Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers to reassure them that the Day of the Lord would not come except the apostasy come first (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The Greek word translated as apostasy has been translated in various versions of the Bible as a falling away, departing, turning away, rebellion, or revolt. The literal meaning of the Greek word is ‘defection from the truth.’
This is interesting because it is not just desertion, but defection. Desertion is when someone deserts their post, they just leave, they want nothing more to do with what they were previously a part of. Defection is much more serious. Defection is when someone not only leaves the side they were on but goes over to join the other side.
When someone defects from the truth, they leave the truth and join the side of error, the side of falsehood, the side of lies. Defection from the truth and embracing the lies of false teaching is extremely serious.
Paul told the Thessalonians this defection would happen before the Day of the Lord, before the antichrist, the man of lawlessness would be revealed. So, what does this apostasy, this defection from the truth have to do with us?
Defection from the truth does not happen overnight, it takes time, it involves a long gradual process. It is not easy to convince someone to move from embracing the truth, to opposing the truth and embracing a lie, undermining the faith.
It begins with a very small deviation, a very small error. It begins with a very subtle, seemingly innocent deception. It can begin with subtly changing the meaning of a word.
It can begin with changing the meaning of grace from favor to unmerited favor, or mercy. Making that little change seems so harmless. It appears to be an innocent attempt to clarify the meaning of the word so that it can be more easily related to by the hearers. However, let’s consider the ramifications of confusing the meaning of grace with the meaning of mercy.
Throughout scripture, God’s favor, God’s grace, was bestowed upon those who merited it, those that listened to Him and obeyed Him, those who were righteous. God favors the humble, those contrite in spirit, those that tremble at His word, but He resists the proud, the arrogant, the unrighteous, the ones that practice evil.
However, God imprisoned all in disobedience that He might have mercy on all. God’s mercy, made available through Christ’s death and resurrection, is freely available to all who would accept it.
A pivotal doctrine in the theology of false teachers, the assurance of salvation, needed support because it conflicted with the scriptures. They taught that believers are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, with no requirement for any action of obedience or change in lifestyle.
They taught that once you believed, there was nothing you could do to lose your salvation. They assured professing believers that they were saved, no matter what they would do, their salvation was assured. They did nothing to earn it, and they could do nothing to lose it.
However, the believer’s lives did not match up with what scripture revealed as God’s expectation for them. God expects believers to live holy lives, to walk in obedience to Him. However, their experience was one of a continual struggle with sin because they were merely natural men, devoid of the Spirit.
Some began to doubt their salvation. So the false teachers changed grace from merited favor to unmerited, and taught that all sins, past, present, and future, were forgiven upon being saved. Thereby believer’s consciences could be assuaged from any guilt or condemnation.
They also taught that Romans 7 was Paul’s testimony as a Christian, even though Paul said, in that passage, that he practiced evil. The professing Christians were relieved to learn that they were not so bad, because Paul had the same struggle with sin, yet received God’s grace.
The idea of God’s grace being free and unmerited meant professing Christians could rest in the promise of never losing their salvation, no matter how wretched and sinful their lives might be. They were taught the comforting message of “Peace, peace!” when there was no peace.
Now they could, by virtue of their defection from the truth, go merrily on their way down the broad road that leads to destruction. Because they did not love the truth, because they did not know the scriptures or the power of God, they were easily deceived.
“Is the apostasy already taking place?” When we see these and other false teachings so readily embraced by the professing Christians in so many churches today, one has to wonder, “Is this the defection from the truth that Paul stated would take place before the Lord’s return?”
Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:10, “They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved.” God says in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” 1 Samuel 3:1 says, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare.”
In these last days the word of the Lord is becoming rare. The knowledge of God and the truth found in His word is becoming rare. So many of God’s people are perishing for the lack of knowledge because they do not have a love for the truth. If we are not to perish in these last days, we must be those that have the love of the truth.
We must be those that are willing to go to the scriptures and allow the Spirit of Truth to teach us. We must allow God’s word to shine its light into our hearts and expose any lie, any false teaching that we have received, embraced, and possibly even taught to others.
We are encouraged in Hosea 6:3, “Let’s learn, let’s press on to know the Lord” (NASB). Another translation renders this passage, “Let’s strive to know the Lord” (HCSB). This is reminiscent of the passage in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (NASB).
We must make every effort, striving to know the Lord, and the truth as it is in Jesus. We must have such a love of the truth that we eagerly question everything we have been taught, everything we have come to believe. We examine each teaching in the light of the truth as revealed in the holy scriptures.
We must learn to hate lies. We must learn to hate false teachings. This will only happen as we receive and accept from the Lord the love of the truth.
The deception of the coming days, the last days before the Lord’s return, will be so great that, if possible, even the elect would be led astray (Matthew 24:24-25).
I encourage you brothers, pray that God would give you this love of the truth. Only the love of the truth will save us from the incredible deception of these last days that are quickly approaching!