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"Backsliding;" "Backslider." Words that describe a person that is losing out with God. They are not words coined by religious professors or preachers in college, but rather by God Himself as His Spirit moved upon holy men to write the scriptures. "Backsliding" is a word that was labeled by God and a concept that is used in the Bible time and time again.

It's easy to figure out what "backsliding" means. The image that is called to my mind is someone who was trying to go forward up the mountain, ceasing to try and deciding to go the other way. Backsliding is the opposite of repentance and means turning in a change of direction away from God. A backslider goes "back" to what they were delivered from. A backslider goes from a changed state in the glory of God back to a lifestyle of sin. They had reached a better way of living and a pleasing place in God, but they "slid back."

In our text, God spoke directly through the prophet Jeremiah and described the state of a backslider perfectly:

God said "I wanted to be your God and so I commanded you to obey my voice and my Word, but they did not listen to me. They decided to live life their own way and as such they went backward and not forward!" According to God's definition, backsliding is the failure to keep moving forward in God! Therefore you can backslide in one of two ways: either turn around and head the opposite direction, or just stand still in spiritual growth. Either way, you cease to move forward, and begin to slide backwards spiritually!

There are many churches where you will never hear a sermon on backsliding because they believe a lie from the pit of hell called "unconditional eternal security." You may have heard it expressed like this: "once saved; always saved." There is actually a doctrine of men that is preached across many pulpits as scriptural that once you are saved, then nothing can cause you to be lost. That you are eternally saved and secure. Such people treat scriptural commands and principles with much indifference because they have fooled themselves into believing that they can live as they want to and still go to heaven because they were "saved" in a one time experience in the past. There is no other doctrine made of men that is so damnable as this one. But, fortunately for those who seek the truth, there is no such false doctrine which has more scripture to disprove it than this one.

Lest anyone be confused, let me take a minute and -- with scripture -- refute the damnable doctrine of "once saved; always saved." I want to impress upon you that scripture bears out that is possible to be "saved by grace" and yet still die lost. You have to go no further than the Apostle Peter's words to see this:

"It would have been better for them to never have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then turn their backs on it." What is the state of a man before he comes to Jesus and turns to Him? He's lost and heading to an eternity of destruction because of his sin. And yet the scriptures say that if someone is delivered from the bondage of sin and then becomes entangled again -- in other words goes back to a willful sin lifestyle -- then they are in a WORSE state than if they had just remained lost! How can they be worse? Because they are lost after having tasted of the goodness of God. It's one thing to go to hell spiritually thirsty and with parched lips from a life of sin, but it's quite another to go to hell with the memory of God's mercy being extended to your life and with the taste of His living water still lingering in your mind! Hell will be unpleasant for the man or woman who never chooses to let Jesus Christ be "Lord of All" but it will be worse to the Christian who tasted of the Holy Ghost and felt His Spirit and has to spend eternity remembering every sermon where God reached out to them, and remembering every time they felt the wonderful presence of God moving upon them! Peter writing under the unction of the Holy Ghost said "it had been better."

The one scripture that "once saved; always saved" preachers always use is Romans chapter 8 where Paul wrote:

I believe that scripture, but let point out a couple of facts about it. First of all, you must take in context with the rest of the chapter and Paul introduced the verses by saying:

As long as you are living for God, then nothing can come against you. James wrote "submit yourselves to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). As long as you are serving God and submitted to His will, there is nothing that can tear you out of God's will because God is for you! But if you rebel against the Word of God -- even after you have tasted His goodness -- then God is no longer fighting for you and protecting you from those things.

And also notice that Paul listed many things including "things present" and "things to come," but didn't bother putting the past in the verse because the truth is -- if you go back to it -- your past can separate you from the love of God!

Listen to this preacher. You can't take one scripture and perch your man-made doctrine upon it and ignore thirty others. Israel and the entire Old Testament prove to us that it is possible for those who possess the promises of God to be lost. Despite the blessings of God and His very presence living among them, Israel turned to sin and idolatry and eventually rejected the work of God in their lives. And the Apostle Paul wrote that these things happened to Israel as "examples unto us" (1 Corinthians 10:6). We were supposed to learn lessons from Israel's backsliding so that we don't make the same mistake. If it is not possible, then why did God bother recording such and example for us?

And if Paul meant in Romans chapter 8 to teach a "once saved always saved doctrine" then why did he spend an entire book, the Book of Galatians, trying to save a group of people that were backsliding and going back on their faith in Christ? If He believe "once saved always saved" then why did he write Timothy and warn about those who would "deny the faith" (1 Timothy 5:8), and "make shipwreck concerning the faith" (1 Timothy 1:19-20), and that some would "depart from the faith" (1 Timothy 4:1)?

If being saved by the Gospel means that we can never be lost no matter what we do, then why did Paul write that is possible to be "moved from the Gospel" (Colossians 1:23)?

If being saved by Grace means that we can continue in sin and still be okay, then why does Hebrews 12:15 and Galatians 5:4 say that is possible to "fail or fall short of the grace of God?"

Please hear this preacher. We are saved by love but Jude warned that we must "keep ourselves in the love of God" (Jude 21). We are saved by the blood of Christ, but Hebrews 6:4-5; and 10:29 says that a man can receive that salvation and then "count the blood of the covenant where with he was sanctified an unholy thing." We are saved by a "great salvation" but it's possible to "neglect so great a salvation (Hebrews 2:3)."

Jesus' own teachings proves that it is possible to be a child of God and be lost. Jesus taught that if you are saved, that you are the:

Salt of the earth, but He also taught that it's possible for us to lose our savor (Matthew 5:13)

Light of the world, but that it's possible for the light to be hid or extinguished (Matthew 5:14)

His disciples, but that it's possible for disciples to walk away (John 6:67)

The branches attatched to the true vine, but that it's possible not to abide in Him or "remain in Him" and thus wither and be cast away and burned (John 15:6)

The sheep of His pasture, but that it's possible for a sheep to go astray (Matthew 18:12)

Saved from the destruction of this world, but "remember Lot's wife." (Luke 17:32)

If you are going to preach a "once saved; always saved" doctrine that once you are saved, you are saved no matter what you do, then there are some people in the Bible that you need to forget about and ignore. You need to forget about:

Judas Iscariot, who was called to be a disciple of Christ and yet "fell by transgression" (Acts 1:25)

Ananias and Sapphira who were Holy Ghost-filled members of the Apostolic church and who were struck dead for lying (Acts 5:1-10).

Simon the Sorcerer who believed on Jesus Christ, was baptized in His name and yet was told that his heart was "not right with God" and that he was still "in the bondage of sin" (Acts 8:12-13 with Acts 8:21-23).

Demas who, after being called to minister with the Apostle Paul, forsook him "having loved this present world" (2 Timothy 4:10).

The whole church of Ephesus who "lost their first love" and unless they repented would have their "light" quenched by God (Revelation 2:1-5).

The whole church of Laodicea who "was neither hot nor cold" but because they were "lukewarm" would cause God to "spue you out of my mouth" unless they repented (Revelation 3:14-19).

No matter what doctrines of men may teach today, you'd better realize that although you may be on the road to heaven, you have yet to reach it and that's why Jesus said:

Not "he that endures for a little while and then quits." Not "he that endures persecution because of living right for a time and then goes back to his sin." But "he that endureth until the end!" If you want to be saved, then you must not just have a one time experience with God but continue moving forward in God. And I must run this race until the finish! That's why Paul wrote:

It's "nearer now than when we first believed!" We haven't quite reached it yet, but we are a whole lot closer than we were! I must keep on moving forward to God and not take any exits, but stay on the strait and narrow!

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It is possible to backslide, but I must tell you that if you want to backslide, then it's going to be quite difficult. We serve a God who does not give up easily and you are not just going to walk out on Him without a fight. He'll let things go wrong in your life just to make you uncomfortable in your sin. He'll prod a preacher to get out of his comfort zone and preach what you need to hear. He'll let songs that once brought joy play in your head and haunt you in your sinful condition. He'll remind you of great experiences when you "tasted and saw that the Lord was good" and He'll let you discover that the old habits aren't quite as satisfying after you have tasted of His mercy and blessings! He'll remind you constantly of promises and vows that you made to Him. Worse of all to the backslider, He'll let a small remnant of His blessing and anointing remain to remind you of what you left behind. It won't be easy to backslide. Because the same love that caused Him to come and die for you before you even knew He existed doesn't leave when you walk away from Him. He's already given everything for your life and fellowship and so God will pull out all of the stops to try to get you back serving Him. He'll move on people to talk to you at the strangest times. He'll let sin ravage your life and then come back and beckon once again. To walk away and stay away will require you going further in sin than you ever went in order to deaden your memory of how great He is! To walk away and stay away will not be an easy task because our God will do everything that He can to reach you!

Even though it will not be easy, you can backslide if you so desire. And there are some steps that can make is somewhat easier, especially if this is your first time. It won't be smooth and painless, but you can do it if you have a made-up mind and you copy some behaviors from others who have been successful at it.

I just spent thirty minutes proving that it is possible to backslide in the first place. The most sure fire way to backslide is to forget everything that I just taught you from the Word of God. Listen to this preacher:

That way if a sermon or passage of scripture hits a little too close to home, then you can brush it aside and say "I'm saved, so I can do what I want." That way if someone reaches a hand for you with a lifeline to encourage you and pull you back forward with them, you can slap the hand away and say "how dare you judge me, I'm fine." Convincing yourself that it's impossible to be lost frees you up to live as you desire without any ramifications. But there is one scripture that you'd better not forget because it will come in handy. It's Matthew 7:1 which says:

If you want to backslide successfully then you need to know that scripture and ignore all others. Quote it often. Quote it quickly. Quote it in the form of a question like this: "who gave you the right to judge and say whether something's right or wrong?" Anytime anyone or your conscience brings up a scripture that labels something as a sin, you quote this scripture and ignore all the others.

You have to forget some things to be a successful backslider and the Word of God is one of them. Don't get beyond Matthew 7:1 or you'll get in trouble. You'll need to forget the words of Peter:

And whatever you do don't forget that you will be judged according to the Word of God in the last days. In fact, if you are going to be successful in backsliding it's best to forget that there is even a "last days" or a "heaven and hell" or a "final judgment." Just keep quoting Matthew 7:1 and ignore everything else.

Seeing that God does know everything, if you want to backslide, it's best to use His Word against Him and to identify the things in the Word of God that help a person backslide. Our text in the book of Hebrews gives us several sure-fire ways to "fail the grace of God:"

Here are several things that you can do to help your backsliding:

God said "lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." If you want to backslide let bitterness implant itself in your heart and stay there. Don't admit if someone mentions it, but just smile and say "oh, everything's fine" and let that root slowly branch out and take hold in your mind and life. Get mad about something or offended at somebody and don't go -- like Matthew chapter 18 says -- to that person and try to make it right, but hide it and let it grow. Talk to everybody else about it but not that person. Use whatever excuse possible to not go to them and get things right, because bitterness will help you backslide. Let that bitterness grow until everything that you do is permeated and connected to it. Let it consume your life.

Hang out with people who are casual about sexual sin.

God's Word warned us about hanging around or being a "fornicator." Sexual sin is a sin against your own body and gets your mind confused as to the will of God and inhibits your ability to use your emotions to hear His voice. It enables your fleshly will to take control of your life and helps you tune out everything else, so if you want to backslide, downplay sexual sin and view it as normal. Take the stand that "everybody's doing it." Don't worry about sex outside of marriage, after all what's marriage vows? Watch what you want, read what you want, do what you want, naturally. And be sure to hang out with others who view sex outside of marriage as "normal." Let them taint your views. Watch television shows and movies that glorify sexual sin. If you want to backslide, then place yourself into situations where sexual sin can more easily be the result. Set it up and it will happen! And remember: fornication is a tool to help you do what you want to do and to get you as far away from the grace of God as possible.

God warns about this as helping fall away from grace. The Greek word for "profane" means literally "someone who is an open door for wickedness." The example is given of Esau, who treated the things of God lightly and with irreverence. Find someone who always has a cute remark for everything spiritual that happens in church. Find someone who does what they want to on Monday through Saturday. Find somebody who makes fun of the Spirit of God moving and the "holy rollers." If you are going to come to church and still backslide, then find someone who isn't really "into it" like all of the super-spiritual people and hang out with them. When the altar call is given find people who are unmoved by the message and who hang out in the back rather than responding in their seats or coming to the front. Find people that are not too exuberant or extreme in their worship. Find people who have a different language at church than when they are away. Find people who make fun of the ministry and those who try to live for God wholeheartedly. Find somebody that's "too cool" for God, and hang out with those people. Being constantly with such a "profane" person will help you through the doorways to wickedness and away from grace. Find someone that you know is living a double standard and make them your best friend in the church. Better yet, use their sin to justify yours.

Choose your friend wisely if you want to backslide, because they influence you more than you realize. And whatever you do avoid true spiritual people from the church and steer the conversation away from any "religious talk." If they do bring it up, then instantly go to Matthew 7:1 if you can. Understand that the real Christians of the church are your worst enemy to backsliding. They might be praying for you and even fasting for you. They might even really love you and be concerned, and so you've got to take all attention and remarks as judging and condemnation and don't let yourself think that they are genuinely concerned. They have a scripture that says:

They have another scripture that says:

You've got to forget that they hate your sinful actions but actually love you and love you enough to pray for you to be saved and delivered from your sin. You've got to forget that and just accuse them of not being real. They all have faults, and if you know them hammer those faults and remind them of everything that they have done in the past. Whatever you do, do not listen to people who have a burden enough to pray and fast for you because they are the worst foes of someone who wants to backslide! There's been many people who had decided to backslide and yet were stopped because of the genuine concern of a praying saint!

The best way to keep backsliding is to stay away from the church and Godly people altogether. Isolate yourself, or only hang out with people who are profane. Whatever you do, don't fellowship with the saints or come to church. Let "neglect" become your keyword of life. Neglect prayer. Neglect church attendance -- you can find a good excuse for just about every week if you try hard enough. Neglect worship. Neglect reading your Bible. Neglect Bible Study. You are going to have to stop doing some of these things if you are successful in your backsliding!

There are two other important points that you must grasp and follow if you are to successfully backslide. These last two things are the "biggies" so be sure that you get them. In fact, there's probably not many people who can backslide without mastering them.

Of all the people that will try to stop you in your backward descent, the man of God in your life is your worst opposition. God will talk to him about your situation and speak through him. Therefore you've got to cut off his influence in your life.

Forget that he has everything to gain by you living for God, and convince yourself that he just wants to make your life miserable. Convince yourself that you don't need him to get to heaven and that you can hear from God without his help. Forget that God set him up as a safety net in your life and that he will one day give an account of your actions and that he cares for your soul. Reject his advice, his authority, and his counsel. Do what you want to do, and it helps if you can find others that share the same attitude and hang out with them. Question if he is really called of God. Mention that "he is just a human being like you are." Bring up that he makes mistakes and bring that up often. Point to other ministers who have fallen into sin and use that as an excuse not to trust the man of God in your life. It sounds extreme, but if you are going to backslide, you are going to have to distance yourself from the anointed ministry of the church. Criticize everything that you criticize. Take everything personal that you can. Listen to anybody else who has a gripe and let them dump that bitterness into you. It's very important to put that separation between the ministry and you and allow that distrust to build, because it is extremely hard to backslide when the man of God is active in your life.

And the last one is probably just as important. In fact, if you bungle all of these pointers and yet get these last two right, you still will probably be successful in backsliding. The first important one was to "cut off the man of God in your life." The one to add to that is:

Your hero, remember, is Judas Iscariot. Jesus told Judas when it came to crunch time: "what thou doest, doeth quickly." That's good advice for the backslider. Make life changing decisions without much prayer. Whatever you do, don't listen to the man of God's advice. Listen only to what feels right to you. Don't wait and take the time to ponder how much damage or hurt your leap will bring to others. You've got to think about yourself here, and yourself only. Brothers, sisters, friends, children, parents, none of that can come into your mode of thinking. Don't think about the ramifications and the end results of your sin, but just do it! And do it quickly! Get so busy and caught up in your sinful lifestyle that you don't have or take time to think about what's happening. Let your life become a whirlwind and a rollercoaster. Live from moment to moment. Don't pause and reflect or think ahead. Don't dwell on what you are sowing. Whatever you're going to do, just do it as quickly as possible! The more you think, the more likely the Holy Ghost and your conscience is to speak to you and mess things up. Nike's theme needs to become your lifestyle: "just do it!" Whatever feels good at the time "just do it!" If a thought comes in your mind, "just do it!" With that mindset, you can't help but backslide!

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This altar call is not to those who have a made up mind to go back to the sin that they were delivered from, but rather this altar call is to those who desire to be saved and live for God and yet in my preaching of how to backslide, you have seen some of the steps trying to slip into your life and you don't want that to happen! This altar call is to those who want to be saved. This altar call is for those who want a lifestyle that will take them to heaven and who want to "endure until the end." If you want to be lost, then this altar call is not for you, but to every person that wants to one day hear the words from Jesus "well done thou good and faithful servant" these altars are open. More importantly, God's mercy and grace are open today. And to those of you who may have came with a made-up mind to backslide and go back on God, you can change your mind. You can come back and serve God and continue moving forward. But it will take a change of direction on your part. It will take the ceasing of actions like those that backsliders take. But if you want a change, then the altars are open to you as well! God's mercy goes beyond your greatest mistake and you can still find love and salvation at the foot of the cross!