Wednesday, July 14, 2010
No Exceptions
"Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you," says the Lord God of hosts.
—Jeremiah 2:19
Anyone can backslide. No one usually plans on doing it. But it starts with making little compromises that lead to big compromises. And next thing you know, you are not in a place you should be. The Bible even tells us one of the signs of the end times is that some will depart from the faith (see 1 Timothy 4:1). It could happen to any believer if precautions are not taken.
I would even suggest there are people who are backslidden and not even aware of it because they don't understand what the term "backslide" means. It is a biblical term. In Jeremiah 3:22, God says, "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." And Jeremiah 2:19 says, "Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you."
If you are thinking, Well, I don't really know that I have actually backslidden, then here is something to think about: The Christian life is one of progression. It is one of growth. And it is one of constant change. Either you are moving forward as a believer, or you are moving backward. Either you are gaining ground, or you are losing ground.
My question today is, are you moving forward? If you are not, then you are potentially backsliding. And if you are not where you once were, then you are slipping away. That is why we need to take practical precautions, because anyone can fall away. Anyone can depart from the faith. It doesn't matter how long someone has been a Christian. It doesn't matter how much of the Bible they have memorized. It doesn't matter if God has used them in ministry. Anyone could fall away. And the moment we begin to doubt that is the very moment we are taking a step toward doing it.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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