Have you witnessed people who have fallen from the faith? This week I was searching sermons from other Pastors. I came across one by Charles G. Finney that made the hair on my arms stand up. As I read it the Spirit in me came alive with passion. Wow, I thought to myself, this is right on, tonight I am going to share some of what Charles had to say.
What is backsliding in heart?:
1. It consists in taking back that consecration to God and His service, that constitutes true conversion.
2. It is the leaving, by a Christian, of his first love.
3. It consists in the Christian withdrawing himself from that state of entire and universal devotion to God, which constitutes true religion, and coming again under the control of a self-pleasing spirit.
4. Scripture implies that there may be a backslidden heart, when the forms of religion and obedience to God are maintained. As we know from consciousness that men perform the same, we are certain that men may keep up all the outward forms and appearances of religion, when in fact, they are backslidden in heart, but they have lost the power of godliness in their soul.
What are evidences of backsliding in heart ?:
I was amazed that Charles listed 32 way’s we can tell someone has a backsliding heart … Here are just a few of them:
1. Manifest formality in religious exercises. A stereotyped, formal way of saying and doing things, that is clearly the result of habit, rather than the out gushing of the religious life. This formality will be emotionless and cold as an iceberg, and will evince a total want of earnestness in the performance of religious duty. In prayer and in religious exercises the backslider in heart will pray or praise, or confess, or give thanks with his lips, so that all can hear him, perhaps, but in such a way that no one can feel him. Such a formality would be impossible where there existed a present, living faith and love, and religious zeal.
2. A lack of religious enjoyment. We always enjoy the saying and doing of those things that please those whom we most love; when the heart is not backslidden, communion with God is kept up, and therefore all religious duties are not only performed with pleasure, but the communion with God involved in them is a source of rich and continual enjoyment. If we do not enjoy the service of God, it is because we do not truly serve Him. If we love Him supremely, it is impossible that we should not enjoy His service at every step. Always remember then, whenever you lose your religious enjoyment, or the enjoyment of serving God, you may know that you are not serving Him.
3. An ungoverned temper. While the heart is full of love, the temper will naturally be chastened and sweet. We will keep it under control, and not break out in outrageous abuse. If at any time it should, it will soon be brought under control, and not allowed to continue. A loving heart confess at a break down. Whenever, there is an irritable, uncontrolled temper allowed to manifest itself to those around, you may know there is a backslidden heart.
4. A censorious spirit. This is a spirit of fault-finding, of impugning the motives of others, when their conduct admits of a charitable construction. It is a disposition to fasten blame upon others, and judge them harshly. It is a spirit of distrust of Christian character and profession. It is a state of mind that reveals itself in harsh judgments, harsh sayings, and the manifestation of uncomfortable feelings toward individuals. This state of mind is entirely incompatible with a loving heart, and whenever a censorious spirit is manifested by a professor of religion, you may know there is a backslidden heart.
5. A lack of interest in God's Word. Perhaps nothing more conclusively proves a backslidden heart, than his losing his interest in the Bible. While the heart is full of love, no book in the world is so precious as the Bible. But when the love is gone, the Bible becomes not only uninteresting but often repulsive. There is no faith to accept its promises, but conviction enough left to dread its threatening. But in general the backslider in heart is apathetic as to the Bible. He does not read it much, and when he does read it, he has not interest enough to understand it. Its pages become dark and uninteresting, and therefore it is neglected.
6. A lack of interest in the conversion of souls. There is nothing in which a loving heart takes more interest than in the conversion of souls in revivals of religion, and in efforts to promote them.
7. The loss of interest in truly spiritual conversation. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34). This our Lord Jesus Christ announced as a law of our nature. No conversation is so sweet to a truly loving heart, as that which relates to Christ, and to our living Christian experience. If you find yourself losing interest in conversing on heart religion, and of the various and wonderful experiences of Christians, if you have known what the true love of God is, you have fallen from it, and are a backslider in heart.
8. A self-indulgent spirit. By self-indulgence, I mean a disposition to gratify the appetites, passions, and propensities, to "fulfill the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Ephesians 2:3).
9. Loose moral principles.
10. A complainer about forms, ceremonies, and nonessentials. A loving heart is particular only about the substance and power of religion, and will not complain about its forms.
10 of 32 way’s we can tell if we have a backsliding heart. I want you all to go home and really chew on what was said tonight. Are you practicing even one of the things I mentioned tonight? Are you truly seeking God the way He would have us? Are you serving God or just going through the motions? Next week we are going to look into the consequences of backsliding in heart. There is hope, the following week we are going to look at how to recover from the backsliding heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment