Topic:    Avoid The Trap Of Backsliding
Text:      Hebrews 10:37-39 (NLT)
Minister: Pst. Otonye Davies

Our text makes it clear that God has no pleasure in anyone who turns away. In Luke 9:62 (NLT) “But Jesus told him, anyone who puts his hand to the plough and then looks back, is not fit for the kingdom of God”. Speaking about the faith of the one that is backslidden, the Lord says in Jeremiah 5:6 “so now, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will pounce on them, a leopard will lock near their town tearing apart any who dare to venture out, for their rebellion is great and their sins are many”. This will not be your portion in the name of Jesus.

Backsliding can be described as somebody giving up the chaste of their Christian virtues and thereby being unable or unwilling to stay in line of faith. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, but the fact is that backsliding is a problem to the individual and to the church. Today, there are many that we know, who were here with us but are no longer in the faith. Whatever it is that is the reason, the word of God is clear that God has no joy for people to come to Him and to turn back. In Ezekiel 33:11 “As if in anguish, the LORD said, say to them, as surely as I live declares the Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn, turn from your ways, for why should you die oh house of Israel.”

When the LORD saves a man, he doesn’t save them with a plan for them to go back, so going back is not the plan of God, but the handiwork of the enemy. He comes in several ways, he can come by different pressures, he can come by even discouragement from the brethren in the church, he can come from several ways; it doesn’t change the fact that there might be pressures, but the fact is backsliding is a problem. When somebody is sick, the problem medically speaking, is that the person is sick; yes you can do whatever you want to do, but the intension will be to restore that person back to health. I believe that the Lord is speaking to you today, because He wants to bring as many that are working towards backsliding back to the faith.

What Can I Do To Avoid Backsliding?

1.            Value Your Salvation: What we value, we protect. If you buy a new car that you value so much, and even when children play near it, you are careful to warn them not to go close; when you are sleeping your eye is on that car, you are on your bed but you are thinking about the car. We must realize that our salvation is unto our liberation and salvation is not a burden. Jesus told us clearly that His yoke is light, his burden is light; it doesn’t matter what temporary inconveniences you may be facing right now, you cannot compare those challenges with a time in hell.

2.            Daily Remind Yourself of The Consequences of Going Back: Let the fear of eternal separation from God cause you to stay in line. Whatever it is that will put you at the mercy of the devil, you should do what you can do to walk away from that situation because the devil is a wicked task master.

3.            Be Mindful of Whom You Associate With:  1 Cor. 15:33 “Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners”. Someone said, show me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are”. Research shows that the type of communication and association you find yourself 70% of the time, is actually your personality.

4.            Be Discipline: Know when to say No and know what to Avoid. Indiscipline is a problem in the Body of Christ, many people are refusing to take responsibilities, they are fond of giving excuses; excuses don’t take us anywhere, it is being responsible that causes us to make progress. James 1:14 (NLT) “Temptation comes from our own desires which entices us and drag us away”. So when you say you are being tempted, obviously you cannot be tempted with something that you have no desire for. Once you are tempted with something, it means that innately, you have a craving and desire for that thing. We need to be careful with the things we expose ourselves to, it is discipline that causes us to know that there are certain things that ought not to be said about us as children of God. There are certain places we cannot go, there are certain things we cannot do, there are certain kind of dress we cannot put on, why? Because our calling demands that we cannot do them. Don’t forget that you are an ambassador of Jesus Christ; an Ambassador cannot be found in an place where the enemies of his nation are gathered together. he goes, he knows his singular purpose is to forward the agenda of his nation. We are ambassadors of Christ.

5.            Carryout Daily Self-examination Honestly and respond to any danger signs that you see: When you see that there are danger signs, respond to those signs, don’t keep them waiting. Backsliding comes in little by little; a man does not just wake up and say “I have backslidden”. The devil starts by locking away the fundamental things that holds you to your faith, before you know, you have accommodated one thing, 2 things, 3 things at different times; and then he makes a call upon you to accommodate all you have done at the same time. Don’t keep danger signs waiting, if you find that something is going wrong, respond immediately. 2 Cor. 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith. Prove yourselves, know ye yourselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobate”.

6.            Be connected to the Fellowship of Believers: Sometime connection is at a cost, but pay the cost and be connected. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) “Be connected to the fellowship of believers”. Why should you do that? That is the way to shield yourself from the devil. 

7.            Do not Let Boredom Set into your Christian Life: When you are bore with something, you look for an alternative. What are you going to do to address this? Be busy in the Lord and be busy for the Lord. For instance, you can be monotony and sometimes you even get bored in doing the things of God; so what are we going to do when we are in such situation? When you are tired of reading your bible in your little closet, try online bible, try listening to the bible on your smart phone; when you are tired of kneeling to pray, try prayer walking, etc. Man does not like monotony, as it makes us to lose interest in something. You need to bring something creative, so that you don’t lose interest in God. There are a lot of things you can do, you can try a new version of the bible, as a matter of fact, if the King James is difficult, you can try another version. You can do anything that is legal to avoid boredom in your Christianity.

Be sure of your salvation, one of the things that the devil does to us, is to shake our foundation, and something that you are not sure that you have, you cannot hold onto it. Be sure of your salvation.

Finally, avoid distractions and things that will pull you away from your Christian faith. There are many distractions today, you may not see on the surface, but their goal is to pull us away from our faith. As I round up, we are speaking about people in the faith that are facing challenges, but there are those who have even not come; if you have not accepted Jesus as you Lord and saviour, I will like to invite you to do so today as you say the prayer below:

Salvation Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I accept you today, come into my life and be my Lord and saviour. Amen

Prayer Points

• My Father, my Father, help me to stay in this race. I shall not make shipwreck, keep me onto the end
• Oh Lord, by you mercy, separate me from anything that can make me go back. Take away distraction from my life.