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Christians all around the world have a common danger—apostasy. The devil is always working to keep us from making good on our Christian commitment, and the authors of the Bible warn us over and over not to fall away. “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:11)

Isaiah vividly describes apostasy in the beginning of his book. He begins by giving us a picture of God’s care for Israel, and their turning back: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” (Isaiah 1:2) Jeremiah brings out the theme of God’s love: “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3) God’s great love makes apostasy more serious, because the one who knows God’s mercy, and yet turns away, has held that mercy in very low esteem. “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29) This verse shows us how apostasy despises the grace of God, bringing judgment.

Isaiah continues, “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” (1:3) All men, especially the saved, owe a debt of service to God. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” (I Corinthians 6:20) Apostasy comes upon us because we fail to remember God’s ownership of our lives. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) It is our responsibility to serve God, and when we forget this, we open ourselves up to defeat in the spiritual war.

Verse 4 continues this lamentation: “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” When we go backward, it’s easy to continue going backwards, and end up going away backward. The words backsliding and backslider appear in 13 verses in the Bible (backslide and backslideth never appear). Despite the connotation backslide has today, the context of virtually every one of theses verses makes it clear that the subject under discussion is apostasy. Any drawing back can very easily lead to destruction. “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39)

Verses 5-9 describe the punishment God brought upon Israel:

Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. (Isaiah 1:5-9)

God is longsuffering, but when people constantly refuse His grace, He brings judgment. “And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.” (Zephaniah 1:12)

Also notable in vs. 5-9 is the idea of hardening. As our hearts become harder, it becomes less likely that we will follow God. Hebrews 6 describes how apostasy leads to hardening: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6) While some may interpret these verses as telling us that God will not accept such people if they desire to be saved, that’s not what the verses say (John 6:37 says, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Jesus doesn’t reject anyone who truly comes to Him.). Rather, they tell us that these people, who were saved and then fell away, are too hardened to repent again! They will not come to Jesus; they are too bound in their sin. Apostasy is a very dangerous act. “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 28:14)

The next section provides another interesting viewpoint on apostasy:

Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:10-15)

Despite the great apostasy of Israel, they had retained many of the forms of the worship of God; they still had many of the practices of God’s true followers. Many times, when we are in the grip of apostasy, we lose only the heart aspect of Christianity—we do not lose the outward forms. We can continue to go to church, continue to work in “ministry,” even continue to obey many of God’s commands. But unless our hearts are right with God—unless we have submitted completely to Him—our religious activities do not impress Him. He wants a right life coming from a right heart. “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23) Just because we have a form of Christianity should not assure us that we are truly right with God. Paul talks of people “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (II Timothy 3:5) We need to guard ourselves to make sure that we do not become such.

Verses 16-20 present the two options available for those who are beginning to fall away:

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 1:16-20)

God is willing for us to submit to Him and have our sins purged away. But He does not wash us so that we can continue to sin. He purges us that we may bring forth fruit. Are we willing to heed His call?