THE PERILS OF BACKSLIDING
JEREMIAH 2-3
AS WE STUDY THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH, WE COME FACE TO FACE WITH THE REALITY THAT THE NATION THAT JEREMIAH PROPHECIED TO, IS REMARKABLY CLOSE TO OUR WORLD, AND OUR NATION TODAY.
JEREMIAH WAS CALLED TO BE A PROPHET TO PEOPLE WHO WOULD NOT LISTEN. HE PROPHECIED FOR OVER 40 YEARS, AND WITNESSED NO CHANGE IN SOCIETY AS DID MANY OF HIS COUNTERPARTS. THE END RESULT WOULD BE PUNISHMENT BY GOD BY EXILE TO THE BABYLONIAN NATION.
THE EARLY CHAPTERS OF JEREMIAH SPEAK ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE NATION, AS HE SAW IT. THE NATION DID NOT TURN AGAINST GOD ALL OF A SUDDEN. IT HAPPENED OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS. AT ONE TIME THEY HAD AN AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THEY WERE STILL HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE EVEN THOUGH, AT THIS TIME THEY WERE NOT WALKING WITH HIM. THEY HAD IN FACT BACKSLIDDEN.
TODAY I WANT TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE WITH YOU TODAY. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A BACKSLIDER? HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE THE SITUATION? ISRAEL WAS FACING ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS THEN, JUST AS WE ARE TODAY.
TODAY WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BACKSLIDE?
2. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF BACKSLIDING?
3. WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE THE SITUATION?
4. WHAT ARE THE REWARDS FOR US IF WE DO COME BACK TO GOD?
POINT ONE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BACKSLIDE?
I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I HAVE HAD A RATHER CONCRETE APPROACH TO THIS ISSUE. WHEN I FIRST STARTED IN MINISTRY I DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS SUCH A POSITION. I USED TO BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE DID NOT BACKSLIDE, BUT THAT THEY NEVER HAD A SAVING ENCOUNTER WITH GOD IN THE FIRST PLACE. I WOULD ASK MYSELF, “HOW COULD A PERSON WHO HAS HAD A GENUINE SWAVING ENCOUNTER WITH GOD, TURN THEIR BACK ON HIM.” IT JUST DIDN’T SEEM POSSIBLE TO ME.
BUT ISRAEL HAD A GENUINE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD. GOD CHOSE ISRAEL TO BE HIS PEOPLE. HE CHOSE TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM. IN THE BEGINNING THEY WALKED CLOSE WITH GOD,
JEREMIAH 2:3: “Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’" declares the LORD.”
THIS VERSE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE USE OF HOLY INDICATES NOT ONLY THE FACT THAT THE NATION OF ISRAEL WAS A NATION SEPARATED UNTO GOD ALONE FOR HIS SERVICE, IT SHOWS THAT ISRAEL WAS GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.
THE “FIRSTFRUITS” ARE IMPORTANT IN THAT THEY ARE SET ASIDE AS SACRED. GOD CONSIDERED THE NATION TO BE SACRED AND SET APART BY HIM. THE FIRSTFRUITS WERE OFFERED TO GOD AND COULD NOT BE EATEN BY COMMON ISRAELITES.
GOD TOLD ABRAHAM IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS:
GENESIS 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."”
BUT NOW JEREMIAH FACES A PEOPLE WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR BACKS TOTALLY ON HE WHO LED THEM OUT OF EGYPTIAN EXILE
HE WHO LED THEM THROUGH THE RED SEA
HE WHO LED THEM THROUGH THE WILDERNESS
HE WHO LED THEM TO THE PROMISED LAND
HE WHO PROTECTED THEM FROM THEIR ENEMIES
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO JUDAH, WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE TERM BACKSLIDE.
WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY DEFINES THE WORD AS:
“TO FALL OFF; TO APOSTATIZE; TO TURN GRADUALLY FROM THE FAITH AND PRACTICE OF CHRISTIANITY.”
A BACKSLIDER THEN IS ONE WHO HAS HAD A GENUINE EXPERIENCE WITH GOD BUT WHO IS NOW AN APOSTATE; ONE WHO FALLS FROM THE FAITH AND PRACTICE OF RELIGION.
BACKSLIDING THEN IS THE ACT OF APOSTATIZING FROM FAITH OR PRACTICE; A FALLING INSENSIBLY FROM RELIGION INTO SIN OR IDOLATRY.
WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT ALTHOUGH GOD HAS DELIVERED US FROM OUR SINFUL CONDITION, HE HAS NOT TAKEN FROM THIS WORLD, THOSE THINGS WHICH ENSLAVED US TO OUR SINFUL CONDITION. ALCOHOL IS STILL AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD, AND THE CONVERTED ALCOHOLIC WILL STILL FACE THE TEMPTATION OF ALCOHOL. THE CONVERTED DRUG ADDICT WILL ALWAYS KNOW HOW EASY IT IS TO GET DRUGS.
HEBREWS IS PLAIN WHEN IT STATES THAT THERE IS A SIN “THAT SO EASILY BESETS US” AND THAT DOES NOT CHANGE EVN THOUGH WE HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST.
WHAT CHANGES IS THAT WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE DOMINATION OF OUR SINFUL NATURE, IF WE ALLOW CHRIST TO RULE AS LORD IN OUR LIVES. WE CAN SUCCESSFULLY DEFEAT THE TEMPTATION OF SATAN WHEN WE ARE FOLLOWING CHRIST. IT IS WHEN WE ARE NOT FOLLOWING CHRIST, WHEN WE ARE IN A BACKSLIDDDEN STATE THAT THE TEMPTATION TO SIN BECOMES TOO MUCH FOR US.
POINT TWO: WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF BACKSLIDING?
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT CHARACTERIZE A BACKSLIDER. WE CAN SEE SEVERAL OF THESE IN THE NATION OF ISRAEL, AS WELL AS IN OUR NATION TODAY.
1. THEY WILL DISPLAY SPIRITUAL INSENSITIVITY.
JEREMIAH 3:3: “Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.”
PROSTITUTES OF THIS DAY OFTEN SIGNIFIED THEY WERE PROSTITUTES BY MARKS ON THEIR FOREHEAD. IT WOULD BE PLAIN TO SEE BY ALL AND MOST “GOOD” PEOPLE WOULD AVOID THEM BECAUSE OF THE MARK.
PROSTITUTES OF THAT DAY HAD NO SHAME WEARING THE MARK PUBLICLY WITHOUT REMORSE, UNAWARE THAT THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEIR TRADE.
WHEN A CHRISTIAN BACKSLIDES, THEY BECOME INDIFFERENT TO ACTIONS THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF. THE PERSON WHO IS BACKSLIDING HAS NO IDEA THAT THINGS THEY SAY AND DO, POINT BLATENTLY TO THEIR CEASING TO WALK WITH THE LORD.
AS CHRISTIANS WE SHOULD BE SEEKING SPIRIT GUIDANCE IN ALL THAT WE SAY AND DO. WHEN A PERSON WHO CLAIMS SALVATION BEGINS DOING THINGS THEY ONCE RENOUNCED, AND ARE TOTALLY INSENSITIVE TO ANY SHAME THAT SHOULD BE FELT IN DOING THEM, THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY TO A BACKSLIDDEN STATE.
2. THEY ARE FULL OF SPIRITUAL HYPOCRISY.
LUKE 6:46: “"Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
THE ISSUE AT HAND HERE IS AN ISSUE OF LORDSHIP. WHO IS IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE?
OUR SPIRITUAL WALK SHOULD MATCH OUR SPIRITUAL TALK. IF IT DOESN’T, THIS IS A GOOD INDICATION THAT WE ARE IN A BACKSLIDDEN STATE.
THERE WAS A WOMAN WHO WAS AN OUTGOING MEMBER OF A FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE CHURCH, WHO HAD IMPRESSED HER PASTOR WITH HER INTENSE COMMITMENT TO THHE FAITH. SHE DID NOT HAVE A PIETISTIC BONE IN HER BODY, BUT HER DEVOTION WAS CLEAR AND ARTICULATE.
ONE EVENING AT A DINNER PARTY SHE WAS HOSTING, SHE AND HER PASTOR WERE ENTHUIASTICALLY IN DISCUSSION CONCERNING SOME THEOLOGICAL IDEA. HER TEENAGE DAUGHTER SOON GREW FRUSTRATED WITH THE DISCUSSION AND ASKED “MOTHER, WHY DO YOU TALK ABOUT RELIGION ALL THE TIME? WHY ARE YOU SO RELIGIOUS?”
HER MOTHER PAUSED DRAMATICALLY FROM THE CONVERSATION, PUSHED HER CHAIR BACK FROM THE TABLE, STOOD AND RESPONDED. “EVERY MORNING BEFORE YOU ARE AWAKE, I RISE AND WALK TO THE LIVING ROOM. I LIFT MY ARMS AND ASK, “WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE?” THE ANSWER ALWAYS COMES BACK: “NOT YOU!” THAT’S WHY I’M RELIGIOUS. BECAUSE I AM NOT IN CHARGE.”
3. IF YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY OBSTINANTE THEN YOU MAY BE IN A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION.
JEREMIAH 3:7: “I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.”
OBSTINANTE MEANS TO BE STUBBORN OR NOT YIELDING TO REASON. THERE WOULD BE NO ONE HERE WHO WOULD MEET THAT BILL WOULD THERE, CERTAINLY NOT THE ONE STANDING BEHIND THE PULPIT.
I FIND IT AMAZING THAT WHEN PEOPLE DISCOVER SPIRITUAL CHANGES THAT HAVE TO BE MADE IN THEIR LIVES IN ORDER TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHEN THEY KNOW THE CHANGES THAT HAVE TO BE MADE TO GROW, THAT THEY WILL NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID OF WHAT THE NEXT PERSON IS GOING TO SAY.
LISTEN I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU. I HAVE DIABETES. I DON’T CARE IF YOU SEE ME WALKING INTO THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE. I AM NOT GOING TO LOSE SLEEP IF YOU SEE ME AT THE DRUG STORE GETTING MY MEDICATION. THESE ARE THINGS I HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN GOOD HEALTH, AND I WOULD BE FOOLISH TO STOP BECAUSE OF WHAT PEOPLE MAY THINK.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR US SPIRITUALLY. IF WE STOP OUR SPIRITUAL WALK BECAUSE GOD IS SPEAKING TO US AND WE ARE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY, THEN WE WILL CHEAT OURSELVES OUT OF MANY BLESSINGS AND THE PEACE OF GOD.
4. IF OUR ONLY USE FOR JEHOVAH IS TO HELP US ESCAPE OUR CALAMITIES, WE MAY BE IN A BACKSLIDDEN STATE.
JEREMIAH 2:27-28:
“27 They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.”
IT IS NOT WRONG TO TURN TO GOD IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, BUT THIS MUST NOT BE THE ONLY REASON TO TURN TO HIM. WE OFTEN PUT OUR HOPE IN THE GODS OF THIS WORLD. WE TURN TO DOCTORS IN TIMES OF SICKNESS, FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS FOR MONEY AFFAIRS, EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES TO HELP US FIND A JOB. WE SET UP OUR OWN LITTLE GODS TO HELP US. WHEN WE COME TO SOMETHING THAT OUR LITTLE GODS CAN’T DO, ONLY THEN DO WE TURN TO GOD. WHEN THINGS ARE GOING WELL WE CLAIM THE CREDIT, WHEN THEY ARE NOT WE GIVE GOD THE BLAME.
THE RESULT OF THESE SYMPTOMS AND OTHERS IS THAT PEOPLE WILL ACT IN THE SAME MANNER THAT ISRAEL DID IN THE TIME OF JEREMIAH.
1. PEOPLE WILL TURN AWAY FROM THE TEACHING OF THE SCRIPTURE.
2. PEOPLE WILL TURN TO IDOLS.
3. PEOPLE WILL MAKE UNSAFE ALLIANCES WITH WORLDLY GROPUS AND OTHER RELIGIONS.
TWO SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE DEVELOPED A FORMULA FOR A FAITH THAT STICKS AND ONE THAT ENDS IN REJECTING OUR FAITH.
A FAITH THAT STICKS:
A CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN HOME = REGULAR CHURCH ATTENDANCE + FEW RELIGIOUS DOUBTS + A MEMBERSHIP IN A CATHOLIC OR CONSERVATIVE CHURCH = PERSISTENT BELIEFS.
A FAITH THAT DOESN’T STICK:
WITNESSING HYPOCRISY AND DISHONESTY IN THE CHURCH + INFREQUENT CHURCH ATTENDANCE +RELIGIOUS DOUBTS + MEMBERSHIP IN A MAINLINE PROTESTANT DENOMINATION = RELIGIOUS DROPOUT.
THIS SOCIOLOGIST ALSO FOUND OUT THAT THOSE WHO’D ABANDONED THEIR FAITH WERE: LESS HAPPY, DISSATISFIED WITH LIFE, HELD MORE LIBERAL VIEWS, HAD LOWER SELF-ESTEEM THAN THEIR RELIGIOUS COUNTERPARTS.
THE BACKSLIDER IS A PERSON WHO HAS NO HOME.. THEY ARE NO LONGER SATISFIED IN THE CHURCH, NOR CAN THEY BE SATISFIED IN THE WORLD.
POINT THREE: WHAT CAN WE DO TO CHANGE THE SITUATION?
THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT THE GOSPEL AND JESUS IS THAT HE ALWAYS MAKES SURE THAT THERE IS A WAY BACK. WE DO NOT HAVE TO STAY IN A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION. WE CAN RESTORE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
JEREMIAH THROUGHOUT HIS BOOK IS CONSTANTLY URGING HIS PEOPLE TO RESTORE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AND TURN FROM THEIR WAYWARD PATH.
JEREMIAH 3:12-13:
“12 ¶ Go, proclaim this message toward the north: "’Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’" declares the LORD.”
JEREMIAH 3:22: “"Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding." "Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God.”
THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO CHANGE OUR BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION:
1. REMORSE FOR MY GUILT BEFORE GOD. REMEMBER ONE OF THE SYMPTOMS OF BACKSLIDING IS AN INSENSITIVITY TO OUR GUILT OVER OUR SIN. REMORSE INDICATES A POSITIVE CHANGE IN ATTITUDE. JESUS TAUGHT:
MATTHEW 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
HE WAS TEACHING THAT WHOEVER MOURNED THEIR SINFUL CONDITION, AND SOUGHT A CHANGE, WILL FIND COMFORT IN CHRIST.
2. REPENT OF MY SIN.
3. REMEMBER THE CROSS.
4. RENOUNCE AND FORSAKE MY EVIL WAYS.
5. RETURN TO THE CHURCH
6. READ THE BIBLE
POINT FOUR: WHAT ARE THE REWARDS FOR US IF WE DO COME BACK TO GOD?
PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE TO CONTINUE IN A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION.
JEREMIAH 3:22: “"Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding." "Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God.”
THROUGHOUT THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH WE CAN FIND MANY SUCH OASIS OF HOPE. WE MUST MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO RETURN TO CHRIST THOUGH.
DELIVERENCE COMES WHEN WE FACE THE REALITY OF OUR SITUATION. DELIVERENCE COMES WHEN THERE IS FULL REPENTANCE.
JOHN WROTE TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS:
REVELATION 2:4-5:
“4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
1. WHEN WE ARE IN A PROPER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD WE CAN KNOW THE BLESSING OF HIS PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES.
2. WE CAN KNOW THE INNER PEACE THAT COMES FROM HIS PRESENCE THAT THOSE WHO ARE NOT BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANS CANNOT KNOW.
3. WE CAN KNOW THE JOY OF SERVING JESUS, AND BUILDING HIS KINGDOM.
4. WE CAN KNOW THE ASSURANCE OF OUR ETERNAL HOME WITH HIM.
5. WE WILL BE BLESSED IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS WHILE IN THIS WORLD.
THESE AND OTHER HIDDEN GEMS ARE THE REWARDS AND BLESSINGS OF AN UNHINDERED WALK WITH THE LORD.
CONCLUSION:
AS A NATION AND AS A CHURCH WHERE DO WE STAND NOW IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?
I BELIEVE WE KNOW THAT AS A NATION, BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA ARE WALKING AWAY FROM THE LORD.
BUT WHAT OF THE CHURCH?
I COULD GIVE YOU A PAGE OF STATISTICS TO SHOW THAT THE CHURCH IS WALKING AWAY FROM THE LORD AS WELL, BUT I WON’T.
TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THAT IT IS.
I WOULD RATHER ASK YOU A QUESTION INSTEAD. IT IS A QUESTION THAT CAN KEEP YOU FROM BACKSLIDING. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT KIND OF SALVATION DO YOU WANT? WHAT KIND OF A RELATIONSHIP DO YOU WANT WITH THE LORD?
1. I WANT A SALVATION THAT IS BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD. THE SCRIPTURE STATES “FOREVER O LORD, YOUR WORD IS SETTLED IN HEAVEN.” A SALVATION BASED ON THE WORD IS A SALVATION BASED ON SECURITY.
1 PETER 1:25: “the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.”
THE BIBLE IS: INSPIRED
INFALLIBLE
INERRANT
ETERNAL
2. I WANT A SALVATION THAT CAN ERASE ALL MY SINS:
PSALM 103:12: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
3. I WANT A SALVATION I CAN ENJOY:
HABAKKUK 3:18: “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
WE CAN ENJOY OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
RELATIONSHIP
4. I WANT A SALVATION THAT WILL ESCORT ME TO HEAVEN.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:55-57
“55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
WHEN WE ARE CONSCIOUSLY PURSUEING THE KIND OF SALVATION WE WANT, WE WILL HAVE NO TIME TO BE TEMPTED BY SATANIC FORCES. OUR THOUGHTS AND LIVES WILL BE CENTERED ON OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST AND BACKSLIDING WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE.
