A term that is often heard in church circles is the term ‘backslidden’. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about this very issue. He called them ‘carnal’ Christians. There are those who believed on the Lord Jesus and at one time may have lived faithfully for the Lord, but now they have fallen into the ways of the world. They stopped growing and they slid backwards. To backslide is not just simply to go backwards; it is to not move forward. You see, the Kingdom of God is always advancing. It is always moving forward. However, if you are standing still then you are falling behind. A Christian that has become stagnant and spiritually lazy is indeed a backslidden Christian. The people of Judah had fallen away from the Lord. Instead of growing in their love for the Lord, they fell in love with idol worship and the ways of the world. “What Judah did was as unnatural as a woman forgetting to wear the tokens of her marital state, whether single or married. In ancient times women often wore a sash around the waist to indicate their marital state (see Ezek 16:8–14 for a description of bridal ornaments). A husband today would question his wife’s love if she never remembered to wear her wedding ring. Israel was God’s bride through a covenant sealed at Sinai, but the people had forgotten the obligations of their covenant relationship.”[1] Judah was an unfaithful bride.
What can we learn from Judah’s sin? In this passage we see several characteristics of a backslidden Christian. These revealed characteristics serve as a warning to us. We should examine our lives to see if we have backslidden and consider what we should do to return to the Lord.
Rebellious Attitude. The first characteristic of a backslidden Christian is a rebellious attitude. Judah was like a child who refused to be disciplined. No matter what God did to correct them, they dug themselves in deeper rebellion. A child (especially in the teenager years) gets to a point where they feel that they deserve more freedom. They want to do their own thing. They want to make their own decisions. In the desire for this so-called freedom, they rebel against their parents and constantly disrespect authority. They think that rebelling brings freedom. “The belief that rebelling against God brings freedom is a lie that goes back to the allurement of the sin of the first man and woman (Gen 3:1–7). True liberty comes from submission to God, not rebellion against him (cf. John 8:32, 36).”[2] Warren Wiersbe writes, “God reminded the people how richly He had blessed them. Yet they had rebelled against Him (2:29), forgot Him (v. 32), and lied to Him (vv. 33–35), claiming to be innocent. One of the major themes of the Book of Deuteronomy is that the nation remembered the Lord and what He had done for them. Yet the people took their blessings for granted and gave their allegiance to dumb idols. They were so skilled at their harlotry, worshiping false gods, that even the most wicked prostitute could learn new things from them! They exploited the poor and were stained by their blood, and yet they pleaded innocent (see Amos 2:6–8; 5:10–12).”[3] How often do we refuse to listen? How often do we think our way is the best way? How often do we rebel? A backslidden Christian is one who has no regard for spiritual authority. They look at anyone over them as bad. They do not trust their leaders. Their mistrust in their leaders has no merit. There is a culture of rebellion in our day. Children are taught to question everything. This is fueled by their parents who complain and disrespect those in authority. We live in an entitlement society where people think everything should revolve around themselves. Therefore, they have a blatant disrespect for authority. This is the tell all sign of a backslidden Christian in the church. When you have someone that rebels against the pastor and other spiritual leaders and does not follow and respect those leaders; mark it down, they are in a backslidden state. You may not like the personality of a leader. You may not like everything the leader does or does not do. However, if your pastor and other church leaders are teaching and preaching the Word of God faithfully and are leading the church to be missional, disciple-making, and sending; then you should highly respect those leaders and follow them and set the example for your children. The scriptures warn us about bringing accusations against an elder of the church. The scriptures teach us to respect those in spiritual authority and highly regard them and support them and follow them. When we constantly disrespect and question such authority we are living in rebellion which is a sure all sign that we have backslid.
Unwilling to learn. Another characteristic of a backslidden Christian is an unwillingness to learn. A carnal and backslidden Christian is one that thinks they have all the answers. They act as if no one can teach them anything. In the church, these are those who think they have greater knowledge than others. They think that no one can teach them anything, because after all, they know it all. The people of Judah refused to learn from the error of their ways. They fell deeper in their backslidden state because they refused to listen and to learn. They ignored the instructions of the Lord and they chose to go their own way. As Christians, we should have a hunger for the Word of God. We should give ourselves to personal prayer and Bible study every day. In addition, we should come to church with an expectation to hear the Word of the Lord. When we approach the teaching of God’s Word with a critical spirit or an uninterested attitude, we are most definitely backslidden. A growing Christian is one who has a deep hunger and desire to learn more of God’s Word. When that desire is not in us and we do not pursue spiritual growth, we are in a backslidden state.
Suppressed memory. In verse 32 the Lord says, “yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.” The people of Judah suppressed their memory in two ways. (1) They forgot who they were. They suppressed the memory of their heritage and their calling. They turned away from their history of being the people of God. They got so caught up in their idolatry and worldliness that there was very little resemblance of who they are. They lost their way. Oh my friend, has the modern church lost its way? Think about it. If you grew up in church, do you remember how it used to be? The love. The joy. The family. The singing of hymns. The church potlucks. That church momma that kept everyone in line. That preacher that just preached the Bible and was not afraid to preach the truth. Nothing watered down. Nothing manufactured. Just real people who love Jesus and loved each other. Yet today, we are focused on music instead of worship. We are focused on making an impression instead of building relationships. We are focused on numbers instead of people. We are focused on what is relevant or what draws a crowd instead of truth. We are focused on pleasing people and not offending anyone instead of real Holy Ghost filled preaching. Oh, that we not forget who we are. That we would return to the days of real powerful movements of God. We’ve lost our way when we see ourselves as an organization rather than a family. We’ve lost our way when we have turned to the ways of the world and there is nothing about us that resembles true authentic believers. We need to reach back into our minds and remove the filth that has blind us and remember who we are. We are blood-bought children of God. We belong to Jesus. We have been redeemed. We have been justified. We are sanctified. We are adopted into the family of God. We are a child of the King! Stop living like the world. Stop flirting with the world. Stop striving to be like the world. Let’s just be who we are in Christ. Let us return and never forget who we are! (2) They forgot God. The people of Judah got so trapped in the worship of idols that they totally forgot God. They stopped praying. They stopped worshipping. They completely turned away from the One true God. Do we ever forget God? Have you ever stopped reading your Bible? Have you ever stopped praying? Have you ever walked away from fellowship with other believers? Too often, I am afraid we forget God. We are so caught up in ourselves that we can go an entire day without talking with Him. Oh, that we would never forget God!
Unstable and Indecisive. The people of Judah were wishy washy. You could not tell what they would do from one moment to the next. Wiersbe says, “In its attempt to keep peace with its neighbors, Judah had flitted between Egypt and Assyria (Jer. 2:14–19), both of whom would ultimately disappoint Judah. The description in verse 37 is that of prisoners of war, their hands tied above their heads, being led away captive. Any decisions we make that are contrary to God’s plan will lead to bondage, because only the truth can set us free (John 8:32). The Babylonian army would eventually overrun the land, take Jerusalem and destroy it, and lead the people away into captivity.”[4] Judah would turn from one pagan nation to another, but would not turn to God except when they had nowhere else to turn. At the times when they would turn to the Lord, it would not last. It didn’t take long before they were right back in their old ways and turning to pagan lands. As Christians, our lives are too often like a roller coaster. We get right with God and go on a spiritual high only to go back down and wallow in sin. We sin. We repent. We sin. We repent. It is a never ending vicious cycle. A backslidden Christian is one caught in this cycle. They cannot make up their mind whether or not to follow the Lord. When you are not growing. When you are standing still. You are unstable. You are backslidden.
The people of Judah wandered far away from God. They turned to idol worship and even turned to pagan lands for help in times of trouble rather than turning to God. To say they were backslidden is a mild assessment. Their behavior was characteristic of a backslidden Christian. Rebellious attitude, unwilling to learn, suppressed memory, and unstable/indecisiveness; are all characteristics of one who is backslidden. I pray that I would always move forward in my walk with God. I pray that I would constantly grow in my faith and that I would not be backslidden. There are times in all of our lives when we have some of the characteristics of a backslidden Christian. But, may we never stay there. May we be quick to repent and stay on a path of spiritual growth becoming more like Christ every day.
[1] Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 69). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 68). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (p. 28). Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (p. 29). Victor Books.
Pastor Chris Noland 