Backsliding: Last words on the matter
Editor’s note: A few weeks ago, on March 14, we published an article by George Stiekes called, “Do We Still Believe in Backsliding?” He sent that out as a devotional on March 11 and I was moved to repost it. Bro. Stiekes has been a friend since he pastored in Washington state some years ago. After he retired, he continued to serve by sending out daily devotionals. He had a tremendous output. Early on, I asked if I could use his material in our church bulletin and here on P&D. He gave me blanket permission to repost his material wherever and whenever I liked, and graciously said, “fix any mistakes you find.” (I follow Word’s grammar checker… that’s about as technical as I can get.)
After that March 11 post, brother Stiekes sent out two more posts, then suddenly fell ill and went to heaven on March 16. He had a long profitable ministry, and always ministered to my heart. I have a backlog of many devotionals to choose from, and will likely bring you more in the future. Today, I am combining his last two posts, also on backsliding, as a kind of tribute to his memory. I was glad to know him, and call him friend. He was a blessing to me, and we will meet again.
Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Jeremiah 3:22
It is in REVIVAL that sin is confessed, and God’s people turn from their sin in repentance and there are tears of joy everywhere in the revival services as saints get right with God and with one another.
It is in revival that there are some who under the conviction of the Spirit of God recognize that they had never truly been saved (converted). There are usually many Christians who recognize that they are saved but have never had an intimate personal relationship with the Lord.
Some of the sins normally confessed during revival include:
- Covetousness (Genesis 13:10; Joshua 7:1-24).
- Fear (Matthew 26:70-74).
- Pride (Proverbs 16:18).
- Self-absorption – desires over God’s will (Proverbs 14:14).
- Idolatry (Exodus 32:8; I Samuel 15:23; Colossians 3:5).
- Disobedience (I Samuel 15:11).
- Adultery and fornication (Nehemiah 13:26; Galatians 5:19; Romans 13:9).
- Ambition or power (Acts 8:19).
- Love of the world (II Timothy 4:10; I John 2:15-17).
- Failure to take time daily for the Lord (Proverbs 16:;18; II timothy 2:15).
- Failure to obey God’s Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).
- Failure to confess Christ (Matthew 10:33).
- Failure to walk right (Ephesians 4:5; I John 1:7).
The Results of Backsliding
There are many examples of God’s children who sinned and returned to fellowship with the Lord. We must recognize that our loving God is also merciful and is waiting to restore any believer who recognizes His sin against the Lord and repents of it. Any believer that wants it can be restored to fellowship with God. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). We can be assured that If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1: 9).
One of the problems of backsliding even after repentance is that we cannot always undo the terrible consequences that took place while we were away from the Lord.
Example: The consequences of adultery, murder, divorce and so many other sins cannot just be wiped away and pretend they did not happen. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Galatians 6:7-8).
In the Christian life, backsliding will always result in the loss of spiritual power, joy, and peace. Sometimes it brings consequences that cannot be changed and at other times much confusion, murmuring and criticism. It will lead to a loss of rewards (1 Corinthians 3:15), especially if the believer has been out of fellowship with the Lord for years. It may lead to sickness and even death physically (1 Corinthians 11:30; James 5:14-16). Eventually, it will bring the chastisement of God upon our lives (Hebrews 12:6). Spiritual indifference (Matthew 24:12; Amos 6:1) and loss of spiritual enthusiasm (Revelation 2:4) are normal results. Obviously, we can never please God or accomplish the purpose of our creation and our re-creation in a backslidden condition. Frustration is common among those who cannot accomplish what they were created to perform.
The Lord gave us examples of backsliding in the Scriptures:
David: King David was known as a man after God’s own heart. David should have been out on the battlefield. In an idle moment, he stayed in Jerusalem and wandering on the roof of his house, he saw a woman washing herself. His momentary look turned to lust which then turned to covetousness, adultery, deception, treachery and finally murder. This led to a whole chain of problems in David’s life, household and kingdom that were never fully resolved.
He certainly did not begin the evening thinking he would commit some great sin. He allowed himself to be undisciplined, which gave way to wrong feelings.
The Prodigal Son: Unlike David, His backsliding started a long time before it was manifested. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us that as a person thinks in his heart, so is he. Like David, his sin only brought problems. He started out to use the world to his advantage and ended up being a slave to the world. He failed to respond to spiritual things and lost the joy and blessings of a loving father and a great home. Like David, he came back to his right mind and in humility chose to do the right thing.
Peter: Peter’s problem was over-confidence, boasting that he was ready to follow the Lord even unto death. Scripture then notes that he followed Christ afar off. So many Christians fail to develop an intimate personal relationship with the Lord, leaving the door of their lives open to backsliding. When he accompanied Christ to the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ was doing battle in prayer while Peter went to sleep. Then, as the soldiers came for Christ, Peter fought in the energy of the flesh instead of the Spirit. We cannot win spiritual battles in the flesh.
Lot: We must recognize that backsliding if not stopped will always head toward destruction. It cost Achan his life (Joshua 7). We know that the devil is exceptionally good at deceiving people because sin always tears us down. Sin never builds anyone up.
Application:
It is important to understand that Galatians 6:7 and 8 are still in effect today. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. A Christian cannot plant seeds of iniquity in his life and seeing the danger begin praying for a crop failure. The seeds of sin produce weeds, not spiritual fruit and sometimes those seeds get deep within a person’s life leading to destruction.
One must recognize his failure as did the Prodigal Son and come to God seeking His forgiveness. David prayed, Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. (Psalm 51:2, 3). Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in Me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation (Psalm 51:9-12).
It is when we get away from Christ in our lives that we allow conditions to get to the place where the seeds of sin can grow. Satan watches for those opportunities to defeat us when we are spiritually weak (Ephesians 6:10-18). We must not open the door to the enemy of our souls. How many times have you heard a brother or sister in Christ say, “It won’t hurt just this once!” Once is often all that Satan needs to destroy our testimony for Christ.
This is one of the reasons Reciprocal Living is so important in the local church as we choose to love one another, edify one another, encourage one another, pray for one another and all the rest of the 47 one another passages.
The late George Stiekes served in several churches through his ministry. In his later years, he published a daily newsletter he called Reverent Reflections. We draw from his stock of devotions for occasional articles here on Proclaim & Defend.