The Process of Apostasy page 3

Romans 1:21-25 (KJV) “ 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. “

Remember, some have in this generation fallen away by being “seduced” by demonic spirits and their false teachings. They will tell you that God doesn’t mean what the Bible Says. They just released a homosexual bible that rewrites all the holy living parts, and added some books to it that tries to justify an abomination to God. This is a demonic teaching from a seducing spirit.

Remember that these are people who knew God and the gospel at one time. But they quit living their lives to please Him! They started living it their own way! They lost interest in the very God who had saved them and given them life and started seeking out after their own carnal pleasures and living their way.

Romans 1:21 (ALT) “ For this reason, having known God, they did not glorify [Him] as God nor did they give thanks, _but_ they were given over to deception in their thought processes [or, they became futile in their speculations], and their foolish heart [fig., inner self] was darkened. “

They knew God

They recognized Him as God (they were saved)

They did not honor Him as God (they went their own way and rejected His commandments)

They did not give Him thanks – they were not thankful to Him – took Him for granted

They quit worshiping God. They lost interest in doing the things in worship and dedication that they once had for God and replaced them with something worldly. They did not take the time.

Their thinking became vain or useless

Their thoughts became godless and they ignored the evil in their minds

Their “foolish heart” was darkened and they begin to turn evil (enemy of God)

Their desires become evil as they want things that corrupt

Instead of God they now desire sin – evil emotions rule them

They who once walked in light, now walks in darkness

Their thinking became “vain” or useless and unprofitable to God or man. The mind is the realm of the Spirit, and thoughts are spiritual, which is why 2 Corinthians 10 tells us to put every thought under the submission of Christ before they create evil imaginations and strongholds.

Romans 8:6-8 (KJV) “ 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. “

Their foolish hearts were darkened. The mind is where our thoughts lie, and the heart is where our emotions lie. After their thinking became twisted and vain in carnality, their emotions became sinful in nature. The foolishness of going their own way opened the door for sin which darkened their hearts and choked out all of the good and God’s presence in their lives.

True love, and the opportunity to have real love is thrown out the window when we reject God. Oh, you can have lust that lasts for a while (but you pay for that play royally), but it leaves you emptier and emptier as you go. Real love gets rejected with God. That is one reason that backsliders are not very happy… the love of God is a part of the fruit of the Spirit and it is stopped in us when we are away from God.

Romans 1:21 (AMP) “ Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. “

Jesus said that the foolish virgins in Matthew 25 would not go when the Midnight Cry is given to come to the Marriage Supper before the Tribulation. We are told again and again by Jesus and Paul and others in the New Testament to not be foolish, but be wise and walk in the will of God.

This might apply to a degree to anyone because God has revealed Himself to His creation. It applies much more to the person who have known God in a relationship and recognized Him and His authority in their lives at one time.

But there came a point where their love and thanksgiving for God failed and they stopped honoring God as God. People tend to make themselves their own god using their own way as the way to do things. This goes back to the first prideful sin in the garden.

It is taking the Prodigal Son’s story (where the lure of the world pulled him from his Father’s house) to the next step where he knowingly rejects the truth of his Father and wants to believe a lie to excuse his desire to sin instead. It is the point where a backslider starts on a path to apostasy.

See, those who follow Calvinism have half of a biblical truth. And those who follow Arminius have the other half of that same biblical truth. The truth takes in both sides’ scriptures and sees it as a balanced whole. I am eternally secure in Jesus Christ and nothing can tear me out of God’s hands. At the same time, I can choose to reject Jesus Christ and believe a lie and take myself from the son who the Father wants to restore to the enemy of God under the wrath of God as His enemy.

It leads to an actual falling away where you become an apostate in breaking your covenant with Jesus Christ. It will give you a reprobate mind and God will not deal with you as a son or daughter again.

It is the height of foolishness in rejecting the truth and knowingly believing a lie.

Ephesians 5:15-20 (KJV) “15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; “

They profess themselves to be wise, but they became fools. They thought that they were getting away from it and swallowed the lie so long that they started to believe the lie. They know the truth, and hold it in unrighteousness and live like God is not really there. It is a lie.

Fundamentalists who hold that God meant what He said in His Word and that the Bible is literally the Word of God are scorned as people who feel superior say that we are foolish who believe God. But they make themselves fools who reject the truth of God. And sadly, their lives and fruit show it.

We are living in one of the most foolish generations that mankind has ever seen as the spirits of Jezebel and Antichrist infiltrate so many people’s lives and churches and families. People who know better are now listening to demons and following like lemmings to a cliff.

They will hate the truth when they fall like this, and God and God’s people will annoy them greatly. They will hunt for teachers to support their position and have them tickle their ears.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (KJV) “ 1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. “

It is a sign of apostasy when you cannot tolerate hearing the truth or the presence of people who believe and live that truth.

Their idolatry or false religion brought apostasy. And God turned them over to a reprobate mind and they dishonored their own bodies with each other. They not only became fornicators and adulterers, but are now giving into homosexuality. The spiritual guards and truths that once protected them has been removed from their lives and God literally allows them to degrade themselves.

Scientists have concluded that we are hotwired from birth to be believers. As Bob Dillon sang, “You gotta serve somebody… it might be the devil or it might be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody!”

If you turn your back on God, you will become an idolator… the idol might be money or family or sex or self or politics or religion or a real idol as in false religion, but it will be the creation instead of the Creator.

Remember, the seduction into apostasy comes from a joint effort of demonic seducing spirits, and a choice by the believer to quit worshiping and walk his/her own way, and then trying to justify it! The believer turns to idolatry knowing the truth of Jesus Christ. There comes a point where they literally turn away from Jesus Christ and the true gospel (knowingly), and that choice leads to great foolishness and then uncleanness or gross immorality.

What people would have never thought of doing before, they now are seduced by demons into doing and God does not protect them from it. In fact, it becomes part of their judgment.

Romans 1:22-23 (KJV) “ 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. “

Going back to idols… the word demon originally meant an unclean spirit that receives worship for an idol. Demons are the spirits behind idol worship. The Native American spirits of birds and bears and wolves really have a demonic spirit behind them. Buddha’s worship really gives praise to a demonic spirit of false religion. Kali and Shiva have demons and a fallen angel connected to their worship.

The spirit of greed that has infiltrated the church to pervert the gospel to a gospel of gain and money is of demonic origins. A little leaven has leavened the lump.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (KJV) “ 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; “

The Holy Spirit has expressly spoken that this will happen in the latter times… NOW! There shall be a falling away or apostasy and seducing spirits (demons) are the root of the defection from God.

They think that they have become wiser than God.

They have become fool

The fool has said that there is no God and they act that way

They have changed God into their own image of sin

This leads to idolatry and worship of the creation

This opens up the life to demonic deception

Romans 1:24-25 (KJV) “ 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. “

You do not want for God to give you up, because when you do you lose your conscience and lose your power to know what is truly right and wrong. You will degrade lower than animals who know not to do the things that men do when God gives them up.

You will be totally open to demonic control and manipulation. And God will quit dealing with you. You do not want to go so far in rebellion that God gives you up! Remember King Saul? He rejected the Lord, so the Lord rejected him from being king. He lost the Holy Spirit of God and gained a demonic spirit in judgment in its place. You do not want for God to give you up!

Romans 1:24 (AMP) “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],”

This is the root why they turned against the truth. They wanted or lusted after things that God says will corrupt and destroy you. Instead of believing the truth, they would rather believe a lying demon who says that God does not mean what He says and you will somehow get away with it.

Uncleanness is sexual immorality. It includes pornography, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, perversion, and things that make you morally unclean. It corrupts you and your household. It is an iniquity and the sorts of things the Bible says will cause a land to spit you out of it when that iniquity comes to a full.

Changing the truth of God into a lie and being proud at what you have done. They will wind up hating true good. They have dishonored themselves, but are literally proud of their own shame.

We all have temptations to sin. We all have weak place in our lives. You cannot stand in judgment of other truthfully because we all have something within us that would consume us if we gave into it without any help from God. But when God turns you over and gives you up, you will give into it fully! The things that might have been an annoyance and temptation will consume who you are.

Your personality will disappear as this person who knows no limits and has to continually increase their iniquity and sin to make up for the emptiness and lack of real love and joy consumes who you were. It will destroy you on Earth before you are eternally destroyed in the Lake of Fire.

THEY LITERALLY DISHONOR THEMSELVES WITH THEIR OWN BODIES. Their bodies get full of guilt and shame, but they have no shame and no honor left. They enjoy seeing how evil that they can become. When you know no boundaries, evil will consume you.