"A Falling Away Begins"

Jesus praised the Church in Ephesus for refusing to follow false Apostles (teachers) who tried to take advantage of  them and seduce them: " I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (Rev 2:2).

Not everyone in every congregation followed the example of the church in Ephesians. Many accepted the teachings of the false apostles and reverted to sinning. This why Peter wrote: "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delievered to them" (2 Peter 2:20-21).

People began turning away from the teachings of Christ's true apostles just as they are doing today. They accepted the philosophies of false teachers. Peter had explicitly warned that this would occur. He said false teachers would arise "among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed" (2 Peter 2:1-2).

Peter anticipated that not just a few---but many---Christians would turn aside from the truth to follow doctrines that were more appealing to the carnal mind. Later John confirms that this is exactly what happened: "They went out from us, but they were noy of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest (exposed), that none of them were of us" (1 John 2:19).

Barnabus and Paul encountered a false prophet determined to turn people away from the truth. "Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus....But Elymas the sorcerer withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith"(Acts 13:6-8). On other occasions the problem lay with "False Brethren" (Gal 2:4). Paul referred to his trails "in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among False Brethren" (2 Cor 11:26).

These false Christians had not become a genuine threat just to Paul's safety and effectiveness, but they had also become a significant part of the Christian community. Some may have finally gone out from God's special people but  continued calling themselves Christians. Others became members of new and supposedly liberated sects that retained the name Christian. Still others probably remained in fellowship of true believers and over time subverted congregations to their own heretical teachings.  Therefore a false Christianity was beginning to take a firm hold. Now, just let me add this..!  The point of this article is to help you to understand how crafty the enemy of your soul is... In some churches today, they teach that the falling away is you! Especially, when you have decided to leave a particular ministry because the Holy Spirit has enlighten you regarding the heretical, deceptive teachings being taught. They tell their congregation that people who leave "their ministry" is disobedient, rebellious and full of the devil. But, this is just one of the many ways to control the people in his/her church.

"To make it plain", The Falling Away is "anyone" who strays from the faith that was once delivered to the saints according to the letters and writtings of the Apostle Paul and the other Apostles. When we stray from The Written Word of God to follow man's idea's, philosopies, and theologies etc; we have not a love for the Truth, Just iching ears!! 

  

~Church of God~