THE FALLING AWAY — 1 TIMOTHY 4:1

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (1Timothy 4:1)

We are living in a post-Christian world, consumed by the philosophy of humanism that influences the thinking and pursuits of modern man. Francis Schaeffer defined humanism as a system where man attempts to acquire the knowledge, meaning and values in his life by “having only Man as their integration point.”1

In other words, humanism disregards the God of the universe. It is a godless philosophy of life, characterized by the repudiation of Scripture, God’s revelation to mankind, providing absolute meaning, purpose and value to life. This viewpoint of life has affected the thinking in every sector of our culture: world leaders, civic leaders, business leaders, public school administrators and families. Sadly, it has also subverted the visible church: leaders of denominations, seminary professors, pastors and even the individual sitting in the pew. The focus of this study contemplates this infiltration of humanism within the Church of Jesus Christ.

Making The Case

The departure from the doctrines of inspiration of Scripture, the authority of Scripture and true spirituality is evidence of how many denominations that claim to be representatives of Christianity have embraced the humanistic values established by the culture. This can be substantiated by their rejection and compromise of Biblical truth, condoning degenerate sexual perversions such as homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism, transsexualism, gay marriage and openly gay ministers.

This is not the only time that God’s people have fallen away from the faith. In the Age of Israel, Jeremiah spoke of disastrous problems having overtaken his nation. Note the prophets’ expression of grief:

We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples. All our enemies open their mouths against us; panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction; my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lamentations 3:42–48 ESV)

This lament of Jeremiah’s describes the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. Israel at that time was God’s representative nation to the world, just as the United States has been for two centuries. Israel had rebelled against God, just as a large segment of the Christian community in our country. As God warned Israel and executed His judgment upon them, the warning to Christians today comes from the relentless harassment of the political left.  

Schaeffer describes the falling away from the faith as apostasy and explains:

The book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away. But this is not just the character of Jeremiah’s day of apostasy. It’s my day. It’s your day. If we are going to help our own generation, our perspective must be that of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet…who in the midst of his tears spoke without mitigating his message of judgment to a people who had had so much and yet turned away.2

This apostasy or falling away is what the apostle Paul had wrote to the Thessalonians, that the Day of the Lord, the end times, “will not come unless the apostasy comes first” (2 Thessalonians 2:33). The Greek word translated apostasy4 appears only twice in the New Testament, here and in Acts 21:21, where in most English versions it is translated forsake. In a religious sense, the word has the meaning of abandonment5 or defection.6 Other modern English versions render the word as rebellion7 or falling away.8

The apostle Paul’s usage of this word refers specifically to religious apostasy — the falling away from the faith. C.I. Scofield notes that “Apostates depart from the faith, but not from the outward profession of Christianity (2 Tim. 3:5).”9 For here the word faith refers to: “That which is believed, body of faith or belief, doctrine.”10 This is explained precisely by Thomas Constable:

This is a revolt, a departure, an abandoning of a position once held. This rebellion, which will take place within the professing church, will be a departure from the truth that God has revealed in His Word...a specific distinguishable apostasy that will come in the future.11

The religious apostasy prevalent in Christianity today does not necessarily suggest that the Day of the Lord is at hand, since the Christian church has been beset by apostasy almost from its inception. This is corroborated by the historical evidence of the early Church of Rome’s persistent departure from Scripture which instigated the Protestant Reformation. But just because the apostasy of this day may not be a signal for the end times, it doesn’t mean we should remain idle and do nothing.

Our Directive

Christians have a two-fold responsibility: first, on a personal level, we are to continue to advance in our knowledge of doctrine; by acknowledging the authority of Scripture and utilizing the literal principle of interpretation. And above all, being mindful that:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Secondly, we must boldly speak out against all present day false teachings that distort the absolute truth of God’s Word. Jude advises us to “contend earnestly12 for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).

But what does it mean to contend? The Greek word Jude employs is only found here in the New Testament and means to fight for or in reference to something.13 Richard Lenski’s observation is insightful:

Jude states it in a positive form: “to keep earnestly contending for the faith,” and not negatively: “against the heresies or heretics.” The negative is implied, for one contends for something when there are antagonists.14

Jude stated that we must contend with ungodly persons:

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 4)

We need to call them out for what they are: apostates. They can be identified as those today who are infiltrating local churches and denominations with their false teachings that promote and condone the godless perspective of a culture inundated by secular humanism. In so doing they deny the truth — for the truth is Jesus Christ (John 14:6), “our only Master and Lord” (Jude 4).

The Appeal

If the United States of America is to maintain its status as God’s representative nation to the world, there must be an awakening within the Body of Christ; a unified return of teaching the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith and an earnest contending for the faith, by exposing apostasy and ceasing to condone the deviant values of today’s humanistic culture. We have been instructed not to be friends with the world — this culture. That is defined by James as spiritual adultery:

 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Thus, until the Church of Jesus Christ is no longer seeking friendship with the morally decadent world, only then will the truth of God's Word have its intended impact upon our culture. 

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[1] Francis A. Schaeffer, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1982) 1.9.

[2] Schaeffer, 4.213

[3] As translated in the New American Standard Bible and the Catholic New American Bible.

[4] The Greek word ἀποστασία comes from the verb aphístēmi meaning to depart, fall away (1 Tim. 4:1).

[5] William Arndt et al., “ἀποστασία” In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 98.

[6] H.G. Liddell, A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996), 107.

[7] English Standard Version, New International Version and New Revised Standard Version

[8] King James Version and the New King James Version

[9] C. I. Scofield, ed., The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1917), 1281.

[10] William Arndt et al., 669 §3.

[11] Thomas L. Constable, (1985). In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Eds., (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 2.718.

[12] “The word speaks of a vigorous, intense, determined struggle to defeat the opposition.” Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 16.235.

[13] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000), G1864.

[14] R.C.H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2001), 11.610.

 

© 2026 David M. Rossi 

 

"MY HOUR HAS NOT YET COME"

John records in his gospel the account of our Lord’s miracle of feeding the five thousand with five barley loaves and two fish (6:1–13). This event is also recorded in the synoptic gospels, Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:32–44; Luke 9:10–17. However, John presents an additional ending:

Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. (John 6:14–15)

Evidently, those who had witnessed His miracle were well aware of Israel’s expectancy of “the Prophet who is to come into the world” as foretold by Moses:

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)

 They understood this anticipated Prophet was to be their Messiah. Robertson notes that “the phrase [the Prophet] is peculiar to John, but the idea is in Acts (3:22; 7:37). The people are on the tiptoe of expectation and believe that Jesus is the political Messiah of Pharisaic hope.”1

There is a particular reason that our Lord withdrew from the people who had partaken of His miracle, for He understood that the ultimate objective of His earthly mission had not been inaugurated. And during the interval, John noted that Jesus was divinely protected because on two occasions (John 7:30; 8:20).

The All-Knowing Jesus

There are six instances during His earthly ministry when Jesus acknowledged that the ultimate objective of the Father’s plan had not yet commenced, uttering the unique phrase cited in the apostle John’s gospel account: “My hour has not yet come.”

The first instance was at the wedding feast in Cana when Jesus’ mother informed Him that the wine had run out. His reply was “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). By this He meant that the hour for manifesting Himself as Messiah had not yet come.2

Jesus understood the timetable of His earthly mission and when His unbelieving half-brothers enticed Him to reveal Himself at the Feast of Booths, He instructed them:

“Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” (John 7:8)

But after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (John 12:9-11), Jesus knew that the Father’s plan had progressed to the next phase, evidenced by His statement to Andrew and Philip: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). This occurred on the first day of what has come to be known as His Passion Week. John further writes:

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. (John 13:1) [Emphasis added]

His Mission of Eternal Life 

Then during His Upper Room Discourse (John 14—17) Jesus revealed that His hour has come to execute the divine plan and its specific objective:

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.” (John 17:1–2) [Emphasis added]

The culmination of our Lord’s earthly mission, His hour, was not a self-serving moment in world history, but a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and the provision of eternal life for all mankind. For Scripture proclaims:

He [God, the Father] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Scripture also states:

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

 Today Is Our Hour

And just as the Lord Jesus Christ had His hour in human history, we also have an hour within the timeline of our lives to obediently fulfill the mission God has given to us. Our lives can also glorify the Father, but in order to do so, we must follow His directives:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

Also, that we “do not sin” (Psalm 4:4) and to avoid the occasion of sin as the Psalmist advises the believer:

“Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

This will enable us to follow the apostle Paul’s directive:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

The writer of Hebrews emphasized the importance of observing Paul’s instruction:

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)

For Christians in the 21^st Century, we must realize that our hour is now, today!

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[1] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), John 6:14.

[2] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, Expanded ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 1682 note.

 

© 2026 David M. Rossi 

 

WHAT'S IN YOUR SPIRITUAL LEGACY?

  That the generation to come might know,

even the children yet to be born,

That they may arise and tell them to their children,

That they should put their confidence in God

And not forget the works of God,

  But keep His commandments (Psalm 78:6–7)

 It is instructive to note the various age groups of people mentioned throughout Scripture. Concerning children, Jesus advised His disciples to “Permit the children to come to Me; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). Also recorded of our Lord, that at twelve years of age “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom” (Luke 2:40). John discussed the fathers (adults) and children who know God the Father; and how young men have overcome the evil one, because they are spiritually “strong and the word of God abides in you” (1 John 2:13–14).

Attention is also given to those of old age. Luke mentions the prophetess, Anna, who was advanced in years—eighty-four years old—as an example for all of us, no matter what our age may happen to be.

She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:37–38)

It was fitting for Anna at the time in which she lived to proclaim Jesus Christ as Israel’s hope for His return as their Messiah. Her legacy is recorded eternally in Scripture for all believers to observe.

This Generation

David, who God declared to be “a man after My heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Samuel 13:14), wrote pertinent advice on this matter of legacy:

O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to all who are to come. (Psalm 71:17–18)

David had the same moral failings as all mankind, yet he understood the importance of declaring to the next generation the eternal truth and power of the almighty God. The result of David’s endeavor is clearly evident by the wisdom and writings of his son, Solomon (1 Kings 4:29–24).

Note an example of Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes, as he begins chapter twelve with a stark exhortation to those who are young:

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

This warning is to those believers who have ignored and neglected the study of God’s Word—never having matured in their Christian life. Now when they approach their advanced years they have no delight in the remaining days of their lives. And if they have waited until their old age to seek out God’s knowledge, they may also suffer great regret for all the wasted years, when they could have been building a lasting legacy for their loved ones.

Observe the urgency of the apostle Paul’s directive to all believers concerning these evil days in which we live:

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16)

Our Legacy

Not only should be aware that these are evil days, but that our days are numbered by God, as Job proclaimed: “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.” (Job 14:5; cf. 12:10; Luke 12:20)

 Moses noted the fleeting nature of our lives and that at the end of our time on earth we die:

  As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,

Or if due to strength, eighty years,

Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;

  For soon it is gone and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10; cf. Psalm 73:24)

What will be the substance of our legacy—yours and mine? Will it have an emphasis upon the eternality of God’s truth? Will our loved ones readily identify our lives as having been Christ-centered? Will there be others who we have ensured that they are snatched out of the fires of hell (Jude 23)?

We should be determined not to rest until our loved ones and those in the sphere of our influence have heard the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; John 3:36). For if “we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22), our legacy will be a godly witness for generations to come.

 

© 2026 David M. Rossi