Faith in the Cross & Apostasy - A Defining Line

Ok, so I’m taking out my broken record again. I cannot express the importance of the Message of the Cross, the Cross of Christ, His Finished Work – His Death, Burial and His Resurrection. This is where our Faith should be placed. It is the Faith that Jesus will be looking for when He returns. The Cross of Christ is the one thing that began this life of Salvation in Christ Jesus for us. It is the sole reason for our Justification which is by Faith in His Precious Sacrifice on the Cross. Our Faith in what was accomplished for us on the Cross allows the Holy Spirit to help us live sanctified lives before God. Jesus’ Finished Work on the Cross is the foundation of our Salvation, Justification and Sanctification. We need to get back to the root – Jesus and Him Crucified.

I believe that, for such a time as this, that the Message of the Cross is “resurfacing”. Satan has, unfortunately, been very successful in moving the Church’s Faith from the very object that ushered it into existence. Had it not been for the Cross, none of us would be saved, and without Faith in His sacrifice, help from the Helper, The Holy Spirit, is greatly hindered in our lives. This is exactly what Satan wants. He wants our eyes off that prize we have in Jesus and Him Crucified! I’ve said it before; Satan does not care about us attending church every time the doors are open. He does not care about us reading our Bibles or praying if our Faith is in anything else other than the Cross – Jesus’ Death, Burial and Resurrection.

1 Timothy 4:1 states:
But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons.

I do believe that we are truly in the last of the last days. I know, I know, we have been saying this for a gazillion years, but one thing I hope you have settled in your heart and mind is that JESUS WILL RETURN! When He returns, will He find Faith in the Earth? Only one type of Faith will Jesus be looking for when He returns, and that is Faith in what He accomplished on the Cross for you and me – to become Whosoevers!

In 1 Timothy, it states that there will be some, not all, but some that depart/turn away for “the” Faith. The “the” is very important. The “the” used here is a definite article for a specific, singular “Faith” not “faiths”. The “the” references the item/object that is known or should be known by the reader. In this case we, as Children of God and Followers of Christ, should know “the” faith item/object that is referenced here that some will depart from or turn away from. This is what Satan has confused/deceived or subtly moved the Church’s Faith from to other things like our “doing” things and even good, godly and biblical things. These things are right but to make them the object/reason for our Salvation and Sanctification is incorrect.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 states:
Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed], who opposes and exalts himself [so proudly and so insolently] above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he [actually enters and] takes his seat in the temple of God, publicly proclaiming that he himself is God.

Here it is again where it mentions apostacy which means turning away from faith. The Day of the Lord (Rapture/Resurrection) will not come unless the apostasy (fallen away) comes first. This is what we are experiencing more and more. There is deception in the Church, and I want to say it’s not intentional deception, but deception in that it is not the full Truth – Jesus and Him Crucified. Jesus is being preached, but His Crucifixion has been brushed aside, forgotten or outright rejected. So, here we are being warned not to be deceived or entrapped in apostacy – the turning away for “the” Faith.

Hebrews 3:12-14 states:
Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God. But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “Today” [and there is an opportunity], so that none of you will be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [its cleverness, delusive glamour, and sophistication]. For we [believers] have become partakers of Christ [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], if only we hold firm our newborn confidence [which originally led us to Him] until the end.

We as believers need to take care that we do not harden our hearts (having an evil, unbelieving heart) that turns away from the Living God. That turning away is turning away from God’s Way, and His way is in what His Son, Jesus, accomplished in His Finished Work – Jesus’ Death, Burial and His Resurrection. We should know that we are partakers of Christ – we were baptized into His death, buried with Him and were resurrected into newness of life. We are to “hold firm” to our newborn confidence which originally led us to Him until the end. What is this “newborn confidence”? Where did it come from? Faith is another word for confidence; I mentioned this in another post. We were “born again”, “newborn” when we partook of Christ in His death, burial and His resurrection. We are to be confident or have Faith in this until the end.

Somewhere along the way we have been drawn away from God’s Way. This might be the greatest time of apostacy, the great fallen away, abandoning of “the” Faith we have seen. When the Message of the Cross is presented to long life believers, they brush it aside. Why? Because their hearts have been hardened to God’s Way which is the Cross. It’s hard to let go of “error” when one has been doing things a certain all their lives.

Revelation 2:4-5 warns:
But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]. So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place—unless you repent.

Again, the Lord is warning us of abandoning our first love for Him. We loved Him when we first knew His great love for us. For God so loved the world (the world and all its inhabitants), that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross for our sins. And because we believed, have “the” Faith in this, we will not perish in our sins but have everlasting life. We walked away from our initial love for God which the Holy Spirit led us to know and understand. Those who led by the Spirit of God (The Holy Spirit) are sons (children) of God. We are to seek God’s Will (His Way) and do the works you did at first (when we first knew Him). When the Apostle Paul formed churches, he admonished them in the knowledge of what Jesus did on the Cross. He said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, we preach Christ Crucified. When we were first saved, we told everyone of what Jesus did on the Cross; it was about winning souls for the Kingdom of God. It’s more about filling the pews instead of changing lives for God. God desires that none should perish but all to come unto repentance. He does not desire to remove our lampstand (the Church being the true representation of Christ) from us, but we must repent, return to our first love and do things God’s Way – Jesus and Him Crucified. Some churches’ lampstands have been removed, and they have not recognized it nor has anyone in the church. They have charted themselves on a path of destruction and not know it.

Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us:
For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.

Some preach of eternal security in that one can’t lose their Salvation. These passages say the opposite. There are those who have been enlightened by the Message of the Cross, having that initial love for God and His Way, and they walk away (fall away - apostatized) for whatever reason. Maybe there was a loss of a loved one, divorce - some kind of betrayal, or they were lured by glitz and glamour of the world. God never leaves us nor forsakes us; we are the ones who walk away from Him and His Way. None of us are perfect; we miss the mark at times. We fall or disobedient. Those who find themselves in this position and repent of sin(s) committed have not fallen away/apostatize. They fell of the mercy of God which is what He wants us to do when we sin. But for those who have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord and walk away, maybe even cursing good for whatever reason; their hearts become harden towards God, and I believe, sometimes can’t find their way back.

These are not my words, but it is the Word of the Lord. The Church is so far from God that even people in the world say that the devil is in the Church; people are so turned off from Churches and don’t want to have anything to do with them. They’d rather take their chances in the world. The Church is in a sad state; and the sad part about that it is that it doesn’t even know it. And if they do feel that something isn’t right, the Church is looking in all the wrong places. They haven’t even considered the Cross – the returning back to their first love for God. The Bible is telling us this, but Satan, the Great Deceiver, has deceived the Church, and it’s like the Church cannot find its way back to the where it all started – the foundation of Salvation, Justification and Sanctification – The Cross of Christ, Jesus’ Finished Word – His Death, Burial and His Resurrection.

So, this Faith that “some” will depart from and turn away from is “the” Faith in what Jesus did on the Cross. I’ll ask again, when was the last time you’ve heard a messaged preached in church on the Cross of Christ or at least where the topic of the sermon was traced or referenced back to the Cross of Christ? Why do you think you’re not hearing sermons on the Cross, that referenced “all due to the Cross” outside of Easter? Because the devil is subtle causing “some” to give into the world’s system and taking heed to seducing spirits and preaching doctrines of devils. This has been Satan’s most successful “scheme” to deceive the Church and keep it in an apostate state. Apostate state of abandoning “the” Faith that was initially looked to for Salvation. The thing is that some churches have not only abandoned “the” Faith that is the foundation of their Salvation, but they outright denounce and reject that Faith that must be in the Cross of Christ. Satan is the Great Deceiver, and he has deceived the Church in where Faith must be placed. He has been so successful in his plan that those who have “studied and taught the Word of God” can’t see that they are in error, and that’s the scary part of all of this. There are so many people sitting under ministries that do not understand the Message of the Cross because the Church it is not preaching what the Bible says should be preached. Instead, the church is preaching doctrines of devils… That’s hard thing to say. Think about it… If what is preached is not what our Handbook for Life, the Bible, says should be preached, then is it God? If it is not God, then I think it’s safe to say it’s the devil, his seducing spirits preaching doctrines of devils. We must remember that the Bibles tells us that Satan has his own ministers that are disguised as ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). I hate to say this, but a lot of churches sound and look like the world with a bit of the Bible sprinkled into it. The Church has adopted so much of the world that you can barely tell the difference between the two.

The Cross is the defining line between the real Christians and those who are “Christians” in name and appearance only. Some will read this blog and totally dismiss the Message of the Cross. Some will continue to look to what they have done and can do as the means of their Salvation and Sanctification – as though God needs our help. They will continue to look to their church, pastor, or any number of things EXCEPT THE CROSS! What Jesus accomplished there doesn’t need ANYTHING added to it or help from us – mere mortals. At the Cross, Jesus said it is FINISHED! Nothing more needs to be done. How we get anything from God, all that Jesus paid the price for us to have access to, is by FAITH! Only one Faith! Faith in that which got us into the Kingdom of God is the ONLY thing that will keep us in the Kingdom of God. Faith in Jesus’ Death, Burial and His Resurrection! You must believe (have this Faith) that it worked for you. It defeated sin (past, present and future) for YOU! It is “the” Faith in the Cross of Christ which redeemed, reconciled and made us the Righteousness of God through Christ Jesus (meaning what He did on the Cross for us all)!

Please do not miss this opportunity to know the Truth that sets you free!