What Does Backsliding Mean?

“Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” (Jeremiah 3:22)

If you attend church on a regular basis, then you’ve heard your pastor or Sunday School teacher mention backsliding. But what does it mean? Moreover, what are the common symptoms associated with backsliding?

There are some who would tell you that backsliding means to go back to your old ways. I don’t agree. Someone who goes back to his old ways is what I call a “Counterfeit Christian.” In other words, his salvation may not have been real to begin with, since there is little evidence that there was true repentance. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3)

Backsliders aren’t Counterfeit Christians. They’re just as saved as you and me. For example, when the Lord spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah, as in the above verse, He referred to backsliders as “children,” which means he knew them as their Father. Even more convincing, He once told the Prophet Hosea, “My people are bent on backsliding from Me.” (Hosea 11:7)

So what does it mean to backslide? It’s really fairly simple. A backslider is one who goes backwards in his spiritual life. An 1800’s theologian said it this way: “Backsliding…occurs when the Christian is gradually led off from close walking with God, loses the lively sense of divine things, becomes too much attached to the world and too much occupied with secular concerns; until at length the keeping of the heart is neglected, prayer and the seeking of the Lord in private are omitted or slightly performed, zeal for the advancement of religion is quenched, and many things once rejected by a sensitive conscience are now indulged and defended.”

That’s about as good of a description of a backslider as I could find even though it was written almost 200 years ago.

Alexander points out that backsliding is “gradual.’’ He’s right. That’s why others tend to notice it before we do. It’s sort of like weight gain. We may not think it’s all that obvious until we spend some time with someone who hasn’t seen us in a while. As we all know, it doesn’t take them long to notice how much we’ve changed.

So what are the symptoms of a backslider? Well I think Mr. Alexander had his arms around the problem. In fact, there are a couple of symptoms he mentioned on which I want to focus.

Clearly, our view of the world can and does change. But our relationship with Christ should continue to grow despite all the trappings that the world has to offer. The backsliding Christian tends to get become worldlier in his pursuits, so much so that his priorities change. He no longer places a higher value on his faith. The Apostle Paul warned against such trappings. “Evil company corrupts good habits,” he wrote to the Church of Corinth. (1 Corinthians 15:33) Paul understood what Solomon learned the hard way: “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? (Proverbs 6:27-28)

Finally, and I think most importantly, every backslider will experience a dramatic change in his prayer life. It becomes extremely infrequent. In some cases, it ceases altogether. Someone once characterized it this way: “Backsliding begins when knee bending stops.”

We all need to occasionally take stock of our lives. Step on the scales, so to speak, and see if we’ve gained weight. To those of us who manifest the symptoms commonly associated with backsliding, it’s refreshing to read that the Bible promises that our relationship with the Lord can be restored, if we return. But those of us who continue to ignore the symptoms should heed the words of Peter: “For if after they’ve escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2:20-21)