Master's Plan for the Church by John MacArthur

Author:John MacArthur [MacArthur, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pastoral Resources, Christian Ministry, Administration, Religion, Leadership, Christian Church
ISBN: 9780802478450
Google: P_sVnwEACAAJ
Amazon: 080247845X
Barnesnoble: 080247845X
Goodreads: 1749640
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 2008-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

We should not be shocked to learn that some people will apostatize. The Spirit of God explicitly says that some will depart from the faith (v. 1).

Paul knew there would be apostates at the church in Ephesus because the Holy Spirit had revealed that fact to him earlier. Long before he had written this epistle to Timothy, Paul addressed the Ephesian elders with these words: “I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29–30).

Such revelation about apostasy is not unique to the New Testament; the Holy Spirit had been warning about apostasy in the Old Testament as well. Many Scriptures in the Old Testament talk about Israelites (both individually and nationally) departing from the faith. Although many people belonged to the nation of Israel, that didn’t mean they all believed in the God of Israel. Consequently, they were not part of the believing remnant of Israel (cf. Rom. 2:28–29). Through centuries of redemptive history the Spirit has indicated that some would depart from the faith (Deut. 13:12–15; 32:15–18; Dan. 8:23–25).

Several other New Testament passages mention those who will depart from the faith in the end times:

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