CHRIST CHOSEN AMBASSADORS MINISTRY

BACKSLIDING

Backsliding means falling back into old bad habits; breakfellowship with God or go backwards in ones spiritual life. This is describedin the book of Proverbs 26:11 thus “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a foolrepeats his folly”.  Backsliding usuallystarts from the heart and so makes it not easily noticeable at first.Backsliding is not a spontaneous process but a slow process of withdrawal fromGod and fellowship of the brethren.  Thishappened to Demas as written in 2 Timothy 4:10 “Demas has deserted me becausehe loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens hasgone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia”. Examples of backsliders areLot, Saul, Achan, Judas Iscariot, The Israelites and Demas.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A BACKSLIDER

1        HYPOCRISY AND FAULT-FINDING: The backslider isalways pointing out what is wrong in the life of others and blames his friendfor his unhappiness. A backslider is always making excuses like “They do notlove me or I am no longer wanted here” There was a story of an old man to wassleeping in an open area on a sunny day. The man was fast asleep while thechildren decided to make jest of him by rubbing cheese on his moustache andnostrils. The sun melted the cheese and it smelled. When the man woke heperceived the odour of the melted cheese and started complaining that the wholeenvironment smelled whereas he is the one that smells. This is a picture ofwhat happens in the life of a backslider.

2        HE HAS NO APPETITE FOR BIBLE OR PRAYER:  Deterioration of spiritual life is a greatevidence of backsliding. When ever a Christian can not pray very well or readhis bible normally or develop lukewarm attitude to Church activities he is mostprobably backsliding. The moment a Christian stops his quiet time withGod,  start preaching believe or practicewrong doctrine and stop fearing God he is on the verge of backsliding if he hasnot backslidden. They are like the seed that fall into the rocky soil “Therocky soil represents those who hear the message with joy. But like youngplants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep. They believe for a while,but they wilt when the hot winds of testing blow”- Luke 8:13.

3        HE AVOIDS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE BRETHREN:  The people you interact with will to a greatextent determine your relationship with God. Relating with unbelievers morethan believers is an evidence of backsliding. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:20 “Whoeverwalks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will sufferharm.” The Bible recommends that a Christian should not be unequally yoke withunbelievers. “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness bea partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony canthere be between Christ and the Devil*? How can a believer be a partner with anunbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols?For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

3“I will live in them

3and walk among them.

3I will be their God,

3and they will be my people.* Therefore,come out from them

3and separate yourselves fromthem, says the Lord.

3Don’t touch their filthythings,

3and I will welcome you.*”- 2Corinthians 6:14-17. Notable men of God violated this instruction and theybackslide. The Israelites interacted with Egyptian idols and they backslide.Samson interacted with the prostitute and he backslides. When you keep thecompany of criminals you will soon become one.

4        WORLDLINESS. Growing in grace does not seem tomatter to a backsliding Christian. Simple pleasures may crowd out our dailyactivities. Bad company may draw us away from spiritual things and continuoussecret sins may dull our sense of right and wrong. In such cases you see aChristian going back to their villages for seasonal sacrifices and ceremonies.When a Christian dressing in seductive manner in worldly and Jezebeliandressings it is evidence of the backsliding in the heart.  Today in modern Christianity as a result ofbacksliding many literally expose their breasts in the Church. Others go to theextreme of wearing transparent clothes and micro skirts all with the intentionof seducing the opposite sex. In many establishments today corporateprostitution is common among Christian workers. They are nothing but evidenceof backsliding that is going on in Christianity today.

RESULTS OF BACKSLIDING

1        UNFIT FOR THE KINGDOM: A moment out of touchwith God can bring a ruin to a life. A wrong choice, a false step, a single sincan make a person forever not fit for the Lord to use in public. A pastor rapeda 13 years old girl to death in Nigeria with the pretext of conductingdeliverance for her. Such a Pastor can no longer preach in the public. Such athing happen in 1 Corinthian chapter 5 as recorded below: 1 I can hardlybelieve the report about the sexual immorality going on among you, something soevil that even the pagans don’t do it. I am told that you have a man in yourchurch who is living in sin with his father’s wife. 2 And you are so proudof yourselves! Why aren’t you mourning in sorrow and shame? And why haven’t youremoved this man from your fellowship?

13 Eventhough I am not there with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit.*Concerning the one who has done this, I have already passed judgment 4 inthe name of the Lord Jesus. You are to call a meeting of the church,* and Iwill be there in spirit, and the power of the Lord Jesus will be with you asyou meet. 5 Then you must cast this man out of the church and into Satan’shands, so that his sinful nature will be destroyed* and he himself* will besaved when the Lord returns.

16 Howterrible that you should boast about your spirituality, and yet you let thissort of thing goes on. Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed togo on sinning, soon all will be affected? 7 Remove this wicked person fromamong you so that you can stay pure.* Christ, our Passover Lamb, has beensacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating theold bread* of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread* of purity and truth.

19 WhenI wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge insexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge insexual sin, or who are greedy or are swindlers or idol worshipers. You wouldhave to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 What I meant wasthat you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian* yetindulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or adrunkard, or a swindler. Don’t even eat with such people.

112 Itisn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job tojudge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways. 13 God willjudge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove theevil person from among you.”*

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2        UNHAPPY RESULTS TO OUR LIVES: Backsliding oftenbrings to our lives unhappy results that we cannot get away from. A backslideroften feels the painful effects of his sin in this life. David had to loose theson he got from adultery to untimely death as recorded in 2 Samuel 12:14. Somepeople have contracted the deadly AIDS as a result of promiscuous sexual life. Diseasesand weakness are sometimes reminders that whatsoever a man sow, that shall healso reap as written in Galatians 6:7 “Don’t be misled. Remember that you can’tignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow!”

3        DIVINE DISPLEASURE: Judas Iscariot the Apostolictreasurer brought divine displeasure to himself as a result of backsliding.Believers who have brought shame on the Lord by their disobedience have broughtsorrows on themselves, their family and their churches. In the book of Actschapter 5:1-11; Ananias and Saphira got a divine displeasure in their attemptto give God with a backslidden heart.

CURE FOR BACKSLIDING

1        TOTAL REPENTANCE: We have to truly sorry for oursins. The Bibles say in 1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins to him, he isfaithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong” We shouldconfess our sins to God. A broken and contrite heart God will not despise. TheBible says in 2 Chronicle 7:14 “Then if my people who are called by my namewill humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wickedways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

2        DELIVERANCE: Upon mount Zion there shall bedeliverance.