I have called this sermon “ROAD SIGNS OF DANGER”, because the Christian life is similar to traveling down a road.
Illus: Have you ever traveled down a road and you came to a road sign that indicated that a curve was ahead? Once you got to the curve, it was so sharp that you could almost see your tail lights as you went around the curve.
Then you came to another road sign that indicated their was a curve, but the curve was such a long gradual curve you hardly realized you were going around a curve.
The curve to backsliding is not a deep curve. It is one of those long gradual curves in the road. But as you continue to follow that gradual curve it will take you back to where you started.
Leaving the lord is usually a slow process. It is such a gradual process that we sometimes do not even notice what is going on until we are far away from the Lord.
Illus: It is like placing a frog in a pan of cold water and very slowly raising the temperature until it is cooked. The frog will not notice the change of temperature until it is too late.
That is why we are warned in Hebrews 2:1, “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.”
There are two basic changes that take place along the road to backsliding. First there is:
I. A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE
One of the quickest changes you can see in a person that is backsliding is their attitude about spiritual matters.
This change of attitude can be seen in several ways, such as:
A. THEY HAVE A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD’S CHURCH.
We all have noticed during the pandemic something very horrible has take place in God’s church. When it first started people were afraid to come to church or go anywhere. We became prisoners in our own homes afraid to go anywhere.
Then the vaccine came and many people got the vaccine and they started going around the city taking care of business.
But the devil always takes advantage of a crisis and many travel all over the place except to their church.
A major denomination recently reported thousands of churches across this nation has closed down or considering closing down because christians are not only attending they are neither tithing.
We have more backslidden christians than ever before.
This is the most visible thing you can see in the life of a person who is backsliding.
• All of a sudden everything the world has to offer appeals to them, and the things of God are placed on the back shelf in their life.
• The church that once was a blessing to them and where they enjoyed attending, now is something they try to avoid like a plague.
• They once had time for God’s church, but now all of their time is spent on serving the gods of this world.
• They now have hundreds of excuses for why they do not attend church regularly anymore. It does not bother them in the slightest that they are making up these excuses as fast as the need arises.
Why? Because they no longer have a heart that wants to please the Lord.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?
Day by day, as they traveled the road of life, they started in this curve of backsliding. It was so gradual that they cannot even remember exactly when it started. But now they have traveled this road of backsliding so much, that their life-style has almost become the same as it was before they got saved.
They walk down the street now and-
• People will say of them, “I remember when that man/woman really loved the Lord.”
• Their Children can remember how proud they once were that they had a Christian dad and mom.
• Their coworkers had great respect for them as a Christian and would not think of saying a curse word in their presence.
But now they have made that big curve, and people see them in a different way.
The church that once was a top priority in their life is now something that they attend only if there are:
• No family reunions to attend
• No ball games to attend
• Nothing on television they want to watch
• No place they want to go
It is very evident that they no longer love the Lord Jesus as they once did.
They have moved so far away from God that now, like Peter who stood beside the crowd at the fire and denied the Lord three times, they feel more comfortable with the lost world than they do with God’s people.
Once they were on fire for the Lord and if they sat home and watched television when they should have been in the house of God they felt miserable, but now they can do it and not feel bad at all.
THEY HAVE A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD’S CHURCH, and:
B. THEY HAVE A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD
The backslider wants the Lord for his Savior, but he has no desire for Him to be Lord of his/her life.
Illus: Someone very wisely said, “Jesus is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”
The Word of God confirms that. Look at Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Again, the backslider wants the Lord for his Savior, but his life reflects that he does not want Him as LORD OF HIS LIFE.
If we believe the Word of God and do not obey it, we are doing no more than the Devil is doing, for he knows that Christ is the Savior of the world.
James 2:19,20 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
The first change that you see when a person begins to backslide is an ATTITUDE CHANGE.
It becomes obvious to all that their ATTITUDE toward GOD’S CHURCH and toward GOD HAS CHANGED!
Now look at the second change, there is a
II. A CHANGE IN ACTIONS
When our ATTITUDE changes, it will not be long before our ACTIONS start to change.
It is shocking to see how drastic a person’s lifestyle can change once they start to backslide.
Their ATTITUDE HAS CHANGED and so have their ACTIONS.
• They know they are no longer close to the Lord
• Their family knows they are no longer living close to the Lord
• Their friends know they are no longer living close to the Lord
• Their neighbors know they are no longer living close to the Lord
But most importantly, God knows they are no longer living close to Him.
Let me give you a Bible example.
Illus: There was a time in the life of Solomon that no one would have ever doubted that he loved the Lord. This man loved God so much that when God gave Him a chance to ask for anything he wanted, he loved God so much that what he wanted the most was wisdom to make good sound decisions to do God’s will.
But Solomon started hanging out with the wrong people, and it wasn’t long before this man of God changed so much that he began to build places of worship for idols.
Look at 1 Kings 11:2-5, “Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.”
Then look at 1 Kings 11:7-8, “Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”
The fact that a PERSON or CONGREGATION loves the Lord today, does not mean they will love the Lord tomorrow. Some of the folks today would not attend the churches they attend if they were on fire for the Lord.
We live in a nation with so many backslidden Christians, that it is astounding to see what is taking place in the house of God, and no one seems to even care.
Illus: Bill Benett, who has been called the “Conscience of America”, often appears on national talk shows speaking about some of the corruption that is taking place in Washington, D.C., and he asks, “WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?”
Illus: If you want to see how far this country has gone in the wrong direction, look at the OUTRAGE over President Nixon compared to almost NO OUTRAGE over what President Clinton has done.
The economy is doing well, and the sentiment of most Americans is, “FORGET IT!”
Today we have gotten so used to seeing so much evil and seeing so very little righteousness, that we have come to accept EVIL AS A WAY OF LIFE!
This is bad when a nation gets like this, but it is also bad when God’s church has drifted from worshipping God, and become so polluted with the world. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
• There are churches where some of the great preachers of the past preached the Word of God with power. You can go into those same church buildings today, and everything but the Word of God is being preached.
• Some of the old denominations that preached against sin, no longer preach against sin.
Illus: On the radio talk show, “The Charlie and Jill Show”, on May 2, 2000, Charlie said to Jill, “Isn’t the church supposed to preach against the sin of homosexuality? Why is it that the United Methodist denomination is paying for the lawyer for a homosexual to defend his rights to be a Boy Scout leader?”
This is not a Christian show, but even the lost world today recognizes that religious denominations have changed in their ACTIONS against sin.
The Lord warns us that before He returns for His church, things will become so bad that it will be difficult to even find faith on the earth.
Look at Luke 18: 8 “…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
Well the answer to that question is yes He will, but there will not be much of it.
When a person’s attitude toward GOD’S CHURCH and GOD begins to change, it is soon going to affect their ACTIVITIES! They might continue to go through the same religious rituals, and use the same terminology, but their hearts will be far from God.
This is what has happened to the backslidden church in this nation. They have a form of godliness, but their lives do not reflect a close walk with the Lord.
Their attachment to the church and to religious terminology make them still feel spiritual, but it is empty religion.
They are doing the same identical thing that some of the cults are doing. For example, the Mormon church will use the same terminology that a Bible Believing church will use. They will talk about:
• God
• The Holy Spirit
• The Son of God
• The Bible
But you have to remember that when they use this terminology, they do not have the same meaning to these things as we have.
Today a lot of churches are backslidden, and the reason we know they are backslidden is because they use the same terminology we do, but their ACTIONS reflect that they are far from the Lord. For example:
• They might have a beer party and call it a youth fellowship!
• They might entertain a congregation with celebrities or karate and call it worship.
• They might desecrate God’s day at the beach and call it a week end retreat.
• They might bring dancing and bingo in the church and call it an activity.
Those who have had a CHANGE IN ATTITUDE, will also have a CHANGE IN THEIR ACTIONS.
Erroneously they think that because they are still using Bible terminology, it means they are still in line with the scriptures.
But God’s Word says in Isa. 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Conclusion:
Illus: Have you ever gone to one of these restaurants that serve a buffet? You really were not that hungry, but you got your plate and said, “Well, I will get a little of this and a little of that”, and soon you had a plate full of food.
This is what the devil has done to a lot of Christians. He has placed before them a little of this and a little of that, and soon their lives are so packed with the things of the world, they no longer have time to serve the Lord.
These are ROAD SIGNS OF DANGER.
I. CHANGE IN ATTITUDE
II. CHANGE IN ACTION
Illus: A little girl came home from Sunday school, where she had been taught the verse: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” She asked her mother what the verse meant. Her mom said, "Well, it means you live close to the Lord and obey His word, and by that you are letting Christ's light shine in your life before all who know you."
The very next Sunday, in Sunday school, the little girl got into an argument with another student and created somewhat of an uproar--to such an extent that the Sunday school teacher had to call her mother.
Her mother was concerned when she got to the classroom and said, "Sweetie, don't you remember about letting your light shine for the Lord before others?" The girl blurted out, "Mom, I guess the devil has blowed my light out!”
I want to ask you something: “Has the devil blowed your light out?” If he has, you need to get on your knees before the Lord and say, “God help me to get on fire for the Lord again. God, for
• Your sake
• My sake
• My family sake
• My friends sake
Help me, O Lord!
The church of Sardis drifted from the Lord, and God said to them, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.” If you have drifted, He is telling you the same thing today.
Note: You can hear many of the sermons on youtube by Dr. Odell Belger
