The falling away from God is readily displayed in society today as the number of apostates (those that have lost or abandoned faith) grow.  The real word of God, the Bible, is now being denied and distorted by both those inside and outside of the church.

The greatest threat is from the inside where false teachers and religious liberals diminish and deny essential Christian doctrine and morality.  Seventy percent of Americans with religious affiliations and 57% of evangelical regular church attenders believe that many religions can bring salvation (“Americans:  My Faith Isn’t the Only Way to Heaven,” Associated Press, 6/24/08).  The bible makes it clear that there is only one God.

There can be no compromise when you are instructed and guided by God’s word.  The book, The Coming Apostasy, lists the five reasons people compromise.  One, they love their sin and don’t want to follow God’s word.  Two, they don’t know the Bible and don’t take it seriously.  Three, blatant rebellion and defiance.  Four, the Bible and the words of Jesus can be hard and narrow.  Five, many want to please people.  These people cannot stand to be mocked, maligned, and mistreated.  The allure of acceptance is strong.

The fact is that telling people what they want to believe, and suggesting they can live any way they want is much easier than telling the truth. In the attempt to not offend anyone, we risk them being lost to the truth.  Jesus always spoke the truth and the world hated Him for it.  We should expect no less.

The Bible asserts that love comes from God.  So then, love is not love, God is (1 John 4:7-8).  The claims that “love is love” to justify homosexual activity and same-sex marriage does not meet the moral order set forth in the Bible.  God set the rules of morality and man’s attempt to redefine it is a mere attempt to justify and legitimize their sin.  These acts are a violation of God’s definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.   There is a clear distinction between having a same-sex orientation and acting on it.  From homosexual activity, society has mushroomed to 58 genders on Facebook for users to choose from (ABC News, 2/13/14).  Same-sex relations are prohibited by the Bible as is approving or applauding this activity (Romans 1).  

In a clear falling away from true scripture, a survey by the Pew Research Center showed that one-third of white evangelicals and nearly ½ of black Protestants support same-sex marriage.  Additionally, 62% of white mainline Protestants and 56% of Catholics are in favor of it (“Campolo’s Gay Marriage Support,” CBN News).  

Similarly, one can draw the conclusion that supporting abortion is inherently prohibited by the Bible, even when it a simple vote for a known pro-choice candidate.  If you support the candidate, the candidate will support Planned Parenthood and taxpayer funded abortions.

Many argue that sin is sin and equal in scope.  All sins break God’s law but not all sins are the same in effect and consequence.  The different punishments in the Old Testament shows that some are more serious than others.  Just as a traffic violation carries a different consequence than murder, they are both violations of the law.

Apostasy feeds on diversity, harmony, tolerance, and open-mindedness when God’s word is bastardized to justify immoral behavior.  Today’s tolerance is a denial of truth rather than just a weakening of values or truth.  Since the 1980’s, homosexuality has crept into the main stream and numerous debasing gender forms. 

The truth must be accompanied by compassion to avoid a misrepresentation of both.  Christians must show intolerance toward any thought, philosophy, or value that raises itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).  This intolerance is genuine love, care, fairness, and justice, not hatred or bigotry.  Many will call it hate and bigotry, but what they consider acceptable, even constitutional, is not necessarily biblical.  A true Christian will not confuse the difference.  The truth of God’s word is not to be tainted, distorted, or weakened for public support.  When the rapture comes, many church goers will wonder why they remained behind.  Even pastors who embraced homosexuality in their churches and fail to call it sin will be left behind.  The primary purpose of the church is to bring others to Christ, not just fill pews and the offering plate.  If all the pews are filled and none are saved, nothing has been gained.

The Bible depicts apostasy as involving both wrong belief (doctrine) and wrong behavior (doing).  One’s creed determines one’s conduct and ultimately one’s character (2 Peter 2 and the Epistle of Jude).  

The big sins of the last days’ apostasy will witness that “men will be lovers of self”, “lovers of money”, and “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”  That time is already here.  How many truly help others in need, choose money over God and family, and defile themselves to Christian doctrines?

When churches and its Christian faithful subscribe to blatant distortions of the Bible, one must wonder when the final chapter of Revelations is next.