p. 790 | THE CAUSE OF APOSTASY by W.

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 28, 1888

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 50.

THE CAUSE OF APOSTASY.

By W.

THE apostle Peter, speaking of a class of false teachers in the Christian church, and to be especially abundant in the last days, says of them: "For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error." 2 Peter 2:18.

There is here the expression of a most important fact, and one which, if overlooked, will cause the ruin of many. That is, that the false teachers of the last days will allure believers into the acceptance of false doctrines, not by directly preaching those errors, but by the seductive influence of the lusts of the flesh. The situation as indicated by the apostle is this: Here are some who are "clean escaped from them who live in error." They have accepted the truth concerning the Sabbath of the Lord, the nature of man, the ministration of angels, the coming of the Lord, and the inheritance of the saints, and are free from the gross errors that have been handed down to the popular churches as a legacy from the Catholic Church. And now these false teachers come around, and by acting as the devil's agents in appealing to the lusts of the flesh, they accomplish the ruin of those souls, and cause them to deny the truth which they once held.

This proves again the truth that infidelity is not a thing of the intellect, but of the heart and life. Many men have apostatized from Christianity as a whole, and others from what is known as the Third Angel's Message, ostensibly because they found it impossible any longer to hold to the doctrine. But if the inner life, the secret thoughts, of those men were known, it would be found in every instance that the cause of their unbelief was impurity of thought and life. The cherished lusts of the flesh will be found to be the worm at the root, which destroys the vitality of the plant, and makes it impossible to maintain its position in the soil of faith.

It is a universal truth that, "if any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine." That is, if any man has a sincere desire to have the will of God wrought in him, to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, God will reveal to him in some way what is truth. And the man who has some truth, who is in that condition, will not only have no difficulty in retaining his faith, but will receive greater light of the same kind. "Light is sown for the righteous," and "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

It is a very common saying that the man who holds the Bible doctrine of the soul, and the condition of man in death, can never be a Spiritualist. That is true, providing he retains his belief in the Bible doctrine of the soul, and of the condition of man in death. But if he lets go his hold on that doctrine, he has no safeguard whatever against that great masterpiece of deception. The question, then, is, How can he continue to believe the Bible doctrine, so as to be safe from that deception? The answer, and the only answer, that can be given is that he can hold to his belief only by living a pure life, by cleansing the soul from every defilement, by being pure in heart. The man who fails to live such a life, who regards iniquity in his heart, who loves sensual pleasures, and who indulges in impure imaginings, will surely fall away from the truth, and no power can prevent him; while the man who has true charity, godliness, temperance, patience, virtue, etc., can never fall.

Paul says that when Satan works with "all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness," he will cause the ruin of those who "received not the love of the truth." He does not say that those are deceived who received not the truth, but who received not the love of the truth, intimating that many who have received the truth may be led captive by the deceptions of Satan. The love of the truth is to be distinguished from love for the truth. The "love of the truth" is the love of God, the love which brought the truth to man, a portion of the same love which God has in his heart for man, in which is no trace of impurity; for "the truth" of God is nothing else but the wisdom which is from above, and that is "first pure." The man who has not "the love of the truth," might as well be destitute of the form of the truth. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This is a truth that applies to this present life as well as to the future. It is true that when we reach the heavenly Jerusalem, we shall see God face to face, with no evil between; but all who share that inestimable blessing must in this life have, like Moses, "endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." The soul that is as pure as the sunlight may enjoy the closest communion with God, and has a hold that will keep it when others fall around him. There shall in nowise enter into the New Jerusalem "anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abominations," but only those who have washed their robes of character, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. W.