“Believers Beware of Backsliding”
Hosea 7:1-16, 11:7, 14:4
Scripture Reading
Hosea 7:8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. 9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.
Introduction: Have you ever heard the word backsliding? I have all my Christian life and I’ve also heard any number of different notions of what the term means.
Definition of Backslide by Merriam-Webster
1. To lapse morally or in the practice of religion. 2: to revert to a worse condition: retrogress.
The Scriptures have much to say about this subject.
Luke 9:62 - And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
And we have this warning in Hebrews 2:1-3 - Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let [them] slip.
Our text speaks to the issue and we have a record of the nation of Israel and the charge made against them by the Lord is that they have backslidden. Three things stand out as the prophet describes their spiritual condition.
I. There was the problem of disobedience that led to incomplete separation – “…8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people;
A biblical perspective: One of the strongest prohibitions in the OT is found in what God told Moses about Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land. They were prohibited from taking the Canaanite women to be their wives and giving their daughters to be married to Canaanite men. The reason for this was very clear. The danger was that those who “mixed” themselves among the Canaanites would adopt the idolatrous practices of the people, which in fact was what they did. How does this translate to believers today?
What does it mean for us today? In his book, “Balancing the Christian Life” Charles Ryrie writes:
Biblical separation is the recognition that God has called believers out of the world and into a personal and corporate purity in the midst of sinful cultures. Biblical separation is usually considered in two areas: personal and ecclesiastical.
Personal separation involves an individual’s commitment to a godly standard of behavior. Daniel practiced personal separation when he “resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (Daniel 1:8). His was a biblical separation because his standard was based on God’s revelation in the Mosaic law.
A modern example of personal separation could be the decision to decline invitations to parties where alcohol is served. Such a decision might be made in order to circumvent temptation (Romans 13:14), to avoid “every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22), or simply to be consistent with a personal conviction (Romans 14:5).
The Bible clearly teaches that the child of God is to be separate from the world. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17; see also 1 Peter 1:14-16).
Doctrinal separation involves the decisions of a church concerning its ties to other organizations, based on their theology or practices. Separation is implied in the very word “church,” which comes from the Greek word ekklesia meaning “a called-out assembly.” In Jesus’ letter to the church of Pergamum, He warned against tolerating those who taught false doctrine (Revelation 2:14-15). The church was to be separate, breaking ties with heresy. A modern example of doctinal separation could be a denomination’s stance against ecumenical alliances which would unite the church with apostates.
Biblical separation does not require Christians to have no contact with unbelievers. Like Jesus, we should befriend the sinner without partaking of the sin (Luke 7:34). Paul expresses a balanced view of separation: “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). In other words, we are in the world, but not of it.
We are to be light to the world without allowing the world to diminish our light. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
Second:
II. There was the problem of partial sanctification which leads to a distorted religious practice. – “…Ephraim is a cake not turned.
What comes to mind when you here that someone is half-baked? The Oxford English Dictionary, a standard reference for English usage, dates the phrase “half-baked” to 1613. Then or now, its meaning would be clear to anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of food preparation. It can mean anything that is incomplete, inadequate, or still partially in a primitive state. As with food, something that is half-baked can be merely inconvenient or downright dangerous.
In our text this morning the prophet uses this expression to describe the Israel, God’s chosen people and this description is not in the least bit complementary. This is not just an inconvenient truth; it is a dangerous truth for them spiritually. It is my belief that this description of Israel can be applied to the American church today. Churches all across America are filled with half-baked believers. Hosea the prophet indicts them for three aspects of their spiritual life. Ephraim is representative of the nation as a whole. Let’s examine the text, verses 8-9 in particular.
Ephraim is a cake not turned - a cake burnt on one side and unbaked on the other, and so inedible: an image of the worthlessness of Ephraim. The Easterns bake their bread on the ground, covering it with embers (1 Kings 19:6), and turning it every ten minutes, to bake it thoroughly without burning it. It points to the inconsistency of God’s people and their worthlessness.
Spiritually they were distorted; hard in one area and soft in another. Imbalanced and unbalanced they were no good to the Lord. Their kind of religious experience did more harm than good. Third:
III. There was the problem of unconscious deterioration which leads to a lack of discernment – “…9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.
This phrase points to a loss of discernment on their part.
John Macarthur writes that in its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.
First Thessalonians 5:21-22 teaches that it is the responsibility of every Christian to be discerning: "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." The apostle John issues a similar warning when he says, "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). According to the New Testament, discernment is not optional for the believer-it is required.
The key to living an uncompromising life lies in one's ability to exercise discernment in every area of his or her life. For example, failure to distinguish between truth and error leaves the Christian subject to all manner of false teaching. False teaching then leads to an unbiblical mindset, which results in unfruitful and disobedient living-a certain recipe for compromise.
Unfortunately, discernment is an area where most Christians stumble. They exhibit little ability to measure the things they are taught against the infallible standard of God's Word, and they unwittingly engage in all kinds of unbiblical decision-making and behavior. In short, they are not armed to take a decidedly biblical stand against the onslaught of unbiblical thinking and attitudes that face them throughout their day.
Discernment intersects the Christian life at every point. And God's Word provides us with the needed discernment about every issue of life. According to Peter, God "has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). You see, it is through the "true knowledge of Him," that we have been given everything we need to live a Christian life in this fallen world. And how else do we have true knowledge of God but through the pages of His Word, the Bible? In fact, Peter goes on to say that such knowledge comes through God's granting "to us His precious and magnificent promises" (2 Peter 1:4).
Discernment -- the ability to think biblically about all areas of life -- is indispensable to an uncompromising life. It is incumbent upon the Christian to seize upon the discernment that God has provided for in His precious truth! Without it, Christians are at risk of being "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14).
A classic illustration by D. L. Moody: “Strangers have devoured his strength - from Hosea 7:9
What gives spiritual weakness like allowed sin? It was so with Israel, it will ever be so with us. Yielding to unhallowed association (with) strangers devour our strength.
"Strangers have devoured his strength" tells of the powerlessness of one under sin. The order is, first, at conversion, God takes us up out of this present evil age; and then next, sends us into it. Not to be of it, but to be lights in it, and to take others out of it.
"The friendship of the world is enmity to God." It is like the ivy with the oak (tree), the ivy may give the oak a grand, beautiful appearance, but all the while it is feeding on the vitals.
In my own experience our backslidings happen when we fail to confess our sins: when we allow sin to remain unconfessed it is like a thorn that I stepped on recently. It apparently broke off under the skin and after the initial pain I went on about my business trying to just push through the problem that is until I noticed some redness and a return of a different kind of pain. Ultimately it required a visit to the ER at midnight and a doctor’s visit the following day with antibiotic and pain meds and a month to get well, and I still have a scar.
When we fail to confess our sins, and Christians do sin, we allow sin to fester. We Christians resist the convicting power of the Holy Spirit we grieve Him and we harden our hearts. We desensitize our conscience and it becomes more and more difficult to repent. Soo the first priority is to keep good accounts with God where sin is concerned. When we realize that we have sinned we should confess it immediately! Don’t delay and don’t procrastinate.
Thankfully we have a biblical formula for staying right with God and it’s found in 1 John 1:9:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
