Backsliding 101

Happy Sunday. Today I'll begin a sermon series on backsliding. Let me define backsliding. The word backslide means that you're moving away from God, not closer to him; you're regressing, not progressing.

Over the years, I've had Christian people tell me that they were not as close to God as they once were, and they wanted to do something about it. In the weeks ahead, we will look at the cause, the consequences, and the cure for backsliding. At the end of the series, we will look at personal revival. I look forward to the study.

You know, it's hard to know where to begin; there's so many biblical examples of people going in the wrong direction. Years ago, I was traveling on a major highway. I think it was I65. I, I was southbound, and as I passed the rest stop, I saw a car that was trying to turn the wrong direction off the entrance ramp. They were about to head north in the southbound lanes.

It, it happened quickly, and in my rear view mirror I saw them stop. I, I hope they didn't do it. Going the wrong way can be disastrous. As I mentioned earlier, there are so many biblical story, so today we're going to look at the story of Samson.

His story is told in the Book of Judges. You can read about his birth in Chapter 13. There we are told that Samson was so special that his birth was announced to his parents by an angel. Samson was sent by God; he was born to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.

Chapter 13 ends with these words about Samson: "So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson, and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him, and the spirit of the Lord began to move upon him." Samson grew to be a very strong man, a very skilled warrior. He killed a lion with his bare hands, and he was unbeaten in battle. Unstoppable, Samson was a champion until he wasn't.

What happened? What were the consequences? Well, at the end of his story, Samson ends up blind and weak and a prisoner of the Philistines. What was the cause? Well, if you know his story, you know that he picked a bad companion. Her name was Delilah.

One of the major causes of backsliding is bad company. In the weeks ahead, we'll look at a lot of causes, but bad company certainly won. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us, "Bad company ruins good morals." Proverbs 1320 states, "The companion of fools suffer harm." 2 Corinthians 6:14 warns us, "Do not be unequally yolked with non-believers."

I remember a youth minister years ago sharing this pearl of wisdom. He would say, "Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future." Certainly Samson's future was in doubt because the friends he chose. More than that, and I don't want to blame this on Delilah, more than that, I believe that Samson's biggest issue is that he forgot who he was, and he forgot whose he was.

As a kid, when you were leaving the house, did one of your parents say, "Now remember whose you are"? Parents would say that to kids to remind them that they represented the family name, and they better live up to the expectations, because there were great expectations. God our father has great expectations of his children. To move forward, it's imperative that we remember that we are sons and daughters of the king. We should indeed act like our father expects us to act.

We talked about the cause, and I briefly mentioned the consequences. At the end of his story, Samson ends up blind and weak and a prisoner of the Philistines. Verse 21 of Judges 16 talks about the consequences: "So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison."

He was now no more than a blind farm animal, grinding grain and pushing a wheel around and around and around. It's a sad picture of a backward journey. Samson was meant to be a liberator of Israel, and now he's a prisoner of the Philistines. Was there a cure? Did Samson turn back to follow God? He did.

Let me read you the last few verses of Judges chapter 16: "The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god Deon," their false god. "They said, 'Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson.' And the pe- when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, 'Our god has delivered our enemy to us.'" Samson's backward journey caused a lot of harm. The people said, "The one who killed so many of us is now in our power."

"Half drunk by now, the people demanded, 'Bring out Samson so he can amuse us.' So he was brought out from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof." It's a sad picture of people laughing at God's servant. As the story goes, "Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand," remember, he's blind, "'Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.'"

Now, now the temple, we are told, was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them. In verse 28 we are told, "Then Samson prayed to the Lord, 'Sovereign Lord, remember me again. Oh God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow, let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.'"

"And then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple, and pushing against them with both hands, he prayed, 'Let me die with the Philistines.' And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died that he had during his entire lifetime."

Samson, I believe, was made for more. His backsliding was tragic. However, at the end, Samson prayed, and God heard. Please know that God still hears your prayers. If you've wandered away, know that he wants you back, and he still listens.

I love these words from James chapter 4:8. There we are told, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Next week we will continue on this journey.

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Pray with me. God, help us to move forward, never backward. Help us learn from the biblical examples, for our own examples, from the examples of people around us who, well, they should be more than they are. Help us to be what you want us to be. In the powerful name of Jesus I pray, amen.

God bless. Thanks for being with me today.