Return, You Backsliding Children
We do not use the word "backsliding" much these days, but it is a Biblical word, and it is very descriptive of what happens to believers who get away from the Lord. Jeremiah was told by God to call the backsliding children of Israel to come back to Him, so He could heal their backslidings. (Jeremiah 3:22) We would do well to heed this admonition, if it applies to us right now.
The Christian life is supposed to be a growing life. Once we come to know the Lord Jesus, we are to grow each day to be more like Him. We are to get closer and closer to His likeness. We should be more and more conformed to His image. The term for this is progressive sanctification. It is God's will for every believer. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
If we stop growing closer, we start getting farther away. There is no standing still or holding our position. Therefore, if we stop growing to be more like Christ, we start sliding back to the way we were before we came to the Lord. That is backsliding. The Holy Spirit convicts us, when we start backsliding, so people feel guilty. Some people want to fake it, and act like they are still growing. That doesn't work. The only way to get back on track is to confess our backsliding to the Lord and let Him heal us from our backslidings. We can't grow without His power, and we can't get back without it either. However, when we return to Him as the Lord, our God, He is ready to welcome us back and draw us close to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 4-6.
The Christian life is supposed to be a growing life. Once we come to know the Lord Jesus, we are to grow each day to be more like Him. We are to get closer and closer to His likeness. We should be more and more conformed to His image. The term for this is progressive sanctification. It is God's will for every believer. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
If we stop growing closer, we start getting farther away. There is no standing still or holding our position. Therefore, if we stop growing to be more like Christ, we start sliding back to the way we were before we came to the Lord. That is backsliding. The Holy Spirit convicts us, when we start backsliding, so people feel guilty. Some people want to fake it, and act like they are still growing. That doesn't work. The only way to get back on track is to confess our backsliding to the Lord and let Him heal us from our backslidings. We can't grow without His power, and we can't get back without it either. However, when we return to Him as the Lord, our God, He is ready to welcome us back and draw us close to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 4-6.