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Definition:
Loss of position, loss of
ground, Loss in faith, rescission, return to where you
were before, relapse, losing ground, In Christianity you
have turned away from God.
Problem:
The
believer’s heart is hardening, and transgressing on
God's will, either by omitting to do what God requires
of us or by doing what makes God sad. The lack of faith
on their part has caused them to lapse into sin. God no
longer is the center of their life. The signs begin to
show in their actions. The attitude that they display
shows the true heart. Before they go any further into
disbelief amends need to be made. The farther we fall,
the harder the return to grace will be for us?
Biblical Statement:
We
were all born into sin. We want to oppose God when
showing our carnal side. Our hearts will manifest our
feelings both in word and actions. Our hearts show our
true self. They dwell on their past; the sins that they
immersed themselves in before they found God, are
beginning to take hold of their lives again. God said
that sin would be enjoyable for a season. Man was
created without sin. But sin entered into the human when
Adam and Eve violated the command of God. Adam
represented the human race; his sin was past on to all
generations to come.
Scripture:
Hebrews 11:25 choose rather
to endure abuse with the people of God, than to enjoy
the passing pleasures of sin;
Matthew 11:6 supremely blest
is he who is not offended by Me.
Isaiah 43:18 "Do not recall
to your mind the former things, or dwell on things of
the past.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 God made
mankind pleasing and upright, but men have gone in
search of many secret plots.
Proverbs 21:16 anyone who
strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in
the company of the dead.
Proverbs 14:10-13 every
heart knows its own resentment, and a stranger cannot
share its joy. The house of the evil will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will thrive. There is a way
that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to
death. Even in laughter the heart may pain and joy may
end in sorrow.
John 3:17 God did sent his
Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save
the world through him.
James 3:16 where jealousy
and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every
evil thing.
1st Corinthians
3:3 your worldly baggage is still holding you back.
There is jealousy and quarreling going on between you,
demonstrating you are still worldly. You are acting like
mere men.
Isaiah 44:22 I have wiped
out your transgressions like a cloud, your sins like the
morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Psalms
32:1-2 sanctified is he whose transgressions are
concealed. Holy is the man whose sin the LORD does not
count against him and in whose spirit there is no
deceit.
Psalms 145:14 The LORD
upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are
bowed down under their burden.
Mark 4:17 those without good
roots, last only a short time. When problem or
persecution arises because of the word, they endure for
a while but quickly fall away.
John 10:10 the thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that
they may have life, and have it exceedingly abundant.
2 Chronicles 30:9 if you
return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children
will be shown compassion by those who have taken them
captive and they will return to this land, for the LORD
your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn
his presences face from you if you return to him.
Proverbs 14:10-16 everyone’
heart knows its own resentment, and a stranger does not
share its joy. 11 The house of the wicked will be
annihilated, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 There is a way that seems right to man, but its end
is the way of death. 13 Even in laughter the heart may
be in pain, and the end of joy may be grief. 14 The
backslider in their heart will have his fill of his own
ways, but a good man will be content with his. 15 The
naive believes everything, but the prudent man considers
his steps. 16 A wise man is cautious and turns away from
evil, but a fool is arrogant and has a happy-go-lucky
attitude.
Jeremiah 2:19 wickedness
will punish us; our backsliding will rebuke us.
Contemplate then and understand how evil and bitter it
is for you when you abandon the LORD your God and have
no fear of Me," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
Psalms 51:3-4 I know my
transgressions, and my sin is always be before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is
evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when
you speak and justified when you judge.
Luke 4:8 “it is written:
reverence the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
ames 2:10 whoever keeps the
whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty
of infringement on all of the law.
Comment:
Our
backsliding means that we have decided that we no longer
think God is right. Or, could it be that we think that
God is not looking and I can get away with my
disobedience. Could it be that we know that God will
forgive us, or is that what we are counting on? Are we
always backsliding? Or when it’s convenient do you
remember that God is the one and only one who can give
us unconditional Love. Is not He the one who created us?
Remember that God said that sin feels good for a season?
Christ died for us and took our sins to the cross, now
we do not have to sin any more. We can decide to follow
our Lord or to follow the evil one. Satin knows how to
reach you and he will use that wedge to try and destroy
your belief in God. Satan’s goal is to prove that man
will turn away from God and seek his own pleasures. God
came to give us an abundant life to give us the desires
of our hearts. All we have to do is seek His face. All
this is so we will do as he has commanded us to do. Go
forth and tell the world of the good news. You may be
assured that (go forth) was not a suggestion it was a
command. Can we shirk our responsibilities to our Lord
and Savor by saying I have done my time and now I want
to rest and play? I've spent my time in the barrel. It
is someone else's turn. We hear that cop-out all the
time; do you think for a minute that God thinks that
about you?
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Jim Brown |
