36 Bible Verses about apostasy
Most Relevant Verses
Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed],
I will heal their apostasy and faithlessness;
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from Israel.
For if we go on willfully and deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice [to atone] for our sins [that is, no further offering to anticipate],
and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.
“Your own wickedness will discipline you,
And your desertion of the faith will punish you.
Know therefore that it is an evil and bitter thing
For you to abandon (reject) the Lord your God,
And for you to be indifferent to Me and dismiss the [reverent] fear of Me,” says the Lord God of hosts.
And not be like their fathers—
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not prepare its heart to know and follow God,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
‘But this people has a stubborn heart and a rebellious will [that draws them away from Me];
They have turned away and have gone [into idolatry].
“Woe (judgment is coming) to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who carry out a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance [by pouring out a libation], but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
If a malicious witness rises up against a man to [falsely] accuse him of wrongdoing,
“I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious and stubborn people,
Who walk in the way that is not good, [following] after their own thoughts and intentions,
Now they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are living among the Gentiles to turn away from [the Law of] Moses, advising them not to circumcise their children or to live according to the [Mosaic] customs.
You are aware of the fact that all who are in [the province of] Asia turned away and deserted me, Phygelus and Hermogenes among them.
“Why then has this people of Jerusalem
Turned away with a perpetual turning away [from Me]?
They hold tightly to deceit (idolatry);
They refuse to repent and return [to God].
But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear].
They are all the worst [kind] of [stiff-necked, godless] rebels,
Going around spreading slander.
They are [not gold and silver ore, but] bronze and iron;
They are all corrupt.
For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
“For the turning away of the naive will kill them,
And the careless ease of [self-righteous] fools will destroy them.
So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch (vestibule, portico) and the [bronze] altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing down toward the east and worshiping the sun.
and [that He] might free all those who through [the haunting] fear of death were held in slavery throughout their lives.
At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
When a land does wrong, it has many princes,
But when the ruler is a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability endures.
They went out from us [seeming at first to be Christians], but they were not really of us [because they were not truly born again and spiritually transformed]; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out [teaching false doctrine], so that it would be clearly shown that none of them are of us.
From Thematic Bible
Apostasy » Warnings concerning
Therefore, [let me warn you] beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of
keeping your faith [leaning completely on God with absolute trust and confidence in His guidance] and having a good conscience; for some [people] have rejected [their moral compass] and have made a shipwreck of their faith.
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,
and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable].
Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving
Apostasy » Instances of » Judas
Then one of the Twelve [apostles], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests And said, What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you? And they weighed out for and paid to him thirty pieces of silver [about twenty-one dollars and sixty cents]. And from that moment he sought a fitting opportunity to betray Him.
When Judas, His betrayer, saw that [Jesus] was condemned, [Judas was afflicted in mind and troubled for his former folly; and] with remorse [with little more than a selfish dread of the consequences] he brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, Saying, I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. They replied, What is that to us? See to that yourself. And casting the pieces of silver [forward] into the [Holy Place of the sanctuary of the] temple, he departed; and he went off and hanged himself.
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve [apostles], went off to the chief priests in order to betray and hand Him over to them. And when they heard it, they rejoiced and were delighted, and they promised to give him money. And he [busying himself continually] sought an opportunity to betray Him.
But [then] Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve [apostles]. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray Him and deliver Him up to them. And they were delighted and pledged [themselves] to give him money. read more.
So he agreed [to this], and sought an opportunity to betray Him to them [without an uprising] in the absence of the throng.
And while He was still speaking, behold, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve [apostles], was going before [leading] them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him, But Jesus said to him, Judas! Would you betray and deliver up the Son of Man with a kiss?
Apostasy » Guilt and punishment of
I will also stretch out My hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place and the name of the idol priests with the [false] priests, And those who worship the starry host of the heavens upon their housetops and those who [pretend to] worship the Lord and swear by and to Him and yet swear by and to [the heathen god Molech or] Malcam [their idol king], And those who have drawn back from following the Lord and those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired for, inquired of, and required the Lord [as their first necessity].
Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching. 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]. read more.
Any person who has violated and [thus] rejected and set at naught the Law of Moses is put to death without pity or mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse (sterner and heavier) punishment do you suppose he will be judged to deserve who has spurned and [thus] trampled underfoot the Son of God, and who has considered the covenant blood by which he was consecrated common and unhallowed, thus profaning it and insulting and outraging the [Holy] Spirit [Who imparts] grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God)? For we know Him Who said, Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the meting out of full justice rest with Me]; I will repay [I will exact the compensation], says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge and determine and solve and settle the cause and the cases of His people. It is a fearful (formidable and terrible) thing to incur the divine penalties and be cast into the hands of the living God!
But
These [false teachers] are springs without water and mists driven by a tempest, for whom is reserved the gloom of black darkness.
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.
Apostasy » Instances of » saul
Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.
And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of Samuel's mantle, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. read more.
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie or repent; for He is not a man, that He should repent.
Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul.
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are making war against me, and God has left me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you to make known to me what I should do.”
Apostasy » Shall abound in the latter days
Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the
But the [Holy] Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized), Who forbid people to marry and [teach them] to abstain from [certain kinds of] foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and have [an increasingly clear] knowledge of the truth.
Apostasy » Caused by persecution
Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.
Apostasy » Cautions against
Therefore, [let me warn you] beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of
Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving
Apostasy » Described
Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving
that some worthless and evil men have gone out from among you and have tempted the inhabitants of their city [to sin], saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known),
Apostasy » Instances of » israelites
Apostasy » Instances of » Amaziah
After Amaziah came back from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, bowed before them, and burned incense to them.
Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.
Apostasy » Instances of » Hymenaeus and alexander
Holding fast to faith ( that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence) and having a good (clear) conscience. By rejecting and thrusting from them [their conscience], some individuals have made shipwreck of their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan in order that they may be disciplined [by punishment and learn] not to blaspheme.
Apostasy » Instances of » Phygellus and hermogenes
You are aware of the fact that all who are in [the province of] Asia turned away and deserted me, Phygelus and Hermogenes among them.
Apostasy » Instances of » Disciples
Apostasy » Caused by worldliness
for Demas, having loved [the pleasures of] this present
Evil » Associations » Results of » Apostasy
from the very nations of whom the Lord said to the Israelites, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for the result will be that they will turn away your hearts to follow their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these in love.
greed » Results of » Apostasy
For the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.
Topics on Apostasy
Apostasy in OT
Jeremiah 3:1-25
And she goes [away] from him
And becomes another man’s [wife],
Will he return to her again? [Of course not!]
Will not that land [where such a thing happened] be completely desecrated?
But you [rebelled against Me and you] are a prostitute with many lovers;
Yet you turn to Me.” says the Lord.
Apostasy In The Last Days
Matthew 24:12Apostasy Of Judas
Matthew 26:14-16Then one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
Apostasy Of Saul
1 Samuel 15:26-29But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
Apostasy, Cause
Luke 22:31Apostasy, How To Avoid
Psalm 119:11
Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
Apostasy, Nt Examples
Matthew 26:14-16Then one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
Apostasy, Ot Examples
Deuteronomy 13:1-11“If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,
Apostasy, Personal Warnings
2 Corinthians 11:2-3I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I have promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Apostasy, Restored
Matthew 26:74Then he began to curse [that is, to invoke God’s judgment on himself] and swear [an oath], “I do not know the man!” And at that moment a rooster crowed.
Apostasy, Types Of
Hebrews 3:12Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving
Warnings Against Apostasy
Hebrews 6:4-8For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have
Related Topics
- Abounding, In The Last Days
- All Have Sinned
- Ambition, Example Of
- Antichrist, Described As
- Antichrist, Names For
- Apostasy In The Last Days
- Apostasy, Types Of
- Apostates
- Avoiding Deceit
- Backsliders
- Backsliding
- Being First
- Day of the LORD
- Deceivers, Of Christians
- Deception