A backslider is someone who has moved away from Christ spiritually by regressing rather than progressing. Backsliding can manifest as dropping out of church, losing fervor for the Lord, or falling back into old habits. While a saved person's salvation cannot be lost, backsliding could indicate that the person was never truly saved. There are two types of backsliding - a temporary crisis of faith, or taking Christianity for a "test drive" without genuine commitment. The Bible teaches restoring backsliders gently and bringing them back to righteousness. Only God can see the heart and ultimately judge whether a backslider was ever truly saved.

1. ChristianBacksliders - 5th
August 2016
“Thoseon the rocky groundare the ones whoreceive the word with joy whenthey hear it, but they
have no root. They believe for a while,but in the time of testingthey fall away”(Luke8:13)
The word backslide,ina Christiancontext,impliesmovementawayfromChristratherthantowardHim.
A backsliderissomeonewhoisgoingthe wrongway,spiritually.He isregressing ratherthan
progressing.The backsliderhadatone time demonstratedacommitmenttoChristormaintaineda
certainstandardof behavior,buthe hassince revertedtooldways.Backslidingmaymanifestitself in
several ways,e.g.,droppingoutof church, losingfervorforthe Lord, walkingawayfroma ministryora
family,orfallingbackintooldhabits.
Some people inplacesof employmentaswell asChurches use the word backslideto meanthat a person
has losthisor her passionforwhateverworkentrusted.InaChristiansense italsomeansthata person
has losttheirsalvationandare gettingdriftedfurtherawayfromGod’spresence. However,since a
savedpersonissecure inChrist, God will notallow Hischildren tobe snatchedawaybyanybody. We
can learnthisfrom John10:28–29, “I givethem eternal life,andthey shall never perish;no one will
snatchthem outof my hand. 29
My Father, who hasgiven them to me, is greater than all;no one can
snatchthem outof my Father’s hand”. Howeverwhenwe speakof backsliding,we simplymeanthat
someone is ‘growingcold‘toward Christ.A new Christiancouldbegintobackslide mayindicatethe
personwasneversavedtobegin with—inwhichcase,the backsliderisonlyshowinghistrue colors.But
it’salsopossible forchildrenof Godtobackslide,temporarily.
The Bible usesthe phrase fall away ratherthan backslide,but the ideaissimilar.Inthe Bible to“fall
away” can meantwodifferentthings.Inone instance,the personissavedbutexperiencingatemporary
periodof questioningthatwe couldcall a “crisisof faith.” Thiscouldhappento anyone of us. In the
otherinstance,the personwasneversavedatall but onlytemporarilybehavingasa savedperson
would.We will call thistakingChristianityfora“testdrive.”
We can readfrom Mark 14:27 where JesustellsHisdisciples, “Youwill all fall away,” Jesustoldthem,
“forit is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, andthe sheep will be scattered”. “You will all fall away.”
What He meantwasthat, whenHe was arrested,theywouldexperience acrisisof faith,a life eventso
shockingthattheywouldrunfrom Jesusandquestionthe verycore of theirbeliefs.Itwasa nightof
offense,anightof stumblingforthem.Butthiswasa temporary condition.Three dayslater,Jesusrose
fromthe deadandappearedto the disciples. AsChristianwe know thattheirfaithandhope were
restored,strongerthanever.
The apostlePaul tells us how to handlea fellowbeliever who is backsliding - which can also means failingGod’s
directives and getting lostthrough sinfulness - we can learn: “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin,
you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted”
(Galatians 6:1). Again we can learn when James teaches us that when a backslider has wandered from where he or
she should be and is then “stuck” in sin,the church should work to restore them and set them back on the path of
righteousness.We can read this from James 5:19, “ My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the
truth and someone should bring that person back,”
There are eventsinlife,suchasthe deathof a lovedone,thatmay cause us to questionGod.Thisis
okay,as longas we go to God withthose questionsratherthanusingthatas an excuse tolive in

2. rebellion andmove awayfromGod.The resultof a crisisof faithisoftenthatwe come to know God
more intimatelythanbefore.Intimesof trial,we shoulddelve intothe Word,praywithpersistence and
surroundourselveswiththosewhose faithisstrong.
We see anothertype of backslidingor“fallingaway”in Hebrews6:4–6 andalso inLuke 8:13. In Hebrews
6 itdescribesthe apostate.Thismeanssomeonewhohadonly“tastedthe goodnessof the word”(verse
5) and laterrejectsit. “It is impossibleforthose whohave once been enlightened,who have tasted the
heavenlygift, whohave shared in the Holy Spirit, 5
whohave tasted the goodnessofthe word of God
and the powers ofthe comingage 6
andwho have fallen[a]
away,to be broughtback to repentance. To
their lossthey are crucifyingthe Son ofGodall over againandsubjecting him to publicdisgrace”.
Jesusillustrates the othertype of apostasy throughaparable as we can read from Luke 8:13, “Those on
the rocky groundare the oneswho receive the word with joywhen they hear it,but they haveno root.
They believe for a while,but in the time of testingthey fall away” They backslide because “theyhave
no root.”In each of these passages,apersonappears outwardly tobe a Christian,atleastfora while,
but he has notcommittedhimselftoGod.Such a personmightbe attendingchurch,readinghisBible,
listeningtoChristianmusic,andhangingoutwithChristianfriends.He likesthe wholesome atmosphere
and goodcompanythat beingaroundChristiansaffords.Buthishearthasnot changed;he has never
beenbornagain.Eventually,he backslidesorapostatizes.He hadtakenChristianityforatestdrive and
decidedhe wasn’tbuying.
Salvationcomesbymeansof a genuine Repentance of one’ssinandthroughFaith,steadfastlybelieving
that JesusasLord andof Hisdeath and resurrection.We canread thisfrom Romans 10:9–10, “Ifyou
declare with your mouth,“Jesusis Lord,” andbelieve in your heart that Godraised himfrom the dead,
you will be saved. 10
Forit is with yourheart that youbelieve and are justified,andit is withyour
mouththat you professyour faith and are saved”.We can also learnif a personwhohas beentruly
savedlaterbackslides, thatis,he slipsbackintospirituallydamagingattitudesandbehaviors—the slide
will be temporary.The chasteningof the Lord will bringhimback.The Good Shepherd willseekoutthe
wanderinglamb:“ Itell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicingin heavenover one
sinner whorepents thanover ninety-ninerighteouspersonswho do not need to repent. (Luke 15:7).
How can we tell one type of backslidingfromthe other?We can’talways,unlessgiventime,and,even
then,we don’tknowhowmuch time Godwill take inrestoringthe backslider.OnlyGodcan see the
heart. If a personwhowasneversavedbutonlyputting ona goodfront for the communityandchurch,
whenhe or she dropsthe charade and shows theirtrue colors—theirfinal conditionwill be terribleas
we can learnfrom Hebrews 10:26–27, “If we deliberatelykeep onsinningafter we have received the
knowledgeof the truth, no sacrificefor sinsis left, 27
butonlya fearful expectationofjudgment andof
ragingfire that will consumethe enemies ofGod”. .