When 'Christians' Walk Away #2

When we talk about Jesus Christ, when we talk about the realities of sin and death and hell and repentance unto eternal life, we're talking about things of eternal consequence. We're not playing games. We're glad you've joined us on The Truth Pulpit with Don Green, founding pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Hello, I'm Bill Wright. Don is continuing in the series, so you call yourself a Christian, and today he'll wrap up a message about those who walk away from the faith. Does God let anyone slip from his grasp?

Last time, Don provided the unequivocal answer, no. Rather, the apostate was never a genuine Christian to begin with. All they professed to believe in God, said a lot of good-sounding things, and maybe even took part in ministry. But when push came to shove, they betrayed their true colors and reverted back to the sin they couldn't quite leave behind. Well, friend, if you've encountered such a person, you'll be able to put the experience into a better biblical perspective today.

So let's join Don Green now as he continues to teach God's people God's Word in the Truth Pulpit. John says, right in 1 John chapter 2 verse 19, look at it with me. He says, if they had been of us, they would have remained with us.

Okay. But they went out so that, see those little two words there? So that, for this purpose, here's what God was doing as this unfolded. So that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

This teaches us so much that is so important. Stated simply, God purposed their departure in order to clarify the truth about Christ. In the particular setting in which John was writing there, false teachers had been mingled together with the true believers.

They're mingled together and it's hard to tell one from the other. But these false teachers went out. And you know what they took with them when they went out?

I'll tell you then, since no one seems to know. What they took with them was they took their false teaching with them. They took their spiritual hypocrisy with them. They took their false love and their hypocrisy and hatred for true believers. They took that all out with them. And what did they leave behind? They left behind a purified church.

Do you get that? The tares had been removed from the wheat. The church had been purified when those false teachers left. What they represented, what they taught, their lifestyle was not a representation of the true spiritual life of being in union with Jesus Christ. And by separating out as they left the true bodies, it had a purifying, sanctifying impact on the church they left behind.

What does that teach you? Something really important is that more than what happens with particular individuals, God values the purity of His church. God values the clarity of the gospel.

God values the protection of His people. And beloved, what we're saying here is that when it comes to our deepest allegiances of our heart, we love these friends. We love these family members. We pray for them. We want them to come to Christ. We're not opposed to them, but we have even deeper allegiances to the Lord of our souls. We have even deeper allegiances to the Lord of the church. We have even deeper allegiances to the truth of Scripture. And it's simply aligning ourselves with what God Himself considers most valuable. The church is purified when false brethren leaves.

It broke my heart when I saw people leave for my prior flock, leaving in a cloud of sin and unrepentant about it. Your soul just melts and weeps over that. There's no triumph in that. That the triumph is when people like you are faithful to Christ and live for Christ faithfully, day by day, week by week, resisting sin, being faithful to the Scriptures, not trivializing, not flirting with sin in your life.

That's the triumph in joy. But when these other things happen, we have to recognize that God has purposed that to happen from time to time so that the truth would be more clear than it was before. What they meant for evil in their denial of Christ, God worked for good in order to build up His people and to clarify truth from error.

Think about it as somebody having a really deadly, contagious disease in the midst, simply being lifted up and pulled out. That's not an act of unkindness by God, that is an act of mercy from God to His church to remove influences like that so that they don't infect the spiritual life of those who are true believers and left behind. Their hypocrisy and their false teaching leave with them when that happens. And for that, we see the greater purposes of good that God has at work and being played out in our eyes. It's sobering, isn't it?

There's a humbling effect to this. Say, wow, there's a lot at stake here when people gather together for truth. There's a lot at stake when the gospel is explained. There's a lot at stake when the Bible is opened up.

Kind of a heavy theme, I realize that. But do you understand something? The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And these are fearful things that we're talking about. When we talk about the gospel, when we talk about Jesus Christ, when we talk about the realities of sin and death and hell and repentance unto eternal life, we're talking about things of eternal consequence. We're not playing games when we come to the Scripture. And so, yes, there is a fearful, sanctifying effect that it should have on us to say these things matter.

God is holy and His truth will not be trifled with. And it humbles us before the Word of God and causes us to cling all the more to Christ and to be all the more purified and faithful to truth because we don't want to stray into that realm which calls for His discipline and judgment. And that sanctifying effect is not something to be denied. It's cleansing.

It's healthful. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And realizing that these issues are real has an impact. Well, the second point today, when you see spiritual defection, what should you think about yourself? How should you respond yourself when you see this taking place? That brings us to point number two, what I'll call the examination from spiritual defection. The examination from spiritual defection.

We kind of hit the most difficult point. And now we're going to bounce back up into the joy of being a Christian here. This is always the treatment that Scripture gives.

When it gives us difficult things, it brings light alongside of it. It brings encouragement to true believers. And John the Apostle was no exception here in chapter two.

Notice how he pivots. He was talking about the false teachers in verses 18 and 19. Now he is pivoting in verse 20 to address the true Christians once again. And these are sweet, wonderful words for those of us who truly know Christ. He says in verse 20, he says, but you have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know.

I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie is of the truth. You see what John's doing here? He's dealt with the issue of those who walk away. But now he turns his attention back to true believers. And he doesn't threaten them.

He doesn't frighten them. Rather, he affirms them and says, he makes it clear he's making a contrast. Look at verse 20. He says, but I've been talking about these people, but now I'm going to talk about you.

And what do I know to be true about you? Verse 20, you have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know. He says, I know that the Spirit of God resides in you. While I've dealt with spiritual defectors, I don't see you in that light. I know that you have the Holy Spirit within you.

How do I know? I know because I see the marks of spiritual life in you. I see that you fear God. I see that in verse 3. By this we know that we've come to know Him if we keep His commandments. I see that you love the Word of God.

That you seek and pursue to obey it and to conform your life to it and to defend it and be true to it. I see, verse 10, chapter 2, verse 10, I see that you love the brethren. I see in verse 24 that what abides in you is what you heard from the beginning.

I see all the marks of spiritual life in you. And so as I talk about spiritual defectors, I'm not wielding a club over your head, he says to his readers. I want you to understand that I know that you have the Holy Spirit abiding in you and that you are a true believer in Christ. And so don't misunderstand my clarity about defectors as though I am giving you something that would make you think that I'm questioning your salvation, is what he says to his readers there. Verse 21, he says, I've not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie is of the truth. I'm writing these things to you because you do know the truth. And I'm just advancing your knowledge and understanding a little bit further. Now, how can we take this and apply it personally in the midst of everything that we've been saying here?

What should you be thinking? How can I think about this in terms of my own personal spiritual life? How do I respond when I see that? Well, listen, when others depart from the faith, what you do is you step back and examine what God has given to you. Christ has set you apart. Christ has given you his Holy Spirit. You have the marks, if you examine yourself and see these things and know them to be true, you have the marks of true spiritual life in you. A love for the Word of God, a love for Christ, a faithfulness to him, a love for his people. John says, I'm calling you back here to remember that you have the Holy Spirit.

You know the truth. And so what you think, the way that you think about this as a believer is, is that you have this truth, you have true salvation in you. So, therefore, your renewed commitment is, I have true salvation.

I am not going to abandon it no matter what anyone else does. If the world is against Christ, then I'm against the world. If the whole world walks away from Christ, you say to yourself, I'm not going to. I'm going to be faithful to Christ. I'm going to stay with Christ no matter who leaves around me. And their departure becomes a pivot point for you to deepen your own commitment to Christ.

You're not intimidated when false teachers or pastors fall into sin. You think about it this way. You think about it this way.

You say, so what? What if that man, that woman has drunk from the fountain of Judas? So what if he's walked away? So what if he has been unfaithful to Christ? I'm not going there. I'm not going to be intimidated by that. And what you need to understand, especially when you're dealing with false teachers who have have turned away, men maybe that you used to trust and now are not following Christ, their teaching doesn't show that you're ignorant.

It shows that they're liars. And you have all the spiritual resources that you need at your disposal in the Scripture. Nothing's changed just because somebody else fears off path. That doesn't mean that you need to.

It's not a threat to you at all. It's simply an occasion for you to say, Lord, you'll find me faithful until the end. And I'm trusting you to keep me and help me on that path along the way. And so when people walk away, it's simply an opportunity for you to examine your own life. Look back at the Gospel of John, John chapter 6.

We're almost done here. John chapter 6 says in, let's look at verse 63, Jesus has a crowd around him teaching. And he's echoing the themes that we've been talking about. He says it is the Spirit who gives life.

The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. And so he says the Spirit of God is the one who gives spiritual life.

It doesn't come from a decision that we've made. And look at this in verse 64. In the midst of this group of people listening to his teaching, he says there are some of you who do not believe. Christ dealt with that issue in his own ministry.

It's not a surprise that we deal with it in ours. For Jesus knew, verse 64, Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray him. And he was saying, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father.

Hard teaching. Some of you don't believe. You can't come to me unless the Father grants it to you. Understand that the power of salvation is not resident in your own hands.

That's what he's saying. And that teaching was no more popular 2,000 years ago than it is today. Look at verse 66. As a result of this, verse 66, as a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore.

Spiritual defection, once again, in the ministry and life of Jesus Christ. If it happened to Christ when he's teaching, it's no surprise that it's going to happen to us sometimes in our ministry. But it's not a sign, when I say our, I'm talking collectively, not me. It's not a sign that we're doing anything wrong. This is what happens when truth is clearly declared. People leave. They don't like it.

Some men will follow you up to a point, but as soon as you tell them something they don't like on something that really matters, they're out of here. And we're talking about this in terms of the message of Christ, not a particular pastor or anything like that. These people were confronted with hard teaching from Christ and they bolted. And what does Jesus do in verse 67? This is what I say about the examination that comes when you see spiritual defection.

It's an opportunity to renew your own commitment to Christ. Verse 67, Jesus said to the 12, you don't want to go away also, do you? It's a question, he's inviting them to say no to that question in the original language. He's expecting them to say no. Jesus isn't asking for information here.

What are you guys going to do now? I wonder, I wonder. No, he's telling them, it's as if he's saying, you're not going to go away, are you? And the answer is no, I'm not. Look at what verse 68, look at what Peter said. And here is where it gets so helpful to you spiritually. This is a magnificently important verse to come back to again and again in your own spiritual life. To clarify in your mind, to clarify in the commitment of your will, to clarify once and for all, again and again, if that even makes any sense, I don't know, to say to do it once for all and then to do it again and again.

But you know what I'm saying? You come back to this important point over and over again over and over again to show to your own heart the utter impossibility of you walking away from Christ. It's unthinkable. It was unthinkable to Peter, and here's why it's so unthinkable. Peter said to him in verse 68, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Feel the power of that statement. Lord, Lord, I have no alternatives. If I left you, where would I go?

What kind of darkness is my alternative? The pleasures of the world, that leads to damnation. Another teacher, another religion. No, you said that you're the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through you. There's salvation and no one else. But there's no other name given among heaven by which we must be saved. Lord, I have no alternatives. I am helplessly dependent upon you, is what you say when you see spiritual defection occur.

It's the commitment of your heart. And you look around and, you know, there were thousands of people walking off into the desert sunset at this particular point in time. This great room of Legacy Hall would have been filled to overflowing with them.

And now it's down to a circle of twelve. So vast was the defection at this point in Jesus' ministry. And Peter looks at them, their sandals fading into the distance, and he looks back into the face of Christ and says, Lord, I have no other options. Not only can I not go anywhere, I don't want to go anywhere else.

Where would I go? Spiritual defection for you when you see it happen becomes a clarifying point that reminds you of the exclusivity of Christ and your complete trust and submission to Him. Peter says in verse 69, we've believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

And every instance of spiritual defection simply becomes a means for you to reaffirm that in your own heart. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 12. Apostle Paul said, Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Christian life is going to be tough from time to time for us, beloved. And look at verse 13. Evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

You know, if you look around us and you say, man, there just seems to be an acceleration of imposters and false teaching, and it's just getting so difficult to be a faithful Christian in the midst of it. Take heart. Be encouraged. This is what was to be expected.

The Bible told us to expect this. What do you do then? You know, when people with more degrees after their name are leaving and you're left behind, and we're just here as ordinary Christians together, what do we do in response when they bring their intimidation and call themselves doctor and say, this is all false. It's all a fable.

What do you do? It's not hard. Verse 14. You, however, continue in the things that you've learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you've learned them. Just continue on doing what you're doing. Just continue on being faithful in the Scriptures, faithful to Christ, faithful to obey Him, and the Lord will bless you in that realm right there. There is no cause for fear.

There is no cause for alarm. Just keep on following Christ faithfully. And remember, verse 15, that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

And so, you can picture it this way. You're following Christ and then you see a lot of people defect. What do you do? You keep following Christ. You just keep on doing that which God has shown to your heart to be true. You stay faithful to the Scriptures which God has shown you to be true. You stay faithful to the Christ who changed your life and redeemed your soul from sin and cleaned your conscience and gave you an assurance and a hope of heaven. You just keep on going where you're going. Keep doing what you're doing.

The fact that people defect doesn't change anything for us. We'll just keep being faithful. Keep honoring Christ, loving, worshiping Him, and devoting ourselves to His Word.

There's a simple, glorious joy in that, and I trust that you see it. It is disconcerting indeed to watch someone who once professed Christ turn the other direction and just walk away. But as Pastor Don Green has reminded you the past couple of days on the Truth Pulpit, the Bible warns us to expect it to happen. We must be prepared. Well, next time Don begins a contrasting look at Christians versus non-Christians. So be sure to join us then.

But right now Don's back here in studio and he has some closing thoughts. You know, it's such a wonderful thing to be a true Christian. My friend, do you know Christ? Are the great blessings we talked about today yours? If not, I invite you to Christ. He loves sinners and receives people just like you who come to Him in repentance and faith. You can have new life from above if you turn to Christ.

Don't delay another day. Come to the Lord Jesus and be saved. Thanks Don. And friend, don't forget to visit thetruthpulpit.com to learn more about this ministry and the many resources available to you. That's thetruthpulpit.com. I'm Bill Wright. Join us next time as Don Green continues to teach God's people God's word on The Truth Pulpit.