Apostasy. It means "defection", and it has been an accusation cast about often these days in America. Religious denominations have been regularly accusing one another of it, arguing that all but their own membership have strayed far from the true message of Christ, to the point of working against it.
But there is a far more significant retort to those accusations: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which Christ describes as being an unforgivable sin. Many people are confused as to what Christ was talking about, so I will explain the context. It came amidst accusations by the Pharisees that Jesus of Nazareth was an "evil man", who performed miracles by some "unholy power", and not by the powers of the Heavenly Father. To this Christ minced no words: he who accuses a good man of being evil sins not against that man, but against the Holy Spirit who speaks and acts through him. And such a sin forever hangs above the accuser's head, like some mighty boulder that threatens to fall and crush them at any moment.
Why is this so? I can only speculate, but bear with me as I share my own perspective. If a human being is unable to tell good apart from evil, then is that person not hopelessly lost in this world, unable recognize or receive any form of blessing? Would they not see the blessing itself as being malicious? It is like someone lost in the depths of the ocean, unable to tell which way leads to the surface, as their air supply quickly dwindles.
How could such a person even be helped? They would fearfully fight tooth and nail against any and all attempts to save them, for they have lost their ability to tell right from wrong, and up from down, and light from darkness.
That to me is the eternal risk of sowing doubts about a fellow Christian's righteousness, even if only for a moment, and it far outstrips the risks of being called an apostate. Followers of Christ make mistakes, just as everyone else does. And we don't always agree with one another on the specifics of Christ's message. However, it's not where we are morally that defines us, but what path we are walking, and where that path eventually leads. The Christian path leads out of the wilderness and towards home, and there are many who have either stumbled upon it or been guided to it. But once one has been fortunate enough to find it, one must under no circumstances stray from it, even if for an instant, despite the temptation to denounce those who may or may not be walking that same path. For to be shown the way a first time was miraculous enough, but for it to happen a second time would be even more so. And any path which does not lead one out of the wilderness will be wandered forever.
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