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NASB | 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, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 4:1 But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, |
Bible Question:
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith 1 Tim. 4:1 Question: 1. If I read this verse correctly then it must be possible to fall away from the faith. The KJV phrases it this way. 1Ti 4:1 ¶ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, So in the NASB it says fall away from the faith and in the KJV it says "depart from the faith. Question 2. How can a person not in the faith depart from the faith? Don't you have to be in the faith before you can depart from it? For example: I desire to depart from Chicago airport. Don't I first have to be in Chicago, before I can depart from Chicago? 1 Tim. 4:1 does not say some might depart from the faith, rather it says: "some will depart from the faith." Does this mean some will depart from the faith, there once held profession, and possession and become apostates, and lose their salvation? |
Bible Answer: Greetings, zach†. Here are a few addtional scriptures that show unequivocally that it is possible to depart from the faith--which is another way of saying "lose your salvation." "SINCE ALL this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away." [Hebrews 2:1 Amplified] "[Therefore beware] brethren, take care, lest there be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him], leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God." [Hebrews 3:12 Amplified] "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through [the full, personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they again become entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition is worse [for them] than the first. For never to have obtained a [full, personal] knowledge of the way of righteousness would have been better for them than, having obtained [such knowledge], to turn back from the holy commandment which was [verbally] delivered to them. There has befallen them the thing spoken of in the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and, The sow is washed only to wallow again in the mire. [Prov. 26:11.]" [2 Peter 2:20-22 Amplified] "[My] brethren, if anyone among you strays from the Truth and falls into error and another [person] brings him back [to God],Let the [latter] one be sure that whoever turns a sinner from his evil course will save [that one's] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins [procure the pardon of the many sins committed by the convert]." [James 5:19-20 Amplified] "For if we go on deliberately and willingly sinning after once acquiring the knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer any sacrifice left to atone for [our] sins [no further offering to which to look forward]. [There is nothing left for us then] but a kind of awful and fearful prospect and expectation of divine judgment and the fury of burning wrath and indignation which will consume those who put themselves in opposition [to God]. [Isa. 26:11.]" [Hebrew 10:26-27 Amplified] I would like to point out that there is a vast difference between a Christain that merely "falls down" and one that "falls away." The latter is apostasy, for which I can find no Biblical antidote. I have personally dealt with many Christians who were in despair because they had fallen down, and someone had misapplied the Scriptures concerning "falling away" to them. To "fall away" is to completely abandon the faith. The book of Jude addresses this problem--it is called by some "The Acts of the Apostates." I note with interest the admonition of Jude: "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 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. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe." [Jude 3-5 NASB] Beginning with the Children of Israel, Jude gives example after example of those who had been "saved" by God (in the O.T.), only to ultimately "lose their salvation." This warning he gave to N.T. believers, lest we should wind up in a similar shape. Kind regards, Tim D. Cormier Tennessee Preacher |