Dr. Craig Mobey
I have often thought about backsliding.
Backsliding is not a forward movement in our relationship with Christ; it is a movement away from Him.
As we head into our Scripture reading, let’s also create for ourselves a working definition of backsliding: “to grow cold or growing cold toward Christ.”
Scripture Reading: Revelation 2:1-7 (NIV)
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Our focus is on verse 4, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”
Introduction
The Bible, in the New Testament, often uses the words “fall away.” To me, backslide sounds quite gentle by comparison. “Fall away” on the other hand, is much more accurate and painful; it’s a cutting description of growing cold toward Christ.
I think it wise at this early stage of this message, to remind ourselves of the biblical truth that if you are a born-again believer you belong to Jesus, and nothing is going to change this, not even backsliding.
Body
God chose you; God atoned for your sin; God called you; God regenerated you; God saved you; God justified and sanctified you, and God will glorify you.
Nothing or no one is mighty enough to override or undo the work of God:
- John 10:28-30, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
- Romans 8:35, 38-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God will never stop loving His people.
Life happens and in the happening of life, things happen. People die, people get hurt, people get disappointed, people get divorced, and some big things happen that we can’t quite explain. Many times, this causes us to question God, “where are You when I need You” or “how can You let this happen?”
We can handle this crisis in faith in 2 ways:
- In rebellion.
- Or in humility where we come to know God more intimately through His Word and prayer.
In simple terms, the crisis-faith-backslider is not where he or she should be in his or her relationship with God. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a responsibility toward that brother or sister as we work to help restore relationships.
Read James 5:19, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,” and Galatians 6:1, “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.”
We must also stand at the ready to help gently bring a brother or sister back if they are not in a good place.
I am hesitant to say that we are immune to a crisis in our faith. It seems that even the disciples (Mark 14:27) would experience such a crisis in faith when Jesus was arrested. Hope and faith were restored when they saw a resurrected Christ.
That is what we need to remember – should we ever experience a crisis in our faith. We serve a resurrected Christ and a crisis in our faith does not change who God is.
We, as brothers and sisters in Christ really do need each other. More than we perhaps realize. Jesus in Galatians 6:2 (read verse 1 above) says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” which according to Mark 12:30-31 is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Although it may feel at times that the Lord is far away, know this: it is what it feels like. Feelings and facts are different to one another.
Salvation comes through a genuine confession of Jesus as Lord, as written in Romans 10:9-10, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Your being born-again is a sovereign act of God. You can’t save yourself. The Holy Spirit alone changes our nature from dead in sin to alive in Jesus. The Holy Spirit places us into Jesus, into a holy union with Jesus, which is expressed on our side by faith.
I find comfort in Hebrews 12:4-7, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Your salvation is not temporary. If a saved person backslides, it will be temporary. The Lord will be at work. Brothers and sisters in Christ should be at work.
Conclusion
Let’s come back to verse 4 of this morning’s reading, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”
The church is commended for hard work, perseverance, testing false apostles, endured, and not grown wary. How then, do we interpret “forsaking the love you had at first?”
They did not keep that strong and passionate affection for God that they had when first came to salvation. Verse 5 reminds them of how far they have fallen from the zealous spiritual high – where they were of one mind, one body, one soul – where they were – for lack of a better description – bubbling over from what the Lord has done within them. Now they are in a decline that is pretty much left them “going through the motions.”
Are you still in love with Jesus? Are you still excited? Is your joy bubbling over? Are you praying for revival?
Revelation 2:5, in the King James Version, says, “Repent and do the things you did at first.” Repent then and ask that the Lord bring to mind those things you did at first. Rediscover the joy of your salvation!
If you doubt your salvation, then pray this prayer and then please get in touch with me or your local minister, “God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!”
We can rest assured that if we believe, it is because of the work of God, and that work cannot fail because His love cannot fail. May you rediscover your first love (Revelation 2:4-5).
Amen.
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