"THE BACKSLIDING BELIEVER"
Zechariah 3:1-10
Zec 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
Introduction: The subject that we are examining this morning is one that you probably will not hear much about. There is very little interest in the church world today to learn what happens when a believers drifts away from the Lord but the issue is real and serious. Some of God's choicest servants have been backsliders in the Biblical sense of the world. Abraham was and so was Moses and Noah and certainly King David and the nation of Israel is characterized as a "backsliding people" and even a church can backslide for we find in Rev 2:4 that the church at Ephesus had lost its "...first love..."
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
the list goes on and on so let's look at the vision that the prophet saw and try to identify the different characters in the vision. Zechariah's vision is of the remnant who had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem. First, we have Joshua the high priest who represents all those who worship Jehovah. Second, we have the angel of the Lord which is Jesus in His pre-incarnate manifestation to which almost all Bible commentators agree. Undoubtedly one of the great truths the risen Lord revealed to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus was the many Scriptures that employ the terminology of "The Angel of the Lord". Consider: "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24:27 (NKJV) and third, we have Satan who is pictured
I. The Accused - Joshua
a. The charge
ILL - "It is doubtful if a moral fall is ever abrupt. People decline in religion and backslide gradually. Like descending a stairway, they go down step by step."
Backsliding is a drift, a downward progression away from the Lord.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
b. The condition
Hos 7:8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
Hos 7:9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.
unconscious deterioration
incomplete separation
uneven consecration
ILL - In the Middle East, bread is baked in an interesting fashion. Having heated the hearth, the bakers sweep one corner, put the cake upon it, and cover it with embers or ashes; in a short time they turn it, cover it again, and continue this every 10 to 15 minutes until they find it sufficiently baked. If it is not turned, the bottom will be burnt, and the top unbaked, and so be good for nothing; not fit to be eaten, being nothing indeed, neither bread nor dough. The people were like a pancake burned on one side but raw on the other. Ephraim boasted themselves to be a people sacred to God and yet did not fully commit to Him. Although they took advantage of the Lord's goodness, they did not seek Him with their whole heart. Jerry Flury
"They feared the Lord, and SERVED THEIR OWN GODS, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence."
"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior." Titus 3:5-6
BACKSLIDING IS MISERABLE
It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose "backsliding" is the worst. A stranded ship, a broken-winged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins--all these are sad sights. But a backslider is a sadder sight still. That true grace shall never be extinguished, and true union with Christ never be broken off, I feel no doubt. But I do believe that a man may fall away so far that he shall lose sight of his own grace, and despair of his own salvation. And if this is not hell, it is certainly the next thing to it!
A wounded conscience, a mind sick of itself, a memory full of self-reproach, a heart pierced through with the Lord's arrows, a spirit broken with a load of inward accusation--all this is a taste of hell. It is a hell on earth.
--John Charles Ryle -- (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations)
c. The
Salt is a wonderful thing. It is used in Scripture to describe the testimony of a believer as he/she seasons, purifies, and preserves, but salt also does something else. It irritates. Real Christianity rubs the world and the worldly the wrong way. Godly living is a rebuke to the unspiritual, unscriptural and the unregenerate. "The salt of the earth needs to be rubbed in, even if it smarts!" Vance Havner - Be salty!
II. The Adversary - Satan
a. The position of the adversary
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
If you backslide rest assured Satan won't be far away!
ILL - Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
b. The practice of the adversary
Notice from verse 1 we see the activity of Satan. He is there to "resist" Joshua. This word is translated accuse which is what the Bible says our adversary does.
Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Martin Luther expressed this truth eloquently in "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" when he wrote:
"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood, of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe, does seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal."
c. The purpose of the adversary
The purpose of Satan is to hurt what God loves and God loves his children very much. He does this by deception, seduction and allurement.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
III. The Advocate -- The Angel
a. The command -- Take away the filthy garments
b. The cause -- I have caused
c. The change -- I will clothe thee with a change of rainment
"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." I Peter 2:5
A. M. Hills (From Backsliders and Worldly Christians):
"It is doubtful if a moral fall is ever abrupt. People decline in religion and backslide gradually. Like descending a stairway, they go down step by step."
JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU I LOVE YOU
Paul Powell tells the story of a well-known preacher from years ago. His name was Carter Jones. Carter had a small room in the attic of his home that he used as a place of prayer. When he was especially burdened, he would make his way up the winding staircase to that room to spend some quiet moments with God. The members of his family knew that when he went to the attic room for prayer. They were not to bother him under any circumstances.
One day, under some heavy burdens, he climbed the stairs, went into the room, and knelt beside the chair to pray. But he had hardly started when the door swung open and there stood his little girl. The moment his eyes met hers, she knew she had done wrong.
She knew she shouldn't be there. But she said, "Daddy, you've been so busy lately I haven't seen you much. And I just wanted to tell you that I love you." And with that she threw her arms around her father's neck, gave him a big hug, wheeled around, and was gone as quickly as she had come.
Still on his knees, Carter wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Father, I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time for you. I just want to tell you again that I love you."
Paul Powell adds: "That's what Christ wants from all of us. Unless we say it as well as feel it, and show it as well as confess it, we do not love Him as He wants to be loved. He wants us to show our devotion by our commitment, our calluses, and by our confession. . . There is not a believer here whose fellowship with God is exactly what God wants it to be. God wants you to feel it in your heart, and to know it in your mind, and to live it in your life. And He wants you to be right with Him. And you can do it now if you'll rededicate your life to Him.
(Adapted from "Jumpstarting Dead Churches" by Paul Powell - Sermon: "The Return of a Backslider" - p. 21-22. From a sermon by Rick Crandall, Moses on the Mountain with the Lord - Part 2, 8/3/2011)
