By Pastor Stephen Hess –
This past summer a couple of stories made headlines about notable Christian leaders who declared that they were no longer believers. The first was Joshua Harris, the prominent pastor and author of the bestselling book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. After news emerged of Harris’s divorce from his wife, Harris posted the shocking announcement on Twitter a week later that he’d undergone “a massive shift” regarding his faith in Jesus and that he no longer considers himself a Christian. This announcement left many people bewildered, particularly those who had looked up to Harris as a Christian leader and admired his ministry.
The second announcement was from Marty Sampson—a songwriter and member of the popular “Hillsong” music group. Sampson announced that he was “losing his faith” and added that his abandonment of Christianity didn’t bother him but rather was bringing him “peace.” For many who have sung Hillsong music in their churches, this news was also unsettling.
How should we understand these high-profile Christians who have left the faith?
Sometimes called “deconversion,” the theological term for this is “apostasy,” which comes from the Greek word apostasia meaning “abandonment” or “defection.” It refers to those who have abandoned their belief in Jesus and left Christianity. While many find the apostasy of such high-profile Christians to be disturbing, the Bible gives us some helpful principles to process these stories.
First, the Bible predicts that some will abandon the faith, and therefore apostasy shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus talked about people who are like seeds sown on rocky ground: “When they hear the word, [they] receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (Luke 8:13). Others fall away not because of testing but because of false teaching. In 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul says, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” These are just a couple of examples where the Bible predicts apostasy.
Second, the Bible tells us that those who are truly born again cannot ultimately lose their salvation. In his first letter, the apostle John discusses those who have left the church and says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us” (1 John 2:19). John’s point is clear: Those who abandoned the faith were not true Christians to begin with because if they had been true Christians, they would have never left. The implication is that those who are truly born again cannot lose their salvation. As Jesus says about his sheep, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (Jn. 10:28). This means that when someone apparently abandons the faith, we can conclude one of two things: Either they were not truly born again to begin with, or their rebellion is only a temporary backsliding and they will eventually return to the fold. Obviously only God knows the heart, and we are not to judge those who have committed apostasy but pray for their return and restoration.
Third, the Bible reminds us that our faith should always be fixed upon Jesus, not on human beings. Human beings are sinners, and therefore if we put our faith in humans, we will always be disappointed. Those whose faith is shaken by the apostasy of men have probably been putting their faith in the wrong place. But if we put our faith in Jesus, we will never be shaken, for he alone is perfect, and he alone is the founder and perfecter of our faith. May we always fix our eyes upon him so that we might not grow weary or lose heart (Heb. 12:1-2).