THE frequent warnings to be found throughout the Scriptures against heedlessness or disobedience, indicate the possibility that men may lose what of truth they have perceived, unless they "hold fast" to it and guard it as a priceless treasure. This is declared in words of solemn import in the book of Deuteronomy, where the curses and the blessings are outlined; and again in Proverbs, where we read that long life and prosperity will be the sure portion of those who seek wisdom from its divine source and then hold it as the one thing of value.
When we come to the teachings of Christ Jesus and his followers, even greater emphasis, if possible, is laid upon this mental attitude, the revelator saying, "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." It is safe to assume that when one gains a true understanding of spiritual reality, and proves his faith by demonstration, he could never be tempted to forsake it; but this higher understanding does not come to men until they have been tested and tried many times, as we find in reading the lives of the apostles and the history of the Christian church throughout the centuries. Those who remained faithful were called saints, even though they were of lowly station, and those who lapsed from the truth, allured by materiality, were known as apostates. An apostate is defined as "one who forsakes a faith or principles that he formerly professed." A more adequate definition of this mental state is to be found in the epistle of Jude, where we read: "These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit." The term apostate has, however, been flung by one Christian sect at another, when neither has adhered to the teachings of the Founder of Christianity.
At the very start of his earthly ministry Christ Jesus declared for God as Spirit and man as spiritual; he also taught that God must be worshiped "in spirit and in truth," not by material means. His healing work delivered from the bondage of material sense those who came to him, and made them ready for the spiritual worship which means communion with the Father Mind, and those can most truly claim to be his followers who cling closest to this teaching and prove its verity by the works which he bade his disciples do whenever they preached the gospel.
