“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will
fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and
doctrines of demons. . .” – 1 Timothy 4:1By: John MacArthur,
Departing
from the faith happens today just as it did in the Old Testament and in
the church at Ephesus, where Timothy was when Paul wrote this epistle.
There are always people who understand the faith intellectually and
behave according to the revelation of God but have no heart for living
to please God. Hebrews 3:12 says that those who depart from God
demonstrate an unbelieving heart.
Paul
states in 1 Timothy 4:1 that some–like Judas, Demas, or the disciples
of John 6 who walked no more with Christ–”shall depart from the faith”
(Gk., aphistēmi, “to remove yourself from the position you
originally occupied”). Apostasy isn’t an unintentional departure or
someone struggling with doubt. It is deliberately abandoning truth for
erroneous teaching. “The faith” refers specifically to the body of
Christian doctrine, not the act of believing. Some will depart from “the
faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). People who
understand and outwardly affirm Christian doctrine but don’t have a
heart for God are prime candidates for being seduced by demons away from
the faith.
An apostate is not someone
who never knew the truth but someone who knew it and rejected it. He
may have even been involved in various religious activities. But because
he never truly knew God, he was lured away by the siren voices of the
demons behind idols and false religious systems.
False
religion propagates doctrine energized by seducing spirits. The Lord
Himself says in Leviticus 17:7 that whatever men sacrifice to idols is
in fact being sacrificed to demons (cf: Deut. 32:17; Pss. 96:5;
106:36-37). In 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 Paul says that those who come to
the Lord’s Table and then worship at some pagan religious shrine are
fellowshiping with both the Lord and demons.
False
religious systems and the various idols that accompany them are focal
points for demonic activity. We should not naively think that a false
religion is simply a collection of misguided ideas. Realize that behind
the scenes are fallen angels seducing people from the truth into eternal
hell.
The Word of God clearly teaches
that apostasy is a demonic seduction, that idol worship is actually
worship offered to demons, and that false teachers are the agents of
demons. The battle is fought by God and His truth against the devil and
his lies. God calls people to Himself through the truth, and Satan tries
to lure people away from truth with his hellish lies.
Scripture
often exhorts the church to expose false teaching. That kind of
confrontation is not popular today. Many churches, in the name of love,
want to forget disagreements and avoid being critical at all costs.
Nonetheless, there is a biblical mandate to deal with false teaching.
The battle lines were drawn in Israel and in the early church, and they
must be drawn today too. Like Timothy we must be warned and instructed
to understand what is behind false teaching.
taken from: MacArthur, John. The Master’s Plan for the Church. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991., pp. 139-141.
See also:
• Understanding the Seducing Spirit from Qualities of an Excellent Servant by John MacArthur.
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