The Backslider - Proverb 14:14, �The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.�
This Scripture ought to convict every believer, because we are all guilty at times of placing our own will above God's will. The Word of God says that the BACKSLIDER IN HEART shall be filled with his own ways. The word �filled� is self-explanatory. The average born-again believer is consumed with his or her own ways. It is in our human-nature to be selfish, to place our self first above others. Philippians 2:21, �For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.�
Every believer needs to work daily at crucifying the selfish flesh and helping others. It means caring. The hallmark quality, or character trait, of being a Christ-honoring believer is CARING. 1st Peter 5:7 tells us that God cares. If we are going to exemplify Christ in our life, they we must care also. Most people don't care. It is true that there are unsaved people who care, and saved people who don't. That ought not be!
If we care, then we will put forth the effort, and strive, to place others before ourselves. I had always read and quoted Philippians 2:5 where it says, �Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.� One day I decided to look at the surrounding verses, to see in what context this Scripture was made. So often people go around quoting verses without caring what the context is. I read Philippians 2:4, �Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.� I was amazed.
Thus, if we are to have the mind of Jesus Christ, then we ought to dwell on the things of others, i.e., look for ways that we can help them, be considerate, be a good neighbor, or meet the needs of the less fortunate. We ought to be concerned about the soul of others. Are they saved or not? We ought to be soulwinners (Proverb 11:30; 2nd Corinthians 5:10-11; Philippians 2:16). I helped someone one day and they said, �You must be a Christian.� Jesus cares! Caring and Christianity are synonymous. There is nothing Christian about apathy, indifference and lack of concern.
God says that the backslider in heart is filled with their own selfish ways. Notice that the Bible says �in heart.� Selfishness is a woeful spiritual condition of the heart. The same is true with other sins, such as being critical all the time. Many people are critical because their heart is in a condition of being critical. They aren't critical because they're having a bad day; but because they are a critical person. Hence, the backslider in life is backslidden first and foremost in heart. Evolution, Humanism and Atheism are rooted in rooted in a wicked heart of unbelief.
We further elaborate on the meaning of Philippians 2:5 in verse 3, �Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.� So many people are self-righteous hypocrites. Anytime you find yourself publicly gossiping or talking about the sins or faults of someone else, it's only because you are overlooking your own sinfulness. If we keep in mind that we are all guilty sinners, deserving of Hell fire and damnation, then we won't criticize others for their faults. James 2:10 teaches that even the best Christian is as guilty in God's eyes as the worst unsaved sinner.
A hypocrite is a person who thinks that someone else is a bigger sinner than them self. When you magnify other people's sins, you are condemning them; taking the place of the Bible. God's Law condemns all mankind (Romans 3:19). It is not our place to condemn anyone. This is not to say that we shouldn't expose those who publicly parade and promote wickedness, such as gay parades and criminals in government who shamelessly steal trillions of taxpayer dollars. God tells us to expose them (Ephesians 5:11) and to rise up against the evil doers (Psalm 94:16). But it's not our place to condemn anyone on a personal level for their sins, because we are all guilty sinners (Romans 3:10-23).
The backslider in heart is the man who is filled with his own ways. He rises up and ends each day only thinking about himself. He spends all his money on himself and never helps anyone. He curses shamelessly in public, tells dirty jokes, gets drunk on weekends, looks at pornography, cheats on his wife, loafs at work, and lies on impulse.
The backslider in heart is the woman who wears pants in public and causes others to lust. She has no regard for God nor man. She is selfish and irresponsible, contributing to the moral deterioration of society. She laughs and scorns at the man of God who preaches modesty and fidelity. The backslidden women criticizes the preacher, watches adulterous television programs, wears a bikini at the beach, gossips every chance she gets, dishonors her parents, and envies other women.
The United States is a nation of backsliders who disrespect God's Word, do their own thing, indulge in Hollywood movies, frequent Las Vegas gambling casinos, watch adulterous soap operas, never tell anyone how to go to Heaven, and shame the Lord. Backsliders don't care about soul-winning, because it's all about them and their plans. James 4:13, �Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.� The Bible warns us that we may not live another day, so we ought to include God in everything we do, and live our life in such a way that God is honored.
Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith, and verse 5 tells us that Enoch demonstrated his faith by PLEASING GOD. That is what faith is, i.e., pleasing God. The backslider pleases him or her self. The faithful Christian pleases God. Self has no place in the Christian life.
This does not mean that a Christian is forbidden from enjoying life; but it means that God must be a part of all we do. God does not want to be first in our life, because then He's not second and third. God wants to be a part of all we do, as the center hub on a wheel. If you center your life upon your wife or children, then your world will come to a crashing halt if they're gone one day; but Jesus Christ will NEVER leave nor forsake you (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). When all you have is God, God is all you need.
May we all, as born-again believers, have the mind of Jesus Christ, who cared for the things of others and how He could help people. There is much we can all do to help the least of these (Matthew 25:40,45). We are living in an extremely selfish generation. It is a joy as a Christian to be different than the average uncaring person. Keep a bag full of Gospels of John in your car. When you see someone in need, whether it be a homeless person or someone whose car breaks down, hand them a Gospel of John, and help them a bit. Although we can't help everybody, we can help somebody.
The most important thing is that we consider God throughout the day. Proverb 3:5-7 are beautiful Scriptures, that promise divine guidance if we'll acknowledge (consider) God in everything we do. Proverb 3:5-7, �Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.� Don't lean upon your own finite and human understanding; but rather, consider what God would want in all your ways, and He will guide you as He promised.
All God asks is that we remember Him and strive to please Him in all we do. The Bible warns us to fear God, and to depart from evil ways. We ought not be wise in our own eyes; but instead, trust upon the Word of God, and what He tells us. No man can please God who neglects to abide in the Scriptures (John 15:1-7). Just as Jesus Christ abides in us as believers (Romans 8:9), even so must we abide in the Word of God. Search the Scriptures (John 5:39).
You cannot do things your way and God's way. It's one or the other.
There are millions of deceived people in this nation who believe they are still following Christ when in fact they are not. What makes it deceiving is that some are still regularly attending Sunday church services and/or reading the Bible and praying on occasion.
Before we continue let me first define what I mean in this article by the word �backslider.� By backslider I mean a person who is losing ground spiritually and is not as committed to growing, seeking, and loving Christ as they did at one time in their life.
Backsliding is a spiritual disease that many leaders are afraid to confront and many in the church are afraid to admit. Some of these signs may fit a backslider, but in many cases just one of these signs is enough to fit the category of backslider.
Falling away from God (or apostasy) is not only possible but also warned against in Scripture in many places (read Hebrews 6:1-4, 10:23-26; 2 Peter 2:20-22; Ezekiel 3:20; Colossians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:2). Truly it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31)!
We as believers all need endurance, so that after we have done the will of God we may receive what has been promised (Hebrews 10:36). The purpose of this article is both to exhort the church and to put fear into the hearts of those in this category so as to provoke them to repentance (including myself if I fit the criteria!).
The following are some of the biblical signs a person is a backslider.
I. They No Longer Regularly Seek The Lord As Their First Priority (Revelation 2:4) Jesus rebuked the Ephesian church because they left their first love. This rebuke came in spite of them being involved in many good works and teaching sound doctrine. This shows us that we need to maintain the same heart for seeking God that we had when we first came to Christ or when we were at our highest point in devotion to Christ.
II. They Live With Excuses As To Why They Don�t Have To Be Involved Anymore In Ministry - It�s one thing to take a sabbatical from ministry to seek the Lord but I meet hundreds of Christians who have served in some form of church-related ministry for years who no longer do so. Often they have stopped serving because they think they have already put in their time and that now they should enjoy their lives. This is a sign of being in a backslidden state because it is never God�s will that we walk away from serving Christ with His church.
I11. Their Closest Friends Are Those Who Have Stopped Serving God - Since �birds of a feather flock together� those that are backslidden will seek out other people who have left the church or stopped following Christ--not to minister to them but to be with people they have something in common with! In the same way baseball players play on a team to fulfill their purpose or dancers hang out together in studios or in clubs dancing with other dancers, backsliders have their own community that serves to encourage one another in their backslidden state.
IV. They Have Bitterness And Resentment Against The Body Of Christ And Spiritual Authority - People will always let us down, including Christians and spiritual leaders. That�s life and that�s human nature. But that is never an excuse to avoid church or to live in bitterness and resentment against the entity that Jesus shed His blood for (Acts 20:28)!
All of us who serve in church leadership have been hurt, betrayed, lied to, and let down by numerous people in the church--whether by other leaders we serve with or by those we minister to.
I have come to the conclusion that one of the main reasons we experience such pain is because the gospel confronts our darkness, sin, pain, and issues, and forces them all into the light which opens up a door for great spiritual warfare and relational conflicts between those who are dealing with these issues. When an exterminator sprays pesticide it causes all the bugs to come out of hiding and run. But we don�t blame the exterminator for the appearance of the bugs; they only uncover what was already present but hidden! In the same way, we shouldn't blame the church for the issues of people; we should thank God the gospel creates an environment in which our issues surface so we can finally deal with them and move toward emotional maturity.
V.Their Lifestyle Choices Conforms To The World And Not To Christ (James 4:4) - The world system built upon the fleshly trinity of pride, power, and greed will always appeal to our dark side as long as we are on this side of heaven. Although God so loved the world (John 3:16), in this passage He is primarily referring to the people He came to redeem so they in turn could transform and redeem culture (the world system).
We know we are backsliding when we begin to live for the status, pleasures, and desires of unredeemed men and women. I have seen many good saints become deceived by power once they entered politics, and others become deceived by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life after they became affluent.
We are called to love the world in the same manner as Jesus who, through His incarnation, came into this world to minister and redeem sinners like us--without compromising His value system and mission.
VI. They Do Not Follow The Sense Of Their God-Given Purpose - I know many believers who once lived lives full of purpose but then wandered off track because they were emotionally wounded or because they became so spiritually lethargic they lost their sense of mission. These people live as if there is no eternity and cherish the things of this world as if that is the only reward they will ever have. When you speak to those like this about their missing edge they agree with you but never do anything to change.
VII. They Insulate Themselves From All Conviction And Avoid Certain People And Topics - Many who have fallen away from God purposely attempt to insulate themselves from church, purpose, mission, and even from certain people who once spoke into their lives and tried to disciple them and hold them accountable. These people have created a false sense of reality that justifies the false way they are living. Thus whenever a conversation comes up that reminds them of their false construct they recoil and even become angry and stop the conversation or immediately remove themselves from that environment.
VIII. They Hold A Syncretistic View Of God - More and more so-called Christians believe that all good people go to heaven irrespective of their religion and faith. Carlton Pearson wrote a book entitled God Is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu� that basically summarizes the position that all people are automatically saved if they try hard to live good lives.
King Ahab of 1 Kings 17-22 attempted to live a life in which he respected Jehovah but also worshipped Baal, and even had state sponsored prophets who told him what he wanted to hear (1 Kings 22:13-28).
If it is true that all religions are equally true and that all their adherents are going to heaven then Jesus was a liar because He said no person could come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Also, the apostles must have lied to us when they said that only the name of Jesus could save anyone (Acts 4:12)! This would also imply God is not rational and is actually schizophrenic because Islam, Mormonism, and Judaism all deny the deity of Christ, while Buddhism denies the existence of God. Thus if all religions are equally redemptive and there are many ways to God then God has lied to us and is not rational. So how could we even trust in such a confused God?
Those who say they are Christians but hold to syncretism have fallen from the faith because they have insulted the blood of Christ and say there is another sacrifice or another way to the Father besides His precious blood! I agree with the words of the apostle Paul who said that if we or an angel from heaven preach another gospel than the one he preached to them, let them be eternally condemned (Galatians 1:8-9)! So much for biblical syncretism
