In this study, we
will seek to understand the biblical
teaching on apostasy. Can a true believer
commit apostasy and lose his soul is a
question that enviably comes up in a
study of this nature. We will look at
several of the most cited apostasy
passages. As in previous studies, we will
look at definitions, scriptures,
commentary, lexical, and confessional
evidence for the glorifying of God in how
we live.
A question to ask at
the beginning, is it possible for a false
believer to commit apostasy?
Apostasy
The abandonment or
renunciation of a profession of the
Christian faith. *
Apostasy
The falling away from
the faith. It is a revolt against the truth
of God’s word by a believer. It can
also describe a group or church organization
that has “fallen away” from the
truths of Christianity as revealed in the
Bible. **
From the International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia on Apostasy:
I.e. a falling away,
a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the
English Versions of the Bible, but
used twice in the New Testament, in the
Greek original, to express abandonment
of the faith. Paul was falsely accused of
teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses
(Acts 21:21); he predicted the great
apostasy from Christianity, foretold by
Jesus (Matthew 24:10-12) which would precede
“the day of the Lord”
(2Thessalonians 2:2). Apostasy, not in name
but in fact, meets scathing rebuke
in the Epistle of Jude, e.g. the apostasy of
angels (Jude 1:6). Foretold, with
warnings, as sure to abound in the latter
days (1Timothy 4:1-3; 2Thessalonians
2:3; 2Peter 3:17). Causes of: persecution
(Matthew 24:9, 10); false teachers
(Matthew 24:11); temptation (Luke 8:13);
worldliness (2 Timothy 4:4); defective
knowledge of Christ (1John 2:19); moral
lapse (Hebrews 6:4-6); forsaking
worship and spiritual living (Hebrews
10:25-31); unbelief (Hebrews 3:12).
Biblical examples: Saul (1Samuel 15:11);
Amaziah (2Chronicles 25:14, 27); many
disciples (John 6:66); Hymeneus and
Alexander (1Timothy 1:19, 20); Demas
(2Timothy 4:10). For further illustration
see Deuteronomy 13:13; Zec. 1:4-6;
Galatians 5:4; 2 Peter 2:20, 21.
“Forsaking Yahweh”
was the characteristic and
oft-recurring sin of the chosen people,
especially in their contact with
idolatrous nations. It constituted their
supreme national peril. The tendency
appeared in their earliest history, as
abundantly seen in the warnings and
prohibitions of the laws of Moses (Exodus
20:3, 4, 23; Deuteronomy 6:14;
11:16). The fearful consequences of
religious and moral apostasy appear in the
curses pronounced against this sin, on Mount
Ebal, by the representatives of
six of the tribes of Israel, elected by
Moses (Deuteronomy 27:13-26; 28:15-68).
So wayward was the heart of Israel, even in
the years immediately following the
national emancipation, in the wilderness,
that Joshua found it necessary to
re-pledge the entire nation to a new
fidelity to Yahweh and to their original
covenant before they were permitted to
enter the Promised Land (Joshua 24:1-28).
Infidelity to this covenant blighted
the nation's prospects and growth during the
time of the Judges (Judges
2:11-15; 10:6, 10, 13; 1Samuel 12:10). It
was the cause of prolific and
ever-increasing evil, civic and moral, from
Solomon's day to the Assyrian and
Babylonian captivities. Many of the kings of
the divided kingdom apostatized,
leading the people, as in the case of
Rehoboam, into the grossest forms of
idolatry and immorality (1Kings 14:22-24;
2Chronicles 12:1). Conspicuous
examples of such royal apostasy are Jeroboam
(1Kings12:28-32); Ahab (1Kings
16:30-33); Ahaziah (1Kings 22:51-53);
Jehoram
(2Chronicles21:6,
10, 12-15); Ahaz
(2Chronicles 28:1-4); Manasseh (2Chronicles
33:1-9), Amen (2Chronicles 33:22).
See IDOLATRY.
Prophecy originated
as a Divine and imperative protest against
this historic tendency to defection
from the religion of Yahweh.
In
classical Greek, apostasy signified revolt
from a military commander. In the
Roman Catholic Church, it denotes
abandonment of religious orders,
renunciation
of ecclesiastical authority, defection from
the faith. The persecutions of the
early Christian centuries forced many to
deny Christian discipleship and to
signify their apostasy by offering incense
to a heathen deity or blaspheming
the name of Christ. The emperor Julian, who
probably never vitally embraced the
Christian faith, is known in history as “the
Apostate,” having renounced
Christianity for paganism soon after his
accession to the throne. An apostate's
defection from the faith may be
intellectual, as in the case of Ernst
Haeckel,
who, because of his materialistic
philosophy, publicly and formally renounced
Christianity and the church; or it may be
moral and spiritual, as with Judas,
who for filthy lucre's sake basely betrayed
his Lord. See exhaustive articles
on “Apostasy” in the Jewish Encyclopedia.
Dwight M. Pratt (1)
Scripture Teaching:
“They on the rock are
they, which, when they hear, receive the
word with joy; and these have no root,
which for a while believe, and in time of
temptation fall away.” (Luke 8:13)
From the Puritan commentary,
Gill's
Exposition of the Entire Bible on
Luke 8:13 we learn:
“They on the rock are
they, which when they hear … The seed that
fell upon the rock, or stony ground,
signify such sort of hearers,
Who receive the word
with joy. The Ethiopic version reads, “with
joy of heart”. But, this sort of
hearers receive not the word into their
hearts, or with their hearts believe
it, and from their hearts obey it, only into
their heads; and have only, an
historical faith of it; nor with hearty,
spiritual, solid joy, or joy in the
Holy Ghost: for their hearts remain like a
rock, unbroken by the word; but with
a flash of natural affection, which quickly
goes off.
And these have no
root; neither “in themselves”, as the other
evangelists say, they have no true
grace in them; nor have they any root in
Christ, nor in the love of God:
Which for a while
believe: their faith is a temporary one,
like that of Simon Magus; which shows
it is not true faith; for that is an abiding
grace, Christ, who is the author,
is the finisher of it, and prays for it,
that it fail not. The Persic version
renders it, “in the time of hearing they
have faith”; and such sort of hearers
there are, who, whilst they are hearing,
assent to what they hear, but when
they are gone, either forget it, or, falling
into bad company, are prevailed
upon to doubt of it, and disbelieve it. The
Arabic version renders it, “they
believe for a small time”; their faith do
not continue long, nor their
profession of it, both are soon dropped:
And in the time of
temptation fall away: “or go back”, as the
Vulgate Latin version, they draw
back unto perdition; or “forsake that”, as
the Arabic version reads, the word,
they have heard, and received, their faith
in it, and profession of it: “and
soon become apostates”, as the Persic
version renders it. By “the time of
temptation”, is not meant any particular and
sore temptation of Satan, but a
time of affliction and persecution, as
appears from the other evangelists;
which is a trying time to professors of
religion, and when those who have not
the root of the matter in them, fall away.”
(2)
“Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from
the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils.” (1Timothy
4:1)
Theologian William
Hendriksen’s comments on this passage in
Timothy are helpful:
“But
the Spirit expressly says that in later
seasons some will depart from the faith
by giving heed to seducing spirits and
doctrines of demons, 2 (embodied) in
(the) insincere utterance of those who speak
lies, whose own conscience is
seared, 3 forbidding (people) to marry, and
(enjoining them) to abstain from
foods which God created in order that those
who believe and acknowledge the
truth may partake of them with thanksgiving.
4 For, every creature of God is
good, and nothing is fit to be thrown away
if it is received with thanksgiving;
5 for it is consecrated by the word of God
and prayer.
Though
the church be ever so glorious, reflecting
the radiance of its precious Lord
and Savior (1Tim. 3:15, 16), apostasy is
just around the corner, for not all
who belong outwardly to the church belong to
it inwardly.
The
present chapter deals with this apostasy.
1.
But the Spirit expressly says that in later
seasons some will depart from the
faith.
“The
Spirit says,” that is, “is now saying.” To
whom was the Spirit speaking? Acts
20:29, 30 leads me to think that the apostle
meant “to myself” (perhaps also to
others). The Spirit, then, is saying that
“in later seasons” — eras of this new
dispensation, eras definitely marked out in
God’s foreknowledge — some will
depart or apostatize from the faith
(objective sense), the body of redemptive
truth, the Christian religion.
The
Spirit was saying this expressly (“in stated
terms”). There was neither doubt
nor vagueness about it. A half dozen years
ago Paul, addressing the elders of
the churches located in the very region
where Timothy was now laboring, had
spoken as follows: “I know that after my
departure grievous wolves will enter
in among you, not sparing the flock; and
from among your own selves men will
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
away the disciples after them.” A few
years after that speech recorded in Acts 20,
the apostle, writing to the
Colossians from his first Roman
imprisonment, had warned them against
accepting
the error that faith in Christ’s atoning
work has to be supplemented by ascetic
beliefs and practices (Col. 2). And now,
writing to Timothy from Macedonia, he
is distinctly informed by the Holy Spirit
that the error, already present in
its incipient form, will grow and develop in
the manner indicated in verse 3.
Men
will depart from the faith by giving heed to
seducing spirits and doctrines of
demons. As the context indicates (and see
also 1John 4:6 where “the spirit of
seduction” is contrasted with “the Spirit of
truth”), these spirits are not men
but demons. Like planets that seem to wander
back and forth among the
constellations, these spirits wander;
moreover, they cause men to wander. They
seduce, lead astray. By giving heed to them
one is giving heed to doctrines of
demons (cf. 2Cor. 4:4; Rev. 13:11, 14).” (3)
“For
it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the
good word of God, and the powers of the
world to come, If they shall fall away,
to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son
of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
For the earth, which drinketh in
the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by
whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from
God: But that which beareth thorns
and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto
cursing; whose end is to be burned.”
(Hebrews
6:4-8)
Regarding the persons
mentioned in Hebrews 6:4-6 the Puritan
John Owens says:
“And
it appears, yea is evident, —
1.
That the persons here intended are not true
and sincere believers, in the
strict and proper sense of that name, at
least they are not described here as
such; so that from hence nothing can be
concluded concerning them that are so,
as to the possibility of their total and
final apostasy. For,
(1.)
There is in their full and largo description
no mention of faith, or believing,
either expressly or in terms equivalent; and
in no other place in the Scripture
are such intended, but they are mentioned by
what belongs essentially to their
state. And,
(2.)
There is not anything ascribed to these
persons that is peculiar to them as
such, or discriminative of them, as taken
either from their especial relation
unto God in Christ, or any such property of
their own as is not communicable
unto others. For instance, they are not said
to be called according to God’s
purpose; to be born again, not of man, nor
of the will of flesh, but of God;
nor to be justified, or sanctified, or
united unto Christ, or to be the sons of
God by adoption; nor have they any other
characteristical note of true
believers ascribed to them.
(3.)
They are in the following verses compared to
the ground on which the rain often
falls, and beareth nothing but thorns and
briers. But this is not so with true
believers. For faith itself is an herb
peculiar to the enclosed garden of
Christ, and meet for him by whom we are
dressed.
(4.)
The apostle afterwards discoursing of true
believers, doth in many particulars
distinguish them from such as may be
apostates; which is supposed of the
persons here intended, as was before clared.
For,
[1.]
He ascribeth unto them in general “better
things, and such as accompany
salvation,” verse 9.
[2.]
He ascribes a “work and labor of love,” as
it is true faith alone which worketh
by love, verse 10, whereof he speaks not one
word concerning these.
[3.]
He asserts their preservation; —
1st,
On the account of the righteousness and
faithfulness of God, verse 10;
2dly,
Of the immutability of his counsel
concerning them, verse 17, 18. In all these
and sundry other instances doth he put a
difference between these apostates and
true believers. And whereas the apostle
intends to declare the aggravation of
their sin in falling away by the principal
privileges whereof they were made
partakers, here is not one word, in name or
thing, of those which he expressly
assigns to be the chief privileges of true
believers, Romans 8:27-30.” (4)
The Puritan John Gill
on Hebrews 6:4-6 writes:
“For
it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the
good word of God, and the powers of the
world to come; if they shall fall away,
to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son
of God afresh, and put him to an open
shame.—Heb. 6:4-6.
This
Scripture is often used to contradict the
final perseverance of the saints: and
it is said, that “The doctrine of the
possibility of the final departure of true
believers and penitents from the faith, is
fully contained in these words; that
it is evident they are spoken of such, from
the word, enlightened, used by the
same apostle, speaking to the same persons,
in Heb. 10:32, who were so
enlightened as to know they had an
inheritance in heaven; and from the words,
it is impossible to renew them again to
repentance, which imply, that they had
once truly repented, and were once truly in
that state to which they were to be
renewed, and their loss of it; and that
these must fall totally and finally,
because the apostle doth pronounce it a
thing impossible to renew them to
repentance, and on this account, that they
crucified to themselves afresh the
Son of God, and put him to an open shame.
But,
1.
Admitting that these words are spoken of
true believers, they will bear such a
version and sense as will be so far from
furnishing out an argument against the
saints’ perseverance that they will conclude
one for it; for they may be
rendered thus; it is impossible that there
should be any who have been once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, etc., and yet fall away,
that is, it is impossible that such should
fall away; agreeable to which is the
Syriac version of the words; it is
impossible, etc., that they should sin
again; so as to die spiritually, or lose the
grace of God, and stand in need of
a new work of grace upon them; which would
require the crucifying of Christ
again, and a re-exposing him to public
shame; which latter things are
impossible: and therefore the former,
namely, that they should sin in such a
manner; for, according to this version, the
several other things mentioned, are
connected with the word impossible; as it is
impossible that they should be
renewed again to repentance; that they
should again crucify the Son of God, and
put him to shame. This sense of the words is
also confirmed by the Arabic
version. Moreover, should we read the words,
if they fall away, they do but at
most contain a supposition of the saints
falling; & suppositio nil ponit in esse,
a supposition puts nothing in being,
proves no matter of fact; nor can it be
concluded from hence, that any such
have fallen away; and are, at most, only
expressive of the danger they are in,
and of the difficulty of restoring them when
fallen even partially; a total and
final falling away, being prevented by the
grace and power of God.
2.
It is not evident, from the characters of
those persons, that they were true
believers; they are said to be once
enlightened, which some understand of their
being once baptized; and it is certain, that
illumination, were used by the
ancients, for baptism; and, enlightened
once, for baptized persons:
accordingly, the Syriac version reads the
words thus, who once, have descended
into baptism; the Ethiopic, after they are
baptized; and it will not be denied,
that some such, as Simon Magus, may totally
and finally fall away; but not to
insist on this sense of the words. There are
two sorts of enlightened persons;
some who are savingly enlightened by the
Spirit of God, to see their lost state
and condition, their need of salvation by
Christ, and their interest in it, who
shall never perish: others are enlightened
only into the doctrines of the
Gospel, and some to such a degree, as to be
able to preach them unto others,
and yet entirely destitute of the grace of
God; and when such fall away, they
are no proofs, nor instances, of the
apostasy of real saints. The enlightened
persons in Heb. 10:32, are not the same with
these here mentioned; for the
believing Hebrews are manifestly
distinguished from these, verse 9; But,
beloved, we are persuaded better things of
you, and things that accompany
salvation, though we thus speak; and
therefore, though the Hebrews were so
enlightened as to know that they had an
inheritance in heaven, it does not
follow, that these were enlightened in the
same manner, and so sincere
Christians and true believers. They are also
said to have tasted of the
heavenly gift; by which, whether we
understand eternal life, or any of the
blessings of grace, as a justifying
righteousness, or with the Greek fathers,
the remission of sins; the meaning is, that
they had some speculative notions
about these things, and some desires after
them, arising from a natural
principle of self love; or should Christ
himself be intended by it, tasting of
it, stands opposed to eating his flesh, and
drinking his blood, which is proper
to true believers, who feed upon him,
internally receive him, and are nourished
by him; while hypocrites, and formal
professors, only taste of him, have a
superficial knowledge of him, and gust for
him. In the same sense are they said
to have tasted the good word of God, the
Gospel, in the bare form and notion of
it, and the powers of the world to come;
meaning either the state of the
church, and the glorious things relating to
it, after the first resurrection,
which they might have some notional
apprehensions of; or the joys and glories
of heaven, on which they might be able to
make some natural and pleasing
reflections; or rather, the miracles and
mighty works in the former part of the
Gospel dispensation, or times of the
Messiah, the Jews, world to come; which
many, as Judas and others, were able to
perform, who were not sincere
Christians, nor true believers, and yet
might be said to be partakers of the
Holy Ghost; not of his person, nor his
grace, but of his extraordinary gifts;
in which sense not only Dr. Hammond, but Dr.
Whitby himself, understand the
phrase. Now it may be observed, that here is
nothing said of these persons but
what may be applied to hypocrites, nor any
thing that is peculiar to true
believers; these are not said to be
regenerated, nor sanctified, nor justified,
nor adopted, nor sealed by the Holy Spirit
of God, all which are true of real
saints. Besides, true believers are in the
context, manifestly distinguished
from them, and are compared to the fruitful
earth, when others are only likened
to the barren land, verse 8-9; their case is
mentioned with a view to stir up
the saints to industry and diligence, verse
11-12; and so be the means of their
final perseverance; which they had reason to
expect and believe, from the
immutability of God’s counsel, the safe
refuge in Christ, the nature of hope,
the anchor sure and steadfast, and the
entrance of Christ, their forerunner for
them, into heaven, verse 17-20.
3.
The phrase, it is impossible to renew them
again to repentance, does not imply
that they had once truly repented, and their
loss of true repentance; that
cannot be lost, it is inseparably connected
with life and salvation, and
therefore is called repentance unto life,
and unto salvation. The repentance of
these persons, like that of Cain, Pharaoh,
and Judas, was only a shew of one, a
counterfeit one; and consequently, the
renewing them again to repentance,
designs a renovation of them to that which
they only seemed to have, and to
make pretensions to.
4.
It will be granted, that these persons
might, and such as these, may fall
finally and totally; but inasmuch as it does
not appear that they were true
penitents and believers, they are not to be
mentioned as, nor allowed to be,
instances of the final departure of such
from the faith.” (5)
“For
if after they have escaped the pollutions of
the world through the knowledge of
the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are
again entangled therein, and
overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning. For it had been
better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they
have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them. But it is
happened unto them according to the true
proverb, the dog is turned to his own
vomit again; and the sow that was washed to
her wallowing in the mire.” (2Peter
2:20-22)
Simon J. Kistemaker is
very helpful in understanding this passage
from Peter:
Doctrine 2:20–22
In
the last three verses of this chapter,
Peter sums up the final destiny of the false
teachers by stressing that they
have returned to their former way of life.
In effect, they affirm a proverbial
truth: as a dog returns to its vomit and a
pig to its mud so the apostates
revert to their sinful lifestyle.
Condition
20.
If they have escaped the corruption of
the world by knowing our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and are again entangled
in it and overcome, they are worse off at
the end than they were at the
beginning.
Who
is the subject of this verse? Some
writers say: “The false teachers.” Other
commentators assert: “The new
Christians who are led astray.” The
arguments advanced to defend either
position are cogent. For instance, the use
of the conjunction for (omitted in
the) as a first word in verse 20 forms a
bridge to the immediately preceding
verse (v. 19). Because the two texts form
one unit, they have the same subject:
the false teachers. On the other hand, the
verb to escape appears in verses 18
and 20. The subject of this verb appears to
be identical in both verses. But
the argument on the use of a particular verb
must be balanced by the
observation that the verb to master,
overcome in verses 19b and 20 refers to
the false teachers. And last, in the light
of the preceding verses that feature
the apostates as the dominant subject, many
commentators apply the last three
verses to these teachers. Granted that
convincing evidence has been presented
by both sides, I am persuaded that in view
of the flow of the entire chapter
the subject is the false teachers.
a.
“If they have escaped the corruption of
the world.” This is a factual statement,
even though it appears in a
conditional sentence. The element of
probability is missing and the experience
of what has happened in the past becomes
evident. In the Greek, the verb form
indicates that the false teachers on one
occasion departed from the corruption
of the world. “They had once escaped the
world’s defilements” (; also see). The
difference in the verb form (in v. 18) is
evident: “[They] have barely begun to
escape” (). This variation in the use of the
verb form shows that Peter was
thinking of the new converts who were in the
process of breaking with their
past. Here in verse 20, however, he is
describing the heretics who at one time
forsook their world and its corruption.
“There can be little doubt that the
false teachers had once been orthodox
Christians.” In the past, these people
were members of the church and they became
acquainted with the teachings of the
Christian faith.
b.
“By knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.” Did the false teachers at one time
know Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior? The answer is yes. For example, when
Jesus commissioned his disciples
two by two, he sent out Judas and another
disciple. “They went out and preached
that people should repent. They drove out
many demons and anointed many sick
people with oil and healed them” (Mark
6:12–13). Obviously, Judas knew Jesus;
in the name of Jesus he preached and
performed miracles. Yet Judas betrayed his
Master.
The
apostates had a knowledge of Jesus
Christ, but their knowledge lacked the
intimacy that characterizes the
relationship of the true believer with
Christ. Observe Peter’s personal touch
in the phrases our knowledge of him (1:3)
and your knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ (1:8). These people had professed the
name of Christ as their Lord and
Savior but in time fully disclosed that
their knowledge was merely intellectual
knowledge (compare Matt. 13:20–21). Also
note that Peter refrains from using
the terms faith and believer in this
context. The teachers never put their
faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Because
they lacked a personal relationship
with Christ, they fell away.
c.
“And are again entangled in it and
overcome.” The Greek actually indicates that
these teachers were again woven
into the fabric of the world’s corruption.
This matter is an accomplished fact:
although they left the world momentarily,
they returned and defiled themselves
again with its sordid sin. The result is
that they are no longer free; they are
slaves of sin (v. 19). Any resistance to the
corruption of the world is out of
the question, for they are overcome by sin
and serve as slaves.
d.
“They are worse off at the end than they
were at the beginning.” Here is the
conclusive statement in Greek that Peter
borrows almost verbatim from the teachings
of Jesus. About casting out a demon
who returns to a former demon-possessed
person with seven other spirits, Jesus
says, “And the final condition of that man
is worse than the first” (Matt.
12:45; Luke 11:26; and compare Matt. 27:64).
Peter
writes descriptively about the destiny of
the apostates. Yet his words contain
an urgent warning to the believers not to
follow the path of the heretics that
leads to irrevocable and everlasting
destruction.
Doctrinal
Considerations in 2:20
Within
the church of Jesus Christ are true
believers and pseudobelievers. Scripture
tells the church members to make a
clear distinction between these two groups.
They live alongside each other much
the same as the wheat and weeds in the same
field. When the pseudobelievers
depart on their own accord, they demonstrate
that they never belonged to the
body of Christ. Writers of Scripture,
therefore, distinguish between the two
groups by using the pronouns we and us over
against they and them.
Peter
differentiates between the members of
the church and the false teachers with the
use of the personal pronouns. In
verse 20, for instance, he refers to the
teachers with the plural pronoun they.
In the last three verses of this chapter
(vv. 20–22), he speaks only of the
teachers and not of the believers. The
exception is that Peter uses the
possessive pronoun our in the phrase “our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
In
these verses, then, Peter never calls
these teachers believers or children of God.
Throughout these verses he describes
them as people who deliberately sin against
God and his Word. He repeatedly
declares that these people face God’s
judgment and destruction (vv. 3, 9, 12,
17).
Did
these false teachers ever know Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior? By listening to
the words of Jesus we receive an
answer. Jesus says that only the person who
obeys his Father in heaven will
enter the kingdom. “Many will say to me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name
drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew
you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
” (Matt. 7:22–23).
Command
21.
It would have been better for them not to
have known the way of righteousness, than to
have known it and then to turn
their backs on the sacred command that was
passed on to them.
a.
Unfulfilled duty. What Peter communicates
about the false teachers is the opposite of
what was expected of them. If their
faith had been genuine and their knowledge
had been true, they would have
developed spiritually to teach others the
way of salvation. If they were true
Christian teachers, they would have taught
others the gospel of Christ.
However, they refused to follow “the way of
righteousness” and they denied
Jesus Christ as sovereign Lord (v. 2; Jude
4). Their lives were contrary to
fact.
b.
Apostasy. “It would have been better
for them not to have known the way of
righteousness,” says Peter. But alas,
although they were instructed in the
Christian faith, they fell away from God
and his Word. Because they deliberately have
turned against God, they face
eternal judgment. Scripture clearly and
repeatedly warns against the danger of
apostasy. Here are two passages:
“That
servant who knows his master’s will and
does not get ready or does not do what his
master wants will be beaten with
many blows.… From everyone who has been
given much, much will be demanded; and
from the one who has been entrusted with
much, much more will be asked.” [Luke
12:47–48]
If
we deliberately keep on sinning after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, no
sacrifice for sins is left, but
only a fearful expectation of judgment and
of raging fire that will consume the
enemies of God. [Heb. 10:26; also see Heb.
6:4–6; Prov. 21:16]
At
this point we must distinguish between
intentional and unintentional sins. The
person who deliberately sins against
God expresses open rebellion that in Old
Testament times resulted in capital
punishment (Num. 15:30). The writer of
Hebrews, commenting on the destiny of an
apostate, says: “It is a dreadful thing to
fall into the hands of the living
God” (10:31).
c.
Comparison. If they had not known the way
of righteousness, the teachers would have
been able to claim ignorance. Not
now. They have known “the way of
righteousness” that John the Baptist already
revealed to the people of Israel in
preparation for the coming of Jesus (Matt.
21:32). Moreover, the expression the Way
served as a synonym for the Christian
faith in the first half of the first
century.
The
false teachers not only have known the
Way, but also have turned “their backs on
the sacred command that was passed on
to them.” What is this “sacred command”? It
is equivalent to the message of
Christ’s gospel. In the parallel passage,
Jude calls this commandment “the
faith that was once for all entrusted to the
saints” (v. 3, italics added). In
other words, the command of Peter and the
faith (Christian doctrine) of Jude
are the same.
Peter
writes that this commandment, namely,
the gospel, was passed on to them. The
expression passed on is a technical term
that refers to receiving the gospel for the
purpose of teaching it and thus
handing it on to the hearers (see especially
1Cor. 11:2, 23; 15:3; Jude 3).
Peter calls this gospel tradition sacred,
which means that it must be kept intact,
obeyed, and taught. The false teachers,
however, broke the chain of receiving
and transmitting the gospel of Christ. They
altered its content, rejected its
teachings, and perverted its truth (compare
vv. 1–3). By doing so they
committed the unpardonable sin, that is, the
sin of blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit (Matt. 12:32; 1John 5:16).
Conclusion
22.
Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog
returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is
washed goes back to her wallowing in
the mud.”
Peter
concludes his descriptive analysis of
the false teachers with two proverbs. The
first one he takes verbatim from the
Old Testament. Proverbs 26:11 has this
reading:
As
a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool
repeats his folly.
The
Jews treated dogs with contempt and not
as man’s best friend. According to the Old
and New Testaments, Jews treated
dogs as unclean animals. A dog “lived on
refuse of all kinds and thus was a
potential carrier of many diseases.” As a
scavenger, a dog would return to its own
vomit and thus fulfill the proverb. Peter
uses this proverb to compare the
natural habit of a dog with the practice of
false teachers who return to living
in sin.
The
second proverb seems to have been a
common saying in the ancient world, for it
appears in various manuscripts. The
truth of this proverb is self-evident. A pig
seeks relief from pesky insects
and the heat of the sun by wallowing in the
mud. Although the sow is washed, by
nature the pig returns to the mud from which
it has come. It rolls around in
slime and grunts contentedly. Once again,
the application to the apostates is
graphic and descriptive. As the pig enjoys
wallowing in the mire, so the
heretics take pleasure in revelry and
immorality.
Jesus
mentions dogs and pigs in the same sentence
when he says, “Do not give dogs what is
sacred; do not throw your pearls to
pigs” (Matt. 7:6). He instructs his
disciples to distinguish between people who
are receptive to the message of the gospel
and those persons who trample
underfoot that which is sacred. Such people
are similar to dogs and swine.
Here
is a conclusive observation: By
vomiting, the dog relieves itself of
internal impurities; the sow, when it is
washed, is cleansed from clinging external
mud. Nevertheless, both animals
return to the selfsame filth.
Greek
Words, Phrases, and Constructions in
2:20–22
Verse
20
εἰ—the
simple-fact
condition with the indicative mood in both
the protasis and apodosis
clauses denotes reality.
ἀποφυγόντες—the
aorist
active (compare the present tense in v. 18)
seems to indicate that Peter
wants to designate a group of people
different from those mentioned in verse
18.
τοῦ
κυρίου—Peter employs one definite
article for more than one noun: “Lord”
and “Savior” (see 3:2).
ἐμπλακέντες—from
ἐμπλέκω
(I entangle, involve in),
this participle is the aorist passive. The
aorist signifies single occurrence
of an action; the aorist also means that it
precedes the action of the main
verb in the clause. The passive implies an
agent, namely, the devil.
ἡττῶνται—Peter
uses
the present passive form of the verb, which
appears as the perfect passive
in verse 19. The present serves as a
perfect.
Verse
21
ῆ̓ν—the
imperfect
indicative is translated as a “potential
imperfect.” It expresses the
idea “of an obligation which comes over from
the past and is not lived up to.”
The particle ἄν is absent.
ἐπεγνωκέναι—as
a
perfect active infinitive from the verb
ἐπιγινώσκω (I learn to know), this
perfect tense shows lasting effect. The
context of the infinitive reveals,
however, that the apostates refused to teach
the Christian gospel. The dative
plural of the aorist active participle ἐπιγνοῦσιν
relates to the pronoun αὐτοῖς
(for
them).
Verse
22
συμβέβηκεν—the
perfect
active tense of the compound verb συμβαίνω
(I meet, happen, come about) stresses
continuity.
κύων—this
is
an independent nominative featured in a
proverbial expression. It is
equivalent to a nominative absolute. The
word κύων refers not to a house
dog, but to a stray dog that is wild.
τό—without
the
accompanying noun, the definite article in
the neuter singular has a
substantival sense.
λουσαμένη—from
λούω
(I wash), this middle aorist
participle has a passive meaning. (6)
“They
went out from us, but they were not of us;
for if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us: but
they went out, that they might be
made manifest that they were not all of
us.” (1John 2:19)
Again, we will
utilize Simon J. Kistemaker’s insights
into this passage from 1John:
Antichrists Went Out
2:19
19.
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.
Five
times in this verse, John uses the word
us. In the original, John writes “from us”
four times and “with us” once. He
wants to make sure that the reader
understands that those whom he calls
antichrists
have left the church because they really did
not belong to the church. The
antichrists leave but the members of the
church remain. Not those who deny the
Christ are important, but the believers. And
for this reason, John stresses the
pronoun us at the end of every clause.
a.
“They went out from us.” John omits the
details, but we assume that the original
readers knew the situation and had
vivid memories of the tension that
eventually caused the departure of the
unbelievers. The writer of Hebrews sketches
the picture when he writes,
It
is impossible for those who have once been
enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly
gift, who have shared in the Holy
Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the
word of God and the powers of the
coming age, if they fall away, to be brought
back to repentance, because to
their loss they are crucifying the Son of
God all over again and subjecting him
to public disgrace. [6:4–6]
b.
“But they did not really belong to us.”
John says that these people were not from
within the Christian circle. They
were not true Christians because they did
not belong to the source, namely,
Christ. They attended the worship services
for some time, but they were never
in Christ (compare John 15:1–6).
c.
“For if they had belonged to us, they would
have remained with us.” This is a
conditional statement with a negative
implication. Note that in the first
clause John implies that the people he
designates antichrists never really
belonged to the church because they deny the
Christ. In the second clause, John
indicates that true believers remain,
whereas the antichrists leave the
fellowship of the church. Believers belong;
deniers depart.
d.
“But their going showed that none of them
belonged to us.” The New International
Version differs from a more literal
translation by giving the intent of a
Semitic idiom. Here is the verbatim text:
“that they might be made manifest that they
were not all of us” (). A literal
translation of this idiom fails to convey
the meaning John expresses. He is not
saying that there are exceptions. On the
contrary, the idiom means that “none
of [the antichrists] belonged to us.”
Doctrinal
Considerations in 2:19
This
text teaches the doctrine of
perseverance. The unbelievers who denied
Jesus’ divinity or humanity were never
part of the church because they did not
belong to Christ. Their presence in the
visible church was temporary, for they
failed in their perseverance. If they
had been members of the invisible church,
they would have remained with the
body of believers. As F. F. Bruce observes,
“The perseverance of the saints is
a biblical doctrine, but it is not doctrine
designed to lull the indifferent
into a sense of false security; it means
that perseverance is an essential
token of sanctity.”
Greek Words, Phrases,
and Constructions in 2:19
ἐξῆλθαν—the
aorist
active of ἐξέρχομαι
(I go
out) shows that at one time these people
were part of the church and then left.
The tense indicates that the departure had
taken place. They left, presumably,
on their own accord.
εἰ—this
is
a contrary-to-fact conditional sentence.
Instead of the aorist tense, the
past perfect μεμενήκεισαν
(from the
verb μένω,
I remain) appears. (7)
In Closing:
The Westminister
Confession of FaithChapter
XVII. Of the Perseverance of the
Saints:
Section
I.–They whom God hath accepted in his
Beloved, effectually called and
sanctified by his Spirit, can neither
totally nor finally fall away from the
state of grace; but shall certainly
persevere therein to the end, and be
eternally saved.
Section
II.–This perseverance of the saints depends,
not upon their own freewill, but
upon the immutability of the decree of
election, flowing from the free and
unchangeable love of God the Father; upon
the efficacy of the merit and
intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of
the Spirit and of the seed of God
within them; and the nature of the covenant
of grace; from all which ariseth
also the certainty and infallibility
thereof.
Section
III.–Nevertheless they may, through the
temptations of Satan and of the world,
the prevalence of corruption remaining in
them, and the neglect of the means of
their perseverance, fall into grievous sins;
and for a time continue therein:
whereby they incur God's displeasure, and
grieve his Holy Spirit; come to be
deprived of some measure of their graces and
comforts; have their hearts
hardened, and their consciences wounded;
hurt and scandalise others, and bring
temporal judgments upon themselves.
Exposition
The
perseverance of the saints is one of the
articles by which the creed of the
followers of Calvin is distinguished from
that of the followers of Arminius.
The latter hold that true believers may fall
into sins inconsistent with a
state of grace, and may continue in apostasy
to the end of life, and
consequently may finally fall into
perdition. The same doctrine is avowedly
supported by the Church of Rome; for the
Council of Trent has decreed “If any
person shall say that a man who has been
justified cannot lose grace, and that,
therefore, he who falls and sins was never
truly justified, he shall be
accursed.” In opposition to this tenet, our
Confession affirms, that true
believers “can neither totally nor finally
fall away from a state of grace; but
shall certainly persevere therein to the
end, and be eternally saved.” There
may seem to be a redundancy of language in
this statement, for, if believers
cannot fall totally, it follows that they
cannot fall finally. Both terms,
however, are employed with the utmost
propriety. “They are intended to oppose
the doctrine of Arminians, who affirm, that
although a saint may fall totally
from grace, he may be restored by
repentance; but that since this is
uncertain,
and does not always take place, he may also
fall finally, and die in his sins.
Now, we affirm, that the total apostasy of
believers is impossible, not in the
nature of things, but by the divine
constitution; and, consequently, that no
man who has been once received into the
divine favour can be ultimately
deprived of salvation.”
The value of the
visible invisible church distinction is
helpful in understanding why a
seemingly true believer departs from the
church and faith is seen in the next
two passages:
“Let
both grow together until the harvest: and in
the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, Gather ye together first the
tares, and bind them in bundles to
burn them: but gather the wheat into my
barn.” (Matthew 13:30)
“They
went out from us, but they were not of us;
for if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us: but
they went out, that they might be
made manifest that they were not all of us.”
(1John 2:19)
My comments on the
1John passage:
In
the visible church, there are false
believers and true believers. They both
(tares and wheat) grow together until the
end. The tares are part of the
visible church. The wheat is part of the
visible church plus the universal
invisible church. Only God knows the true
membership roll making up the invisible
church. On a human level, we cannot read the
hearts of professors of faith.
That is why many are shocked when a
seemingly strong member of the church
departs and goes into unbelief as John
explains in 1John 2:19. In other words,
“they were not all of us.”
The
next two passages provided supporting
evidence that not everyone who names the
name of Christ is truly a believer.
“Having
a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof: from such turn away.” (2Timothy
3:5)
“Not
everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? And in
thy name have cast out devils? And in thy
name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you*: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23)
(Underlining
and bolding emphasis mine)
*
‘I never knew
ἔγνων (egnōn)
Verb
- Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person
Singular
From
the Strong's Greek 1097
ginóskó: to come to know,
recognize, perceive
Original
Word: γινώσκω
Part
of Speech: Verb
Transliteration:
ginóskó
Phonetic
Spelling: (ghin-oce'-ko)
Definition:
to come to know, recognize, perceive
Usage:
ginṓskō
– properly, to know, especially
through personal experience (first-hand
acquaintance).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Bible Commentary on Matthew 7:23:
“23.
And then will I profess unto them—or, openly
proclaim—tearing off the mask.
I
never knew you—what they claimed—intimacy
with Christ—is just what He
repudiates, and with a certain scornful
dignity. “Our acquaintance was not
broken off—there
never was any.”
Depart
from me—(Compare Mt 25:41). The connection
here gives these words an awful
significance. They claimed intimacy with
Christ, and in the corresponding
passage, Luke 13:26 are represented as
having gone out and in with Him on
familiar terms. “So much the worse for you,”
He replies, “I bore with that long
enough; but now—begone!”
Ye
that work iniquity—not “that wrought
iniquity”; for they are represented as
fresh from the scenes and acts of it as they
stand before the Judge. (See on
the almost identical, but even more vivid
and awful, description of the scene
in Luke 13:24-27). That the apostle alludes
to these very words in 2Ti 2:19
there can hardly be any doubt—“Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth
them that are His. And, Let everyone
that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity.” Individuals, who make
profession of faith that is later abandoned,
commit apostasy. Individual
churches and entire denominations and even
nations can and have committed
apostasy.” (8)
Christ’s
declaration that He never knew certain
professors of faith certainly establishes
the view that false believers can commit
apostasy without actually ever being
in Christ.
As
noted in the exposition of the Westminster
Confession above, the apostasy of true
believers is a doctrine promoted by
the Roman Church. In contrast, the final
perseverance of believers is a Reformation
Protestant doctrine.
Notes:
1.Orr,
James, M.A., D.D. General Editor, International
Standard
Bible Encyclopedia, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Eerdmans, reprinted
1986), p. 202.
2.John
Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New
Testaments, Luke, 9 Volumes, (Grace
Works, Multi-Media Labs), 2011, p. 226.
3.William
Hendriksen, New
Testament Commentary,
Thessalonians, Timothy and Titus,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book
House, 1984), pp. 145-146.
4.John
Owen, An
Exposition of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, ed. W. H. Goold, vol. 22, Works
of John Owen (Edinburgh: Johnstone and
Hunter, 1855), p. 84. PDF of Chapter
6. p. 101-102.
5.John
Gill, The
Cause of God & Truth,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book House,
reprint 1980), pp. 55-57.
6.Simon
J. Kistemaker, New
Testament Commentary,
Peter and Jude, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Baker Book House, 1986), pp.
311-316.
7.Simon
J. Kistemaker, New
Testament Commentary,
James and 1-111 John, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan, Baker Book House, 1986), pp.
276-278.
8.Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown, Commentary
on the
Whole Bible, (Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Zondervan, 1977) p. 912.
“To God, only wise,
be glory through Jesus Christ forever.
Amen.” (Romans 16:27) and “heirs
according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28,
29)
Mr. Kettler has
previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend
the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of the book defending
the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in
a Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com