Apostasy (uh-pos-tuh-see)
NOUN-a total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.
Origin of apostasy: 1350-1400 Middle English apostasye (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin apostasia < Greek: a standing away, withdrawing, equivalent to apóstas(is) (apo- apo- + sta- stand + -sis -sis) + -ia -ia
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'” Matthew 7:15-23
“Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12
Our Purpose
Confronting & Exposing Apostasy.
Explaining Biblical Orthodoxy.
Rebuilding Shattered Faith by the Light of the Gospel from God’s Word.
Returning to the Reformation principle of:
Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura (Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone)
This website is for people who have a strong sense that something is seriously wrong in the modern evangelical Church. I’ve been there just like you, and I know what a scary place it can be. But I’ve found hope in the glorious Gospel message of Jesus Christ, the crucified Lord who gave His life on the cross to atone for our sins. This message has been right there in the Bible all along, but it has been covered up by many layers of half-truths, false doctrines, and worldly compromises.
The Messed Up Church is the discernment website for people who don’t like discernment websites.
You won’t see a lot of hyped-up, “the end is near” kind of blogging here. I will try my best to be accurate, fair and truly Biblical in my work here. There are plenty of websites and bloggers that thrive on sensationalism and controversy, but I really want to help people who are confused by all the conflicting information that’s out there. Making outlandish claims all the time will ultimately help nobody, even though it’s any easy way to get attention for a while.
The Messed Up Church was started by me, Steven Kozar, in early 2015, but occasionally you will see guest articles from other bloggers and authors.
Here’s an important idea from this website: Church history is of vital importance! The Church didn’t start in the 1950s with Billy Graham, or in 1906 at Azusa Street. Great thinkers, teachers, writers, and pastors have already thought about every issue that we’re facing today. Doesn’t it make sense to look into the ideas that have already been expressed centuries ago? Once we have a better understanding of the past, we will have a much better understanding of what’s going on today. And the issues facing the Church are, at their core, theological issues. Saying something like: “I just want to find a good old, Bible-believing church” is, frankly, naive and short-sighted (although it’s certainly a great starting point to want a Bible-believing church!).
We encourage you to get past overly-simplistic explanations and consider learning some new things; the more you know the better!
There are some really famous, and really false pastors/teachers out there, so this website will certainly be controversial at times as we name names, but I encourage you to think long and hard about the information you see here. We will back up everything we do with solid research and with careful sourcing of information.
Paulette and I have our own story of going through weird churches, strange teachings, and soul-crushing hardship, but we’ve all come out the other side whole and complete, by the grace of God.
There is hope for you, too.
Thank you for visiting this website and may God bless you!
-Steven Kozar
