Faithlessness, nature and causes of

The abandoning of a commitment to the Lord, seen in disowning him, wandering from the truth and becoming entangled with the world, and resulting in judgment.

Warnings against faithlessness

2 Timothy 2:12–13 See also Matthew 10:33 parallel Luke 12:9; Luke 9:62; Hebrews 10:35–39; Habakkuk 2:3–4

if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Ways in which faithlessness is seen

Turning away from the Lord

Hebrews 3:12

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.

Abandoning the gospel of grace

Galatians 1:6

I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel —

Becoming entangled in the world

2 Peter 2:20–22 See also Proverbs 26:11; 2 Timothy 4:10

If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

Causes of faithlessness

False teaching

2 Timothy 2:17–18 See also Galatians 1:7, Galatians 4:8–11; 1 Timothy 4:1–3; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; 2 Peter 3:17

and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some.

Persecution and trials

Matthew 13:20–21 parallels Mark 4:16–17, Luke 8:13 See also Matthew 24:9–13

The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

Concern for money and possessions

1 Timothy 6:10 See also Proverbs 30:8–9; Matthew 13:22 parallels Mark 4:18–19, Luke 8:14

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Love growing cold

Matthew 24:12 See also Revelation 2:4

Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

Sexual desire

1 Timothy 5:11–15

Faithlessness brings punishment

Church discipline

1 Timothy 1:18–20 These men had been excluded from the church, a sanctuary from Satan's power.

God's judgment

Matthew 10:33 parallel Luke 12:9 See also Hebrews 6:4–6, Hebrews 10:26–27

But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

The faithlessness of those who fall away

The absence of true faith

1 John 2:19

They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.