The Church Apostasy, Part One

2 Timothy 3:1-5
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, April 24, 2016
Copyright © 2016, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

Introduction

The apostle Paul often spoke about apostates in the church. Every true church will have people who become apostates in due time. They are third soil people. Such people eventually leave the church so that they can sin to their heart’s content.

In the previous passage (2 Tim. 2:24–26), Paul said that a holy pastor is to teach and correct those who oppose God and his gospel. He is to do so in meekness, hoping that perhaps that God will grant them repentance, so that they will come to their senses to believe the truth of the gospel and escape the trap of the devil to which they were taken alive as slaves to do the will of the devil.

Now, in 2 Timothy 3:1–9, Paul is warning Timothy about what would happen in churches in the future. False believers in God’s true church will become apostate so that they may practice antinomianism in its multifaceted immorality. There are twenty-one aspects of this immorality listed in verses 1 through 5. Those who practice such immorality and refuse to repent must be put out from Christ’s holy church. They are given over to the devil.

In verse 1, Timothy is commanded by Paul to understand and not forget the truth that was revealed to the apostle, that in the last days terrible times will surely come, especially for true believers in Jesus Christ. This is in contrast to the message of modern wicked television preachers who declare that we will have wealth and health when we believe in Christ. Such people are demon-possessed; yet, as the Lord told Jeremiah, “My people love it so” (Jer. 5:31).

“The last days” is the period of time between the first and second comings of Christ. Therefore, “last days” is also now. Apostasy has existed in the church in its entire history. John says, “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:18–19).

The devil viciously opposes the church that Christ builds. He opposes true believers. Yet the devil cannot destroy God’s people or the church Christ builds. False believers in due time will become apostate and leave Christ’s holy church, or will be expelled. They will look for a seeker-friendly church, a church of Satan, whose children they are. Such people are the brood of vipers. They previously confessed Jesus as Lord, yet they eventually violate their confession so that they may practice worldliness and lawlessness.

So certain people in God’s church will become evil. Paul writes elsewhere, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:1–2). And Jesus said, “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:10-13). In other words, every person in the visible church will not be saved. Peter stated, “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires” (2 Pet. 3:3).

Every cult, every philosophy, and every religion that preaches a salvation outside of the person and work of Jesus Christ is devilish and a lie. Those who believe such falsehood can be compared to the clay vessels of dishonor containing filth that Paul spoke about previously (2 Tim. 2:20). They are bad trees that produce only bad fruit. “By their fruit you will know them,” Jesus said. In this study, we want to examine the twenty-one aspects of immorality Paul speaks about in 2 Timothy 3:1–5.

Aspects of Immorality in the Last Days

1. Lovers of selves (philautoi). Jesus said, “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” This is the sum of God’s commandments. But false believers hate God and God’s people. They hate the Bible and pastors who preach God’s word. They are self-centered and self-pleasing. They demand that others do their bidding. They are slaves of the devil whom they obey fully daily. They say “No” to God and “Yes” to the devil. They say, “I love myself,” which is the prevailing idea in modern Western secular philosophy. Such people love and worship themselves. They do all that will make them happy. This self-love philosophy is the key to the rest of the marks of their apostasy.

2. Lovers of money (philarguroi). Literally, it is “lovers of silver.” People love money because they use it to buy stuff that will make them happy. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money.” But they do not believe Jesus because money makes them happy. Money is their God. It enables them to eat and drink and enjoy all the pleasures of sin before they die. To them, more money means greater happiness. Yes, they know what Jesus said: “What does it profit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul?” (Matt. 16:26). They know that he also said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20), which is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). They heard Jesus’ warning in Luke 12:15: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” They are well aware of what Jesus taught about the rich fool: “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20–21). That is also what Nabal the fool did, and he also was killed by God.

Jesus was the happiest person in the world, although he had no money. But apostates want to be like Balaam and Nabal, who had a lot of money. They want to be like Achan, who stole money to become rich. They want to be like Judas, who sold Jesus and made money. These all died for their sins. But the money lovers will justify their sin by saying that they lived happy lives before they died. They say, “Everyone will die. Let us get as much money as we can now so that we can feel happy.”

Consider what Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves”—they crucified themselves—”with many griefs.” This is the price some pay for happiness. They may ask, “What must we do to be saved?” And the devil’s answer will be, “Make a lot of money, by any means.” But remember the happy rich man of Luke 16. He died, and joined the devil in hell to experience torment, agony, and fire.

3. Boastful (alazones). Most rich people use their money to become powerful, and most rich and powerful are proud and arrogant. Such people think they are self-sufficient and have no need for God. They give parties daily and boast about their wealth. To such people, John issues a warning: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15–17).

Ungodly people boast about their wealth, their beauty, their intellect, their pedigree, and their power. In Ezekiel 28:17 we read about the devil, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”

God’s good gifts make people boastful. They should keep in mind Paul’s questions to the Corinthian church: “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? ” (1 Cor. 4:7).

4. Proud (huperêphanoi). A proud person denies God, who is the personal and infinite Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all, and Redeemer of his elect. A creature dies at the sight of this God. This God opposes the proud in the church and gives grace to the humble. The proud Pharisee, who trusted in his righteousness to save himself, went home condemned, while the publican, who trusted in God’s mercy, went home justified (Luke 18).

Pride is the sin that made Lucifer the devil, as we read in Ezekiel 28. And every proud person will die, not only physical death but also second death. How many people destroy themselves by the sin of pride! Pride goes before a fall, but God gives grace to the humble. Proud people have exaggerated opinions of themselves and their achievements. We read in Luke 1:51–52, “[God] has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”

Are you proud? Are you arrogant? Be warned: The proud will never believe in Jesus who will judge them and send them to hell.

5. Blasphemers (blasphêmoi). Blasphemers speak against the holy God and his holy people. In the garden of Eden, the devil spoke against God to Adam and Eve. He said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4–5).

Saul of Tarsus, before his conversion, blasphemed Jesus. Later he said, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13). God knows us. We do not even have to have much money to be arrogant. He also wrote, “Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20). They were blaspheming God, God’s people, and God’s word. That is the culture in which we live today: people freely blaspheme the true and living God. About such people Peter said, “These men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish” (2 Pet. 2:12). Blasphemers practice anti-social behavior. Hell will be full of blasphemers.

6. Disobedient to parents (goneusin apeitheis). It is one of the Ten Commandments that children should honor and obey their parents. A son who refused to honor and obey his parents was put to death in the Old Testament theocracy.

A child who refuses to obey his parents dishonors and mocks the God who gave this commandment. We are told that children of pastors are to believe and “not [be] open to the charge of being wild and disobedient” (Titus 1:6). What about your children? Cursed is the son or daughter who is disobedient. But blessed by God is the son or daughter who obeys his or her parents. Such children are blessed, especially with eternal salvation, as they trust in Christ savingly.

In Luke 2 we read about Jesus: “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. . . . Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:40, 51–52). A godly son or daughter will be like Jesus.

7. Unthankful (acharistoi). All children of Adam are children of the devil. They are little devils. The devil never says thanks to God who created him, and all children of the devil do the same. Paul writes, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him” (Rom. 1:21). This is the nature of every unbeliever. They curse God when things do not go the way they want. They never thank God for the blessings they receive daily, such as health, food, home, parents, and peace.

Unthankful children demand that their parents be their servants and provide all the things they like to enjoy. They never truly say, “Thank you.” But God in his mercy provides even for such ungrateful people. Jesus said, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35).

8. Unholy (anosioi). God is holy, and he says, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” We are to be like God. We are to be obedient to his commands. We are to know the Scripture and believe the gospel. Yet most people, even as they are receiving God’s gifts, reject the Giver of all gifts.

Unholy people are wicked. They delight in violating God’s laws. They get great pleasure saying “No” to God. “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” the Bible says, and they say, “I will commit adultery. What are you going to do about it?” Great happiness comes from the pit and engulfs them as they sin. They behave as sons of the devil, which Jesus spoke about in John 8:44: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” Every son of Adam is a son of the devil until God saves that person through regeneration.

9. Without natural affection (astorgoi). By nature, animals care for their families. Parents love their children and vice versa. But in this country, mothers kill their children in the womb, and children fail to take care of their parents in their old age. If abortion is here, euthanasia is not far behind. We have abandoned the Bible and the God of the Bible.

10. Unforgiving (aspondoi). Miracle of miracles, God forgives sins based on the truth that Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification. So we read, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Ps. 32:1–2). Note, the psalmist is not saying, “Blessed are the rich.” In fact, in Luke 6 we read, “Woe to the rich,” and, “Blessed are the poor.”

God commands us to forgive those who sinned against us. Jesus said, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt. 6:14–15). There are people who, on their deathbeds, when the issue of forgiveness is brought up, refuse to forgive. So they die and go to hell. A person who refuses to forgive is a child of the devil.

11. Slanderers (diaboloi). The Greek word means little devils. Those who become apostate and go away from Christ’s holy church become little devils themselves, slandering Christ and his holy church. Such people falsely accused Jesus of crimes he never committed and crucified him. Modern apostates are little devils who falsely accuse God’s holy people. They even use the Internet to slander God’s orthodox church.

Paul was “in danger . . . from false brothers” (2 Cor. 11:26). To the Galatians he wrote, “[This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves” (Gal. 2:4).

Judas was chosen as an apostle, yet the devil entered him and he betrayed Jesus. Later, he killed himself. Those who slander God’s holy people will be destroyed. They will experience the same destiny as the devil.

Such people especially slander pastors who are faithful in preaching the word. The devil and the little devils cannot endure Christ and his truth. The word exhorts us not to become like devils. For example, deacons’ wives should not become little devils. Paul writes, “In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything” (1 Tim. 3:11). Older women should also not become little devils. Paul says, “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good” (Titus 2:3).

12. Without self-control (akrateis). Without self-control means incontinent. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23). But those without self-control cannot say “No” to sin. That is why they go out of God’s church to sin continually. They have no Holy Spirit power because they are without the Holy Spirit These people have total lack of restraint. They are antinomians. They are religious phonies. Their delight is in sinning, not in the law of the Lord. They cannot hear and do the will of God.

A pastor is to be self-controlled, that is, Holy-Spirit controlled and empowered (Titus 1:8). And not only pastors, but also all true believers must have self-control. Peter exhorts us to add “to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance” (2 Pet. 1:6). This is how we can make our calling and election sure.

Without self-control, prodigal sons will plunge into wild living of dissipation (Luke 15:13). So Peter writes, “They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Pet. 4:4).

Joseph exercised self-control and refused to commit wickedness because he knew that God was with him. Daniel and his friends exercised self-control in Babylon, thus honoring the God of Israel. Above all, Jesus exercised self-control, the fruit of the Spirit, and refused to yield to Satan’s temptation. All true believers can experience self-control when they are filled with the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).

13. Brutal (anêmoroi). Apostate people are like wild animals who kill and destroy. That is the meaning of anêmoroi. Such people are wild savages. They are like the legion-demon man—wild, naked, restless, uncontrollable, and destructive. (PGM) But when Jesus saved him, he sat down and was clothed, and in his right mind. He listened to Jesus and obeyed him.

We read about such brutal animals throughout the Bible. Concerning the Cretans Paul wrote, “They are evil brutes” (Titus 1:12). And Jude says, “Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them” (Jude 10).

14. Not lovers of good (aphilagathoi). A Christian is to be a lover of the good (Titus 1:8). The apostate hates what is good and loves what is evil. Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “No one is good except God alone.” Jesus is good because he is God, and everything he did was good. He came to do the will of God.

The first good thing a sinner must do is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then he can live to serve Jesus, obeying his commands in the Holy Bible.

The wicked person hates the good and loves evil. He is a pervert. Isaiah speaks of such people: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isa. 5:20). Everything is twisted and perverted, yet the wicked like it. “My people love it so” (Jer. 5:31). And Paul writes, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9–11). Thank God for salvation! But the wicked are always evil and also inventing new evil things to do (Rom. 1:30).

15. Traitors (prodotai). These people are covenant breakers. They confess, “Jesus is Lord,” which is a covenant agreement with the Lord of the universe. Yet, in due time, they violate this covenant agreement by living sinful lives.

When people marry, they agree in the presence of God to keep the marriage covenant until death. Yet how many people break that covenant by sinning and by divorce! Others agree to bring up godly children. Yet they often fail to do what they vowed. Some Christian people enter into business agreements, only to later violate the terms of the covenant.

The psalmist commends the man “who keeps his oath even when it hurts” (Ps. 15:4). Yet even an apostle broke his vow. When Jesus named his apostles, at the end of the list we read: “Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor” (Luke 6:16).

When God promises, he keeps his promise. He is truth; he cannot lie. Paul writes, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Cor. 1:20). I exhort you to be a true Christian and do not break the covenant vows you have made before God.

16. Reckless (propepteis). In the Greek, this word speaks about one who is falling headlong. Paul is speaking about people who refuse to be mindful of God’s eternal, infallible word. Such people are governed by feelings. They suffer from emotional incontinence. They cannot say, “It is written,” to justify what they do or what they do not do. These people have nothing to do with the Scriptures. They are apostates. Their philosophy is: “I want to do what I want to do, how I want to do, when I want to do, and who are you, pastor, to tell me what to do. I am autonomous.” These people are hotheaded and impetuous. Analyze their lives; they are disasters.

Adam and Eve were thoughtless of God’s word. As a result, they obeyed the lie of the devil and died. Now all their descendants die, as God declared they would. Every sin is thoughtless. Those who sin are not thinking about God and his word.

17. Swollen with self-esteem (tetuphômenoi). In the Greek, it is speaking about people who are full of smoke, not full of light. Such people are blind and cannot see reality. They reject the claims of Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus healed a blind man, who believed in Jesus and worshiped him. But the Pharisees were blind and refused to believe in Jesus. They said, “We know this man [Jesus] is a sinner.” They were full of smoke and understood nothing. Jesus said about them: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39).

About such people Paul writes, “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing” (1 Tim. 6:3–4a). But we have the mind of Christ and we make judgment about all things (1 Cor. 2:15–16).

18. Lovers of pleasure (philêdonoi). Lovers of themselves become lovers of the pleasure of sin. They are hedonists. These people love every form of pleasure. In fact, they worship pleasure. They are those Jesus spoke of in Luke 8:14: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear [the word] but as they go on their way, they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures and they do not mature.”

Eventually such people will make their way out the church and go to sin. They prove themselves to be unregenerate. These false Christians who fall away are not like Moses, who “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short while” (Heb. 11:25).

The choice is between the pleasures of sin for a short while, and the eternal pleasures which God gives to his people, as spoken by the psalmist: “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Ps. 16:11). The wicked always will choose the pleasures of sin. Paul writes, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). James also speaks about this: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? . . . When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:1, 3). The wicked choose all sorts of pleasures in this life, but they will never be satisfied. Our hearts are restless unless they find their rest in God.

19. Not lovers of God. True pleasure is to know God and serve God in this life and the life to come. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of God and to finish it.” The pleasure of sin is a delusion resulting in misery and despair. Jesus Christ came into the world to make us truly happy. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28–30). We cannot find rest in the pleasure of sin.

The psalmist also says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25–26). Paul writes, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them [filth], that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8). As we said before, our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. The Thessalonian believers did that. They “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9).

20. Having an appearance of godliness. Godliness is to be like Jesus; worldliness is to be like the world, which is being like the devil, who is the god of this world. The apostates Paul was speaking about are members of the church; they are churchgoers. That is their outward form. They want to deceive people with the pretension that they are godly, like Korah, Achan, Judas, or Demas. But, in reality, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Everything about them is for show. They are hypocrites. They are Pharisees, who have no need of a heaven-sent Messiah to save them. They trust in their own filthy rags of good works.

Paul writes elsewhere of such people, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus 1:16). Jesus condemned them, saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. . . . Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matt. 23:25, 27). Jesus also said, “You shall know them by their fruit.”

21. Having denied the power thereof. True faith in the gospel always leads to true godliness (Titus 1:1). These hypocrites denied and rejected the power of godliness, which is the Holy Spirit. If God saves us, he also calls us to live holy lives. The Holy Spirit regenerates us and enables us to live by repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit indwells us, enlightening us and empowering us to love Jesus by doing his will with joy. An unholy Christian is a hypocrite and a child of the devil, who has taken him captive to do his will (2 Tim. 2:25–26). He is like the legion-demon man.

 

Have Nothing To Do with Them

Finally, Paul commands Timothy and all pastors and true believers to have nothing to with such apostates who turn away from the gospel of Jesus. These apostates will not repent; they have already been rejected by God. Having turned to follow Satan, they are to be handed over to Satan. They must be put out of the church, for “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:33). Paul writes, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped [twisted] and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:9–11). The church does not condemn such people; they are self-condemned. And it is impossible to bring them back to repentance (Heb. 6:4–6). The Hebrews writer says, “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? . . . It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:29, 31).

Let us, therefore, make our calling and election sure by hearing and doing the will of God by the grace of God. Let us do so, that we may hear from Jesus on the day of judgment, not, “Depart from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” but, “Come, you who are blessed by the Father, and take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”