“Yet hath he not root in himself…”  (Matthew 13)

 

Reader,
Before us is a most sobering subject.  It is a subject that should be preached and taught in every church on a regular basis.  However, this is a subject that has been forgotten at best or forsaken at worst by many churches today.  This is a subject that can anger the flesh and can split the local church.  It is the subject of backsliding or the professing, but lost “believer.”  For a faithful shepherd to use his rod and lift up the wool of a false believer can be most dangerous.  We are not saying the backslidden or lost person is a wolf in sheeps clothing for this person may very well be deceived themselves.  It is the ineffective preacher that leaves the the person in that deceived state.

How have things come to this?  We will gives you a few possibilities and explain why the church is filled with these persons.
1. The pulpit has preached a “cheap grace”, as Bonhoeffer wrote, in their gospel message.  Today many ministers preach a gospel that is sorely missing of necessary points.  Today’s “Gospel,” in many cases, forsake the preaching on sin, repentance, denying of self, taking up the cross and following Christ. After presenting the mixed multitude with an inspiring lecture, the motivational speaker will throw in, at the last second, some lip service to salvation that is void of the preceding ingredients.
2. Instead of preaching the Gospel and letting the Spirit of Christ deal with the hearts and minds of those present, the minister will ask for every head bowed and every eye closed, they will ask for hands to be raised, will bear false witness and say they see “that hand” when there is no hand, and will begin to count as other hands pop up. These gregarious hands, sometimes the same hands that pop up week after week, will be counted but never questioned at a later time. Reader, Christ never called anyone in the dark, but always called men and women openly.
3. Ministers refuse to question their flock regarding this subject. The minister may see marks of the backslidden believer or marks of a false believer and leave these persons in their condition. This is something Christ and His apostles would never allow.  Christ said one of His disciples was a devil, Paul instructed his readers to examine themselves, and Peter instructed his readers to make their calling and election sure, James also warned his readers about being doers of the Word and not hearer only. All of the inspired writers at one time or another warned their readers of this very real danger as will every faithful minister and guardian of the Gospel.
4. People are lonely in this world and when they find they will be accepted by warm and loving people, they will seek acceptance in the church and will raise their hand, will be baptised, they will do almost anything to find love.  This is another reason the church is filled with a mixed multitude.
5. A large church is many a minister’s dream and goal and they will do anything to get it, even betraying Christ, the Church, and the Gospel.

What are signs of a backslidden believer or a lost person deceiving themselves?
1. A lack of zeal or any kind of excitement in regards to the Word of God.  The lost person does not have any attraction to the Word and the backslider may have at one time or another had a real hunger and thirst for God’s Word, but has lost it.  They try to regain that hunger by giving eye service to it, but not finding that hunger again.  They try to manufacture a hunger but it is not real.
2. Prayer is not a priority in their lives. The lost person only ever prayed when others prayed and this was only a bowing of the head alone.  The backslidden knows they should or rather must pray to remain spiritual healthy but it just isn’t important to them anymore. Prayer is not their first first choice of refuge during a storm but anger and worry is.
3.  The false believer and the backslider find no value in spending time with other believers but find the lost more exciting and would rather be around the unsaved than the saved.  They find the healthy believer to be annoying and may even resent them for their realness and their walk with God.  If these “believers” spend time in a place where both lost persons and saved persons share a space they will find themselves gravitating to the unbelievers.
4. Sin is not a real concern either in themselves or anyone else. There is no sense of, “Get thee behind me, (s)atan” when they are faced with sin in themselves or  others, or when faced with temptation.  They find sin, easier to commit and to commit to than before. Their entire attitude toward sin is, it’s no big deal.  They would rather lie low and keep their mouth shut instead of pointing sin out to others.
5.  The false believer and the backslidden may realize their condition and find themselves concerned not!!!  A false believer or a backslidden believer can read an article like this and be not swayed to act upon it. The unbeliever may roll the eyes and call me a legalist and the backslider will simple think, God will revive me when He’s ready, or they too may see me as a legalist.
6. Good works are not a concern either, lest they are being watched.  Both will attend church, only because they have to in order not to draw attention to themselves or their ways and condition.  These persons are not interested in putting others first or even grow concerned when they hear of another in pain or in trouble.

How does this writer understand these things or have this insight you might ask.  We have this insight because we have been a backslider.  I was guilty of all of the above, with the exception of pretending all was well.  I ceased to attend church and when the faithful came looking for me, I was honest regarding our state and we were not friendly to those seeking our best.  When ashed why we ceased to attend church, we gave no excuse. We gave an honest reason and that was we did not want to.  We rejected their prayers and asked them not to return.  Reader, you may chase the faithful away….goosebumps, I have goosebumps…… you may chase the faithful away, but you will not ever chase THE Ever Faithful One away.  God has not only promised to be your Sheperd but He has obligated Himself to Himself…He will let you wander a ways off, but He will always come searching.
God deals with each of His wandering children in His own way and in the way that they will respond to.  He knows what buttons to push. God may deal harshly as He did with David at times, or He may deal as He did with Elijah, in a still small voice.
I can remember well the manner in which God dealt with me. God kept me from hurting myself…He was O’ so longsuffering with me. He dealt with me as He did when I was on the right path. In my backslidden state I never lost the sense of His Presence or love.  He kept me from physical harm when I was drunk and violent, He kept me from getting in the way of His plans for me when i was promiscuous, He never put any sense or weight of conviction upon me…until the time was right.
I can remember it like it was yesterday, after being kicked out of a bar and forbidden to ever return, I was parked behind a gas station, throwing up, and hearing the still small voice within my heart, “What are you doing and are we done yet?”  I wept and said, “I don’t know… yes, we’re done.”  Reader, I have not left His side again and praise be to God He never left mine at all.
It may sound contradictory, but all the time I was backslidden I was sinning in faith.  I was angry at God for a loss in my life and I was out to punish Him for this loss, I can remember committing sin and asking God, silently, “How do you like this?”  or “How do you like that.”  I know now the real question I was asking,, “Do you still love me, now?”  The answer was always to same, “I will not leave thee nor will I forsake thee.”  I pushed and pushed and He tugged and tugged…Reader, God loves me and I love Him.

There is another species of backsliding than mine was. Mine was on purpose and “in faith.” The other type of backslidding is subtle, sneaky, slow, and silent.  It is a spirit of empathy towards all things God. This species of backsliding is subtle, like the serpent, sneaky like Absolom, or Haman, or Daniel’s enemies. Slow like the boiling of a frog, and silent like a dagger under the fifth (5th) rib.
Reader, backsliding is another word, a nicer word for turning your back upon Christ.  You may not say, “I know not the man” but your actions and your spirit certainly do. When He knocks at the door of your heart, it is a stranger knocking, He has become unfamiliar to you. You may still hear His voice but it is in the distance.  Another definition for backsliding is “lost in Christ.” Though you be in Christ, backslider, you are, for all intents and purposes, lost…you are A-theist in all practicality.  Apostacy is the next step after backsliding.

Dangers in backsliding:  You will draw others with you.  Scripture is most clear on this subject.   God is very angry at the person who causes another to fall and He hates the one who causes discord among the brethren.  You may not have the blood of your neighbor’s on your hand but the blood of the Christ-ian that slides, because of you, is. Another danger is the “Hound of Heaven” hunting you down like a criminal.  Yes, An angry God is to be greatly feared by the backslider.

Backslider, you are robbing God of prayer, praise, obedience, acknowledgement, and worship that is due Him.  The cost of over-due worship is high and you cannot afford it. A third (3rd) danger is apostacy.  This is the failure to persevere until the end. This is a very real threat and a sound doctrine found in Scripture. The Word warns all believers of the possibility of falling away.  Many of these warnings begin with the word, if. “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed…”   “If ye love [M]e ye will keep my commands.”  Another word that speaks to this doctrine is, continue. Colossians 1:23, Paul tells the Colossians all that they have in Christ, what they should do and be in Christ, what it means to be saved, and then he inserts an addendum, “ If ye Continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the [G]ospel, which ye have heard…”  These words are written to professing Christ-ians!!!

Reader, When Scripture commands us to believe, He means a living and enduring, a continual and continuous, a perpetual, a new-natured belief and not a one time only acknowledgement to Gospel facts or an every now and again belief. He speaks of a faith that digs in, that grows into knowledge and hope.

A Checklist, if you will:
*Do you read the Word of God out of duty or out of want?  Do you read the Word, at all during the week?
*Do you contemplate spiritual matters, IE. Do you think about the Godhead?
*Does the Name Jesus Christ do anything inwardly to you?
*Do you pray…really pray rather than give lip service to God?
*Does the Church, Good Works, Other believers hold any interest in you or for you?
*Do those close to God annoy you and you know not why?
*Are you more comfortable with the unsaved than the saved?
*Would you rather discuss topics from the world or topics that are spiritual in their nature?
*Do you know you are backslidden and care not, the pull of the world is too great and entertaining?
*Do you find yourself judging others or comparing yourself to others instead of comparing yourself to Christ?

Reader, these are questions that shine light upon your state and spiritual condition. Next to salvation, this should be of the greatest concern to every believer. It is imperative to prove yourself to yourself, to try your spirit, to examine yourself. If one is backslidden and wants to return to the Shepherd, do not start with outward works, but be still and know that God is God…commune with yourself upon your bed…do your first works which are internal, pray and confess your condition before Him, “[W]ho loved you and gave Himself for you.”  Call or cry out to the searching Shepherd…”Here am I…Here Am I” Plead with him, “Pass me not O’ Gentle Saviour.”

If you are a believer and sense the spirit of empathy coming for you, tell Christ, as if you are lying in a bed next to Him, “Lord, I am prone to wander, Lord. I feel it.” Ask Him to take your lips, your life, your ears, your tongue and teach you how to better serve Him. Refuse to slide back to the ways of before.

The only difference between the atheist, and the backslider is God’s persevering grace and love for the backslider.

The wise person acknowledges the proneness to wandering and defends against it by  and in faith.

Godspeed.