What is Backsliding?
Why do people Backslide?
What can a believer do to insure that Backsliding does not happen to them?
To put it simply, backsliding happens when a believer starts believing something other than Christ.
What do I mean by that?
Trust in Christ and what He accomplished on the Cross is what brings redemption to us and in us.
When we start serving The Law or for that matter, serving any law (for if the Law of God could not bring about redemption, justification, and sanctification; how can we possibly think that some other law made up by “whoever” could possibly bring about these things).
Gal. 5:3 says, “For I testify again to every man who is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole Law.”
The same could be said for any law(not just circumsism). If we trust in any law to bring us into rightness with God; we are then obligated to keep the whole law. The reason for this is because, at that point, we have denied that Christ actually accomplished our complete redemption.
So, if after we are saved, we find that we have committed a sin(which will happen), what are we to do about it?
Most would say, “ Well we are to confess our sins because the Word says, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins if we do this.” This is absolutely correct, however, most of us do not really stop there. After we have confessed the sin we set about to figure out what we can do to keep ourselves from doing it again(What can I do; I believe is the prominent question).
Generally speaking, we will come up with something which we think we can do in order to prevent us from committing that sin.
Now we have this something which we must do in our minds to try to remember to do continually in order to prevent the sin we are having trouble with. This very thing which we have set up in our mind which we want to do to prevent sin, is a new law which we have made up on our own. By following this little law we are now living after the flesh, for this little law is not of Faith. Sin can never be overcome by any law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ.
So what are we to do someone may ask?
We are to confess our sin, and then place our Faith in Christ. If we feel we must do something in order to rid ourselves of the possibility of sinning again, just do this, “Thank Jesus for accomplishing your redemption with His own Blood. Thank Jesus for walking perfectly within the Law while He was on the Earth, never missing the will of His Father in Heaven. Living a perfect Holy life all His days on the Earth, and then giving you that perfect victory. Applying that Victory to your life. Realizing that you are Crucified with Him, Buried with Him, and Risen with Him in newness of Life.” You now have credit in the eyes of God for the same victorious walk which Jesus was able to perform.
When we do this, we give the Holy Spirit the position to rid us of that particular sin, and other sins as well.
Gal. 5:4 says, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; you are fallen from Grace.
The fact that we cannot of our own works, laws, or rules possibly gain righteousness in the sight of God, cannot be overstated.
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