Key Verse: Jeremiah 15:6 

“You have forsaken Me,” says the Lord, “You have gone backwards. Therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of relenting.” 

There are a lot of ways someone can backslide in life. One of the more common examples I see of people backsliding has to do with working out and dieting. You can have a good workout and diet routine, but suddenly you skip one workout, and eat one cheat meal, and then you have slidden back into your old unhealthy eating habits and lazy lifestyle. But there is a type of backsliding that is far more dangerous. It is when the Christian falls back into their old way of life, their old sinful lifestyle. If we are honest with ourselves we have probably all done this at some point. It often results from us not prioritizing things like prayer, Bible reading, and church attendance. When we do this consistently and there is no return to God, God actually says that we have forsaken Him. The sad thing about this is many Christians don’t care about sliding back into their old sin, and they don’t understand the danger of it. They only see God as a big loving, forgiving grandpa that lives in Heaven and rules the universe. While God is certainly loving, forgiving, and patient, He is also just. As a loving, forgiving, patient, just Heavenly Father He will discipline us when we consistently live in sin! We see this happening in Jeremiah 15:6! God says that He is weary of relenting! This means that God is tired of holding back his righteous hand of judgment and discipline! Being a follower of God does not give a license to sin! Paul tells us this in Romans 6. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!” God did not save us just for us to go to heaven when we die, God has saved us so that we can represent Him here and live a life that brings Him glory and honor! 

Have you fallen back into your old sinful ways? Are you cursing like you did before you knew Christ? Are you lusting in your heart like you did before you knew Jesus? Are you gossiping about others like you did before you knew Jesus? Take a few moments today and examine your life, because if you are backsliding you are sailing on dangerous waters!