The Word of God clearly teaches that in the
last days just before the return of Christ for the
saints there will be a falling away from the Truth.
We read in II Thessalonians 2:1-3 - Now we beseech
you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand. 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, the son of perdition.
Here we see the apostle Paul writing to the
church at Thessalonica and exhorting them to
remain faithful in spite of all their persecutions. He
tells them that the day of Christ is at hand and an
apostasy will take place before Christ returns for
the saints. The words falling away in this text are
old English words for an abandonment, a defection,
a desertion or a departure from one's faith. It is a
forsaking of something once believed. An apostasy
or falling away is leaving the principles of one's
faith as set forth in the Word of God and either
compromising them or clearly abandoning them.
In the Word of God, the words "falling away" is the
same in the Greek text, the Textus Receptus. We
get the word apostasy from that word and the
Authorized Version of the Word of God uses the
term falling away.
The apostle Paul tells the church in
Thessalonica that in the last days, preceding Christ's
return for the saints, there will be a great falling1
away from the Truth once believed. Many will be
affected by that apostasy.
An apostate is one who has rejected God's Word
and no longer accepts it. A truly saved person
cannot become a full blown apostate. According to
Romans Chapter One, one who continues to reject
the Truth can become a reprobate. A reprobate is
one who has been rejected by God. In II Timothy
3:8, we see an example of those who did reject the
Truth and were finally rejected by God and became
reprobate with no hope. In Titus 1:16, we see an
example of some who professed to know God but
whose works denied Him. A reprobate is one who
has rejected the Truth and continued to fall away to
a place of no return. The apostate or reprobate is
then abandoned by God with no possible chance of
ever being saved. In II Timothy 3, the Word of
God describes last day apostate conditions. Only
the unsaved can fall away to a place of no return.
The saved can backslide; they can, and do sin, and
they are often affected by apostate conditions
around them. It is possible for a truly redeemed
person to lose the power of God on their lives
because of their acceptance of apostate conditions
around them. There must be a clear conviction that
the Word of God is the sole authority in all matters
of faith and practice. This is the only safeguard
against apostasy. Whatsoever the Word of God
says is Truth. Now, in the last days before Christ's
return, the majority of this world's population will
be caught up in a rejection and falling away from
the Word of God. In the parable of Luke 18:1-8,
our Lord makes it clear that at the time of His2
return, it will be difficult to find anyone still in the
faith.
Luke 18:8 - I tell you that he will avenge
them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man
cometh, shall he find faith on earth?
The reference here is not to personal faith,
but to belief in the whole revealed Truth. It means
that as we get closer to the coming of Christ and
the time of the Rapture, it will be difficult to find the
faith once delivered to the saints. There will be
changes, abandonments and alterings in various
doctrines.
If some of the apostles were alive today, they
would be shocked at the apostasy in Baptist
churches. Many of these churches and pastors are
not even aware of their altered teachings. Instead
of basing what they believe entirely on the Word of
God, they have believed something from someone's
book, school or philosophy. Colossians 2:8 warns
us about that possibility. The apostasy of the last
days will be a great one. Many will be affected by
it. The falling away will be subtle, yet it will be
great.
Now, it is obvious that no one can fall away
from something they never possessed. Most of the
major denominations, conventions, and cults never
had the Truth in the first place. They were false
prophets from the beginning, so they cannot fall
away. They are already there. They were, and still
are, preaching another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9; II
Corinthians 11:13-15). Take, for example, those
who teach that baptism saves and who usually add
to that communion, confirmation, works, etc. That3
is a false gospel. That is another gospel. If they
had, at one time, believed the true Gospel and now
believe another, they are apostate. However, a
modernist or a liberal who never believed the Bible
may preach and teach some things the apostate
teaches and preaches, but they are false prophets,
not apostates. An apostate is one who fell from the
Truth, one who once did hear the Truth and has
now denied or altered that Truth. So, who are the
apostates of these last days? Those who once held
the Truth.
That is why the Word of God tells us to
practice separation from those who are falling away
from the Truth (II Corinthians 6:14-17; Romans
16:17; Ephesians 5:6-8; Titus 3:9-10; Jude 3-4).
In light of what we have already discussed, let us
look at the abandonment, the rejection, the falling
away from the Truth, by those who call themselves
Baptist. Those who once believed certain doctrines,
but now either have denied those doctrines or
altered them to fit the age. Those who have
lowered their standards or compromised their
earlier convictions and beliefs. Let's take a look at
some of those doctrinal changes and see if there is
an apostasy among some of our Baptist churches.4
- ONE -
BAPTIST APOSTASY AND THE WORD OF
GOD
When this writer attended Bible college, he was
greatly moved when he saw the founder of that
school hold up an Authorized Version of God's
Word and call it The Word of God. That King
James Bible to him and most of us present was
God's preserved Word. That great old preacher
said, "This does not contain the Word of God. This
is the Word of God." I heard him say many times,
"The Revised Standard Bible is not the Word of
God. It is a perversion." Now today, I hear Baptist
preachers preaching from those new versions
which have come out of the Revised Standard
Text. Men who once believed that the King James
Bible is the Word of God, without error, have now
abandoned it for the new perversions. They are
now leaning on scholarship to interpret where the
so-called errors are. Those of us who believe God
has preserved His Word, without error, are accused
of worshipping the King James Bible. We are not.
It is a translation and God led in that translation.
God has preserved His infallible, inerrant Word in
the King James Version. Even if we were
worshipping it, at least we would be worshipping
something we can see. Those who are always
talking about the originals are worshipping
something they have never seen. God has placed
in the hands of English speaking people an inerrant
copy of this final revelation to man. We do not rest5
our understanding of that dear old Bible on some
man's scholarship. We rest it on the Spirit of God.
I Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.
I John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have
received of him abideth in you, and ye need not
that any man teach you: but as the same anointing
teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,
and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in
him.
Many Baptists have abandoned their faith in
an inerrant book and now rest their faith on
scholarship. Baptists need to return to the faith of
our fathers, in the Word of God. Our forefathers
believed it and so should we. The apostasy
concerning the Word of God is now among the
Baptists. May God help us to resist that apostasy.
The attack of the day in which we live is upon the
authority of God's Word.6
- TWO -
BAPTIST APOSTASY AND THE CHURCH
The church that Jesus built is alive and well.
It has never failed and never will fail (Matthew
16:18). We have an eternal promise from our Lord
that the perpetuity of this divine church would
continue. It did not start on the day of Pentecost.
Jesus built the first one during His own personal
ministry in Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost, an
existing assembly of one hundred twenty (120)
members were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up
in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number
of names together were about an hundred and
twenty).
Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place. And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting. And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,
and it sat upon each of them. And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Yet, today we are seeing Baptist churches
and pastors teaching the universal, invisible day of
Pentecost theory of the church. Our early Baptist
forefathers in the first century did not believe such
apostate doctrine. The universal theory came from
Rome and the invisible theory from the Protestants.
Genuine Baptists do not believe either of those false7
theories. Baptists are not Protestants and never
have been. Even the Protestants admit to our early
existence. Listen to what they said:
Alexander Campbell in the Campbell-
McCalla Debate - The church at Jerusalem was a
Baptist church, and the church at Samaria was a
Baptist church.
Moshiem, Lutheran historian - The
first century was a history of the Baptists.
John Ridpath, Methodist historian - I
should not readily admit that there were Baptists
then, as all Christians were then Baptists.
We now are seeing many Baptists forsaking
their Biblical heritage and teaching and preaching
the ecumenical doctrine of the universal, invisible
church theory. It is time to resist the apostate trend
of our day which will eventually lead to a one
world visible church.8