Apostasy is to forsake the one true God and or the Holy Scriptures He has given; Apostasy is to abandon Christ or the Christian faith; Apostasy is to stray away from the truth, etc. Whichever way we define it, eventually, apostasy is a broken relationship between God and a one-time Christian. And it happens through self-indulgence, living in sin, following false doctrines, denying Jesus in times of persecution, the love of the world, the love of money, etc.
As much as there is a lot to gain from accepting Jesus, there is a lot to lose from apostatizing, at least, an apostate risks losing everything received from Jesus Christ. On this note, let’s get to learn more about the consequences or effects of apostasy on the apostate himself:
Loss of the Holy Spirit
When an unbeliever converts to Christianity and becomes a Christian, Jesus builds a very intimate relationship with him by coming to dwell in him. We know this because Jesus has given every Christian the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:13). The question is, when a Christian commits apostasy, what does the Holy Spirit do? Since the Holy Spirit comes to us through Jesus, when one commits apostasy and is no more in relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit will abandon him. It is written: ‘The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you (2 Chronicles 15:2).’ Moreover, when the Holy Spirit abandons a Christian who has apostatize, everything that belongs to the Holy Spirit also goes away with Him:
The Holy Spirit endows Christians with supernatural abilities called spiritual gifts; examples are the gift of healing, speaking in tongues, etc. Sadly, if a gifted Christian, for whatever reason, commits apostasy, he shall lose these supernatural abilities when the Holy Spirit leaves and he shall not be able to exercise these gifts again.
Every Christian is sanctified by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11); that is, the Holy Spirit has set Christians apart from sin to do good works. Sanctification ends when the Holy Spirit is gone; no more shall the apostate enjoy the blessedness of being set apart by God to do good works that will bring him eternal reward.
The spirit is a Reminder, a Helper, and a Teacher who teaches us to understand spiritual things (John 14:26). When a Christian commits apostasy, he shall no more have insight into the word of God as it used to be. In a situation where an apostate tries to interpret the Scriptures, he does nothing more than misinterpret the Scriptures and produce tons of false doctrines to mislead himself and others.
Loss of sonship
When you accept the Lord Jesus, your status changes from being a creation of God to becoming a child of God because God adopts you to become His child. God makes your adoption possible by giving you the Holy Spirit, who is also called the Spirit of Sonship or the Spirit of Adoption. A Christian who has committed apostasy and has become an apostate is no longer reckoned by God as a son because the Holy Spirit who gives him the sonship identity has abandoned him. (Romans 8:14-15).
More so, as a Christian and son of God, you are a brother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Hebrew 2:11); but when a Christian becomes an apostate and loses his sonship, he is no more regarded by God as a brother of Jesus Christ.
Loss of forgiveness
Forgiveness of sins is a service that is available to only those who have accepted Jesus Christ, because the blood of Jesus, their Lord, cleanses them from their sins (1 Timothy 1:7; Acts 10:43). Outside Christ Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sins. Therefore the Christian who commits apostasy loses access to forgiveness of his sins for the rest of his life and he will live in the state of sin and guilt. And because his sins are upon him, the penalty of his sins, which is death, is ever upon him.
Prayer shall not be answered
Jesus told his disciples that if they pray, they should pray in His name to make requests from God and they shall receive what they requested (1 John 14:13-14). What if a Christian commits apostasy? Will he receive anything from God if he prays? Certainly not. The prayer of the apostate will not be answered. Moreover, Scriptures such as John 9:31; Proverbs 28:9; 1 Peter 3:12 makes it clear that God does not answer the prayer of those living in sin.
Loss of salvation
The promise is that anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, shall not perish, but shall be saved (John 3:16; John 3:36). However, after conversion, for whatever reason, if a Christian commits apostasy, he shall forfeit the salvation that he received from the Lord. Salvation is not a one-time event; salvation is a state – a state in which you are sanctified, justified, forgiven, regenerated, etc. In light of this, losing your salvation means you have lost all the blessings such as forgiveness, sanctification, justification, the Holy Spirit, etc. that cumulate to put you in the state of salvation. Having lost your salvation, you are living in a state of sin, worthy of the wrath of God.
The apostate is no longer a light of the world
Jesus once told his disciples that they are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) – this is because Christians would teach the truth and by their exemplary life show the world the path of righteousness, etc. However, the apostate becomes habitually sinful and his deeds are no longer exemplary; hence he is no longer reckoned as a light of the world.
Does not share in the promise of going to heaven.
You must bear in mind that our existence does not come to an end at death. There is life after death for every human being. What will this life be like for us? That will depend on our faith. For those who have faith in Jesus, Jesus has got them covered, in that He has promised them a blissful life after death. Jesus said, “….I go to prepare a place for you ….. (John 14:1-4).” This promise is only for Jesus’ disciples. If once you were a disciple and you have apostatized, you do not share in this promise of a blissful life after death anymore. Therefore, apostates will not go to heaven.
Loss of inheritance
Upon converting to Christianity, you become a son of God. Your status as a son of God opens the door for yet another blessing, which is becoming an heir of God, meaning you will inherit whatever is owned by God, our Father, such as glory, honor, power, etc. (Romans 8:15-17). The Father will disinherit any Christian who, for whatever reason, has committed apostasy.
The name of the apostate will be removed from the Book of Life
Jesus Christ keeps a record of the people who have been saved in a book called the Book of Life. The Book of Life consists of names of people who once lived and were followers of Jesus for life and were saved. It also has the names of all people who are alive at present and are saved. On the day of Judgement, it is the Book of Life that will decide who is to enjoy eternal life and who is to enjoy eternal damnation. If a Christian commits apostasy and loses his salvation, consequently, his name will be removed from the Book of Life and damnation will be his portion. It is written: ‘…. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).’
Loss of friendship
Do you know that, apart from Jesus being our Lord, Savior, Master, Teacher, etc., He is also our friend? Yes, Jesus Christ the Lord is a friend of every Christian. He made reference to this friendship when He said, “14 ye are my friends, if ye do whatever I command you; 15 no more do I call you servants, ….. and you I have called friends, because all things that I heard from my Father, I did make known to you (John 15:14).” Sadly, you break this friendship when you apostatize and you lose the blessedness of being a friend of Jesus Christ.
No more a member of the body of Christ
The apostate is no longer part of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the church; the church is a fellowship of Christians (Romans 12:4; 1 Corinthians 12:12; 1 Corinthians 12:27). Every person who comes to accept Jesus becomes part of the church which is the body of Christ. The apostate is no longer reckoned by God as part of the body of Christ since he has terminated his relationship with God.
The apostate becomes worse than before
The Bible continues to teach that apostates become worse sinners than they were before they were saved. It is written that if an unbeliever and sinner gives his life to Jesus, receives salvation, experiences Christianity, and then apostatizes later to go back to his former sins, he degenerates further to become a worse sinner than what he used to be. Therefore, it is better for a person not to know the way of righteousness than to know it and later turn away from it (2 Peter 2:20–21).
An apostate is powerless
In Luke 10:19, Jesus told His disciples that He had given them the power to trample over snakes and scorpions and over all the powers of the enemy. This power is bestowed upon all who come to follow Jesus Christ. However, some Christians do not exercise this power for life, because, along the line, they commit apostasy and lose this power and can no more overcome the devil, demons, witches, and all the evil perpetrated by the devil.
The apostates do not share in the promises of God anymore
The apostate does not share in God’s promises such as divine protection (Luke 10:19), divine provision (Matthew 6:33), rest for the soul (Matthew 11: 28-30), etc.
The apostate is condemned
It is written: ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit(Romans 8:1)’. What if someone is not in Christ Jesus? Or what if someone was in Christ Jesus but now he is no more in Christ Jesus? Certainly, those outside Christ are condemned to eternal damnation. Since the apostate is one who has abandoned Christianity and is no more in Christ just like the unbeliever, he stands condemned.
The final verdict has been passed on the apostate already
The apostate has no good prospect before him; the verdict has already been passed on the apostate and every apostate can tell where he is bound to end up. It is written:
Outside [the kingdom of Heaven] are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood (Revelation 22:15).
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelations 21:8).
Apostates (and unbelievers) fall into the description unbelieving. Also, heretics, who are a category of apostates, fall into the descriptions ‘all liars’ and ‘everyone who loves and practices falsehood’. The apostate is bound for the lake of fire, which is God’s final destruction for sinners.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Scriptures reveal that the Christian who commits apostasy and becomes an apostate has so much to lose, making apostasy something not to be desired.