hb newsletter volume 11 - special edition 02 - the back-slider

8/9/2019 HB Newsletter Volume 11 - Special Edition 02 - The Back-Slider

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Homeward Bound Volume 11 Special Edition 02

Homeward Bound Ministries Post Office Box 3351 Milford Connecticut 06460 (203) 449-6190

TheBack-Slider

In HeartBy

Charles G. Finney

Edited and paraphrased by Keith Green

This is an edited andparaphrased version ofthe 21st chapter from"Revival Lectures" byCharles Grandison Fin-ney. This message is asmuch for the Churchtoday as when it was first brought forth in a

series of lectures in the1830s. We earnestlypray that you'll "read itand weep!"

I cannot conclude any teaching onrevival without warning converts against backsliding. In discussing this subject, I willshow: 1) What backsliding in heart is not, 2) What backsliding in heart is, 3) What are theevidences of a backslidden heart, 4) What are

the consequences of backsliding in heart, and5) How to recover.

What Backsliding In Heart Is Not

It does not consist of not having excitedreligious feelings. No longer having these greatspiritual feelings may be an evidence of a backslidden heart, but it is not the cause ofsuch a state.

What Backsliding In Heart Is

It is in taking back that consecration toGod and His service that constitutes trueconversion.

It is the leaving by a Christian of his firstlove.

It consists in the Christian withdrawinghimself from entire and total surrender to Godand coming again under the control of a self-pleasing spirit.

It also must be said that a person mayhave a backslidden heart even though he

maintains an outward appearance of religion We have all seen different men perform thsame or similar outward acts from widelydifferent (and often from opposite) motives. Nodoubt the most intense selfishness often takeson a religious form. And there are manyconsiderations that might lead a backslider inheart to keep up this spiritual show, eventhough he has lost the power of godliness in hissoul.

What Are The Evidences ofA Backslidden Heart

1) A lack of spiritual enjoyment isevidence of a backslidden heart. We alwayslove saying and doing those things that pleasethe one we love most. When the heart is notbackslidden, real communion with God is keptup, and therefore all spiritual devotions are notonly performed with pleasure, but thecommunion with God involved in them is asource of rich and continual blessing. If we do

not enjoy the service of God, it is because we donot truly serve Him.

2) An outward formality in religiousexercises. A stereotyped, formal way of sayingand doing things that is clearly the result ohabit rather than the out-gushing of a truespiritual life. In prayer or fellowship, thisformality will be emotionless and as cold as iceand will reveal a total lack of sincerity in theperformance of all spiritual service. Such a


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state would be impossible where there was apresent, living faith and a true godly zeal.

3) An ungoverned temper. While theheart is full of love, the temper will naturally bepatient and sweet. Or if at any time it should go

so far as to escape from self-control, a trulyloving heart will quickly confess and breakdown, repenting with true humility. Wheneverthere is an irritable, uncontrolled temper, youmay know that there's a backslidden heart.

4) The loss of interest in truly spiritualconversation. "For the mouth speaks out ofthat which fills the heart."(Matthew 12:34) Noconversation is so sweet to a truly loving heartas that which relates to Christ and to our livingChristian experience.

5) Searching for worldly amusements.The most grateful amusements possible to atruly spiritual mind are those that bring thesoul into the most direct communion with God.A loving heart is jealous of everything that willbreak up or interfere with its union with God. When the soul does not find more delight inGod than in all worldly things, the heart issadly backslidden.

6) A lack of interest in foreign missions.If you lose your interest in these works and forreaching those in heathen lands, and do not

delight in the conversion of souls everywhere, you may know that you are backslidden inheart.

7) The loss of interest in outreaches tothe poor and needy. Surely if you were everconverted to Christ at all, you have had aninterest in all charitable, Christian enterprisesthat came within your knowledge. Of course, aconverted soul takes the deepest interest in alloutreaches to reform, help, and save mankind -in the provision of the needs for the poor and

needy - and in short, in every good word andwork. Just in the proportion that you have lostyour interest in these things, you have evidencethat you are backslidden in heart.

8) The loss of interest in those newlyconverted. There is joy in the presence of theangels over one sinner that repents, and isthere not joy among the saints on earth overthose that come to Christ and are His newly born babes in the Kingdom? Show me a

professing Christian who does not have apassionate interest in converts to Christ, and I will show you a backslider in heart and hypocrite - he professes religion, but has none.

9) A fault finding, critical spirit. The

disposition to fasten blame, showing a lack ofconfidence in the good intentions and motivesof others. It is a spirit of distrust of Christiancharacter and what they say. It is a state omind that reveals itself in harsh words andharsh judgments of individuals. This state isentirely incompatible with a true loving heartand whenever a judgmental spirit is manifested by a professing Christian, you may know thathere is a backslidden heart.

10) A self-indulgent spirit. By self-indulgence, I mean the inclination to gratifythe appetites, passions, and to fulfill "thedesires of the flesh and of the mind.(Ephesians 2:3) The appetite for food isfrequently, and perhaps more frequently thanany other, the occasion for backsliding. FewChristians, I fear, sense any danger in this areaGod's injunction is, "Whether, then, you eat ordrink or whatever you do, do all to the glory ofGod." (I Corinthians 10:31) Christians forgetthis and eat and drink to please themselvesMore persons are ensnared by their tables than

the Church is aware of. A great many people who avoid alcoholic drinks altogether wiindulge in food that both in quantity andquality prove they follow no other law than thatof their appetite. This indulging in gluttonythreatens to ruin both body and soul togetherShow me a gluttonous Christian, and I wilshow you a backslider.

11) Absence from scheduled prayermeetings for slight reasons is a sure indicationof a backslidden heart. No meeting is more

important to a Christian than the prayermeeting, and while they have any heart to praythey will not be absent unless prevented bysomething urgent that God has impressedthem to do. If a call from a friend at the hour ofmeeting can prevent their attendance, it isstrong evidence that they do not really want togo. That same person visiting at such a time would not prevent them from attending wedding, a party, a picnic, or some othe


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enjoyable event. The fact is, it is hypocrisy forthem to pretend that they really want to gowhile they can be kept away by small excuses.

12) The same is true of the neglect offamily prayer for slight reasons. While the

heart is in love with the Lord, Christians willnot readily omit a daily time of prayer andBible reading with their family. And wheneverthey are ready to find an excuse to avoid thesefamily devotions, it is a sure evidence thatthey're backslidden in heart.

13) When secret, private prayer isregarded more as a duty than as a privilege. Ithas always appeared to me most ridiculous tohear Christians speak of prayer as a duty. It isan infinite privilege to be allowed to come toGod and ask for the supply of all our needs. Butto pray because we must rather than because we may is a sad, sad thing, and a certainindication of a backslidden heart.

14) A lack of the spirit of prayer. Whilethe love of Christ remains fresh in the soul, theindwelling Spirit of God will reveal Himself asthe Spirit of grace and supplication (prayer).He will instill strong desire in the soul for thesalvation of sinners and the sanctification ofsaints. If that Spirit of prayer departs, it is asure indication of a backslidden heart. For

while the first love of a Christian continues, heis sure to be drawn by the Holy Spirit to wrestlemuch in prayer.

15) A backslidden heart often revealsitself by the manner in which people pray. Forexample, praying as if in a state ofcondemnation, very much like an unconvertedsinner, is an evidence of a backslidden heart.His confessions and self-accusations in prayershow to others what perhaps he does not wellunderstand himself. Instead of being filled with

faith and love, he is more or less convicted ofsin and is conscious deep within that he is notin a state of acceptance by God.

It is often very striking and evenshocking to attend a backsliders' prayermeeting, and I'm very sorry to say that manyprayer meetings of the Church are little else.Their prayers are timid and hesitating, andreveal the fact that they have little or no faith.They will go round and round, one after the

other; in reality praying for their ownconversion. They could not make it any moreobvious that they are backsliders in heart.

16) The loss of interest in the question oholiness. If you are a Christian, you have felt

that sin was an abomination to your soul. Youhave had inexpressible longings to be rid of iforever, and everything that could throw lightupon that question of agonizing importance was most desperately crucial to you. If thiquestion has been dismissed and is no longer oany interest to you, it is because you arebackslidden in heart.

17) A lack of interest in God's WordPerhaps nothing more conclusively proves thata Christian has a backslidden heart than hislosing his interest in the Bible. While the hearis full of love, no book in the world is soprecious; but when that love is gone, the Bible becomes not only uninteresting, but ofterepulsive. There is no faith to accept itspromises, but conviction enough left to dreadits threatenings.

The Consequences ofBacksliding In Heart

"The backslider in heart will have his fill of his

own ways."Proverbs 14:14

1) The backslider in heart will be filledwith his own mistakes. He is not walking withGod. He is not led by the Spirit, but is walkingin spiritual darkness. In this state he is sure tofall into many terrible mistakes: mistakes inbusiness, mistakes in relationships, mistakes inusing his time, his tongue, his money. Indeedall will go wrong with him as long as heremains in a backslidden state.

2) He shall be filled with his ownfeelings. Instead of that sweet peace and rest inthe Holy Spirit that he once had, he will findhimself in a state of unrest, dissatisfied withhimself and everyone else. It is sometimes verytrying to live with a backslider. They are oftentouchy, fault finding, and irritating in all their ways. They have forsaken God, and in theifeelings there is more of hell than of heaven.


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3) The backslider in heart will be filledwith his own words. While in this state, he willnot and can not control his tongue. It will proveitself to be an unruly member full of deadlypoison. (James 3:8) By his words he will

entangle himself in many difficulties andproblems from which he can never free himselfuntil he comes back to God.

4) The backslider in heart will be full ofhis own cares. He has turned back toselfishness. Re counts himself and hispossessions as his very own and tries tomanage everything for himself in his own wisdom and for his own sake. Consequently,his cares will be multiplied and come upon himlike a deluge.

5) The backslider in heart will be filled with his own lustings. His appetites andpassions which had been kept under controlhave now resumed their full course, and having been kept down so long, they will seem toavenge themselves by becoming moredemanding and unruly than ever. These animalappetites and passions will burst forth to theastonishment of the backslider; and he willprobably find himself more under their controland enslaved by them than he ever was before.

6) The backslider in heart will be full of

his own troubles. Instead of keeping out oftemptation, he will run right into it. He will bring upon himself multitudes of trials. He isnot at peace with God, with himself, theChurch, nor with the world. But while hecomplains of being so tried by everythingaround him, he is constantly making thingsworse!

7) The backslider in heart will be filled with his own anxieties. He will be worriedabout himself - about his business, his

reputation, about everything! He has taken allthese things out of the hands of God. Hence,having faith in God no longer, and being unableto control events, he has to be filled with worryabout the future. These anxieties are theinevitable result of his madness and folly inforsaking God.

8) The backslider in heart will be filled with his own prejudices. His willingness toknow and do the truth is gone. He will very

naturally oppose any principle or truth thatcomes down hard on a selfish spirit. He willendeavor to justify himself. He will not want toread or hear anything which would rebuke his backslidden state, and will become deep

prejudiced against anyone who shall reprovehim or correct him. Considering that person asan enemy, he will hedge himself in and shut hiseyes against the light, standing on the defensiveand criticizing everything that might exposehim.

9) The backslider in heart will be full ofhis own delusions. Having an evil eye, his whole body will become full of darknes(Matthew 6:23) He will almost certainly fallinto self-deception in regard to principles anddoctrines. Wandering on in darkness as hedoes, he will very likely swallow the grossestdelusions. Cults of every type and deceptions oevery shade may be very likely to gainpossession of him. Who has not observed thisof many backsliders in heart?

10) The backslider in heart must be fulof his own losses. He regards his possessions ashis own, his time as his own, his influence ashis own, his reputation as his own. The loss oany of these he accounts as his own lossHaving forsaken God, and being unable to

control the events by which these things aremaintained, he will find himself sufferinglosses on every side. He loses his peace. Heloses his property. He loses much of his timeHe loses his reputation. He loses his Christianwitness, and if he continues... he loses his soul.

11) The backslider in heart is full of hisown self-condemnation. Having once enjoyedthe love of God, and then forsaking Him, hefeels condemned for everything. If he attemptsreligious duty, he knows there is no heart in it

and hence condemns himself. If he neglectsreligious duty, he of course condemns himselfIf he reads his Bible, it condemns him. If hedoes not read it, he feels condemned. If he goesto church meetings, the meetings condemnhim. If he stays away, he feels condemned alsoIf he prays in secret, with his family, or at ameeting, he knows he is not sincere and iscondemned. If he neglects or refuses to prayhe also feels condemned. Everything condemns


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him! His conscience is up in arms against himand the storms of condemnation follow himwherever he goes.

How To Recover From

A State of Backsliding1) Remember from where you have

fallen. Face the question at once anddeliberately compare your present state withthat in which you once walked with God.

2) Take a good, honest look at your trueposition. Don't put off any longer dealing withthe conflict between God and your soul and thedifferences between God and you.

3) Repent at once and do your firstworks over again. (Revelation 2:5)

4) Do not attempt to get back by merelychanging what you do on the outside. Beginwith your heart and immediately get right withGod. Give yourself no rest until the question of your acceptance before Him is completelysettled.

5) Do not act like a mere convictedsinner and think that you must "reform andmake yourself better" before you can then cometo Christ. But understand distinctly thatcoming to Christ, alone, can make you better!

However much distress you may feel, know forcertain that until you repent and accept His willunconditionally, you are no better and areconstantly growing worse. Until you throw yourself upon His sovereign mercy, and thusreturn to God, He will accept nothing from youor from your hands.

6) Do not imagine yourself to be in ajustified state, for you know in your heart that you are not. Your conscience condemns you,and you know that God ought to condemn you.

For if He justified you in your present state, your conscience could not justify Him. Comethen to Christ at once, like the guilty sinnerthat you are. Own up and take all the shameand responsibility upon yourself, and believethat in spite of all your wanderings from God,He loves you still. He has loved you with aneverlasting love, and with lovingkindness iseven now drawing you back to Himself.

Copyright: 1983

Last Days Ministries,

Oceanside, California

All Rights Reserved

For a complete list of our tracts,

go to our Web Site

(www.lastdaysministries.org).

If you wish a Tract Catalog or to

order this article in tract form,

please contact Last Days Ministries,

825 College Blvd. Suite 102 #333,

Oceanside, CA 92057-6258 (toll free

Fax 1-877-228-9536) (Ref.#016).

Let me here express the great thankfulness ofmy heart for the kindness of Last DaysMinistries in permitting Homeward Bound toreprint this tract. I first read this right after iwas published almost twenty five years ago andit cut me deeply in my heart, provoking me toexamine who I claimed to be and seeing who Iactually was. I can also testify to the power i

has had on others over the years. I seriouslyencourage you all to visit the Last Days web siteand see the fine assortment of tracts andarticles there. I assure you that it will be worththe investment of your time. Also, if you are soled, please support them both with yourprayers and finances. This is one of the fewministries that I gladly and whole heartedlyendorse!

John Payne

Thank you for taking the time to read this specialissue of Homeward Bound! As usual, your

questions and comments are most welcome. Doyou write? Do you have something youd like to

share with the readers of Homeward Bound? Please

consider sending it in for review. Until next time . . may God bless you and use you in the Harves

of souls!

hb newsletter volume 11 - special edition 02 - the back-slider

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