Stand Fast in the Tradition

To avoid deception and apostasy, believers must cling to the Apostolic Traditions recorded in Scripture so they do not drift away.

Paul explained in 2 Thessalonians that two events must occur before the “Day of the Lord sets in” - the “Apostasy” and the “revelation of the Man of Lawlessness.” At the time he wrote this, certain voices were setting false expectations about the imminence of that Day and even attributed their information to the Apostle (“Do not be troubled by spirit, word or letter as by us”).

The “Mystery of Lawlessness” is at work in the world even now as it prepares the way for the arrival of the “Lawless One.” At the appointed time, he will be unveiled when he “seats himself in the Sanctuary of God,” the ‘naos theou.’

[Bible - Photo by Ben White (Michigan) on Unsplash]

Paul consistently applies the term “Sanctuary of God” and related words to “the Body of Christ,” and he shows little if any interest in any future Temple building in old Jerusalem. Instead of waiting for this malevolent figure to appear in Jerusalem, perhaps we should pay more attention to developments in our congregations.

The Apostle links this end-time figure to the coming Apostasy. This “Son of Destruction” will be characterized by his ability to deceive “those who refuse the love of the truth,” including the use of “lying signs and wonders.” The target of his deceptions will be the saints, not the world in general.

Paul wrote this to arm the Thessalonians with the necessary knowledge so they could avoid the coming deception, and in this regard, he exhorted them to “stand fast and hold the traditions you were taught, whether by word or epistle from us.”

Rather than heed every new word by spirit or letter allegedly from Paul or “even an angel from Heaven,” we must adhere to what we have received already from Jesus and his Apostles.

In the context of 2 Thessalonians, Paul’s reference to “the love of the truth” refers to the teachings handed down by the Apostles, the same traditions preserved for us in the Greek New Testament.

The Apostolic Tradition is the anchor that will hold us in the coming storm and equip us to avoid apostasy. Likewise, Paul urged the Assembly of Corinth to become “imitators of me” by holding fast to the “traditions delivered to them by Paul and his coworkers.

 

The way for believers to persevere through satanic onslaughts is to learn and follow this body of Apostolic teachings. All other claims about the faith must be measured against that unchanging and immovable source. Any teaching, message, or revelation that deviates from the Tradition, whether received from prophecy, visions, or dreams, must be rejected.

So, where does this leave us? If we wish to avoid apostasy, we must learn this “tradition” and make it our own, and that requires spending time learning and applying the teachings of the New Testament and committing ourselves to them.

There is no shortcut, no way of getting around this. If we depend on or seek revelation from extrabiblical sources and subjective personal experiences, we will be deceived and perhaps find ourselves departing from the faith and overwhelmed by deception.

As the Letter to the Hebrews states, “Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest we drift away” – (Hebrews 2:1-4).

[PDF Copy]

SEE ALSO:

• Famine in the Land - (The contemporary church suffers from a famine for hearing the words of God, but it is a self-inflicted wound)

• Howling Imposters - (The New Testament repeatedly warns of coming deceivers and false prophets who will cause many to depart from the faith)

• Misdirection and Apostasy - (Believers watching for apostasy to occur outside the Church will miss the real thing since it is operating stealthily inside our congregations)

• The Coming Storm - (Is a final revival with mighty signs and supernatural wonders the solution to the church's ills and the salvation of this fallen world?)