0522. BACKSLIDING-ITS CAUSE, COURSE, AND CURE
BACKSLIDING-ITS CAUSE, COURSE, AND CURE
Jer_2:1-37.
The prodigal did not arrive among the swine the first day he left his father. The course of the backslider is gradual. A little thing at the fountain head may alter the course of a river. A little sin "in" the heart may change the current of a life. We have here-
I. A Happy Condition. "When thou wentest after Me in the wilderness Israel was holiness unto the Lord" (Jer_2:3). These words suggest two important truths.
1. That to please God we must follow Him.
2. That in following Him we are holiness unto the Lord. Holiness is the fruit of obedience and fellowship. This is the root thought of consecration, and exceedingly practical. While Peter, was rejoicing in the Lord,. he could say, "To whom can we go?" but when doubt and fear arose in his heart he forsook Him and fled. The obedient followers of Christ will never be found mourning beside the broken cisterns.
II. A Foolish Step. "They have forsaken Me and hewed them out broken cisterns," etc. (Jer_2:13). God is the Fountain of living waters; when He is forsaken men have to hew for themselves. And what do they get for all their labours? "Broken cisterns that can hold no water." Disappointment (Rom_10:4). Labouring for living waters is an evidence of God unknown or God forsaken. It is the gift of God (Joh_4:10). How vain to seek the streams without the fountain; how foolish to seek the blessing without the Blesser! "All my springs are in Thee." All my blessings in Christ are but foretastes of His inexhaustible fullness. The forsaking is always followed with the hewing. When a man has lost his pleasure in the prayer meeting he will be likely to seek it in the dram shop; when the Bible becomes dry the novel will be sought. "Broken cisterns."
III. A Sorrowful Contrast. "I planted thee a noble vine; how art thou turned into the degenerate plant?" (Jer_2:21). Oh, think of it! Forsaking God means degeneration in life and character. If you have begun to pray less you have begun to:degenerate. If you have a growing dislike for the company of the godly, the process of degeneration is fast going on. If you are not bearing the rich fruits of former years it is because you are a degenerate plant. The vine cannot thrive in a barren land; no more can ye. If we would continue to be fruitful, let us abide where the Lord hath planted us (Rom_6:3; Joh_15:4).
IV. A Fruitless Attempt. "Though thou wash thee… yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord" (Jer_2:22). It is very common for the backslider in heart to keep up the form of godliness when the power is gone, but though they take the nitre of earnestness and the much soap of profession, yet is their iniquity marked before God. Solemn words! Be not deceived; God is not mocked. A backslider can no more wash himself than an unbelieving sinner. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper. No amount of outward pretence will atone for secret sin in sight of God.
V. A Solemn Change. "Thou hast taught the wicked ones thy ways: also in thy skirts is found the blood of souls" (Jer_2:33-34). How guilty and responsible are those Christians who have forsaken the Lord and gone back to the world. They dishonour Christ by their lives, which teach the wicked a Godless religion-a religion the world loves. By forsaking the blood that cleanseth from all sin the blood of souls is on their skirts. If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
VI. A Presumptuous Plea. "Yet thou sayest, I am innocent, I have not sinned" (Jer_2:35). A backslider has arrived at about the last stage of degeneration when he begins to justify himself; he has got into the painless state of spiritual mortification.
VII. A Dismal Prospect. "The Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them" (Jer_2:37). The confidence that is not placed in the Lord Himself is sheer presumption. Special meetings may be got up, new methods may be invented, some excitement may be awakened, but if thy heart is not right with God thou shalt not prosper. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1Sa_16:7). It is possible for a backslider, in reforming his wanner of life, to regain the confidence of his Christian brethren, but unless there is cleansing and heart restoration to God he shall not prosper. He may be a branch among the other branches, but if he is not in fellowship with the life-giving Vine he is but a withered branch, and shall not prosper.
VIII. A Gracious Remedy. "Return thou backsliding Israel, for I am merciful, saith the Lord" (chap. Jer_3:12). Oh, how simple the condition, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity" (Jer_2:13). Oh, how encouraging the offer, "I am merciful." Oh, how gracious the promise, "I will heal" (Jer_2:22). If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive. David acknowledged his transgression and was forgiven (Psa_32:5). The prodigal confessed and was restored (Luke 15). Return, confess, rejoice.
Autor: James Smith