The Great Falling Away Part II

Because we are of God, our spirits bear witness of the truth and also know the spirit of error.

II Thessalonians 2:3

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

We must come to the place where we believe what the scriptures say. We must not depart from what is written. Any moving away from the truth is an attempt to discredit the Word of God, to justify sin and forsake the truth concerning the wrath of God which is to be poured out on all those in disobedience.

I Timothy 3:5-7

5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Let us look at the things that snared Satan.

Isaiah 14:12-15

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne abovethe stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

II Peter 2:1,2,15

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; By reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of….

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

This is the doctrine of Balaam. He pursued the riches of the King of Moab rather than the righteousness of God. He could not speak a curse on the children of Israel simply because the Lord intervened. However, it was through his counsel that the daughters of the Moabites were given in marriage to the men of Israel. This caused Israel to sin against God and accept the worship of idols.

Likewise, many leaders of the church today have accepted the role of Balaam. They, too, are in pursuit of the wealth of this world and to cover their unrighteousness, they get the people of God involved in their pursuit. They create a mindset that their church is on the move, when in reality it is involved in enterprising and promotion of celebrities.

We must stand up for the righteousness of the gospel and be willing to deny ourselves the availability of resources that would turn us into promoters of events instead of perfectors of the body.

I Timothy 6:9-10

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

TO FALL INTO TEMPTATION:

To have “one's own way” means to fall away from adhering to the realities and facts of the faith; to forsake truth by the acceptance of the lie.

When it is the desire of the heart to obtain the wealth of this world, the pursuit of it will cause you to depart from the reality or truth that is in the faith. The heart must be fixed inside the purpose of God for your life, otherwise, the pursuit of the wealth of the world will become an obsession and the desire to have will be overwhelming.

TO FALL INTO A SNARE:

• pagis a trap, a snare, "(a) the allurements to evil by which the devil "ensnares" one (b) seductions to evil, which "ensnare" those who "desire to be rich (c) the evil brought by Israel upon themselves by which the special privileges divinely granted them and centering in Christ, became a "snare" to them, their rejection of Christ and the Gospel being the retributive effect of their apostasy, (d) of the sudden judgments of God to come upon those whose hearts are "overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life”

The Lord cautioned us to love neither the world nor the things of the world since it is possible to fall in love with the pursuit of things. We can become obsessed with obtaining wealth, status and power to where the Word of God is rejected and the love of God is waxed cold. Do not think that there will not be any consequence for such actions.

The snare or trap will hold you in the world as well as place you in a spiritual prison. It engulfs all your emotions, desires and ambitions.

Temptation is a lure that Satan uses to snare or entrap the saints of God. The wealth of this world houses a spirit of seduction. It will lure you into the trap, which is the condemnation of the devil. His judgment will fall upon those that leave or reject the Word of God to obtain the things of this world.

I Timothy 6:11

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

RIGHTEOUSNESS:

Righteousness is "the character or quality of being right or just"; (a) of whatever is right or just in itself, whatever conforms to the revealed will of God, (b) whatever has been appointed by God to be acknowledged and obeyed by man (c) the sum total of the requirements of God

Righteousness is the nature and character of God the Father; it is faithfulness and truthfulness and is whatever conforms to the will of God.

GODLINESS:

2. theosebeia denotes "the fear or reverence of God," from theos, "god," and sebomai God-fearing,"

Godliness causes us to consider God as we respond to situations, circumstances and relationships. It is the commending of ourselves to the conscience of every man, always mindful of the presence, will and purpose of God. We must strive to obey, to lay hold of the fact that it is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a living God. He will recompense and will judge His people.

FAITH:

Steadfast belief in God and Godliness, to follow the leading of the Holy Ghost.

LOVE:

Compassion, consideration and self-denial.

PATIENCE:

To wait for the promise of the Master with joyful expectation, to go through trials and tribulation without murmuring or complaints.

MEEKNESS:

Power and authority under control, to have no private agendas, to walk in the power of the Holy Ghost.

AND NOW TO THE RICHES OF THIS WORLD:

I Timothy 6:17-19

17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

THE SNARE OF VANITY:

I Timothy 6:20-21

20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen

Hebrews 4:9-16

9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the

heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Recently our Bishop taught a lesson on the principles of repentance and pointed out that true repentance is the ability to turn away from sin before we commit the act of sin. This is relative to the fact that sin first begins in the mind.

Note that the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It alone is able to separate the spirit from the soul, and the soul from the body.

The soul is exposed to the things of the world by way of the gates of the flesh. Because the flesh is exposed to the world, it is often enticed by the things of the world. Temptations gender feelings and desires and offer pleasure and/or exaltation of the flesh.

Jesus was not a high priest who was not “touched with” nor was He incapable of feeling the infirmities or weaknesses of the flesh:

• He wept when Lazarus died.
• He was angry with the moneychangers in the temple.
• He became indignant with the cunningness of the scribes and Pharisees.

However, He was able to arrest every thought that exalted itself above His knowledge of God.

He was touched by the weaknesses of the flesh. Nevertheless, He committed no sin. He turned from the evil suggestions of the enemy and never allowed the will of God to depart from Him. He continued in His purpose; therefore the intentions of His heart were unchanging.

When we entertain the suggestions of Satan, we begin to “live the sin” in our imaginations. When Christ was faced with the pleasures of this world, He considered the temptation. He did not consider it void of the Word of God, instead He always measured the pleasure, the sin and the purpose of Satan against the righteousness, the reward and the purpose of God.

This is where the Church has fallen short. We consider the suggestions the devil offers because it brings pleasure to the flesh; however, we do not weigh them against the Word, the righteousness or the purpose of God. We simply weigh them against our own desires and emotions.

Satan’s purpose is successful because our hearts have not retained the Word of God. It is the Word that will purify our hearts, emotions and desires from the wantonness of the flesh. If the Word is not hidden in our hearts, we will continually allow our thoughts to form evil imaginations and remain in sin.

It is the Word that sanctifies and purifies our hearts and establishes us in purpose. With each temptation, Jesus referred to the Word as the measuring stick for His response.

II Peter 1:2-12

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

I Love You,

Doc