Are you Backsliding?
When molten lava covered the old city of
Pompeii, four prisoners with their feet fast in stocks were overtaken by the
flood. They could hear the roar of the lava. Nearer and nearer the wave of
death came until it spread to the door of the cell. In his fright the jailor
fled, deaf to the cries of the men he had been appointed to guard. There was
the door of escape, which the jailor had left open, and on the threshold of the
doorway lay the key which the jailor had dropped in his flight. The key would
unlock the stocks which held their feet so fast. If only they could reach the
key! But it was ever just beyond their reach. It was mockery to their hopes.
They fought and shrieked and tore their flesh in madness until the fumes from
the distant volcano filled the cell and put an end to it all. And there lay the
key just beyond their reach.
How like that old prison cell of Pompeii is
sin. Fast in the stocks of evil, men are bound by the devil. They see the
fateful approach of death and begin to think of a means of escape. Must they
forever remain in bondage? No, there is a way of escape for every man through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Faith that moves to obedience is the power that frees us
from sin (Rom. 6:17, 18).
~Excerpt from “Admonition to Backsliders” by Ralph R.
Givens
The Gospel Guardian, Vol. 12, Number 36, 01/19/1961
There may be some confusion
today about whether an individual is a backsliding Christian or one that is
simply struggling to maintain the faith. Either way, it’s a matter of reaching
out to the brethren for assistance and not pushing them away.
As the apostle Paul writes
in Galatians 6:1-2, Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one
in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear
one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. As we have stated before, in
previous articles, you do not have to do this by yourself.
The Difference between Backsliding and
Struggling
A struggling Christian is
one who, although they sin; willfully or not, will ask for God’s forgiveness,
repent of that sin, and continue to walk the strait and narrow path (Mt. 7:14).
Jesus never said that the life of a Christian would be easy as that would be
the broad way (Mt. 7:13). Everyone wants life to be “on easy street” once they
become a Christian but, in fact, it becomes more difficult as the devil tries
harder to win you back.
Paul warns of this in 2
Corinthians 11:14-15, And
no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
When Satan no longer has you as one of his own, he increases his temptation
plans to take you back.
A backslider is one who
willingly turns his back on The Lord and, becoming unfaithful, won’t doing
anything to correct it. The Hebrew writer warns, Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another
daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-13).
This is a great victory for
the devil. Although he already knows that he’s condemned to an eternity in
Hell, his goal is to take as many souls with him.
Backsliding Israel
One of the early moments of
Israel starting to backslide was at Mount Sinai; shortly after receiving the
ten commandments. Now
when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the
people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come,
make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of
your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the
people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them
to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an
engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O
Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:1-4)
They had already forgotten
commandments one and two (Ex. 20:2-5) when they did this. Why? Because Moses had
delayed in coming back down the mountain after speaking to God. As Jesus stated
in Luke 21:19, “By
your patience possess your souls.”
Although 3,000 lost their
lives that day (Ex. 32:25-28). The rest of the children of Israel repented.
But it doesn’t stop there. In
1 Kings 12 we learn that the tribes of Israel separate into two kingdoms. The
Northern 10 Tribes become the Kingdom of Israel and the Southern 2 tribes, The
Kingdom of Judah. Both were, eventually, carried off into captivity. The
Northern, by the Assyrians; and the Southern, by the Babylonians.
Before Judah was completely carried away to Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah pleaded with them, “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD. Return, O backsliding children, says the LORD; for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.” (Jeremiah 3:12-14).
Remember Lot’s Wife
In the New Testament Jesus
gave this warning to those who were listening. The context in Luke 17:31-36,
was a warning to the Jews to make haste to get to safety when trouble loomed in
the distance (the destruction of Jerusalem). They were not to turn back and
gather their stuff but, simply, leave immediately.
In verse 32 Jesus says, “Remember Lot's wife.” This hearkens back to the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Lot and his family were warned
in 19:17, So it came
to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your
life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the
mountains, lest you be destroyed.”
When they fled, Lot’s wife
turned back to look at the life they were leaving; thinking it was something
she would forever miss. Of course, in doing so, she turned into a pillar of
salt (verse 26).
To the struggling Christian,
this is a reminder of not turning back to the world and embracing your former
life. You may think of it as easier, but it is the path of destruction. As
Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No
one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom
of God.” When
you look back at your former life, you may decide to return to it. That is
backsliding.
Peter Walks on Water
Matthew 14:25 tells of Jesus
walking on the sea to catch up with His disciples who were in a boat out in the
middle. Though afraid at first, Peter says, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the
water.” (Verse
28) Jesus beckons him and Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the
water towards Jesus.
In verse 30, Peter notices a
boisterous wind and becomes afraid; beginning to sink. He calls out to Jesus to
save him. Jesus’ response is found in verse 31, And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and
caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
When we take our eyes off of
The Lord, then we begin to sink. If we do not call out for help, we will drown
in sin. Don’t be so full of yourself that you can’t ask for help. As James
writes, Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up (James
4:10).
Christ is our anchor (Heb.
6:19) and, if we don’t rely on Him, and the brethren, we’ll drift (Heb. 2:1). That
drifting will then turn to backsliding.
Conclusion
Going back to the story of
the prisoners in Pompeii, Ralph Givens writes,
Suppose those men in the prison
cell had reached the key, opened the stocks and set themselves free, what would
they have done next? Does anyone think they would have turned back and locked
themselves fast again? Then what of the one who having been made free from the
bondage of sin by the blood of Christ so far forgets his sense of values that
he turns back again to the bondage of sin. Be warned my brother or sister that
a fate more terrible than death by molten lava awaits you in that condition.
Don’t think yourself above
or beneath in asking for help. The longer you try to fight this on your own,
the further you slide away from The Lord. It’s time that you reach out with
your hand, physically or spiritually, to be saved.
Great article Chris!!!
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