Pastor Simmie Richard
In the book of the prophet Hosea is described the undying love of God toward a people whose hearts have wandered far from His ways. Here are expressed the deep, INNER LONGINGS AND DESIRE OF HIS HEART TO WOO THEM AND WIN THEM BACK BY HIS LOVE. “I will heal their backsliding,” He promises; “I will love them freely…” (Hos 14:4).
The word “backslide” literally means “turn back” or “turn away” (from God, 1 Ki 11:9; from our first love, Rev 2:4; or from the gospel, Gal 1:6, 7; 3:1-5; to Satan, 1 Tim 5:15; to evil, Psalm 125:5; or to the world, 2 Tim 4:10). Scripture metaphorically describes the backslidden state as: serving two masters, forsaking the Lord, going our own way, leaving our first love, forgetting God, falling away, turning aside (“like a deceitful bow,” Jer 14:7), growing cold, departing from the faith, putting a hand to the plow and looking back (Lk 9:62), “salt that has lost its savour” (Matt 5:13), “a dog returning to his vomit” (Prov 26:11), a dead branch (Jn 15:6; Heb 6:8).
IT IS AMAZING TO ME WITH THE ABUNDANCE OF BIBLES IN AMERICA, A CHURCH IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD; AND BOOKSTORES, CD’S & MINISTRIES, AND NATIONWIDE RELIGIOUS TELEVISION AND RADIO, WHY DO THEY BACKSLIDE? HOW DO THEY FALL?
The backslider does not suddenly wake up one morning and go out and commit adultery. Over a period of time, they may have become lax in there thought life, or entertained fleshly desires. King David watched Bathsheba undress, and soon it was but a little step for him to give expression to the imagination of his heart.
Characteristics of the Backslidden Condition.
Spiritual decay is a gradual process. If it hit them as a splash of cold water in the face on a sweltering day, we’d recognize it for what it is. But Satan is sly, and his tactics are subtle. Even as the onslaught of many diseases can be insidious, the wasting away that occurs in the heart of the backslider may be nearly imperceptible. It may begin with a general feeling of spiritual indifference (Amos 6:1). As we fail to focus upon spiritual things, the flesh seeks fulfillment.
