APOSTASY IN 2 PETER

Did you know that the King James Version never uses the word "apostasy" or the word "apostate?" Could the reason be that many of the King James translators were Calvinists? Calvinists do not believe a child of God can so sin as to be eternally lost. Most modern versions use these words which the King James Version avoids. For example, the English Standard Version employs the word "apostasies" (plural) one time, the word "apostasy" (singular) two times and the word "apostate" one time. Surely honest scholars would not allow their beliefs to influence how they translate a document, or would they?

The Greek word meaning to fall away or to apostatize appears fifteen times in the New Testament. In the King James Version it is translated "departed," "fall away," "drew away" and "refrain." I urge you to listen to one verse from Hebrews. The author of this great book warned his readers: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:12). The Greek word translated "departing" is apostenai from which we derive the English word "apostasy." So how could any unbiased reading of the New Testament ever maintain that a child of God cannot apostatize?

The book of Hebrews constantly warns Christians about falling away. In fact, I have spoken several times on this program on the topic, "Salvation and Apostasy in Hebrews." Today's study will focus on "Apostasy in 2 Peter." I urge you to turn in your Bible to 2 Peter 2 and study this very important topic with me. If it were not possible for Christians to apostatize, why does the Apostle Peter bother to warn them of the danger of false teachers? Please listen with an open mind. "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you who privily (or secretly) shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned (or well-turned) words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not" (2 Pet. 2:1-3).

The false teachers Peter described had two primary motivations: money and sex. Peter accused them of "having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: who have forsaken the right way, and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.... They are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever." The false teachers promised their listeners liberty, but "they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage" (2 Pet. 2:14-15, 17, 19).

It ought to be obvious from the context that the false teachers had obeyed the gospel and had been faithful to the Lord. How can we reach that conclusion? The Apostle Peter explains: "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning" (2 Pet. 2:20). That kind of language would never be used of those who were still alien sinners. Non-Christians have never "escaped the pollutions of the world." Like the Ephesians before they obeyed the gospel, they are "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).

The people Peter had in mind had "escaped the pollutions of the world." The word "pollutions" means defilements or uncleanness. The English Standard Version renders the Greek "lust of defiling passion." Peter has already explained that their "eyes were full of adultery" (2 Pet. 2:14). Incidentally, the word in the Greek is not "adultery," but adulteress. This is a vivid picture of the man who cannot see a woman without having lascivious thoughts of her. Does that remind you of some modem television evangelists?

The false teachers had "escaped the pollutions of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." If you have read Peter's second letter, you know the emphasis he places on knowledge. Some form of the word "know" appears sixteen times in 2 Peter. Six of those times Peter used the intensified form of the word. That means that we can have sure knowledge. Peter concluded this short epistle by admonishing his readers: "But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18). Knowledge of God's word is absolutely essential for those who want to escape the pollutions of this world and become a Christians.

Christ explains how men are drawn to him by the Father. "No man can come unto me, except the Father who sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. As it is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore who has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto me" (John 6:44-45). You cannot avoid seeing how men come to Christ. They must hear the word of God and obey it.

If the doctrine of universalism were true, none of what I have read to you would make any sense. If all men are going to be saved, even if they do not know Christ and obey his will, their attitude toward the gospel will have no effect on their salvation. I am not endowed with any special foresight, but I believe many in the religious world, including some left-leaning members of the body of Christ, will ultimately endorse universalism. Two Quaker preachers, Philip Gulley and James Mulholland, have written a book promoting universalism. Their book has the title, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person (San Francisco: Harper, 2003). Gulley and Mulholland quote a number of prominent people to try to sustain the ridiculous doctrine of universalism. Dr. Benjamin Rush affirmed: "The Universal doctrine prevails more and more in our country, particularly among persons eminent for their piety, in whom it is not mere speculation but a principle of action in the heart prompting to practical goodness" (p. 221). They also quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the wife of Robert Browning: "Universalism is the most beautiful word in the English language" (p. 222). It may be a beautiful word, but it is an inexcusably false doctrine. William Barclay, the distinguished Scottish theologian, said concerning universalism: "The only victory love can enjoy is the day when the offer of love is answered by the return of love. The only possible final triumph is a universe loved by and in love with God" (p. 223). Madeline L'Engle insists: "All will be redeemed in God's fullness of time, all, not just the small portion of the population who have been given the grace to know and to accept Christ. All the strayed and stolen sheep. All the little lost ones" (p. 223). One verse of scripture completely destroys the doctrine of universalism. "These (the wicked) shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Mt. 25:46). Frankly, I prefer what Jesus taught to the vain imaginations of Dr. Benjamin Rush, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Barclay or Madeline L 'Engle or anyone else.

The false teachers Peter had in mind had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They later "became entangled again therein and overcome." The word "entangled" literally means to in-weave. Paul used the same word in his second letter to Timothy. "No man who wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Tim. 2:4). Paul exhorted the Roman Christians: "Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2).

When a Christian becomes entangled in worldly affairs, he can be overcome. The word "overcome" means to be inferior, to be enslaved. Peter used the same word in verse 19. "While they (that is, the false teachers) promise them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, the same is he brought into bondage." What a tragedy when people believe they are being made free when they actually are becoming slaves!

When Christians return to the "weak and beggarly elements" of the world, "the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." The last state is worse with them than the first. But what difference would it make if a child of God cannot fall from grace? I have a question for the person who believes in universalism. If all men will be saved regardless of his behavior, how could one state be worse than any other? You should have no difficulty understanding that these verses were designed to warn Christians about the danger of falling away.

The Apostle Peter argues: "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (2 Pet. 2:21). Please take note of Peter' s emphasis on knowing. The word "known" in this verse is an intensified form of the word "know." That form of the word means full or complete knowledge. These were people who had come to a complete understanding of the gospel. They were not like the ones Jesus mentioned in the Parable of the Sower. Some of the seed fell on rocky soil. Their understanding was shallow and in time of temptation they fell away (Lk. 8:13). The people in 2 Peter 2 were those who had heard the gospel, believed and obeyed it from the heart.

When men and women know the way of righteousness and then turn back into the world, they are in danger of hell fire. The man who never hears the gospel is not in the same danger as the ones who obey the gospel and then forsake the Lord. That is unquestionably the message the author of Hebrews wanted his readers to understand. "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received its recompense of reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Heb. 2:1-3)?

Some Calvinist preachers argue that the people Peter had in mind had never actually become Christians. I have already shown that "they had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 2:20). Verse 21 says they had known the way of righteousness. They had not just known about the way of righteousness; they had known it, that is, they had experienced it. They were members of the church of Jesus Christ. Then they turned from the holy commandment. The word "turn" means to turn back or to return. The "holy commandment delivered to them" was the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

Peter uses two of the most disturbing figures you can imagine of those who became apostates. "But it happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog has turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Pet. 2:22). This is not a pretty picture of backsliders, but it is God's view. If the context means anything, the Apostle Peter had in mind those who had honestly obeyed the gospel. They were the ones who had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They were the ones who had known the way of righteousness. How could anyone claim they were not truly saved? How can Calvinists or anyone else attempt to sustain the doctrine of once in grace, always in grace in view of this passage?

Dr. A. T. Robertson was one of the world's greatest Greek scholars. During his long tenure at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, he wrote about seventy-five books. There is hardly a day I do not use his scholarly set of books, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman). Dr. Robertson was a Calvinist, but recognized that the Bible teaches the possibility of apostasy. He comments on the people represented by the seed that fell on the rocky soil. "Ostensibly they were sincere and had made a real start in the life of faith" (volume 2, p.114).

The late Dr. Dale Moody also taught at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. In his book, The Word of Truth: A Summary of Christian Doctrine Based on Biblical Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981), Dr. Moody says that A. T. Robertson was a major influence on his views of apostasy (p. 353, fn). Dr. Moody states dogmatically: "Apostasy is not a term imposed upon the New Testament; it is a New Testament term in both a special and a general sense" (p. 348). He quotes Dr. Robertson as saying about the people who could be drawn away by the grievous wolves (Acts 20:30): "There is a false optimism that is complacently blind as well as a despondent pessimism that gives up the fight" (p. 349). Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians that after he had preached to others he himself might be a castaway (or a reject)" (1 Cor. 9:27). Dr. Robertson commented: "Most writers take Paul to refer to the possibility of his rejection in his personal salvation at the end of the race ... .It is a humbling thought for us all to see this wholesome fear instead of a smug complacency in this greatest of all heralds of Christ" (p. 350).

As early as 1917, Dr. Robertson was teaching that a child of God can apostatize. In his book, Paul's Joy in Christ: Studies in Philippians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1970, a Reprint), Dr. Robertson says very plainly: "There are always timid souls who lose heart in times of persecution. Some even go to the extent of apostasy when the cause seems lost. The early Christian centuries furnish examples of those who renounced Christ for Caesar under the pressure of the Roman state" (p. 78).

The person who obeys the gospel and then turns his back on the Lord is like a dog returning to his vomit. Such a picture is nauseating, but it is what the Lord thinks of those who apostatize from the faith. Peter borrowed this figure from the book of Proverbs. "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly" (Prov. 26:11). Surely a little dog as sweet as my Missy would not return to her vomit. As a matter of fact, she has done so.

I grew up on a farm that raised hogs. I was the one in my family that took care of the hogs. An old sow would be washed clean by rain, and then she would go to the dirtiest mud hole she could find and lie down in it. Peter said that Christians who apostatize are like that sow that returns to her wallowing in the mire. We do not know the origin of this proverb, but it probably originated with the Gentiles. All who grew up with hogs understand the nature of hogs. We know they will return to the muddiest pond they can find.

But is not the Apostle Peter exaggerating when he used these two proverbs? If you have studied the Old Testament, you know how God regarded his own people when they turned their backs on him. Jeremiah provides some insight into God's displeasure with his unfaithful children. "Be astonished, 0 you heavens at this, and be horribly afraid, be very desolate, says the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and have hewed to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:12-13).

2 Peter 2 was not written specifically to refute the Calvinistic doctrine of once saved, always saved, although it does that very effectively. The Holy Spirit guided Peter to warn Christians lest they fall away from grace. We must use our time and effort to grow in grace and in knowledge so we shall not be tempted to depart from the faith. That means we must study God's word and apply it to every phase of our lives. It also means we must worship with God's faithful children so we can strengthen each other. We must follow the Lord's advice in the Sermon on the Mount. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things - the material blessings - shall be added unto you" (Mt. 6:33). Should we not imitate our Lord's example? He told some Pharisees: "He who sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him" (John 8:29). If we imitate Christ, we shall never fall.

Winford Claiborne

The International Gospel Hour

P.O. Box 118

Fayetteville, TN 37334