“Now the Spirit speaks distinctly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” (1Tim.4:1).
We have been hearing of major Christian leaders and worshippers who are in the spotlight of the Body of Christ, renouncing their faith and leaving Christianity. We should not be surprised. It is a fulfillment of Scripture. The Greek term depart means to take a stand away from, to withdraw, to desert. This is the result of their “giving heed”—that is, to turn the mind to—other voices than the Shepherd’s. These voices are none other than seducing spirits. The term seducing means to lead into error, to deceive and totally corrupt. The outcome: Seduction leading to desertion.
God’s Fan in in His Hand
John the Baptist was raised up to fulfill Isaiah 40:3 as “the voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord.” Many came out of the cities to the banks of Jordan to be baptized by him, confessing their sins. But when the religiously smug Pharisees and Sadducees came, he rebuked them: “O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is chopped down and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10). One’s fruit must match his confession. When fruit-producing season comes in a person’s life, the truth of their confession will be known.
John said the he baptized with water unto repentance, but the One coming after him would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire: “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire” (vv.11-12). The fan was a winnowing fork. It was used to toss the grain into the air. The heavy wheat would fall down upon the threshing floor, but the light chaff, with no substance, was carried away by the wind. It was gathered up and burned, while the precious wheat was gathered into the barn. This process continued until the threshing floor was cleared. Where are the warners? Who is warning the Church that God’s fan is in His hand?
In His Parable of the Vine, Jesus said, “Every branch in me that bears not fruit, my Father takes away (John 15:2). The Greek meaning is to be removed. He spoke of ones in the Body of Christ who becomes unfruitful. This correlates to the third ground in the Parable of the Sower: The first two grounds quit almost immediately. The third ground heard the Word of God and brought forth fruit, but thorns and thistles choked out their fruit. Jesus identified the thorns and thistles as “the care of the world and the deceitfulness of riches, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matt.13:22). This the case when prosperity becomes a snare as Paul described in 1Tim.6:5-10. Truly this generation is fulfilling this.
Even the most fruitful branches must be regularly pruned so they can continue to bear good fruit. Jesus said, “Now are you pruned through the words which I have spoken unto you” (v.3). The worst thing that can happen to us as fruit-bearing branches is for God not to prune us! To let us go to do our own thing! We will continue to bear fruit for a time, but it will gradually become smaller, then blighted, and will cease to produce.
Some remove themselves from hearing the Word of pruning by going where they “prophesy smooth things.” Or when they hear the Word, they do not apply it to obey it. This is the key Jesus gave: “Remain in me and I in you. The branch cannot bear fruit except it abide in the vine.” We abide in Jesus by abiding in His Word, and His Word remaining in us. This is the failure of those leaving their faith. God’s Word is not remaining in them. Over time they have become fruitless and eventually faithless. You become unfruitful by spiritual neglect and carnal living. Without the sap of the Holy Spirit flowing, the branch dries up.
If it were it not possible for one to not remain in the vine, there would be no point to this parable. We also saw that only one out of four grounds endured unto eternal life—that’s 25%. This means 75% did not endure. This gives us a clear perspective when we see and hear people leaving the faith.
God Is Shaking Things Up
God said that once more He will shake the earth and heaven. He referred back to the first time when He gave His law to Israel at Mt. Sinai. Those who rebelled against His Word spoken through Moses did not escape judgment. God said that neither shall those who reject His Word spoken through His Son, who is greater than Moses .“Yet once more, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, so that those things that cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12:26-27).
The purpose of the shaking is not to manifest those who are shaken out—not so we can point our fingers at them. But the purpose is to remove them so that those who are not shaken can be manifest! Therefore, we should not be shook up by the shake-up! God is revealing His true saints! He is making known those who are truly abiding in His Word and His Word in them.
Our response: “Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God, acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (vv.28-29). Try preaching this today and see how many “Amens” you get! It flies in the face of those who portray God as all love and grace without justice and judgment.
When the shaking comes, they will be shaken out. When the fire comes, they will be consumed as chaff.
Jesus personally experienced desertion of those who had followed Him for the fishes and the loaves. When He started preaching hard truths of self-denial to them, they left. When He told them about spiritual bread, “many went back and walked no more with Him.” So great was the defection, He turned to His disciples and asked, “Will you also go?” Peter was on his A-game that day and replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:66-68).
I would say to those who are leaving the Christian faith what Peter said. (Unless you have concluded that there is no heaven or hell, and when you die, that’s it), To whom can you go to receive eternal life? Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me” (Jn.14:6). “I am the door; by me if anyone enter in, he shall be saved” (Jn.10:9). Don’t be seduced by the whispers of the serpent.
“But we are not of them that draw back unto destruction, but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).
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