Creek word which means "to stand apart," "to depart from something that one once held to." The early writers used the term in reference to a runaway slave. These are indi viduals who have willfully turned their back on all, run away or re belled against the faith or, if you will, against Christianity. Now, as in Scripture, an apostate is one who would deny the great cardinal doctrines of Cod's Word, and par ticularly the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work through death, burial and resurrection. They have a form of godliness but they deny the power of it. Jude 4 gives us a further lucid definition. The way this occurs is that people will listen or give heed to seduc ing spirits. The idea here is more of a holding onto something apart from the faith. In Revelation we discover that eventually the devil and his hosts are going to be de feated, banished and destroyed. For now, however, they seem to be free to wander throughout the earth, trying to undercut the Chris tian belief. Timothy was probably stationed at Ephesus. Perhaps Paul was warn ing him about the dangers in that corrupt society both morally, as well as with certain trends of legal ism which would emphasize the in sight of man above the completed work of Christ. Such a wandering system could only be inspired by the devil himself. The word "doctrine" from the original represents here the full process of education. Those who
As a believer in Christ I can be an optimist looking ahead to this new year of opportunity. Realiz ing the many open doors of out reach, I can see an even greater harvest of young souls. Today's youth are searching, some desper ately so, for proper standards as well as effective answers to today's problems. The same potential reap ing of lives with their parents is also well within the realm of pos sibility. The evangelical Christian, church, school and related organi zations, have a golden opportunity despite the recognizable conflicts which are sure to come. APOSTASY The Apostle Paul shared some things with Timothy which have a real message of significance for our hour. He pointed out that one of the greatest hardships would be from within. Apostasy and decep tion go hand-in-hand, and are read ily apparent in our age. Let us focus on the first verse of I Timothy 4, a chapter which will be our basis of study. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se ducing spirits, and doctrines of dev ils" (or as some translations have it "doctrines of demons"). Here is a graphic picture of individuals who have departed from the faith through apostasy. These have turned their backs on certain as pects of Christianity and are now teaching something else. The word "apostate" is really a
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