<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Untitled Document • A PATTERN OF APOSTASY
PART ONE
• To turn away from what is right.
• This takes time and will happen if allowed.

• Introduction
• Some would teach that falling away is impossible.
• But the Bible does not agree with such teaching.
• Hebrews 2:1 "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
• Hebrews 3:12-13 "Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God.13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

• Introduction
• Hebrews 4:1 " Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it."
• Hebrews 4:11 "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience."
• 1 Corinthians 10:12 "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
• 2 Peter 3:17 "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,"

• Apostasy
• From these passages, we get the understanding that one can fall away from the presence of Almighty God.
• This falling away is due to a failure on our part to watch, wait, and take warning.
• The digression into apostasy does not come swiftly.
• It enters by stealth through those who would appear as being righteous.

• Apostasy
• Let us look at the steps of apostasy. We will notice several levels. This digression is recognized by God as the Holy Spirit caused the Psalmist to write;
• Psalm 1:1 "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!"
• Notice the progression from walk to stand to sit.
• Our first step:

• FLIRTATION
• This is the stage in which there is no alarm bells sounding.
• It is usually ignored, and considered as inconsequensential.
• Thinking that those who uphold the truth will stop the lurking evil in its tracks.
• Genesis 39:12 "And she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside."
• I am sure that this caught Joseph by surprise, but when the situation warrented an action, Joseph took the right course.

• FLIRTATION
• 1 Corinthians 6:18 "Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body."
• Proverbs 5:8 "Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,"
• Proverbs 23:31 "Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;"
• Proverbs 14:9 " Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is good will."

• FLIRTATION
• Proverbs 2:14 "Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil;"
• Romans 1:32 "and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."
• Ephesians 5:11 "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;"
• The next step is:

• CONSIDERATION
• This is where curiosity steps in.
• This is where some start to consider whether it is such a bad thing as they have been taught.
• This is where some will fight reason, and accept the tenets of such activity, and even thinking that it may be wrong, they find a certain appeal.
• Acts 17:1-3 "Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.2 And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

• CONSIDERATION
• This step is where the discussion of the activity begins to be tossed around.
• As some will want to progress further, others will take warning and expose the potential that is there.
• The formula of the change-agents calls for pushing the envelope until there is resistance, then back off for a while.
• Afterwards you reintroduce it and go just a little farther, always backing down less and less.

• TOLERATION
• When some start to be dogmatic about holding to a form or pattern of doctrine.
• When God's view is not recognized, but rather if some are willing to put up with it.
• In this step we find those who would apologize for the exposing of such views.
• Some will make excuses that would act as a shield for both directions.
• To one side they will say, "well, it is not really that bad" to the other side "well, they are just not used to change".
• But does God change?
• Malachi 3:6 “For I the LORD , do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed”.

• TOLERATION
• Exodus 23:24 "You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them, and break their sacred pillars in pieces.
• Exodus 23:32-33 "You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.33 "They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."
• Deuteronomy 7:2-5 "and when the Lord your God shall deliver them before you, and you shall defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.3 "Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.4 "For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you.5 "But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire."

• TOLERATION
• Deuteronomy 13:1-18 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,'3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,"
• Ephesians 5:11 "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;"
• Jude 23 "save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."

• CONCLUSION
PART ONE
• People do not change overnight.
• It takes a gradual progression of events and the thinking must be changed.
• Change-agents are working to change the culture of the church.
• We must recognize these attempts to change and resist them.
• Invitation

By Carey Scott from a sermon by Larry Ray Hafley

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