What about those who choose to leave the faith?
There are those who choose to leave the faith, even though they know something about Jesus. Probably the most obvious case is Judas Iscariot (see John 13:26-7). Judas made a choice to betray Jesus, even though he saw the witness of Jesus’ love and kindness, ministering to the poor and needy, healing their sick, and making the blind to see. Judas finally refused to see, and rejected Jesus. He departed, just like these false teachers. There have always been plenty of these false teachers who attempt to deceive Christians, and especially pseudo-Christians by representing themselves as faithful bearers of Christ’s teachings. Often their teachings bear bad fruit in their own lives, because they are not following the Truth themselves, nor teaching it to others.
Example: Charles Templeton. Apostasy, rejecting God has a price, and in the end Templeton’s pride and commitment to intellect over faith caused him to be unable to believe, even though he wanted to. Hebrews 12:14-17 14 Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it… 16 that there be no sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. Deciding to reject God, after knowing the truth, can put you in a place where your heart is hardened, and you cannot repent! And the road to that place begins when we start accepting the false teachers and their ideas, or attempt to elevate our intellectual ideas about the world and about God above what He has revealed about Himself.
For, if they had been from us, they would have remained with us
For those who depart the faith, their rejection of the Truth will often cause them to separate themselves from the body of True Believers. John lets us know that he did not consider that these false teachers were ever part of the faith, they were never identified with the true teaching of God’s word, as the apostles were, and had never taken God at His word, believing God’s Word for salvation. They liked their own ideas, their intellectual constructs better. These teachers chose a continued state of departure from the apostles and their teachers. Their separation in the past involved continued isolation from the apostolic True teaching of the Word of God. They rejected both the truth of God’s Word, and the the close ongoing personal relationship between genuine members of the Christian community; our fellowship in Christ.
But they went out
He’s contrasting the choice that they’d had to remain in the truth, and remain abiding with Jesus, and in fellowship with believers, and their choice that was made to depart the faith.
And the result of this choice of their rebellion against the truth of God’s Word, is that by their choice of physical separation from the body of believers. God “made manifest”, exposed their heresy by their choice of their intellectual ideas above God’s revealed word, and above their valuing the fellowship enjoyed amongst believers.
John is not saying that every doctrinal deviation is a denial of a person’s salvation. Converts, and well meaning experienced teachers have strayed doctrinally throughout church history. In fact, probably the last person alive who had their doctrine completely 100% correct was Jesus. But, at the same time, false teachers have infiltrated the church throughout church history and prey on the vulnerable, young lambs who don’t know any better. The ones who would lead astray on purpose are the false teachers John’s thinking of here. Apostasy is falling away from key and true doctrines of the Bible into heretical teachings that claim to be QUOTES: “the real” Christian doctrine, in such a way that they lead to a renunciation of the Christian faith, which results in a full abandonment of Christ. Christ cannot leave us, but it is possible to leave Him. The term apostate is only applicable only to people who deliberately abandon Christ.
Apostasy
Apostasy is a corruption of truth, and therefore takes time to become noticeable. It begins as a refusal to believe the Bible, to take God at His word, a falling away from key and true doctrines of the Bible into heretical teachings that claim to be “the real” Christian doctrine. And, at the end, these become more and more pronounced until there is a complete renunciation of the Christian faith, which results in a full abandonment of Christ. A heretical belief, or one contrary to the Word of God becomes the beginning of apostasy when someone starts to stand on it as central to their understanding of Jesus, or the Christian faith, and teaches others this as well.
The Characteristics of Apostates
Jude outlines how to recognize apostasy and strongly urges those in the body of Christ to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 1:3). The Greek word translated “contend earnestly” is a verb from which we get the word agonize. It’s form means that the struggle is continuously ongoing. That fits well with John’s words on the matter that it had already begun in his time, when the “last days” began so long ago, and indeed these last days still continue today. Jude agrees with John that there will be a constant fight against false teaching: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4).
Jude provides Christians with three traits of apostasy and apostate teachers:
First, Jude says that apostasy can be subtle. Apostates have “crept” into the church. In Greek, the term Jude uses describes the cunning craftiness of a lawyer who, through clever arguments infiltrates the minds of courtroom officials and corrupts their thinking. Paul also speaks to the outwardly pleasing behavior of apostates and their teaching: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13–14).
Second, Jude describes apostates as “ungodly” and as those who use God’s grace as a license to commit unrighteous acts. Beginning with “ungodly,” Jude describes eighteen unflattering traits of apostates: they are ungodly (Jude 1:4), morally perverted (verse 4), denying Christ (verse 4), ones who defile the flesh (verse 8), rebellious (verse 8), people who revile angels (verse 8), who are ignorant about God (verse 8), those who proclaim false visions (verse 10), self-destructive (verse 10), grumblers (verse 16), faultfinders (verse 16), self-satisfying (verse 16), people who use arrogant words and false flattery (verse 16), mockers of God (verse 18), those who cause divisions (verse 19), worldly minded (verse 19), and finally (and not surprisingly), devoid of the Spirit/unsaved (verse 19).
Third, Jude says apostates “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” How do apostates do this? Paul tells us in his letter to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:15–16). Through their unrighteous behavior, the apostates show their true selves.
Not everyone who leaves a church over a doctrinal issue is one of the anti-christs that John talks about, even if they are doctrinally wrong. We are all works in progress, and it’s possible for people to make errors. Sometimes a person allows themselves to be led astray so that they spiritually back-slide, or lose ground. Backsliding in the Old Testament was considered a trait of Israel which would turn from God to follow idols. But, we must also remember that God did not turn his back on Israel, and we are not supposed to turn our back on believers who are spiritually struggling. If someone will be restored to walking with Christ, then we as believers have the ministry of reconciliation. 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. This desire to see people reconciled to God, and restored should be close to our heart. Jesus seeks the lost I will search for the lost and bring back the strays (Ezekiel 34:16). He calls them to repentance, even if they have initially rejected the Truth of His Word Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in (Revelation 3:20). His purpose is bringing us to salvation I have made you and I will carry you (Isaiah 46:4). For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:17). And, although we must have discernment, and stop the wolves from attacking the flock, we should be in the business of restoring wandering Christians, not condemning them. We should help them along the way, not bar the gates of heaven from them.