A10.7 – RESTORATION OF A BACKSLIDER

1. On the part of God,

a) Backslidden condition is like a disease but God has all the cure, Jer 3:22

b) No matter how farther a backslidden believer has gone, the Lord, like the father of the prodigal son, longs and waits for his return, Isa 1:5-7

c) God loves the backslider and promises to receive those who return with repentant hearts, Deut 4:29-31

d) In recovering the backslider, most often, God goes the extra mile striving with him lovingly and using any extreme measure such as sickness, misery, grief or mishap to draw him back home, 2 Kings 17:14-15

e) God’s patience toward those who “keep on backsliding,” however, is limited. God grows weary with sin, Jer 15:6-7

2. On the part of the backslider,

a) A backslider is like someone who falls asleep gradually but the waking up is always spontaneous and sudden, James 4:6-8

b) It is always very difficult for a backslider to return to the first love, Heb 6:4-6

c) The backslider must exhibit humility, Prov 3:33-34

d) The backslider must acknowledge his guilt and weakness, Isa 59:12-14

e) The backslider must confess and repent from his sin of backsliding, Isa 58:9

3. On the part of other believers,

a) We must be each other’s brother’s keepers, Luke 22:32

b. We are to ‘bear one another’s burdens’, Gal 6:1-3

c. We are to exhort and edify one another daily, Heb 10:25-26

d. We are to pray for one another regularly, 2Thess 3:1-2

e. We are to confront backsliders lovingly, Ezek 3:20-21

f. A good reward awaits anyone who helps a backslider to be restored, James 5:20

g. We are to avoid those who have completely yielded their souls to the devil through continual sins so as not to go down like them, 1 Cor 5:9-11