
d. They keep the Passover for the first time in many years.
e. In this way, the worship of God was RESTORED.
APP./CONC.
A. What was done then, can be done today. Every generation must dedicate itself to protecting and
preserving the Lord’s church Jude 3
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary
to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the
saints.” Put forth every effort to protect the faith!
B. When we find that we have turned aside from what God has given us to the doctrines of men, those
things must be removed just as Josiah removed the idols from Judah and Jerusalem.
C. If people would accept this call to set aside manmade creeds and doctrines, the Lord’s church could be
restored throughout the world.
D. Then all believers in Jesus Christ could fulfill the desire of the Lord and be one, just as He and the Father
are one.
E. I hope this helps us to better understand how we got to where we are today in all of the
religious division that is in the world.
F. Lord willing, next time we will consider how to recognize the Lord’s church from the many
religious groups that are in the world today.
G. Invitation
