Backsliding
Nature of, and
Tendency to,
Backsliding
How does God regard
backsliding?
“Your wickedness
will punish you; your backsliding
will rebuke you. Consider then and
realize how evil and bitter it is for
you when you forsake the Lord your
God and have no awe of me,”
declares the Lord Almighty.”
Jeremiah 2:19. “But my righteous
one will live by faith. And if he
shrinks back, I will not be
pleased with him.” Hebrews
10:38.
What persistent
tendency did the Israelites display?
“My people are
determined to turn from me.
Even if they call to the Most High,
he will by no means exalt them.”
Hosea 11:7.
To what is
backsliding likened?
“But like a
woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, O
house of Israel,” declares the
Lord.” Jeremiah 3:20.
Causes
and Characteristics of Backsliding
What inevitably
leads to departure from God?
“See to it
brothers, that none of you has a
sinful, unbelieving heart that
turns away from the living God.”
Hebrews 3:12.
In what ways did
the constant backsliding of the
people of Jerusalem manifest itself?
Why then have these
people turned away? Why does
Jerusalem always turn away? They cling
to deceit; they refuse to return.
I have listened attentively, but they
do not say what is right. No one
repents of his wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues his own course like a
horse charging into battle.”
Jeremiah 8:5,6.
What
is the one characteristic of
backsliding?
“Every since the
time of your forefathers you have
turned away from my decrees and have
not kept them. Return to me, and
I will return to you,” says the
Lord Almighty. “”But you
ask, ‘How are we to
return.” Malachi 3:7.
In
response, what neglected ordinance
does God cite?
“Will a man rob
God? Yet you rob me. “But you
ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings.
Verse 8.
What
remedy is indicated?
“Bring the
whole tithe into the storehouse, that
there may be food in my house.
Test me in this,” say the Lord
Almighty, “and see if I will not
throw open the floodgates of heaven
and pour out so much blessing that
you will not have enough room enough
for it.”
Verse 10.
Because of
Christ’s plain teachings, what
did some of His disciples do?
“From this time
many of his disciples turned back
and no longer followed him.”
John 6:66.
Backsliders
Way Back to God
On what condition
does God promise His abundant mercy
to sinners?
“Let the
wicked forsake his way and the evil
man his thoughts. Let him turn to
the Lord, and he will have mercy on
him, and to our God, for he will
freely pardon.” Isaiah 55:7.
Why
must the wicked forsake their
thoughts and ways in order to find
salvation?
“For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways,” declared the
Lord.” Verse 8.
Note – God
desires that we shall think His
thoughts, which are right thoughts,
pure thoughts, and everlasting
thoughts. He desires also that we
shall take on His ways, which are the
ways of pleasantness, and walk on His
paths, which are the paths of
peace.”
What
is especially necessary to prevent
backsliding?
“Watch
and pray so that you will not fall
into temptation. The
spirit is willing, but the body is
weak.” Mark 14:38.
What are believers
warned to do?
“Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in
the faith; test yourselves.
Do you not realize that Christ Jesus
is in you – unless, of course,
you fail the test?”
2 Corinthians 13:5.
If one has
God’s law in the heart, what
will not occur?
“The law of God
is in his heart; his feet do not
slip.” Psalm 37:31.
“When the
backslider repents, what does God do?
“Take words with
you and return to the Lord. Say to
him: “Forgive all our sins and
receive us graciously, that we may
offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria
cannot save us; we will not mount on
war-horses. We will never again say
‘Our gods’ to what his own
hands have made, for in you the
fatherless find compassion.”
“I will heal their
waywardness and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from
them.” Hosea 14:2-4.
Last-Day
Backsliding
Will there be
special danger of backsliding in the
last days?
“Because of
the increase of wickedness. The love
of most will grow cold.”
Matthew 24:12.
What are some of
the evils against which we are
specially warned at this time?
“Be careful,
or your hearts will be weighed down with
dissipation, drunkenness and the
anxieties of life, and
that day will close on you
unexpectedly like a trap.”
Luke 21:34.
In view of the
perils surrounding us, what are we
told to do?
“Be
always on the watch, and pray
that you will be able to escape all
that is about to happen, and that you
may be able to stand before the Son
of Man.” Verse 36.
