Salvation maintained and Backsliding

Do not attempt to read this unless your in for the long haul. To the many blog fans that I have who are reading this blog expecting to read a joke at any minute and expecting to be almost wetting your pants at the end of this blog like you always are because my blogs are so funny I am sad to say that is not the case today. This is a zero funny blog.
Backsliding is more of a serious matter than I could ever have imagined. A question was posed to Tara in an E-mail about Hebrews 6:4-6: “For if the case of those who have been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and to powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves and put him to open shame.” He said this seems to say that once someone has backslidden they can’t be brought to repentance again they’re hopeless. He said he knows this isn’t rue but he was struggling with it. I have decided to answer this question on my blog. Tara has the same idea apparently. First of all it is true. Every word written in the book is true. Secondly we need to look at the definition of backsliding from the Hand book of Doctrine. Seriously I have the book in front of me. Italics are words from the book.

Chapter 8 section III—Backsliding and rejection.
I. Backsliding is a scriptural word which describes the falling away of the soul from God after having been saved.
That makes sense right. It then gives two parts of backsliding the process and the state of being a backslidden Christian.
(b) The word backsliding is a twofold sense to describe
(i) An ultimate experience, when a soul has entirely departed from God and lost all Spiritual life
(ii) The process by which this state is reached.
Backsliding is often secret at first being known only to the soul itself; later it becomes open being seen in the outward life.
I think most of us get that. We probably know someone who is or has backslidden.
(c) Backsliding is an expression of unresponsiveness or opposition to the will of God.
(d) This arises in the backslider’s own heart and will. He begins to decline where as a seeker he began to advance in his personal response to the call of God. At some point in his experience where formerly he said yes he now says no to the divine will. A wrong act itself is not backsliding; the all important attitude of the heart which accompanies and follows the sinful actions. If there is penitence, then forgiveness can be sought and obtained, but if backsliding continues then an increasing measure of separation from God inevitably follows.
2. The cause of failure can be either in the backslider’s faith or in his obedience.
(a) There can be a decline in faith—a ceasing to trust in Christ as saviour
(i) By relying on some other ground of faith
(ii) By abandoning all trust in the gospel message, and making a shipwreck of faith
3. At what point can backsliding be said to be entire? There are two main answers to this question, for the cause can be either a crisis decision or a process of spiritual neglect
Isn’t it interesting how the crisis and process format can lead to holiness, but it can also be used in backsliding.
(a) Backsliding is entire when a man consciously reverses his committal to Christ.
(i) He rejects the demands of Christian discipleship--disobedience
(ii) He consciously rejects Christ as saviour—unbelief
(b) Backsliding is entire when all conscious spiritual dealings with God have ceased.
This state can be reached with out any apostasy, and with out any open separation from Christian profession. So we can start to backslide and not even mean to or realize it?
The Bible speaks of backsliders in heart who still profess allegiance to Christ and his church. Of them it was said, “Though you have name for being alive, you are dead” (Revelation 3:1). This is the backsliding that results from continued neglect to maintain the spiritual life.
In contrast to open apostasy such backsliders may be unaware of their true condition, especially when their decline has not been accompanied by any particular expression of wrongdoing.
Now I want someone to correct me if I’m wrong (not really) but that seems to be saying that a person sitting at church who says they are a Christian but is spiritually dead because of lack of food has backslidden and therefore is subject to “the fury if fire which will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews10:27). So our churches could be full of people who have backslidden with out even knowing it and they are going to hell. When given the choice of Jesus or Hell they say Jesus but that door is shut. Wow!! How much does that suck?
4. The back slider who persists in opposition to the will of God will forfeit both present and final salvation.

So a person who is backsliding can come to repentance and receive the grace of Christ by repentance and faith. So once a person has hit rock bottom and denies the knowledge of Christ and will not acknowledge him in any way can not and most likely won’t renew their repentance and enter into the kingdom of heaven. We need to catch the people who are on that downward spiral. The ones who know they are and don’t. We need to get to them before it is too late. There are thousands of people sitting in our congregations on Sunday’s who have backslidden and don’t even know it. Rather than looking outside our walls we should be looking on the inside; a change needs to happen there before anything can be done to change the outside.