Am I A Backslider?

by Neville G. Coomer, Buckhaven, Scotland | Category: General | Aug 1993

Israel and Judab were good at iL In fact they knew exactly what to do and the way to go about iL They were highly proficient at slipping back. For them it was a much practised art and that was sad. There was a time when God could say:

I rememberfor thee the kin~ss of

thy youth, the love of thine espou

sols; how thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown (Jer. 2:2).

They loved God in those early days, yet there came a time when God rebuked them for their change of heart:

Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall

reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a biaer, that thou host forsaken the LORD thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts (Jer. 2:19).

God was very angry with His ancient people for they had turned away from Him, they had committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me thefountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13). What is backsliding? It is slipping back, drifting imperceptibly to begin with, and losing interest in the Lord's things. It is losing one's first love for the Lord Jesus, because other interests become more importanL Howdoes it happen, you ask? All too easily! Picture for yourself a once beautiful garden now covered with weeds. How did it happen? One weed was left, and then another; shrubs and trees were left unpruned; dead wood was not cut out; month by month the garden deteriorated. In the same way a disciple can slide back, one who at one time had been so keen, so zealous for the Lord's things, now drifts aimlessly into dangerous waters. How does this develop? It starts in this way, a little at a time, just a little. It doesn't happen suddenly overnighL People often think it's some great sin that starts the slide. However, the reverse is much more likely to be the case. First the slide or drift, which then results in something much more obvious.

We have a brick wall in our garden

and it's been crumbling slowly for years and now whole chunks are falling ouL What could not be seen at first has become obvious. Similarly, seldom do we give up praying on purpose; other daily affairs gradually, unnoticed, eat away at our prayer time until it is ultifliately abandoned.

Reading God's Word is our main source of spiritual nourishment. However, Christian authors and missionary stories can so easily displace our Bible reading, and so gradually, all unawares, God's Word is shut out. Fellowship with other disciples is very important to our spiritual well-being. Sometimes conversation is more on jobs, weather, clothes and holidays, so much so that it can seem unnatural to talk about the Lord.

The world has a powerful influence over the backslider. The Lord said, "Ye are not of the world" (John 15:19). The daily newspaper and TV can bring the world very much into our homes. Continuous doses of the world through the various media do affect our thinking and condition our thoughts.

If we do look back and take stock we may even resolve to mend our ways "one day", but so long as we do not specify which day we shall keep putting it off. Sometime ... maybe! It must be todey! A backslider usually thinks there is no harm in it, it's hurting no one. If only we fully realized that backsliding dishonours God' then we would take immediate action.

Continued on page 128

Neville G. Coomer, Buckhaven, Scotland | Aug 1993
General