Sunday, May 16, 2010

Backsliding




BACKSLIDING
Backsliding is returning to your former way of life before you became born again and have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. Instead of moving forward in the grace of God and the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, the born again person slowly and almost imperceptibly backslides little by little to become hardened of heart and a disgraced follower of Christ. The backslider may not be noticeable on the outside. He may still be attending church services and fellowships with other Christians, but deep inside, he is wallowing in hidden pleasures and sin. The process of backsliding is not immediate and sudden. It may start with small sins that he readily confesses to God until sinning becomes too frequent and enjoyable that he becomes enslaved by it again. Because of resurgent pride, sins may remain unconfessed and a hardening of the heart will follow. At first, he will feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But repeated disregard of this conviction and the still small voice will result in the hardening of the heart and the stifling of the conscience until he no longer hears nor feels any conviction from the Holy Spirit. Yes, God promised that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39) but He will not stop a person from deserting Him. Judas was the classic example of a backslider. Chosen as one of the elite apostles of Jesus Christ and ordained with power and grace from on high, he let his conscience be stifled by little sins of stealing money from the common fund of the group until he was finally enslaved by sin and Satan entered into him. That led to his betrayal of Jesus Christ to his enemies for thirty pieces of silver. He died tormented because of his sins but did not ask forgiveness from the Lord nor repented. The devil (his accuser) taunted him to end his life which he willingly did. If Judas was the classic example of a backslider, Peter was the classic example of a reformed sinner who rose from the ashes of denying Jesus Christ before men, to asking and receiving forgiveness from Jesus Christ and leading the early Christians before attaining his self desired martyrdom for the Lord. Be careful if you have already gained eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. The devil is like a roaring lion that wants to devour you. Your little and unnoticed sins may lead you back to the path of destruction and eternal death.


Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Backsliding, Backsliders, Hidden Sins, Disgraced Christians, Hardening of The Heart, Stifling of Conscience, Hidden Pleasures, Judas, Peter, Path of Destruction, Eternal Death, Grace, Repentance, Return to The Fold of Christ, Jesus Is The Rock, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational

16 comments:

PINAY MOMMY said...

In my current situation, I think I am a backslider. I am somewhat having problems dealing with my marriage. :(

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Pinay Mommy Online,
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and have been born again, you must be very careful not to fall by the wayside because the enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour. If you have problems in marriage, turn it over to the Lord and He will resolve your problem according to His good purpose in your life. I will pray that the Lord release His Spirit of spiritual revival to you so that you will have times of refreshing from the Lord. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.

Pia said...

hi bro. thought i'd let you know that i chose your blog to receive an award. hope you like it.

http://www.piasjournal.com/2010/05/thank-you.html

Unknown said...

Back sliding pala tawag niyan Sir mel hehehe. Thanks for the post, I learned new words today.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi sis Pia,
Thank you so much for the award but I turn it over to my Lord who deserves such award. TO GOD BE THE GLORY. I will visit your blog to see it. Thanks again. God bless you always.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Shy,
Yun ang tawag sa nakatikim na nang kapatawaran nang Diyos at buhay na walang hanggan pero nahatak pa rin pabalik sa kanyang dating buhay. Ang tawag duon ay backslider. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.

Arvin U. de la Peña said...

di ko alam kung backslider ako..

Dhemz said...

ngayon ko lang nalaman ang term na to kuyaMel...glad to know...thanks for sharing!

musta na po kau? hope all is well..salamat po sa lahat ng dalaw at sa walang sawang comments...ehehehe!

nako, matagal na po akong nag dedesign ng mga layouts...ehehhee...dito lang ako natuto sa US...am still learning....:)

ayay! sana magdilang anghel po kau..we've been longing to have another baby (boy)...pero until now ala parin eh...ehehhhe...si lord nalang talaga ang bahala...:)

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Arvin ,
Ang backslider eh yung tinanggap na si Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior at naging born again na tapos ay bumalik sa dati nilang buhay makasalanan. Ang tawag duon sa Bibliya ay parang asong binalikan ang isinuka niya at kinaing muli o baboy na nagbalik sa lubluban nang putik matapos siyang malinis nang Salita ng Diyos. Kung hindi ka pa nagiging born again ay hindi ka backslider kundi unbeliever pa ayon sa katawagan nang mga Christians. Salamat sa dalaw at komento. God bless you always.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Dhemz,
Yun ang katawagan sa mga taong naging born again na at tumanggap na nang buhay na walang hanggan pero nahatak pa rin nang tukso nang mundo. Pwede silang magbalik luob sa Diyos sa pamamagitan nang pagkumpisal nang kanilang kasalanan sa Diyos at tuluyan nang iwanan ang buhay makasalanan. Wala namang imposible sa Panginoon. Tutulungan ko kayong manalangin na pagpalain kayo nang anak na lalaki para makumpleto na ang inyong kaligayahan katulad nang kumareng Rose mo. Salamat sa dalaw at komento. God bless you all always.

teJan said...

Hi Mel, thanks so much for always visiting! Thanks for your prayers, I did it good in my schooling but I acknowledge that it was not by might nor of my intellegence, it was by the grace of God!

All the glory back to HIM!
Godbless to you and your family!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi teJan,
Praise the Lord that you made good in your schooling and very nice of you to acknowledge God in your accomplishment. God will bless you more for that. You are one of those I pray for everyday in my quiet time. Thanks for your visit and inspired comments. God bless you all always.

meretrisha said...

hi brother mel, nowadays, it's so easy for us to backslide.. repeat offenders kumbaga. for some reason, we keep sinning and repenting.. the cycle never ends. sometimes people would even abuse the words "sapagkat kami ay tao lamang" to justify the wrong actions being made.
somehow, when we have already chosen to tread the right path, we would be tested kung bibitaw ba talaga tayo or hindi.. sana kakapit tayo lagi sa tama at mabuti para sa atin at para sa kapwa at para sa ikasisiya ng nasa itaas.. God bless you brother mel and thanks for the visit to my site. :-)

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Meretrisha,
If we truly walk in the way of the Lord and if we depend on His righteousness and strength, then we can avoid sinning. God knows that we are weak in ourselves that is why He gives us continuous opportunities to always repent until such time when sinning becomes almost impossible to commit because we have the strength and purity of the Lord. The solution here is never to depend on our own strength and resources but to depend on the strength of the Lord. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.

Azumi's Mom ★ said...

Sa mga Born-again Christians lang po ba ang term na Back-slider?

Thanks for this post... siguro madaming makaka-realize nito, although I'm not sure kung back-slider ako. Hindi naman siguro kasi napaka-good girl ko na po ngayon hihi.. I love what I have become eversince I met my hubby at syempre lalo na nung dumating si Azumi.. parang nagka-direction ang buhay ko.. Spiritual Life lang po talaga ang medyo may kulang sa akin, although I always pray to our Lord everyday.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Bambie dear,
Ang nag coin nang word na backslider ay born again Christians. It connotes a person who, after accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and surrendering his life to Him thereby attaining eternal life, suddenly returns to his old sinful ways of living. The Bible describes him as like a dog returning to eat his vomit or a pig returning to his mud filled life. Catholics do not use backsliding but unrepentant sinner. Judas is the best known backslider and I am 100% sure he is not in heaven now debunking the Evangelicals claim of once saved always saved priniple. Salvation can still be lost if a born again person disowns Jesus Christ and becomes unrepentant until death. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always. BTW, born again is not a religion but is a process prescribed in the Bible for acceptance into the kingdom of God. Ciao.


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