THE HOPE OF THE BACKSLIDER

HOSEA 14:1

A. A BACKSLIDER
  1. One falling behind or out of step; one who retrogresses in his moral duties:
    1. Lot's wife is a vivid example of backsliding - Gen. 19:26
    2. The prophet Jeremiah uses the word "backsliding" twelve times - Jer. 2:19; 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7; 31:22; 49:4
    3. Hosea uses this word three times - Hos. 4:16; 11:7; 14:4
  2. The term "backsliding" was used in connection with army practices; when a soldier fell behind or out of step with his comrades, he was marked as a backslider:
    1. That was considered a serious offense in the army, unless illness or other unavoidable incident caused it.
    2. This word is used, also, with reference to persons that retrogress in their moral obligations; fail to keep a promise.
    3. It is in this sense that the Bible uses the word continuously.
B. LET US TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF A BACKSLIDER
  1. When a person or a people depart from the word of God, that is very serious backsliding in the sight of the Lord:
    1. That is God's serious complaint against Israel as stated in Jer. 2:12, 13, "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and have hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
    2. Thus, a two fold cause for backsliding is laid down in God's word -
      1. Departing from the living God.
      2. Setting up our own standards - 1 Tim. 1:4, 5
    3. This type of backsliding is the root of all backsliding, personal or collective retrogression alike.
  2. Nature of backsliding:
    1. One may never realize the seriousness of backsliding because, in most instances, it is a gradual process, at times hidden to the guilty himself.
    2. It usually begins with carelessness -- leaving out the private devotions, reading of the Bible, or neglecting secret prayer.
    3. Absent from the church services is still another indication of irregularity in the life of a backslider.
    4. Worldliness is still another sign of serious backsliding. Following the ways of the world in dress and other infractions.
C. THE HOPE OF THE BACKSLIDER
  1. This is the heart of my subject:
    1. God does not utterly forsake the backslider; He does not leave him to go down to destruction because He knoweth our infirmities, and has compassion upon us - Ps. 103:13, 14
    2. If that were not the hope of the backslider, many of us would have no hope at all, because in some ways we all come short of the glory of God.
  2. But, note, please, that backsliding is a disease, needs healing: "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely" - Hos. 14:4
    1. Backsliding leaves bruises and wounds - Isa. 1:6
    2. And often scars are the abiding evidence of a life of backsliding.
  3. Let those who find themselves having backslid, take courage:
    1. God is interested in you; He has not abandoned you to your fate; He wants you to return to Him; and He will help you.
    2. That is the repeated invitation of the Lord to you - Isa. 19:22; Hos. 6:1; 14:1 EXAMPLES -
      1. The prodigal son returned - Luke 15:11
      2. Peter returned to the Lord - Mark 14:72
      3. the people of Israel returned to the true God and His worship - 1 Ki. 18:39
    3. How thankful we can be for a compassionate Father in heaven, who is ever ready to receive to Himself the backsliders!


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