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Backsliding |
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Page 1 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. Backsliding Page 2
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.'"
James 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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