This post contains a 36-minute sermon by the Reverend William Macleod on backsliding. He defines it and discusses how it begins and how it can be remedied. Texts used include Hosea 14; and Hebrews 12. The sermon includes a 3-minute singing of Psalm 63. I had to divide the sermon into 3 sections, each is preceded with sermon highlights for those who’d rather read than listen; and for those who like to do both.
Sermon text, from KJV, as that is what he was using. The sermon focused on Hosea 14:4, but he also referred to the other text below:
Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Hos 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
Hos 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
Hos 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
Hos 14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Hos 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
Hos 14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
Hos 14:8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?
Reverend Macleod’s sermon was 36 minutes long, with a 3-minute closing hymn, Psalm 63; and a minute of announcements.
Sermon highlights precede each section of the sermon, some of those are summarized in my words. [Bracketed statements and emboldening are mine.]
The sermon had to be divided into 3 parts to upload [with my Verizon DSL].
Part A highlights:
One must first be a Christian to backslide
*Backsliding is not the sudden committing of some big sin, it is a gradual thing [that overtakes someone because of the specifics listed below]
*Backsliding causes one’s heart to grow cold; their zeal to cool…as their heart is gripped by idolatry moving them to take more pleasure in work, family, entertainment, money, …the world
*Pride enters in; self-concern; thoughts of being good, cleaver, wise [thinking oneself to be a better Christian than others…]
*God hates pride
*How easy it is for us to see another’s faults and minimize our own while maximizing those of other Christians; comparing ourselves to them to exalt ourselves…
*Backsliding involves failure in private devotions; private prayer, Bible reading, lack of meditation on God’s word – it firstly becomes visible in this area (the neglecting of private means of grace)
*Prayers become short, formal, dull, dead; one is distracted by worldly concerns
*Hypocrisy usually enters in at this point, as one wants to maintain the good opinion of other Christians; [thus, one’s focus becomes on covering up his sin, comparing self to others and somehow exalting self in the process]
*One’s standards by which he measures his own behavior are greatly lowered by doing the above; as he isn’t in the mirror of God’s word every day, being rebuked by it…being shaped into the image of Christ
*Thereafter, misconduct such as the following slips into his life: little lies; flirting; possibly stealing from work; tolerating sin…
*The Bible states that the ‘fear of the Lord’ is the beginning of wisdom, that is true religion
*When the fear of the Lord is gone from your life, you are no longer walking with God: to walk with Him is to be aware that He is observing your thoughts, longings, conduct…
*In such a state, one becomes concerned with fear of man; fearing what others think about him, say about him; that they can observe him…
*Fear of man is a snare, that would seem to lead one into deeper hypocrisy and further from God
*Sometimes God allows such backsliding to lead to serious sin – drunkenness, adultery, temper outbursts… to show you your own heart
*Often, backsliding doesn’t lead to gross sinning; however, it causes one to fear man more than God; the fear of man keeps the backslider in check somewhat
*Behaviors that accompany such a state include spiritual coolness, formality, lack of love for God and the brethren, like the church of Laodicea
*Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.
WHAT IS THE CAUSES OF BACKSLIDING?
*Firstly, lack of awareness of the danger: Jesus told His disciples to “watch and pray lest they enter into temptation.” Even after they were blessed by his words in John 13-17, which included hearing His high priestly prayer, they did not listen, but fell asleep
Part B Highlights:
Secondly, failure to cultivate godliness. Some think that they have arrived once they become a Christian; truth is that the struggle just begins then. That is, you don’t then have a ‘ticket’ to heaven;
*The Christian life is a pilgrimage: Bunyan’s character Christian left the city of destruction for the celestial city, a long journey with many and diverse struggles
*Peter said, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ = develop, mature, bear fruit, make real progress
*A real-world example of such a journey can be seen in the flight of an airplane; it cannot stop or back up; it must continue forward so the upward thrust of the air keeps it moving forward; the Christian life is like that, only forward movement will keep us flying towards heaven
*Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…
*Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…
*Thirdly, neglecting God’s appointed means of grace, particularly, private means such as Bible reading, prayer and meditation of the word.
*Backsliding initially shows up in the neglect of earnest prayer, pleading with God as Jacob did
*Formal personal worship, checking off the box to get it done
*Neglecting the prayer meeting
*Fourthly, keeping bad company: not that one should avoid worldly people to witness, etc., but taking on their values
*Fifthly, allowing sin a foothold in your life – examples given involving thoughts, usage of time; justification of worldly conduct; relying on worldly solutions (old idols) …
*Backsliding is a gradual process as your personal standards revert to those of the world and depart from the WORD
*Outward hypocrisy becomes necessary for respectability as you cover up your coolness for the things of God
*Your heart trades excitement, interest for, love for the things of God and those affections are displayed for worldly things
WHAT IS OUR DUTY IN THE FACE OF BACKSLIDING?
*Self-examination. this is not only required to see that you are in the faith, that you are a child of God, but it is necessary to ascertain your current status in the faith
*Some questions to ask self: Am I growing in grace? Am I becoming more Christ-like? Am I content with my backslidden condition?
*OR, am I turning back to my idols [relying on them instead of God’s Spirit]
*If I am doing the latter, then I have no right to call myself a Christian
*A CHRISTIAN IS SOMEONE WHO IS WRESTLING WITH SIN, WHO IS INVOLVED IN A BATTLE / WAR WITH THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL [expounded upon]
*If you knew there was a lion outside the church tonight, would you be careful?
*There is something that is far worse than a lion: Satan has never missed a prayer meeting; he is with us today, seeking to take away the seeds of God’s word any way he can, via distractions
*Self-examination is important, and when we see sin in our lives, returning to the Lord, from our idols
*Seek over and over again to return to the Lord [via prayer]; repentance should be a daily activity; faith is not a one-time event, it must be exercised in our daily relying on the Lord, that is how our relationship with Him is strengthened
*Come back to your first love; how was your relationship with Him when you were first converted?
*Why were you more zealous, devoted, loving then?
*Presently, you have greater understanding [if you have been abiding in His means of grace] and you should therefore love Him more
*Ask the Lord to take away your guilt and your desire to sin and to make you holy
PART C HIGHLIGHTS:
*Hos 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
*Hos 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
*Look to the Bible as your standard; or as Paul said, be followers of me, as I am of Christ
*Don’t accept a lower standard, being a second-rate Christian
*Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
*Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
*We offer the gospel freely to sinners, He is there, take Him, trust in Him, receive and embrace Him
*We need Him and His grace at the beginning, middle and end of our Christian walk
*Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
*Hos 14:4 I will heal their backsliding
*That is also a promise to the church
*I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him
*We hear today that God loves the sinner and hates the sin, BUT who does He send to hell, the sinner or the sin?
*Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
*What a blessing we have that Christ is our intercessor
*He is calling us, Return unto Me
*We feel weak; we feel the strength of sin, the temptation of the world, the enticements of Satan; but let us call out to the Lord
*Hos 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Hos 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. [End Highlights]
The following narrative and links are from the YouTube site that posted the above video, Christian Sermons and Audio Books [I recommend subscribing (last link below), as this is one of the most beneficial sites for Christian sermons old and new].
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.” Hosea 14:4
Knightswood Free Church of Scotland: https://knightswoodchurch.org/
Reverend William Macleod (video playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Rev. William Macleod was born on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. He was educated at Aberdeen University, the Free Church of Scotland College (Edinburgh) and Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia). Ordained to the ministry in 1976, he is currently minister of Thornwood Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) in Glasgow, Scotland. Mr Macleod is the editor of his denomination’s magazine, the Free Church Witness, and is Principal of the Free Church Seminary, Inverness. He is married, and has three children.
Backsliding – Reverend William Macleod Sermon
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